The SEC hierarchy is beginning to take shape, but there is still plenty of disagreement about who belongs where as the conference heads deeper into November.
Week 10 delivered a series of statement performances that dramatically reshaped the conversation. Georgia made perhaps the loudest statement of the season, walking into Oxford and dismantling Ole Miss 42–7 to establish itself as the undisputed heavyweight in the conference. Alabama continued its climb with a convincing 31–13 road victory over LSU, while Tennessee made its own statement by shutting down previously surging Kentucky in a 34–6 blowout.
Elsewhere, Texas continued building momentum with another important victory, South Carolina took care of Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt finally found a way to escape the bottom of the conference with a victory over Mississippi State. Arkansas, meanwhile, inherited the SEC basement after falling to Auburn.
With the regular season entering its final stretch, the stakes are rising for every program. The race for Atlanta remains important, but the College Football Playoff picture is adding another layer of urgency to an already competitive conference.
This week, there is remarkable agreement at the top of our rankings, particularly with Georgia and Alabama. Beyond that, however, the opinions start to spread out.
Here is how Caleb, Craig, and Matt stack up all 16 SEC programs heading into Week 11.
SEC Week 11 Consensus Power Rankings
Each team receives 16 points for a first-place vote, 15 for second, and so on, down to one point for a 16th-place vote. With three ballots, the maximum possible score is 48 points.
| Rank | Team | Points | Caleb | Craig | Matt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | 48 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 45 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 41 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 40 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| 5 | Kentucky | 35 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 32 | 6 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 31 | 7 | 5 | 8 |
| 8 | LSU | 27 | 9 | 8 | 7 |
| 9 | Missouri | 25 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 21 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| 11 | Florida | 17 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| 12 | Auburn | 16 | 12 | 12 | 11 |
| 13 | Mississippi State | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 9 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 7 | 16 | 15 | 13 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 4 | 15 | 16 | 16 |
The Top Tier: Georgia and Alabama Have Separated Themselves
There isn’t much debate about the top of the SEC this week. Georgia received all three first-place votes to earn a perfect 48 points, while Alabama collected all three second-place votes for 45 points.
The Bulldogs have officially separated themselves from the rest of the conference.
Caleb
Georgia takes over the No. 1 spot after absolutely dismantling Ole Miss 42-7 on the road. The Bulldogs have arguably the best résumé in the country, and their defense continues to separate them from everyone else. Beating a top-15 Ole Miss team by 35 points is a statement. Georgia looks like the team to beat in the SEC and possibly the entire country.
Craig
I knew it wouldn’t be long before Georgia was back at the top. They put on a show against Ole Miss proving they are in a realm of their own.
Matt
If there were any lingering doubts about who owns the SEC, Kirby Smart’s squad erased them in Oxford. Dismantling a top-10 Ole Miss team 42–7 on the road to snap their 16-game home winning streak proves the Bulldogs are operating on a completely different level than the rest of the conference.
Georgia’s 42–7 demolition of Ole Miss was about as convincing a statement as a team can make in November. The Rebels entered the matchup with legitimate SEC championship and playoff aspirations, but Kirby Smart’s team made it clear that there is a significant gap between Georgia and the rest of the league right now.
All three voters recognize that.
Alabama also enjoyed a significant week, taking care of LSU 31–13 in Death Valley. The Crimson Tide have steadily worked their way back into the championship conversation, and the consistency across our ballots reflects the growing confidence in Kalen DeBoer’s team.
Caleb
Alabama makes a big jump after dominating LSU 31-13 on the road. The Crimson Tide continue to prove they’re one of the most talented teams in college football. Their defense looked outstanding against LSU, and this win gives them another impressive resume victory. Alabama is firmly back in the SEC championship conversation.
Craig
The Crimson Tide has slowly climbed back up the rankings. Big win after big win, this group has responded after each of their losses.
Matt
Walking into Death Valley at night and controlling LSU from start to finish in a 31–13 rout is the kind of statement win that catapults the Crimson Tide right back into the top two. With Kentucky and Ole Miss both suffering lopsided defeats, Alabama now holds the inside track for a trip to Atlanta.
