SEC power rankings, Week 12: Down goes Georgia! Roll Tide!
By John Buhler
Things are starting to get really interesting atop the SEC standings and we are shaping up to have a championship game for the ages.
And another one bites the dust. There are only four undefeated teams left in FBS college football, as the former No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs got clobbered on the road by their cross-divisional nemesis in the No. 10 Auburn Tigers, 40-17 down on The Plains.
No doubt this rivalry game will impact this week’s SEC power rankings, but not as much as you think. Right now, five teams in the SEC are ranked in the top 25 in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s eyes. Auburn and Georgia are joined by the Alabama Crimson Tide, the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
After them — man, does it get rough quickly in the SEC. As strange as it sounds, this Power 5 conference may only end up sending nine teams to a bowl game. The bottom of the SEC is absolutely awful. Jim McElwain was fired after his Florida Gators got destroyed by Georgia in late October. Butch Jones is now out of a job after his Tennessee Volunteers got waxed by the Missouri Tigers this past Saturday.
Let’s get on with it and power rank the SEC heading into Week 12.
Tennessee Volunteers (4-6)
Last week: Loss at Missouri, 50-17
Last rank: 12th
It’s over. Jones has been fired from the Volunteers football program. What a horrendous disaster this once-proud SEC program has become. Tennessee is 4-6 on the year, but 0-6 in SEC play. The Volunteers aren’t beating No. 20 LSU on Saturday, period.
The only hope that Tennessee has to win an SEC game this year would be to knock off in-state rival Vanderbilt. Do keep in mind that Tennessee lost to the ‘Dores in Nashville last year. Tennessee thinks it can land a top-tier head coach, but this program has become a complete and utter joke in the last decade. That fan base deserves better, but at least Jones is gone.
Vanderbilt Commodores (4-6)
Last week: Loss vs. Kentucky, 44-21
Last rank: 11th
Not doing much better a little bit west of Knoxville would be the Vanderbilt Commodores. Like in-state rival Tennessee, the Commodores somehow don’t have an SEC win on the season. To achieve bowl eligibility, Vanderbilt will have to beat an improving Missouri Tigers team and Tennessee in Knoxville.
Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason should be thrilled that he got the ‘Dores to a bowl game last year. Otherwise, he would be out of town after four seasons in Nashville. Though the offense may never get there under his watch, his defense must be rebuilt because it’s awful.