Alabama Football: Power Ranking the SEC after Week Two
By Ronald Evans
Following an Alabama Football loss with an updated SEC Power Ranking is not much fun. Many SEC teams have yet to play a worthy opponent. Had the Crimson Tide beat Texas, it would have been, as last week, No. 1.
Not only did Alabama fail to beat Texas, but the Crimson Tide looked seriously vulnerable in several areas. As I said multiple times during the offseason and fall camp, Alabama was going to have growing pains. What I did not anticipate was how much growth would be needed. Much will have to change for the Crimson Tide before the Ole Miss game.
In last week’s rankings, I stated Georgia, as a two-time defending National Championship team should be embarrassed about playing an FCS team. Sadly, this week the embarrassment needle points to Alabama Football’s performance against Texas.
These rankings are unapologetically subjective. The only data source used throughout the team assessments is Jeff Sagarin’s algorithm. His data on 261 college football teams is valuable in determining the quality of opponents each SEC team has played.
Week Two SEC Football Power Rankings
- No. 14 – Florida Gators (1-1)
The Gators entered the 2023 win column with a 49-7 victory. Sagarin has the McNeese Cowboys as college football’s No. 197 team, so the Gators get no bump up from the win. Next up for Florida are the Tennessee Vols in Gainesville.
- No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-1)
I can’t get past the nine sacks given up in week one against the North Carolina Tar Heels. Beating No. 120 Furman, 47-21 was not enough. Next for South Carolina is Georgia in Athens.
- No. 12 Vanderbilt Commodores (2-1)
The Dores’ offense is pretty good with QB AJ Swann and WR Will Sheppard. The Dores must improve defensively or bowl eligibility will be a longshot. For Vandy, losing to Wake Forest was not a terrible loss. Vandy has UNLV in Nashville next.
- No. 11 Missouri Tigers (2-0)
A four-point win over Middle Tennessee State was only a slight resume booster. The Tigers have a much tougher test in week three, hosting Kansas State.