Week 7 of SEC football is in the books. The SEC went 5-5 this week with four teams on byes. Here are the weekly power rankings based on Week 7 dominance.
The SEC is starting to get very interesting. Two teams are still undefeated in Alabama and Texas A&M. They meet on Saturday in Tuscaloosa for what seems to be the best game in Division I football this season.
Overall, the SEC went 5-5 this week with four head-to-head games. LSU would top Southern Miss, but Mississippi State would fall to BYU. Four teams were on byes this weeks (Auburn, Kentucky, South Carolina, Texas A&M).
Let’s take a look back on Week 7 of SEC football. Here are the weekly power rankings based on overall dominance this past weekend in the SEC.
Losses
Missouri is just not cutting it in 2016. The Tigers are 0-4 against Power 5 teams. They’re getting blown out against programs of their caliber. Missouri has shown it can put up points against lesser competition, but quarterback Drew Lock’s play rapidly declines when he and the Tigers have to go agains somebody even remotely good.
Entering Week 8, Missouri is now the only team in the SEC without a conference win on the season. They’ll get Middle Tennessee State in Week 8, but Missouri cannot afford to keep dropping games against Power 5 teams if the Tigers want to make a bowl game.
Let’s just say that Middle Tennessee State is a must-win for Missouri. The Tigers aren’t beating rivals Tennessee and Arkansas at the end of the season. Missouri is looking more like a team that will struggle to win four regular season games this season.
It’s not looking good for the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ chances to go bowling this holiday season. This feels like the roughest season to date for Dan Mullen in Starkville. Yes, winning in Provo on a Friday night against BYU is hard, but this was a Mississippi State program that was the No. 1 team in the country two years ago!
The Bulldogs already have two losses in the non-conference to South Alabama and now BYU. That means that Mississippi State will have to go 4-4 to make a bowl game. Mississippi State beat South Carolina, but are there three future SEC wins left on the book?
Mississippi State could beat cross-divisional rival Kentucky, but that might be it. The Bulldogs still have to play Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. Are we even sure that one of those is a winnable game for the Bulldogs at this time?
Well, this homecoming loss to Vanderbilt really complicates things for Georgia. Are we sure this is a bowl-caliber team? Yes, but is it more than a 6-6 or 7-5 win team this year? That’s probably this group’s ceiling.
A horrendous ground game and so many special teams gaffes cost Georgia an easy fifth win of the season. The Bulldogs will have an extra week to let it sink in how bad that home loss to Vanderbilt was. Next up is the arch rival Florida Gators in Jacksonville.
Overall, this team is too young to be consistent week in and week out. Quarterback Jacob Eason shows a ton of promise. The secondary is playing well. Even kicker Rodrigo Blankenship is giving Georgia a chance at making long-range field goals. It’s not all bad for the Dawgs, but it’s far from good in the Classic City.
Boy, did the Volunteers get embarrassed at home to Alabama in Week 7. These were two top-10 teams in the country, but the final score could not have been more lopsided: Alabama 49, Tennessee 10.
Tennessee was clearly out of gas after playing Texas A&M in double overtime a week ago. The Volunteers had no answer for the Crimson Tide in all three phases of the game. Tennessee goes as Joshua Dobbs goes at quarterback. Too bad he is one of the most inconsistent signal callers in the Power 5.
What makes this loss even worse for the Volunteers is that Tennessee has now lost control of the SEC East. Tennessee can finish no better than 6-2. Florida still has a shot at ending up at 7-1. If the Gators win out in SEC play, it will be Florida and not Tennessee playing in Atlanta for the 2016 SEC Championship.
Ole Miss is no longer going to get the benefit of the doubt. Though they have played a brutal first six games this season, the Rebels are 3-3 after dropping one on the road to SEC West rival Arkansas.
The Rebels can put up points, but can’t rely on its defense to win close games. Week 7 was the third time that Ole Miss lost to a ranked team this year. They are still going to have to play Auburn and Texas A&M, both of whom will likely be ranked by their SEC meetings.
Quarterback Chad Kelly best personifies this 2016 Rebels team. They are immensely talented, but don’t have the poise to win the big game with any consistency. This third loss of the season should have the Rebels drop out of the AP Top 25.