Week 4 was a pure, unadulterated meat grinder that fundamentally broke the conference hierarchy.
We saw a top-five powerhouse get completely dismantled on the road, an elite top-15 battle in an absolute hornets’ nest, and several unbeaten upstarts proving their early-season magic is completely real.
Week 4 was a certified nuclear blast that completely leveled the landscape of the SEC.
We just witnessed an absolute bloodbath of a Saturday where a top-three juggernaut got systematically dismantled in the Swamp, an undefeated upstart proved its early-season magic is a terrifying reality, and a marquee showdown in Athens looked more like a varsity squad teaching a freshman team a painful lesson in physical malice.
The grace period for early-season optimization is officially dead and buried.
Georgia demolished Oklahoma.
Texas survived Tennessee in Knoxville.
Florida exploded into the national conversation by destroying previously unbeaten Ole Miss.
Alabama continued its offensive assault.
Mississippi State knocked off Missouri.
LSU buried Texas A&M.
And suddenly, the SEC has a very different look heading into Week 5.
The top of the conference is no longer a three-team discussion. The middle has become a maze of teams with dramatically different résumés, and the bottom has undergone another major reshuffling.
Most notably, Oklahoma has become the subject of perhaps the largest disagreement among our three voters.
Here’s how the Heartland Sports staff sees the SEC heading into Week 5.
The Consensus SEC Power Rankings
As always, our scoring system awards 16 points for a first-place vote, 15 for second, 14 for third, all the way down to one point for 16th.
Here’s how the consensus rankings shake out:
| Rank | Team | Points | Caleb | Craig | Matt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 47 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Georgia | 46 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Alabama | 41 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Florida | 39 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | LSU | 35 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 32 | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 30 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 8 | Mississippi State | 27 | 8 | 11 | 5 |
| 9 | Missouri | 24 | 9 | 8 | 10 |
| 10 | Kentucky | 23 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| 11 | Auburn | 16 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| 12 | Texas A&M | 14 | 14 | 10 | 13 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 12 | 11 | 16 | 12 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | 9 | 15 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 7 | 13 | 15 | 16 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 6 | 16 | 14 | 15 |
The Individual Rankings
Caleb
- Texas | The Longhorns remain undefeated and still have the conference’s strongest resume.
- Georgia | The Bulldogs have been extremely consistent and continue to look like one of the SEC’s most complete teams.
- Alabama | Alabama has scored 45+ points in every game this season. Keelon Russell has also been outstanding, throwing for 365 yards and four touchdowns against South Carolina. Bama looks to be one of the most complete teams in the SEC.
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Mississippi State
- Missouri
- Kentucky
- Oklahoma
- Auburn
- South Carolina
- Texas A&M
- Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt drops toward the bottom after a rough Week 4 result. The Commodores haven’t yet put together the kind of SEC résumé needed to move up the conference.
- Arkansas | Arkansas remains at the bottom after another difficult start to conference play. The Razorbacks need a strong SEC win to show they can climb out of the bottom spot.
Craig
- Texas | The Longhorns looked vulnerable, but ultimately held on against Tennessee. Texas has been brilliant defensively so far, but lots of questions on offense.
- Georgia | The Bulldogs are arguably the most complete team in the conference. Consistency and discipline on both sides of the ball make them almost impossible to beat.
- Alabama | Alabama is slowly climbing the rankings. The Crimson Tide have answered a lot of the questions people had about them heading into the season.
- LSU
- Florida
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
- Missouri
- Kentucky
- Texas A&M
- Mississippi State
- Auburn
- Vanderbilt
- Arkansas
- South Carolina | Got thumped by Alabama for what was the Gamecocks second loss in a row.
- Oklahoma | Just a bad, bad, bad football team in Norman. Not a lot of positive for the Sooners right now.
