Fansided

SEC power rankings, Week 4: Alabama dominates, LSU leapfrogs Auburn

By Rucker Haringey

OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 15: Jordan Ta'amu #10 of the Mississippi Rebels runs with the ball as Anfernee Jennings #33 of the Alabama Crimson Tide defends during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MS - SEPTEMBER 15: Jordan Ta'amu #10 of the Mississippi Rebels runs with the ball as Anfernee Jennings #33 of the Alabama Crimson Tide defends during the first half at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Alabama, Top 25
OXFORD, MS – SEPTEMBER 15: Tua Tagovailoa #13 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

Alabama continue to crush the souls of its opponents, and LSU won a big battle between Tigers. It was just another wild week in the SEC.

The marquee matchup in the SEC this weekend was definitely the LSU-Auburn game on the Plains. Ed Orgeron and the Tigers managed to scrape by with a 22-21 victory. That victory doesn’t make them instant national title contenders, but it does give LSU a chance to win the SEC West.

Of course, they’ll need to beat Alabama to do that. The Crimson Tide blasted Ole Miss in Oxford by a final score of 62-7. At this point in the season, Nick Saban’s team looks invincible. They’ll face sterner tests down the line, but they remain the prohibitive favorites to win the league crown.

Elsewhere, the SEC enjoyed a pretty dominant week. Arkansas suffered an embarrassing loss at home against North Texas, but everyone else handled their business. Don’t expect to see a ton of movement in the middle of this week’s power rankings.

The Razorbacks are easily the worst team in the SEC at the moment. Everyone knew the transition from Brett Bielema to Chad Morris would take time some time, but few expected Arkansas to be this bad. Their loss to the Mean Green was flat-out embarrassing.

The real question here is when the Razorbacks’ next win might come. They play Auburn, Texas A&M and Alabama in their next three games. If Morris can’t pilot this team to a victory against Tulsa on Oct. 20, they might finish the 2018 campaign with the one win they currently possess. The struggle is real for Arkansas.

Tennessee may not be good, but it is solidly ahead of Arkansas at the moment. UTEP isn’t a good football team, but the Volunteers aren’t in position to give back any wins this season. Anyone they beat without drama is a solid step forward for Jeremy Pruitt’s program.

Like the Razorbacks, the Volunteers’ schedule also takes a massive step up over the next several weeks. They’ll take on Florida, Georgia, Auburn and Alabama in their next four contests. Vols fans should savor the win over the Miners. It may be the last they get for a while.

Ole Miss’ opening win over Texas Tech feels like ages ago. Playing Alabama can have that effect on a program. We’re dropping the Rebels one spot this week not because they lost at home to the Crimson Tide, but because they failed to compete in the game.

It’s hard to really point at anything that Matt Luke’s team did right in this game. Jordan Ta’amu finished the game with a QBr of 4.9. He might have been the Rebels’ most productive offensive player on the night. Expect the Rebels to take their frustrations out on Kent State next weekend.

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