The Return of the SEC Power Poll

Due to some confusion over who is running TSK this year, it took a few extra weeks to get the Power Poll up and running. Think of the poll as being the Bert Bielema of sports blog features... it sometimes takes all off September off.

I would say that there are three distinct tiers to this poll:

Tier One: Bama

Tier Two: The middle class (teams 2-8, which could really go in nearly in any order)

Tier Three: The cellar dwellers.

1 Alabama. The Tide played one of their worst halves of football in this decade, and were only down by a score to Ole Miss at the half. They took a breath at the end, allowing the Rebels off the mat, but that second half was a thorough destruction.

2 Arkansas. Usually, the Hogs tank in September and dominate in November. It remains to be seen whether they have weaponized the team early, or they are simply pulling the same trick, but in reverse.

3 Texas A&M. Beat the only program in the nation flakier than they are (UCLA) and then won in the tough venue formerly known as Jordan-Hare. Still skeptical, but they have the skins right now.

4 Tennessee. Seems to play to their opponent’s ability level. Looked great against the Hokies, lousy against App State and Ohio. Looking at the rest of the East, this could be a problem, as their play will never improve.

5 LSU. If LSU has fallen backwards into a quarterback who can lead a competent passing game, that Wisconsin loss will be the best thing that ever happened to Les Miles.

6 Ole Miss. They play two halves, Rebs. Apparently, graduating more players than nearly anyone else in the nation sort of hurts your depth.

7 Florida. Thoroughly dominating some of the worst teams in college football. So, good practice for their divisional schedule.

8 Georgia. We can overlook the Nichols St game and chalk it up to a team looking ahead on its schedule. But needing a late TD to beat Mizzou is not a good look. Even still, one of the co-favorites to win the East.

9 Auburn. Ummm… well, at least they didn’t go blown out by Clemson.

10 Mississippi St. They have a win over an SEC team who also has a win, which is something only one other team can say: LSU, the team that beat them.

11 South Carolina. Beat Vandy, so they can avoid cellar talk for a few weeks.

12 Mizzou. Have relied the past few years on a quietly dominant defense. This year’s defense ranks 12^th in the SEC in total D right now (though 7^th in yards/play). Need the defense to be great with an offense this bad.

13 Kentucky. I thought they had a good shot at bowl this year. I was wrong. This team stinks.

14 Vanderbilt. They lost to South Carolina. For now, that stinks more than Kentucky.