Alabama football remained at the top of the Bama Hammer SEC Power Rankings after week four. A couple of teams took a big hit.
Alabama football held continues as the class of the SEC after week four of the season. The big movers in week four of our SEC Power Rankings were Missouri and Mississippi State in a positive direction and Texas A&M and South Carolina in the opposite direction.
The Bama Hammer staff rankings are done by six voters, with a No. 1 vote receiving 14 points down to a No. 14 vote receiving one point. Quick math shows 84 points is a unanimous No. 1 ranking.
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide – 84 points (last week 83 points)
With a simplified defensive game plan and the same ol’ from a prolific passing game, Alabama football waxed a completely overmatched Southern Miss team on Saturday. Five defensive true freshmen were thrust into playing time and anyone who’s been around Nick Saban’s program will tell you his scheme is not for the faint of heart.
With a minimal pass rush (something Saban loves to do), he and DC Pete Golding kept it simple and allowed his upstarts to just play football. Aside from one touchdown drive, the Alabama football defense did just that and they were aided by another sterling performance by Tua, who was 17 of 21 for 293 yards, 5 touchdowns and no picks. Henry Ruggs III continues to look unreal in the open, Jerry Jeudy is Jerry Jeudy and running back Najee Harris provided the Tide with its first 100-yard rusher since the LSU game from last year.
It’s a Group of 5 opponent, but it was still a stellar recovery from last week’s back-and-forth with the Gamecocks. Up next, Alabama football host Ole Miss.
No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs – 76 points (last week 79 points)
It wasn’t always pretty and it certainly didn’t look like the game this contributor envisioned, but the Georgia football team got it done Saturday night. The tricky part is that I can’t really tell if UGA is worse or Notre Dame is better than I thought. One thing for certain is the Bulldog faithful showed the hell out and it made me that much angrier that the Tide may have no evening home games this season. But I digress.
The Georgia offense looked downright anemic at times, hoping 3-yard passes into the middle of Irish traffic would suffice. It was only when UGA OC James Coley allowed QB Jake Fromm to throw downfield to his talented receivers that they could truly ram the ball down Notre Dame’s throat with extreme prejudice. And that’s exactly what they did. The Bulldog defense looked terrific as always, only allowing 46 yards on the ground.
Kirby Smart’s bunch will go as far as their head coach will allow them. Will he take more chances (intelligent ones, not fake-punt-on-4th-and-11 ones) when his team needs it? We shall see. The Bulldogs have a BYE this Saturday and then travel to Knoxville to take on the Vols.
No. 3 LSU – 74 points (last week 72 points)
Are y’all as befuddled by this LSU football team as I am? Seriously. The LSU offense is dropping damn near 58 points per game and the defense is allowing damn near 24. What in the world is going on? And to boot, their quarterback might’ve won the September Heisman. On Saturday against the Commodores, Joe Burrow threw for 398 yards and six touchdowns. He’s thrown for 1,520 yards and 17 touchdowns to only two picks through four games. AN LSU QUARTERBACK IS DOING THIS.
It’s elementary at this point, but you’d have to think if it continues, passing game coordinator Joe Brady will be a shoe-in for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant. I’ve never seen this degree of change from an LSU offense, but it’s happening and it may continue to until the Auburn game in late October.
The Fighting Bengals host Utah State this Saturday.