Hey kids!
Well, how about week three? We finally got into a legitimate slug fest and it didn’t disappoint. Even Vanderbilt had a good showing up in South Bend, even if they didn’t escape with the win. Week three really provided us with a clearer picture of who are the real contenders this year (small hint: just because your team lost, doesn’t mean they’re out of the hunt. Looking at you Auburn).
How is your team doing after week three? Are they contenders? Or, did a Sun Belt team beat you by almost 30 points? Let’s go to the rankings!
2018 SEC POWER RANKINGS: WEEK 3
1. Alabama – In case you were wondering, Alabama is really good – like, scary good. The first team in SEC history to score over 50 in their first three games, kind of good. For reference, the Tide almost hit the over by themselves against Ole Miss. Granted, the Rebels have a terrible defense, but it’s hard to not be impressed by Alabama’s air attack. They might finally see a challenge when they host Texas A&M this weekend.
2. Georgia – Another Saturday, another beat down from the Bulldogs. If you don’t know the name Elijah Holyfield yet then you haven’t been paying attention. Combine him with D’Andre Swift and you have one of the best tandem RB combos in all of college football. They head to Missouri this weekend.
3. LSU – “How bout those Tigas?!?” Sorry, had to channel some Coach O there. LSU racked up the most impressive win for any SEC team so far this season. Walking in to Jordan-Hare and getting a win is no easy feat, but the Tigers hung tough all game. Is the offense spectacular? Hell no. But the defense takes over late and just dictates the game. That’s how you win folks.
4. Mississippi State – The Bulldogs are playing some damn good football right now, even if there isn’t much spotlight on it. They’ve dominated through three weeks and have managed to become a well rounded team. Joe Moorhead’s team hasn’t really been tested yet, so there could still be some growing pains lurking. They’ll get their first test this weekend at Kentucky (I can’t believe I just said Kentucky is a test game. What a time to be alive).
5. Auburn – Truthfully, Auburn should probably be at #4. Don’t worry Tiger fans, there’s plenty of football left to play. And there’s definitely plenty of time for Auburn to crawl back to the top. A last second loss to red hot LSU isn’t a season ender. Auburn is still loaded with talent and the West is still open. Don’t panic. They host the pitiful Arkansas Razorbacks this week. Who I’ve demoted to the Sun Belt.
6. Texas A&M – The Aggies come off of a tune up game, getting back on track after the Clemson loss. Kellen Mond is playing some fantastic football right now, giving the Aggies some explosive threats on offense. Even Jimbo Fisher looks the part. (Maybe not $75 million good, but it’s still early.) Now the bad news: Fisher has to open conference play at Alabama. After playing Clemson close, you never know what could happen.
7. Kentucky – Good for Mark Stoops, making Kentucky football fans happy. As I’ve never seen this happen before, I’m genuinely thrilled to see it. Honestly, most fans probably didn’t even know they played Murray State this past weekend. Everyone in Lexington is still celebrating the win over Florida. If they can beat Mississippi State this weekend, then I’m officially buying in to Kentucky football.
8. Missouri – Getting an out of conference win over a Power 5 team is always a good feeling, even if it was Purdue. We know what we need to know about this Missouri team: they are basically the Toon Squad from Space Jam. Follow me here for a moment. Drew Lock is Michael Jordan. The rest of the offense is made up of various Looney Toons characters. The defense is Wayne Knight. When Georgia comes to town this weekend, they’re REALLY going to need Bill Murray to show up. (Did you follow that? If not, just shoot me a message on Twitter and we’ll watch Space Jam together while I explain it.)
9. South Carolina – South Carolina was idle this weekend because of Hurricane Florence. Send some prayers to the Carolinas and maybe donate to the Red Cross if you feel so inclined.
10. Vanderbilt – I really thought the Commodores were going to steal the win in South Bend. I already had Herbie on speed dial. And if Kyle Shurmur had even ONE sure handed receiver, Vandy would have done the unthinkable. That Commodore defense is playing some pretty tough football right now. If the offense can click into gear, this team could pull some upsets in the SEC. They host South Carolina this weekend.
11. Florida – Getting back on track with a win in the Jim McElwain bowl, Dan Mullen still has plenty of work to do to keep Florida competitive. Feleipe Franks has been less than stellar (to put it kindly.) The Gators head to Neyland stadium for the annual rivalry game.
12. Tennessee – Speaking of the Vols, Tennessee managed a mediocre win over a terrible UTEP. The offense showed signs of life, but not enough to convince anyone that they’re a threat in the East. They really need to get a win over Florida on Saturday night, because they might not see another one until November.
13. Ole Miss – Ole Miss might be better than #13, but getting blown out at home by almost 60 points will send you to the bottom of the list.
14. Arkansas – Just do yourselves a favor and watch the fake fair catch play. Don’t watch anything else related to Arkansas football, because it’s pretty much all terrible. Like “all of the Transformer movies combined” level of awful.
Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
Check out the SoBros Shop. Subscribe to our Patreon. Give us money for no reason. Like us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @SoBrosNetwork. Listen on SoundCloud. Watch on YouTube.
