It was a so-so weekend in SEC football with four teams, including the league's top three, enjoying a bye week, but it was a big week for Oklahoma, which enjoyed a big jump in the Week 11 SEC Power Rankings resulting from its huge road win over Tennessee.
The college football season has entered the portion of the season widely known as Championship November, when the contenders fully separate themselves from the pretenders, and SEC teams, like water, seek their own level in sorting out the natural pecking order of the league hierarchy.
The chances of success couldn't have been stacked more heavily against the Sooners going to Tennessee, a place that is one of the largest and most difficult places to win as a visiting team and against an offense that leads the SEC and ranks in the top three in the country. Moreover, Tennessee was 11-2 in games played at night at Neyland Stadium during Josh Heupel's time as the Volunteers' head coach.
Then-No. 18 Oklahoma was more than equal to the challenge, however, overcoming all the situational adversity, and left Knoxville a 33-27 winner over the nation's 14th-ranked team.
After tumbling a couple of spots to No. 9 in the Week 10 SEC Power Rankings following a 34-26 loss at home to Ole Miss last week, the Sooners gained that back, plus two more, in the power rankings. The Sooners were the biggest movers of the week, with five teams out of the 16 changing positions as a result of the weekend action.
We're now in the fourth quarter of the season, and in a conference as strong top to bottom as the SEC, where every game every week is a dogfight, the natural order of things can look different from week to week. There are some big games still to play on the schedule with Texas A&M at Missouri and LSU at Alabama this weekend, Oklahoma at Alabama and Texas at Georgia on Nov. 15, Missouri at Oklahoma on Nov. 22 and Texas at Texas A&M on Nov. 29.
Still plenty of time for things to change some more over the next four weeks, but here is what the SEC Power Rankings look like heading into Week 11.
Week 11 SEC Power Rankings
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1, 5-0)
Alabama holds on to the top spot following a week off. Earlier this season, the matchup between Alabama and LSU in Tuscaloosa would have looked like one of the top games of the season, but that was before the chaos cloud rained down on the LSU program. The Tigers will put up a good fight, but the glamour of this matchup is no longer there. The week after, it's Oklahoma's turn to visit Tuscaloosa.
Previous rank: 1
2. Texas A&M Aggies (8-0, 5-0)
Neither team will have the advantage of the week off when Texas A&M travels to play Missouri this weekend. Both teams were idle last week. A&M's unbeaten 8-0 record will be on the line against Missouri (6-2, 2-2), which will likely be without starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, who suffered a leg injury in the loss at Vanderbilt. After Missouri, the most difficult game remaining on the Aggies' schedule will be at Texas on the final weekend of the regular season.
Previous rank: 2
3. Georgia Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1)
Georgia escaped a giant scare over Halloween weekend, coming from behind late in the game to overcome a 20-17 deficit in its annual rivalry game with Florida and win 24-17. The Bulldogs go against another group of Bulldogs this weekend at Mississippi State. Georgia hosts Texas at night on Nov. 15 and still has its annual rivalry game with one-loss Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
Previous rank: 3
4. Ole Miss Rebels (8-1, 5-1)
Ole Miss has the easiest path to the SEC Championship Game with just three games remaining and all against unranked teams (The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State). The Rebels became one of just two SEC teams with eight wins this season with a 30-14 win over South Carolina over the weekend.
Previous rank: 4
5. Oklahoma Sooners (7-2, 3-2)
Oklahoma surpassed both its win total of last season and number of SEC wins with a 33-27 win over Tennessee this past weekend. The Sooners are now 1-1 in their brutal five-game gauntlet to close out the regular season. Still ahead is No. 4 Alabama, No. 19 Missouri and LSU. The latter two games are home games for the Sooners. A 9-3 finish is well within reach given the current environment.
Previous rank: 9
6. Texas Longhorns (7-2, 4-1)
Texas looked impressive for three quarters against Vanderbilt on Saturday, but had to hold on for dear life in the final quarter, allowing the Commodores to score 21 unanswered points. The Longhorns survived with a 34-31 win, but the way the game played out was fairly representative of the Texas season.
The preseason No. 1 team has had a Jekyll-and-Hyde-like season, looking unbeatable at times and vulnerable other times. Texas has a couple of tough challenges straight ahead. The Horns are off this week before finishing up at Georgia on Nov. 15, Arkansas on Nov. 22 and Texas A&M on Nov. 28.