Matt
- Georgia | The Bulldogs reclaim the conference the top spot because this was absolute varsity versus junior varsity execution. Georgia welcomed Oklahoma to Sanford Stadium and completely throttled them in a 41-13 beatdown. Their suffocating defense terrorised John Mateer all afternoon, returning a fumble for a touchdown and keeping the Sooners completely out of rhythm. When they play with this level of physical malice, they are the best team in the country.
- Texas | Dropping the Longhorns to No. 2 feels harsh after they won a high-stakes road game, but power rankings are about style points and momentum. Arch Manning survived a brutal, deafening environment inside Neyland Stadium, leaning on a elite defensive performance to escape with a 20-17 gritty victory over Tennessee. It was a championship-character win, but Georgia’s absolute destruction of a conference foe gives the Dawgs the razor-thin edge this week.
- Florida | Jon Sumrall has officially ignited a fire in Gainesville. The Gators make a leap into my top three after completely obliterating Ole Miss in a 52-28 statement blowout in the Swamp. This isn’t a fluke; the Gators are 4-0, dynamic, and have earned the right to be called legitimate SEC contenders.
- Alabama
- Mississippi State
- LSU
- Tennessee
- Ole Miss
- Kentucky
- Missouri
- Auburn
- Oklahoma
- Texas A&M
- Vanderbilt
- Arkansas | They finally climb out of the dead-last spot on pure default. While beating up on a non-conference opponent isn’t going to turn many heads, a 34-6 comfortable win over Tulsa at least gave Ryan Silverfield’s squad a chance to clean up their offensive line issues. They are still deeply flawed, but they showed signs of life while the team below them completely collapsed.
- South Carolina | Things have officially hit rock bottom for Shane Beamer in Columbia. Traveling to Tuscaloosa was always going to be an uphill battle, but a 49-18 humiliation at the hands of Alabama exposed massive systemic issues. To make matters worse, star pass-rusher Dylan Stewart was suspended indefinitely following an in-game meltdown.
The Top Tier: Georgia Is Climbing, But Texas Still Has the Top Spot
The biggest story at the top is the separation between Georgia, Texas, Florida and Alabama.
Georgia gets a first-place vote.
Texas gets two.
Florida makes the biggest jump of the group, climbing all the way to No. 3 on Matt’s ballot and No. 4 for Caleb.
Alabama remains firmly entrenched in the top four.
The consensus math, however, still gives Texas the No. 1 spot by a single point.
1. Texas
Caleb:
The Longhorns remain undefeated and still have the conference’s strongest resume.
Craig:
The Longhorns looked vulnerable, but ultimately held on against Tennessee. Texas has been brilliant defensively so far, but lots of questions on offense.
Matt:
Dropping the Longhorns to No. 2 feels harsh after they won a high-stakes road game, but power rankings are about style points and momentum. Arch Manning survived a brutal, deafening environment inside Neyland Stadium, leaning on a elite defensive performance to escape with a 20-17 gritty victory over Tennessee. It was a championship-character win, but Georgia’s absolute destruction of a conference foe gives the Dawgs the razor-thin edge this week.
Texas has now survived Ohio State and Tennessee.
That’s an extraordinary résumé.
But the question entering Week 5 isn’t whether Texas can win.
It’s how the Longhorns are winning.
The offense struggled at times in Knoxville, putting additional pressure on a defense that continues to look like one of the best units in the conference.
For Caleb and Craig, the résumé keeps Texas at No. 1.
For Matt, Georgia’s 41-13 destruction of Oklahoma was enough to flip the top two.
2. Georgia
Caleb:
The Bulldogs have been extremely consistent and continue to look like one of the SEC’s most complete teams.
Craig:
The Bulldogs are arguably the most complete team in the conference. Consistency and discipline on both sides of the ball make them almost impossible to beat.
Matt:
The Bulldogs reclaim the conference the top spot because this was absolute varsity versus junior varsity execution. Georgia welcomed Oklahoma to Sanford Stadium and completely throttled them in a 41-13 beatdown. Their suffocating defense terrorised John Mateer all afternoon, returning a fumble for a touchdown and keeping the Sooners completely out of rhythm. When they play with this level of physical malice, they are the best team in the country.
