SEC power rankings after Week 9: Georgia, Auburn win statement games

SEC power rankings after Week 9 saw Georgia and Auburn win big games and Mississippi State pulled off an upset of Kentucky.

How are things going in the SEC after week 9 of the 2021 college football season?

If you ask Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen or Florida fans, you’ll likely receive a very, very frustrated reply. Take the opportunity to ask Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart or Georgia fans, and you’ll likely find some pretty happy folks.

The folks in Starkville, Mississippi and Auburn, Alabama are likely pretty thrilled with how their teams are currently performing. As for those in Nashville, Tennessee, Columbia, Missouri, or Oxford, Mississippi, they’re probably not too happy with the way this past week went.

Here’s how things stand in the SEC power rankings after week 9:

SEC power rankings entering Week 10

The Vanderbilt Commodores looked like they’d be able to upset the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, which is almost something that is good for Vandy. Of course, the Commodores lost 37-28, which is bad. Especially considering that Mizzou isn’t all that good.

Which is why the Tigers are here, at 13, in these SEC power rankings. The Tigers have looked rough throughout most of the season up to this point, but struggling to actually get past Vanderbilt is bad. At least Eliah Drinkwitz’s team didn’t lose. That’s something good. The Tigers have a chance at getting to a bowl game, which would also be something good. Drinkwitz and the Tigers would definitely benefit from the extra practices.

Oh, how far Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators have fallen. After a promising start to the 2020 season, the Gators struggled towards the end of last year, losing their last three games of that season, and are now 4-4 this season. Things aren’t going well for Mullen in Gainesville and it’s starting to look like Florida fans are willing to pay for Mullen to get out of town.

The South Carolina Gamecocks didn’t play this week, but they’ve moved up a bit here in these SEC power rankings simply because other teams in this conference are having a really rough time at the moment. So, good for the Gamecocks?

While things are a little uncertain with the whole head coaching situation in Baton Rouge, the LSU Tigers got a bye week to prepare for a game that was at one point in time really, truly interesting: the Tigers’ annual game with the Alabama Crimson Tide. It probably won’t be much fun to watch this year.

The Tennessee Volunteers got a decent bye week to catch their breath before getting the opportunity to host a team that lost in a way that likely frustrated fans: the Kentucky Wildcats. The Vols should be thrilled about how Kentucky looked on Saturday while their fans have to be excited about the possibility of a huge home win over a ranked foe in Josh Heupel’s first season.

The Wildcats may have only lost by two touchdowns, but the stats show a much uglier picture than that. Mississippi State Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers completed 36-of-39 passes to set an SEC record while also tossing a touchdown and throwing for 344 yards. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs, an Air Raid team, ran for three touchdowns thanks to Jo’quavious Marks and Dillon Johnson. Meanwhile, Kentucky quarterback Will Levis completed 17-of-28 passes for just 150 yards and a touchdown while throwing three interceptions. The Wildcats couldn’t run for yards. They couldn’t throw the ball. They were flat-out beat on Saturday.

Sam Pittman’s Arkansas Razorbacks got a much-needed week off after ending a three-game losing streak the week prior. Arkansas’ once-promising start was followed up with a month of sadness and now the Razorbacks are looking to get back to winning. A home game against Mississippi State might be a decent place to start.

Matt Corral did everything he could to elevate the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday. Unfortunately for him, Bo Nix received a considerable amount of support from his defense while the Ole Miss Rebels let score after score go through and take place. This season isn’t over yet, but things looked rough when Corral went down with an injury scare. Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss will need to find a way to get Corral some more protection ASAP because the Rebels need his brilliance to keep their team moving forward.

The Bulldogs probably ran the ball a little more than what Mike Leach may have preferred, but there’s no way he’s going to complain with State beating another ranked team. After defeating Texas A&M and North Carolina State earlier this year, and now a solid showing against Kentucky in the form of a 31-17 win, it’s clear that Leach has found a way to get the Air Raid going. State, in theory, is two or three plays away from being 7-1 on the season. Of course, because this year is bizarre, the Bulldogs are also probably two or three plays away from being 3-5. This year and this team are weird. Make sure you’re enjoying it.

Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies were able to sit back and relax and watch everything unfold around them. A&M’s theoretical path to the SEC Championship might become reality, but the Aggies will have to get past a bizarre test next week: the Auburn Tigers.

There might only be one team in the SEC that’s actually weirder than the Tigers and that’s Leach’s Mississippi State. Auburn is a little inconsistent, but the Tigers played to their full potential when faced with the Ole Miss Rebels. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix somehow played like more of a Heisman contender than Matt Corral, even though Corral looked pretty good. Still, the Tigers won 31-20 and are hitting their stride at a very fascinating time.

The Alabama Crimson Tide got to take the week off and so they’re just gonna chill out here, but Nick Saban better be paying attention to what’s going on around the conference. The Iron Bowl is starting to look really interesting.

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs own the SEC East yet again as their biggest threats to winning the division both lost Saturday. The Bulldogs barely needed to put in effort as they ran over the Gators in a huge, dominant rivalry win.

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