The biggest discussion begins at No. 3.
Texas edges Tennessee by just one point, collecting 41 points compared to the Volunteers’ 40. Caleb and Craig both have the Longhorns third, while Matt puts Tennessee in that position following its dominant victory over Kentucky.
Caleb
Texas gets a massive road win over Missouri, 28-17, and continues to build momentum. Arch Manning and the Longhorns are starting to look like the team many expected coming into the season. Their combination of offensive talent and defensive ability makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the conference.
Craig
The Longhorns lost back to back games and have since been on a tear. Three straight big wins while improving on both sides of the ball. Texas isn’t done yet.
These two programs are clearly viewed as legitimate contenders, even if we aren’t entirely in agreement about their order.
The Contenders: Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ole Miss
Texas claims the No. 3 position, but Tennessee is right on its heels.
Tennessee made the biggest impression among the teams immediately behind Georgia and Alabama. The Volunteers dismantled a Kentucky team that had previously looked like one of the SEC’s most dangerous programs. Matt rewards that performance by moving Tennessee into his top three.
Matt
The Volunteers took a “legacy-defining road test” narrative for Kentucky and turned it into a four-quarter blowout in Knoxville. Holding a 7–1 Wildcats team to just six points in a 34–6 thrashing vaults Tennessee straight into my top three alongside fellow two-loss contenders.
Kentucky falls to fifth in the consensus rankings with 35 points. All three of us still have the Wildcats in the top six, suggesting that one difficult afternoon in Knoxville hasn’t erased everything they’ve accomplished this season.
Ole Miss follows at No. 6 with 32 points. Caleb and Matt both have the Rebels sixth, while Craig drops them to seventh following the devastating loss to Georgia.
South Carolina checks in at No. 7, just one point behind Ole Miss. Craig is considerably higher on the Gamecocks at No. 5, while Caleb has them seventh and Matt eighth.
LSU and Missouri round out the next group at eighth and ninth, respectively. LSU gets a little more respect from Craig and Matt, while Caleb is the lowest on the Tigers at No. 9.
Missouri, meanwhile, receives remarkably consistent rankings, with all three voters placing the Tigers between eighth and ninth.
The Middle Class: Oklahoma Holds Steady While Florida and Auburn Follow
Oklahoma comes in at No. 10 with 21 points, and this is one of the easiest placements on the entire ballot.
All three of us have the Sooners ranked exactly 10th.
That’s complete agreement, making Oklahoma the only team outside the top two to receive identical rankings from everyone.
Florida follows at No. 11, with Auburn one spot behind at No. 12. Both teams have relatively narrow ranges of opinion, with Florida receiving two 11th-place votes and one 12th-place vote, while Auburn gets two 12th-place votes and an 11th-place ranking from Matt.
The bottom four are where things get particularly interesting.
Mississippi State lands at No. 13, followed by Texas A&M at No. 14. Vanderbilt climbs to No. 15 after finally securing a conference victory, while Arkansas falls to the bottom spot.
There is some disagreement about the order of those four programs, particularly Vanderbilt, but nobody is particularly optimistic about the teams occupying the bottom portion of the conference.
The Bottom: Vanderbilt Escapes the Cellar, Arkansas Takes Over
Vanderbilt finally gets out of last place in our consensus rankings, collecting seven points to finish 15th.
However, there is a fairly significant difference of opinion about the Commodores. Matt has them as high as 13th, while Caleb places them 16th. Craig splits the difference at 15th.
The victory over Mississippi State was important, but one conference win doesn’t automatically erase the struggles that came before it.
Arkansas takes over the No. 16 position with just four points. Craig, Caleb, and Matt all have the Razorbacks in either 15th or 16th, with Craig being the only voter to put them last.
Craig
Arkansas kept it close against Auburn but came up short. Their only conference win remains against the other worst team in the league in Vanderbilt.
The Razorbacks kept things competitive against Auburn but ultimately came up short in a 26–23 defeat. At 3–6 overall and 1–5 in conference play, Arkansas has very little room left to salvage its season.
The bottom of the SEC has officially shifted, but the overall perception of those programs hasn’t changed much.