Georgia has arguably delivered the most dominant performance of any SEC team this season.
The Bulldogs didn’t simply beat Oklahoma.
They overwhelmed the Sooners from beginning to end.
That’s enough for Matt to move them into the top spot.
The consensus, however, remains razor thin between the Bulldogs and Longhorns.
3. Alabama
Caleb:
Alabama has scored 45+ points in every game this season. Keelon Russell has also been outstanding, throwing for 365 yards and four touchdowns against South Carolina. Bama looks to be one of the most complete teams in the SEC.
Craig:
Alabama is slowly climbing the rankings. The Crimson Tide have answered a lot of the questions people had about them heading into the season.
All three of us have Alabama inside the top four.
And while the Crimson Tide haven’t made the same dramatic jump as Florida, their consistency is becoming impossible to ignore.
Florida’s Massive Leap
Florida is arguably the biggest winner of Week 4.
Matt has the Gators third.
Caleb has them fourth.
Craig has them fifth.
That produces a consensus No. 4 ranking.
More importantly, Florida just destroyed Ole Miss 52-28.
That’s not a résumé-building win.
That’s a résumé-changing win.
Matt’s explanation:
Jon Sumrall has officially ignited a fire in Gainesville. The Gators make a leap into my top three after completely obliterating Ole Miss in a 52-28 statement blowout in the Swamp. This isn’t a fluke; the Gators are 4-0, dynamic, and have earned the right to be called legitimate SEC contenders.
That is the biggest single-team movement in the top half of the rankings.
LSU and Ole Miss: Two Teams Going in Opposite Directions
The Ole Miss-LSU game from Week 3 now looks dramatically different after what happened in Gainesville.
Ole Miss was No. 3 in our Week 4 consensus.
Now the Rebels are sixth.
LSU, meanwhile, moves into fifth.
The Rebels’ loss was emphatic enough to erase much of the momentum created by their victory over LSU the previous week.
LSU’s 35-6 destruction of Texas A&M, meanwhile, restored some of the Tigers’ momentum.
The lesson?
In the SEC, one Saturday can completely rewrite a résumé.
Tennessee Holds at No. 7
Tennessee falls just one spot in the consensus rankings, despite losing to Texas.
That’s important.
The Volunteers didn’t get blown out.
They lost 20-17 against the consensus No. 1 team in the conference.
All three of us still have Tennessee seventh.
That is perhaps the clearest sign that the loss did not fundamentally change our perception of the Volunteers.
The Middle Tier: Mississippi State Is Breaking Away
Mississippi State might be the most interesting team in the middle of the rankings.
Caleb has the Bulldogs eighth.
Craig has them 11th.
Matt has them fifth.
That’s a six-position range.
Matt’s fifth-place ranking is particularly aggressive, but it comes after Mississippi State knocked off Missouri 31-24.
The Bulldogs are no longer simply an undefeated surprise.
They’re becoming a legitimate problem for the rest of the conference.
Missouri, meanwhile, drops to ninth.
Kentucky remains inside the top 10 after another convincing victory.
Kentucky Quietly Keeps Winning
Kentucky is one of the least controversial teams in our rankings.
Craig has the Wildcats ninth.
Matt has them ninth.
Caleb has them 10th.
That’s just a one-position spread.
Kentucky may not be getting the attention of Texas, Georgia or Florida, but the Wildcats continue to stack up results.
Texas A&M Continues to Slide
Texas A&M is another fascinating case.
The Aggies were fourth in Matt’s Week 3 rankings.
Then they lost to Kentucky.
Now they’re 10th for Craig, 13th for Matt and 14th for Caleb.
The consensus has them 12th.
That is a dramatic change in just two weeks.
The 35-6 loss to LSU only made the questions surrounding Texas A&M louder.
The Oklahoma Disagreement Is Massive
No team generates more disagreement this week than Oklahoma.
