Week 4 SEC Power Rankings: Vols Top 3, Top-2 Matchup Upcoming

By Brett Daniels

We are four weeks into the College Football Season and teams are starting to reveal themselves in both good and bad ways. Some teams that were expected to be on the upswing haven’t met expectations, while others predicted to struggle have defied those forecasts. Without further ado…the Week 4 power rankings.

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)

The Tide had a bye this week and face a massive game on Saturday as Georgia visits Tuscaloosa. The offense is humming, and the defense is playing sound fundamental football.

Next Up: Saturday vs Georgia

2. Georgia Bulldogs (3-0)

The Dawgs are also on a bye week with the big showdown against the Tide coming up on Saturday. The mistakes made against Kentucky are all correctable and don’t indicate major schematic or personnel issues. Georgia also has the best win of the season over a very good Clemson team in Week 1.

Next Up: Saturday at Alabama

3. Tennessee Volunteers (4-0)

Coach Josh Heupel and the Vols had a successful homecoming shutting down the Oklahoma offense and doing enough against a good Sooner defense to win. The Volunteers will enjoy a week off before traveling to play a suddenly dangerous Arkansas team.

Next Up: October 5th at Arkansas

4. Texas Longhorns (4-0)

Arch Manning made his first start as the Longhorns dominated UL-Monroe in Austin. The Longhorns win at Michigan in Week 2 got a boost as the Wolverines were able to beat USC in Ann Arbor on Saturday. Texas will make their SEC debut against an awful Mississippi State team, who will also be without their starting QB.

Next Up: Saturday vs Mississippi State

5. Ole Miss Rebels (4-0)

Another week, another win over a team that is clearly overmatched. The Rebels welcomed in the Georgia Southern Eagles for a 52-13 beat down on Saturday. Ole Miss will open SEC play against a very underrated Kentucky team at home on Saturday.

Next Up: Saturday vs Kentucky

6. Missouri Tigers (4-0)

Missouri escaped with a 30-27 overtime win against Vanderbilt when the Commodores' kicker missed a game-tying field goal in overtime that would have sent the game to a 3 ^rd overtime period. Is this a clunker game that all teams seem to have each season or a harbinger of things to come for the Tigers? They will have a bye week to clean things up before a trip to College Station.

Next Up: October 5 at Texas A&M

7. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-1)

The Razorbacks and Coach Sam Pittman have been the breakout story of the season so far in the SEC. Many thought that Pittman who entered the season on the hot seat might be unemployed by this point in the season. Instead, the Razorbacks are coming off a solid win over Auburn on the road and are a turnover plagued game against Oklahoma State from being undefeated.

Next Up: Saturday vs. Texas A&M at AT&T Stadium

8. Oklahoma Sooners (3-1)

The Sooners had a rough night against Tennessee in their SEC debut. The Vols were largely held in check by the Oklahoma defense but managed to hit a couple of deep shots, one of which went for a touchdown. The offense struggled, turning the ball over twice inside Tennessee territory. QB Jackson Arnold was benched in the second half and will be replaced by QB Michael Hawkins Jr . against Auburn on Saturday.

Next Up: Saturday at Auburn

9. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1)

The Gamecocks destroyed Akron 50-7 in their last tune up game before a stretch of four ranked opponents that begins with Ole Miss coming to Williams-Brice on October 5.

Next Up: October 5 vs Ole Miss

10. Texas A&M Aggies (3-1)

The Aggies notched a less than impressive win over non-conference foe Bowling Green on Saturday. Marcel Reed was impressive throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns while running for 91 yards in the win.

Next Up: Saturday vs Arkansas at AT&T Stadium

11. Auburn Tigers (2-2)

The Tigers are coming off a disappointing loss to Arkansas on Saturday where Head Coach Hugh Freeze felt the need to throw the entire team under the bus in the post-game press conference. Auburn will welcome Oklahoma to the Plains on Saturday before traveling to Athens to take on Georgia October 5 ^th .

Next Up: Saturday vs Oklahoma

12. Kentucky Wildcats (2-2)

Kentucky is a team that is better than their record would indicate, especially on defense. The Wildcat defensive line is one of the best in the league and will be a stout test for Ole Miss on Saturday.

Next Up: Saturday at Ole Miss

13. LSU Tigers (3-1)

Why is a team that is 3-1 rated toward the bottom of the conference and behind teams that already have two losses? The wins haven’t been impressive, and the defense is no better than it was last year. There is also talk that Coach Brian Kelly has lost the locker room. A tune up game against South Alabama will quiet the critics for another week until the first big test against Ole Miss on October 12 ^th .

Next Up: Saturday vs South Alabama

14. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-2)

If Arkansas is the story of the SEC so far, Vanderbilt is a close second. The Commodores took Missouri to the wire on Saturday and with a better kicker might have won the game. QB Diego Pavia led the team in both passing and rushing against the Tigers and is a budding star in the conference.

Next Up: October 5th at Alabama

15. Florida Gators (2-2)

Coach Billy Napier staved off the wolves for one more week with a win against a terrible Mississippi State team on the road. QB Graham Mertz passed for 3 touchdowns and ran for another in the win. The Gators will get a week off before welcoming in a UCF team looking to make a statement on October 5.

Next Up: October 5th vs UCF

16. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-3)

The growing pains of the Jeff Lebby era continued with a hard-fought loss to Florida on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost starting QB Blake Shapen for the season with an injury in the fourth quarter. Mississippi State begins the hardest three week stretch in College Football with road games against #1 Texas on Saturday and current #2 Georgia on October 12 ^th .

Next Up: Saturday at Texas