Individual Rankings
Caleb
1. Georgia | Georgia takes over the No. 1 spot after absolutely dismantling Ole Miss 42-7 on the road. The Bulldogs have arguably the best résumé in the country, and their defense continues to separate them from everyone else. Beating a top-15 Ole Miss team by 35 points is a statement. Georgia looks like the team to beat in the SEC and possibly the entire country.
2. Alabama | Alabama makes a big jump after dominating LSU 31-13 on the road. The Crimson Tide continue to prove they’re one of the most talented teams in college football. Their defense looked outstanding against LSU, and this win gives them another impressive resume victory. Alabama is firmly back in the SEC championship conversation.
3. Texas | Texas gets a massive road win over Missouri, 28-17, and continues to build momentum. Arch Manning and the Longhorns are starting to look like the team many expected coming into the season. Their combination of offensive talent and defensive ability makes them one of the most dangerous teams in the conference.
4. Tennessee
5. Kentucky
6. Ole Miss
7. South Carolina
8. Missouri
9. LSU
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida
12. Auburn
13. Mississippi State
14. Texas A&M
15. Arkansas | Arkansas stays near the bottom after another disappointing performance, losing to Missouri 34-10. The Razorbacks struggled to establish the run and committed four turnovers. At this point, there hasn’t been enough consistency on either side of the football to suggest they’re capable of climbing out of the bottom tier.
16. Vanderbilt | The Commodores are still searching for their first conference win, and they haven’t shown enough offensively or defensively to move ahead of the other teams in the league. Unfortunately, they’re still the team I have the least confidence in.
Craig
1. Georgia | I knew it wouldn’t be long before Georgia was back at the top. They put on a show against Ole Miss proving they are in a realm of their own.
2. Alabama | The Crimson Tide has slowly climbed back up the rankings. Big win after big win, this group has responded after each of their losses.
3. Texas | The Longhorns lost back to back games and have since been on a tear. Three straight big wins while improving on both sides of the ball. Texas isn’t done yet.
4. Tennessee
5. South Carolina
6. Kentucky
7. Ole Miss
8. LSU
9. Missouri
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida
12. Auburn
13. Texas A&M
14. Mississippi State
15. Vanderbilt | Vanderbilt comes up with a big win over Mississippi State to move out of last place. Their remaining schedule is pretty tough, so I’m glad they picked up a conference win when they had the chance.
16. Arkansas | Arkansas kept it close against Auburn but came up short. Their only conference win remains against the other worst team in the league in Vanderbilt.
Matt
1. Georgia | If there were any lingering doubts about who owns the SEC, Kirby Smart’s squad erased them in Oxford. Dismantling a top-10 Ole Miss team 42–7 on the road to snap their 16-game home winning streak proves the Bulldogs are operating on a completely different level than the rest of the conference.
2. Alabama | Walking into Death Valley at night and controlling LSU from start to finish in a 31–13 rout is the kind of statement win that catapults the Crimson Tide right back into the top two. With Kentucky and Ole Miss both suffering lopsided defeats, Alabama now holds the inside track for a trip to Atlanta.
3. Tennessee | The Volunteers took a “legacy-defining road test” narrative for Kentucky and turned it into a four-quarter blowout in Knoxville. Holding a 7–1 Wildcats team to just six points in a 34–6 thrashing vaults Tennessee straight into my top three alongside fellow two-loss contenders.
4. Texas
5. Kentucky
6. Ole Miss
7. LSU
8. South Carolina
9. Missouri
10. Oklahoma
11. Auburn
12. Florida
13. Vanderbilt
14. Mississippi State
15. Texas A&M | A stagnant offense doomed the Aggies once again in Columbia, where they failed to find the end zone in a 17–9 loss to South Carolina. Falling to 1–5 in conference play drops Texas A&M right to the edge of the SEC basement.
16. Arkansas | Vanderbilt finally got off the schneid in Starkville, leaving the Razorbacks to inherit the bottom spot. Despite keeping things competitive on the Plains, a 26–23 loss to Auburn drops Arkansas to 3–6 overall and 1–5 in league play, cementing their spot at the bottom of the hierarchy.
