SEC Power Rankings: Arkansas falling, Kentucky surging after Week 5

After a wild week of college football, it’s time to examine the SEC Power Rankings

Week 5 of college football is now behind us and there are quite a few surprises in the updated SEC Power Rankings. This week, we saw some shocking outcomes including Arkansas getting shutout by Georgia, Kentucky outlasting Florida, and Mississippi State upsetting a ranked Texas A&M team on the road.

Let’s dive into the updated SEC Power Rankings after Week 5 of college football.

Vanderbilt football doesn’t have much to celebrate these days—they’re perennially at the bottom of the SEC barrel. However, this week they have something to celebrate: a win. The Commodores hosted UConn in a non-conference game and pulled out the win, 30-28. It was a nice recovery after getting trounced 62-0 by Georgia last week.

The Missouri Tigers got clobbered at home by fellow SEC East foe Tennesse 62-24 this week. Running back Tyler Badie, who rushed for 203 yard in the season opener has virtually disappeared in recent weeks. QB Connor Bazelak was unable to throw a touchdown pass against the Vols this week, a rare occurrence for the sophomore out of Dayton, Ohio.

South Carolina once again found themselves struggling against a Group of Five school. This week, it was against Troy, who they beat 23-14, despite not recording a touchdown in the second half of action. The Gamecocks struggled against East Carolina in Week 2, pulling out a win by just three points. There have been bright spots this season, including losing to a red-hot Kentucky team by just six points and scoring more points on Georgia than any other SEC team this season so far (13).

The Tennessee Vols made a statement in Head Coach Josh Heupel’s first conference win, besting Missouri 62-24. The Vols aren’t telling us anything we don’t already know, though. They’re firmly in SEC East purgatory– markedly better than the bad teams (Vady, Mizzou), but nowhere near good enough to compete with the top teams (Georgia, Florida). There’s reason for optimism though, this is Heupel’s first season as head coach and they’re right where they should be… for now.

Texas A&M fans might start hitting the panic button after suffering a home loss to Mississippi State 22-26. It’s the team’s first two-game losing streak since 2019 when they dropped consecutive games to No. 4 ranked Georgia and No. 2 ranked LSU. It doesn’t get any better from here, as the Aggies will play No. 1 ranked Alabama next week. They are hoping to avoid their first three-game losing streak since 2014, which seems unlikely given the way Alabama has been playing this season.

The Mississippi State Bulldogs got a much-needed win dropping two straight games to Memphis and LSU. QB Will Rogers continues to dominate, completing 46 of 59 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns against Texas A&M. It feels like things are starting to click for Head Coach Mike Leech and his “air raid” offense. However, the good vibes could come to a screeching halt against Alabama Oct. 16. The Bulldogs will have a BYE in Week 6.

College football’s Cinderella story has finally came back to reality this week with a difficult loss to Georgia. Arkansas was unable to do much on offense, mustering just 162 total yards against No. 2 Georgia. The Hogs now turn their focus to Ole Miss, who also just got clobbered by No. 1 Alabama. Arkansas needs to clean up their mental game and have a serious goal of limiting penalties.