Caleb has the Sooners 11th.
Matt has them 12th.
Craig has them 16th.
That’s a five-position spread.
And unlike some of the other disagreements, there is a clear reason.
Oklahoma was just destroyed by Georgia.
Craig’s assessment is blunt:
Just a bad, bad, bad football team in Norman. Not a lot of positive for the Sooners right now.
Caleb and Matt aren’t nearly as aggressive.
But neither has the Sooners inside the top 10.
The consensus score gives Oklahoma just 12 points, putting the Sooners at No. 13.
That is a remarkable fall for a program that entered the season ranked in the national top 10.
The Bottom Tier
The bottom of the conference has also shifted.
South Carolina is now 15th in the consensus rankings.
Arkansas is 16th.
Vanderbilt sits 14th.
Arkansas
Caleb:
Arkansas remains at the bottom after another difficult start to conference play. The Razorbacks need a strong SEC win to show they can climb out of the bottom spot.
Matt:
They finally climb out of the dead-last spot on pure default. While beating up on a non-conference opponent isn’t going to turn many heads, a 34-6 comfortable win over Tulsa at least gave Ryan Silverfield’s squad a chance to clean up their offensive line issues. They are still deeply flawed, but they showed signs of life while the team below them completely collapsed.
Arkansas gets one more week of life after beating Tulsa 34-6.
The Razorbacks are still 1-2 in conference play, but South Carolina’s collapse was enough to push Arkansas out of the cellar on the consensus board.
South Carolina
Craig:
Got thumped by Alabama for what was the Gamecocks second loss in a row.
Matt:
Things have officially hit rock bottom for Shane Beamer in Columbia. Traveling to Tuscaloosa was always going to be an uphill battle, but a 49-18 humiliation at the hands of Alabama exposed massive systemic issues. To make matters worse, star pass-rusher Dylan Stewart was suspended indefinitely following an in-game meltdown.
Where We Agree
The Week 5 rankings contain more agreement than the chaotic results might suggest.
The biggest areas of agreement
Tennessee — No. 7 across all three ballots
That’s the most obvious example.
All three voters also have:
- Alabama inside the top four
- Tennessee seventh
- Kentucky inside the top 10
- Auburn between 11th and 12th
- Texas A&M between 10th and 14th
- Vanderbilt between 13th and 15th
There is also broad agreement about the basic hierarchy.
Nobody has a team outside the established contenders suddenly jumping into the top two.
Nobody has Arkansas or South Carolina anywhere near the middle of the conference.
Where We Were Way Off
The largest disagreement is Mississippi State.
The Bulldogs are:
- 5th — Matt
- 8th — Caleb
- 11th — Craig
That’s a six-position spread.
Florida is another significant disagreement:
- 3rd — Matt
- 4th — Caleb
- 5th — Craig
That’s much tighter, but the direction is clear: everyone is moving Florida up.
Then there’s Oklahoma:
- 11th — Caleb
- 12th — Matt
- 16th — Craig
That’s a five-position spread.
Ole Miss has a four-position spread:
- 5th — Caleb
- 6th — Craig
- 8th — Matt
And Texas A&M ranges from 10th to 14th.
The Week 5 SEC Board
The SEC has officially entered the portion of the season where reputations don’t mean nearly as much as results.
Texas still owns the strongest mathematical résumé.
Georgia has now delivered the most dominant performance of the season.
Florida has gone from an interesting undefeated team to a legitimate contender after destroying Ole Miss.
Alabama continues to pile up points.
Mississippi State is forcing its way into the conversation.
LSU has rebounded.
Tennessee remains dangerous despite the loss to Texas.
And the middle of the conference is becoming a battlefield.
Then there is Oklahoma.
The Sooners went from preseason expectations of competing near the top of the SEC to a team that now has one of us placing them dead last.
That’s how quickly things can change in this league.
The SEC doesn’t wait for anyone to figure things out.
And heading into Week 5, the hierarchy has never been more unsettled.