Previous rank: 7
7. Missouri Tigers (6-2, 2-2)
Missouri's season was dealt a difficult blow in Week 9, losing its starting quarterback, Beau Pribula, to a leg injury. His health status going forward is uncertain, but he is not likely to play this weekend when 19th-ranked Missouri hosts unbeaten Texas A&M. In three weeks, the Tigers play at Oklahoma, and they close out the regular season at Arkansas.
Previous rank: 8
8. Tennessee Volunteers (6-3, 3-3)
Tennessee was virtually eliminated from the SEC Championship Game and College Football Playoff consideration with its loss to Oklahoma over the weekend. The Volunteers feature the third-best offense among FBS teams, but a defense that gives up too many points and yards. Tennessee has this week off and finishes out the season at home against New Mexico State on Nov. 15, at Florida on the 22 and at home against in-state rival Vanderbilt, in what could be a shootout, on Nov. 29.
Previous rank: 6
9. Vanderbilt Commodores (7-2, 3-2)
Vanderbilt waited too late to get its offense going against Texas on Saturday. Down 34-10 entering the final quarter, the Commodores rallied with 21 fourth-quarter points, but fell three points shy in losing 34-31.
Oklahoma and Vanderbilt changed places in this week's SEC Power Rankings. Vanderbilt hosts an Auburn team this weekend that fired its head coach over the weekend, then closes out the regular season at home against Kentucky and at Tennessee.
Previous rank: 5
10. LSU Tigers (5-3, 2-3)
LSU began the season ranked No. 9 in the nation. After the first four weeks, the Tigers were 4-0, but they are just 1-3 since. The Tigers are one of four SEC teams that have already fired their head coach this season, and they still have Alabama (this weekend) and Oklahoma (Nov. 29) ahead on the schedule.
Previous rank: 10
11. Florida Gators (3-5, 2-3)
Florida came dangerously close to making Georgia its second top-10 victim of the season, but couldn't finish off a 20-17 fourth-quarter lead and ended up losing 24-17 to the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, the Gators, one of the four SEC teams that have dismissed their head coach this season, have a daunting finishing schedule. Florida is at Kentucky this weekend and at Ole Miss the weekend after. The Gators finish up at home on consecutive weekends against Tennessee and in-state rival Florida State.
Previous rank: 11
12. Mississippi State (5-4, 1-4)
Mississippi State picked up its first conference win of the season on Saturday, coming from behind to record a 38-35 road win over Arkansas. Down 35-21 with over 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs clawed all the way back and snapped a 15-game SEC conference losing streak. Their chances for a second conference win will come against a trio of ranked opponents: No. 5 Georgia, No. 19 Missouri and No. 7 Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.
Previous rank: 12
13. South Carolina Gamecocks )3-6, 1-6)
South Carolina has just one conference game remaining on its schedule at Texas A&M on Nov. 15. The Gamecocks are 1-6 in conference games, with their lone win coming against Kentucky back on Sept. 27. South Carolina has a much-needed bye week before facing Texas A&M and finishing out the regular season with home games against Coastal Carolina and Clemson.
Previous rank: 13
14. Kentucky Wildcats (3-5, 1-5)
The Wildcats climbed out of the cellar in the SEC Power Rankings this week following a 10-3 win at Auburn on Saturday for their first conference win of the season. Kentucky closes out the season hosting Florida this weekend and faces a pair of ranked teams in Vanderbilt and Louisville on the final two weekends of the regular season.
Previous rank: 16
15. Auburn Tigers (4-5, 1-5)
Auburn lost for the fifth time in conference play on Saturday and lost its head coach in the process. The Tigers fell 10-3 at Kentucky, and it doesn't get any easier the rest of the way. They are at Vanderbilt this weekend and end the season on Nov. 29 in the Iron Bowl against Alabama. Good or bad, the rivalry game with Alabama is at Auburn this year.
Previous rank: 14
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-7, 0-5)
Mississippi State's win over Arkansas this past weekend leaves the Razorbacks as the only SEC team without a conference win. Arkansas is idle this weekend before finishing out what has been a disappointing season for Razorback fans and the team with a three-game stretch that includes road games at LSU and Texas, and a season finale at home against Missouri.
Previous rank: 15