The SEC went 8-6 this week. Here are the weekly SEC power rankings for Week 10 based on overall dominance in this past weekend’s games.
It was an exciting weekend in the SEC, with six conference games and both Ole Miss and Tennessee getting wins against non-Power 5 teams.
Most of the SEC games in Week 10 came down to the wire. Two of the top teams in the SEC were upset. Texas A&M fell to Mississippi State and Florida lost to Arkansas.
With all 14 teams in the SEC playing on Saturday, it’s time to power rank the conference based on how well each team performed in Week 10.
Bad losses
The 2016 Missouri Tigers are the first SEC team loss to bowl eligibility this season. Missouri fell on the road to their SEC East rival South Carolina Gamecocks, 31-21. The Tigers have yet to beat a Power 5 team this year and probably aren’t going to.
Missouri has lost five straight games since shutting out FCS Delaware State. If the Tigers can’t give it their all against a Vanderbilt Commodores team fighting for bowl eligibility, Missouri might go 0-for in SEC play. On the road against the Tennessee Volunteers and the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Battle Line Rivalry don’t seem very promising either.
Missouri had its chances to beat South Carolina in the Battle of Columbia on Saturday afternoon, but three costly turnovers were what ultimately did them in. This team gets out-coached every week. Maybe Missouri made the wrong decision in promoting former defensive coordinator Barry Odom to head coach?
After beating major SEC East rival Georgia down in Jacksonville in Week 9, the No. 11 Florida Gators were completely bewildered by Bret Bielema’s Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, 31-10.
Florida was coming off a big win and Arkansas had two weeks to get ready for this game after its embarrassment in Auburn. This was the end result: a blowout in Arkansas’ favor. Only Kentucky has beaten an SEC West opponent out of the SEC East this season. It’s troubling that Florida didn’t win this game.
While a road loss to Arkansas dashes Florida’s slim hopes to reach the College Football Playoff, the Gators still control their own destiny in the SEC East. The Gators were fortunate to see Georgia beat Kentucky in Lexington on a last-second field goal. Florida will likely win the SEC East, but will get crushed by the winner of the Iron Bowl in Atlanta.
The No. 4 Texas A&M Aggies are not making the 2017 College Football Playoff after their dismal performance in Starkville to the Mississippi State Aggies. Not only did Texas A&M lose to the lowly Bulldogs at Davis Wade, this loss might have cost the Aggies their shot at getting to the Sugar Bowl.
The Sugar Bowl is the designated bowl for the second-best SEC team this season, basically the one in the SEC West that doesn’t play for the SEC Championship. Texas A&M could still make a New Year’s Six Bowl, but for now the Sugar Bowl would go to Auburn, despite the Aggies beating them head-to-head.
Once Texas A&M lost quarterback Trevor Knight for the game, the Aggies didn’t have much of a chance to stop Nick Fitzgerald and the rest of the Bulldogs on Saturday. Texas A&M was probably going to lose at least one more time this football season. Who would have thought that it would be to Mississippi State of all teams?