Where We Agree — And Where We Don’t
The Week 11 ballots reveal some pretty clear patterns. We have remarkable agreement at the top, a handful of teams that consistently occupy the same neighborhood, and a few programs that generated considerably different opinions.
The biggest areas of agreement
– Georgia and Alabama: All three of us have Georgia No. 1 and Alabama No. 2. There isn’t a single dissenting vote at the top. Georgia earns a perfect 48 points, and Alabama follows with 45.
– Texas and Tennessee: All three of us have these programs in the top four. Caleb and Craig favor Texas at No. 3, while Matt rewards Tennessee’s blowout victory over Kentucky by placing the Volunteers third. They’re separated by just one point in the consensus rankings.
– Kentucky and Ole Miss: All three of us place Kentucky between fifth and sixth and Ole Miss between sixth and seventh. Despite their respective losses, neither program has completely fallen out of our upper tier.
– Oklahoma: This might be the most impressive example of agreement outside the top two. All three of us have the Sooners ranked exactly No. 10. Nobody is buying or selling Oklahoma any differently this week.
– Florida and Auburn: These two are practically interchangeable in our rankings. Florida receives votes of 11th, 11th, and 12th, while Auburn gets 12th, 12th, and 11th.
– Arkansas: All three of us have the Razorbacks in the bottom two. Caleb gives them 15th, while Craig and Matt put them 16th.
Where we were way off
Vanderbilt is the biggest disagreement.
Matt has the Commodores at No. 13, while Craig puts them 15th and Caleb has them dead last at No. 16. That’s a three-position difference between the highest and lowest rankings.
The victory over Mississippi State clearly made an impression on Matt, while Caleb remains unconvinced that Vanderbilt has done enough to escape the bottom of the conference.
South Carolina is another interesting disagreement.
Craig is considerably higher on the Gamecocks, placing them fifth. Caleb has them seventh, while Matt drops them to eighth. That’s another three-position difference.
Craig clearly sees South Carolina as a legitimate upper-half SEC team, while Matt is a little more skeptical about where the Gamecocks belong among the conference’s contenders.
LSU also generated some debate.
Matt has the Tigers seventh, Craig eighth, and Caleb ninth. The difference isn’t enormous, but it reflects the impact of Alabama’s convincing victory in Death Valley. LSU has lost some ground in everyone’s rankings.
Texas A&M is another team where opinions differ.
Craig puts the Aggies 13th, Caleb has them 14th, and Matt drops them to 15th. Following another disappointing offensive performance against South Carolina, Matt clearly has the least confidence in the Aggies.
Ultimately, the biggest takeaway is that we have a fairly consistent picture of the SEC this week. Georgia and Alabama are clearly separated at the top, Texas and Tennessee are battling for the next spots, and Oklahoma is remarkably consistent at No. 10.
The biggest disagreements are concentrated in the bottom half of the conference, where one victory or disappointing performance can significantly change how we view a team’s trajectory.
Final Thoughts
November is where good teams separate themselves from championship contenders, and Georgia is making a pretty convincing argument that it belongs in a category of its own.
The Bulldogs have the most convincing résumé among SEC programs right now, and their dismantling of Ole Miss only strengthens that position. Alabama is making its own push, and the Crimson Tide have positioned themselves to challenge for a return to Atlanta.
Texas and Tennessee are also building cases for inclusion in the conference’s upper tier, while Kentucky and Ole Miss have some work to do after difficult losses.
For Oklahoma, the challenge is finding consistency and proving it can compete with the conference’s best. The fact that all three of us have the Sooners at No. 10, which puts them firmly in the middle of the SEC hierarchy.
Meanwhile, the bottom of the conference is becoming increasingly difficult to escape. Vanderbilt has finally found a conference win, but Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State are running out of opportunities to change the narrative surrounding their seasons.
There are still important games to play, championship aspirations to protect, and playoff dreams hanging in the balance.
The road to Atlanta is getting shorter, and the margin for error is disappearing.
Georgia is the team to beat. Alabama is coming. And the rest of the SEC is still trying to figure out where it belongs.