SEC football power rankings 2020: Alabama gets revenge on LSU, Texas A&M dominates Auburn

Checking in again on our SEC football power rankings after Alabama smacked the taste out of LSU’s mouth while Texas A&M got past Auburn.

SEC football didn’t offer fans much in the way of surprises on Saturday in Week 14, unless you were shocked that the Vanderbilt at Georgia game wasn’t played (you shouldn’t have been). At the same time, that didn’t mean that the conference with a chance to send two teams to the College Football Playoff didn’t deliver plenty of entertainment this week.

Alabama’s stranglehold on SEC football grew firmer as they made their rivalry matchup with LSU only to absolutely eviscerated the Tigers in Baton Rouge, clearly out for revenge for what happened last year. Moreover, Texas A&M fought and won on the road against Auburn in a fun, gritty game while Missouri came out on top in a thrilling, controversial shootout with Arkansas.

But even with the lack of surprises, the SEC football power rankings do have some movement. So let’s check in on the conference and how the 14 members rank out as we enter Week 15  and the final two weeks of the season.

SEC football power rankings entering Week 15

Derek Mason is out at Vanderbilt and the coaching search is on for the Commodores. Given the immense lack of success for this program, it’s a tough job to be optimistic about, especially in the SEC. But the ‘Dores have been competitive before so maybe the right hire can get them on track; you can only go up from a winless 2020 season.

Even if Kentucky isn’t one of the elite teams in the SEC, no one expected the South Carolina Gamecocks to do anything but lose on Saturday — and they delivered on those expectations, falling 41-18. The big news out of Columbia is the hire of Shane Beamer to be their next head coach and the hope that he can get them back to Spurrier levels of competitiveness.

Coming off of the loss in the Egg Bowl, both teams in the state of Mississippi had the week off and Mike Leach is likely thankful for that. There’s clearly a lot of work for the Pirate to do in Starkville but it does seem that freshman quarterback Will Rogers is coming into his own, which could be something for the Bulldogs to hang their hats on moving into 2021.

It probably speaks to the state of the Tennessee Volunteers that the fact that they backdoor covered at home against Florida on Saturday feels like a moral victory. The switch at quarterback to young Harrison Bailey didn’t help the Vols offense all that much and it feels like Jeremy Pruitt’s seat is getting hotter by the minute.

Not that we expected any different result on Saturday but LSU is now in a terrible spot after taking a 55-17 loss right to the jugular. Ed Orgeron is searching for answers on both sides of the ball moving forward and you have to start to wonder how much of last year’s magical run was the Joe Burrow-Joe Brady combo and how much was Coach O.

The simple fact that Sam Pittman has brought three wins to the Arkansas Razorbacks in his first season should be considered a real win. The Hogs arguably should’ve won against Missouri if not for some late-game shenanigans but the fact that they were in it against a good team in a 50-48 shootout with Feleipe Franks out of the lineup speaks to the job Pittman has done already.

Saturday was largely indicative of what this iteration of the Kentucky Wildcats is. They are more than capable of putting the hands to a bad South Carolina team playing with an interim head coach but they are not equipped to compete with the best SEC football teams. That’s their honey-hole, which isn’t necessarily a bad spot for Mark Stoops to build from.

As much as everyone shouting “War Eagle” doesn’t want to admit it, the Auburn Tigers are more like the Kentucky Wildcats than they are the top-tier teams they would like to consider their peers. Bo Nix is a gamer but a limited passer and, when you face great SEC defenses and highly talented teams, that’s going to show — especially when the defense isn’t capable of bailing the offense out.

I probably overreacted to a tight win in the Egg Bowl by putting Ole Miss at No. 5 in these power rankings last week but I remain a believer in what Lane Kiffin has going on in Oxford. The offense is already humming without his own recruits in the building and, if he can build the defense up even marginally, the Rebels are going to be a dangerous team in this conference, more so than they already are with the way they can score.

Though questions were raised about some late-game “injuries” and otherwise, Missouri answered a late two-point conversion from Arkansas to take the lead with a quick drive and game-winning field goal. Eli Drinkwitz looks like the real deal for the Tigers as this team is already playing above expectations, which bodes well for what’s to come beyond the 2020 campaign.

Is there a better team in college football that no one seems to care about now than the Georgia Bulldogs? Especially with JT Daniels helming the offense, this team could beat roughly 120 other FBS teams in the country. But since they aren’t in the SEC Championship or CFP picture, they might as well just hang it up for the rest of the season with how much it seems like they matter.

Despite my feeling about Auburn this season, there’s no denying that Texas A&M going on the road to Jordan Hare Stadium on Saturday was a tricky spot for the Aggies. Kellen Mond and Isaiah Spiller were solid while the defense largely limited the Tigers’ offense to pick up the big win. Unfortunately, losing to Bama early in the year likely keeps A&M out of the CFP mix.

Suffice it to say that the win for Florida on Saturday in Knoxville was far from their most impressive of the season. Kyle Trask continued to put up Heisman-caliber numbers but the rest of the team appears to be sleepwalking. But considering that their spot in the SEC Championship Game is already locked up and they are clearly the second-best team in the league, why wouldn’t they?

Anyone who doesn’t have the Alabama Crimson Tide as the clear favorite to win the National Championship is lying to themselves. Mac Jones, DeVonta Smith, Najee Harris and a defense gaining steam are playing at an untouchable level right now. They hung 55 points on rival LSU without breaking a sweat and, with a spot in the title game now locked, the Crimson Tide on cruise control is still a flying death machine.

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