SEC Power Rankings, Week 8: Tide rolls, Hogs slaughtered
By John Buhler
The SEC went 6-5 with three teams on byes in Week 8. Here are the weekly SEC football power rankings based on dominance from Week 8’s action.
Week 8 was one of the more exciting weekends in the SEC in recent weeks. Six ranked teams clashed in three head-to-head battles. Three other games involving lesser SEC teams were decided by a single score. Only the Florida Gators, the Georgia Bulldogs and the Tennessee Volunteers were on their byes.
It was a great time to be in the state of Alabama on Saturday, with the state’s two Power 5 institutions winning in convincing fashion. However, it was a rough time to be a Mississippian. Both Power 5 teams in that state lost to an SEC rival.
Without further ado, here are the weekly SEC power rankings entering Week 9 based on how dominant each team looked on Saturday in Week 8.
Losses bad teams can’t afford
It’s becoming increasingly clear that there are two SEC teams that aren’t making it to a bowl, one in each division. The worst of the two has to be the Missouri Tigers. Not only are the Tigers 0-4 against Power 5 teams, they dropped one at home to the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders.
This puts Missouri at 2-5 (0-3) on the year. The Tigers have all SEC games left on their schedule. Not only is the likelihood of Missouri going 4-1 to reach a bowl at 6-6 slim, but the Tigers may not win a game the rest of the season.
They probably aren’t beating Tennessee and Arkansas at the end of the year. Can we really give the Tigers a win over Kentucky, South Carolina and Vanderbilt in the next three weeks? Things are bleak in Columbia, Missouri. At least quarterback Drew Lock is only a true sophomore.
The other team in the SEC that is sure not to make a bowl this season besides Missouri is the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Yes, we expected Mississippi State to decline a bit with quarterback Dak Prescott going to the NFL, but 2-5 was not on the forecast in Starkville at any point in 2016.
The Bulldogs dropped a got-to-have-it game to cross-divisional rival Kentucky in Lexington on a last-second field goal 40-38. Mississippi State has Samford next week, but three brutal SEC West games.
Mississippi State’s final four games are Texas A&M, at Alabama, Arkansas, and at arch rival Ole Miss. The Bulldogs have to beat Samford and go 3-1 in their last four SEC games to reach 6-6 to be bowl eligible. Entering Week 9, that feels impossible for Dan Mullen and his 2016 team.