Alabama Football: SEC Football Week 5 Power Rankings

They finally did it. The Arkansas Razorbacks won a conference game for the first time since 2017, and they did it in surprising fashion. The passing offense that set records last week against LSU was contained on the back of three interceptions by the Arkansas defense. Feleipe Franks, who was mediocre Week 1 against UGA, looked fantastic against the Bulldogs. It was only a 21-14 victory but it is something for them to build off for the rest of the season. They have an opportunity to really build momentum as they travel to face Auburn next week. Was this a fluke? Next week’s game will help to answer that question.

What a difference a week can make in the SEC. Just a week after KJ Costello tore up the LSU secondary for over 600 passing yards, and had the world thinking he might be a Heisman contender, he laid an egg against Arkansas. It was NOT pretty. Three INTs and only one TD is not going to help his team win many games. These are the types of ups and downs one can expect from the Mike Leach air raid offense. When you utilize the air raid offense you can expect to live on a roller coaster. If your QB is on, you can beat anyone, but if he is off his game you can also lose to anyone. They get a chance to get back on track this week against Kentucky. They need to prove which game was the fluke, LSU or Arkansas.

In the pre-season many people (including myself) thought that Texas A&M would be the top contender to Alabama football in the SEC West in 2020. If the team that Alabama football just dominated 52-24 on Saturday is the best the West has to offer the Tide, then Alabama will walk to the SEC Championship game. After struggling Week 1 against Vanderbilt the Aggies struggled to do anything against the improved Alabama football defense in the second half. If it weren’t for a freak interception on a tipped pass and a couple of mental errors by young Tide defenders, the score would have been worse. As bad as the pass defense was against Alabama, they might have a tougher time next week against Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators. Watch out. This one could get ugly.

It was an atrocious week for the Auburn offense. There is plenty of blame to go around, but you can put most of it on three things. Number one is the playcalling for the Tigers. Number two is Bo Nix and the passing game. Number three is the offensive line. Each of those areas was horrible against Georgia. After struggling most of the first half Auburn finally drove down inside the UGA 10-yard-line. The play calls after that were… ummm… let’s just be civil and say questionable at best. Auburn needs to get the offense going this week against Arkansas. My suggestion is give the ball to Tank Bigsby as many times as it takes. That kid is going to be a nightmare for defenses if he can get some guys to block for him.