All 16 SEC teams were undefeated after Week 1 of the 2026 college football season. That number has slowly dwindled to nine after three games. Four teams suffered their initial loss of the season this past weekend as a result of four head-to-head SEC matchups.
There was no movement at the very top or at the bottom in this week's SEC Power Rankings, but 11 spots in between changed places, including Oklahoma, despite a 14-6 non-conference win over New Mexico.
Eight teams opened their SEC schedules this past weekend, with the rest of the conference set to do so this coming weekend, including OU's trip to Georgia.
Here is how the SEC Power Rankings look entering Week 4 of the season, with advancement (+) or decline (-) from the previous week:
Week 4 SEC Football Power Rankings
The Longhorns had little difficulty taking care of business against UTEP over the weekend to improve to 3-0 and remain on top of the SEC Power Rankings for a second straight week. Texas, also ranked No. 1 in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, begins conference play this weekend in a road contest at Tennessee, No. 14 in the AP Top 25.
Georgia made easy work of Arkansas, 45-17, on the road on Saturday. The Bulldogs, who hold down the No. 2 spot in the national rankings as well, are back home this weekend to host struggling Oklahoma.
Georgia and Texas don't play each other in the regular season, but the Bulldogs do face Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss in the coming weeks, and all are away from Athens.
Ole Miss recorded a huge Week 3 win, downing LSU 32-24 in the much-anticipated return of LSU head coach Lane Kiffin to Oxford, Mississippi. The Rebels won't have it much easier this week, having to travel to play at 21st-ranked Florida.
No. 8 Alabama got off to a slow start at home against Florida State over the weekend, but when the Crimson Tide finally got rolling, the floodgates opened wide in a 50-36 shootout victory over the Seminoles. Bama entertains South Carolina this week and hits the road against Mississippi State the following week. A showdown with No. 2 Georgia looms in three weeks.
LSU dropped to No. 10 in the national rankings and traded places with Ole Miss in the SEC Power Rankings this week after losing on the road to the Rebels over the weekend. The Tigers host Texas A&M this weekend. Down the road, LSU has home games on back-to-back weekends against Alabama and Texas the first two weekends of championship November.
No. 21 Florida outlasted Auburn 44-39 this past weekend and picked up a big conference road win. The Gators entered the 2026 season with a new head coach (Jon Sumrall) and some uncertainty.
Through three games this season, they appear to be an improved team over their 4-8 finish a year ago, which cost former head coach Billy Napier his job after four seasons. Florida will get a stern test this weekend against No. 4 Ole Miss, but the game will be in Gainesville. Looking ahead on the schedule, the Gators have to travel to Austin to face Texas on Oct. 17, and two weeks later is the annual rivalry game with Georgia, which will be played in Atlanta.
While the headlines so far have been about other SEC teams, Tennessee has quietly posted three quick wins by an average score margin of 34 points to start the season. That has earned the Volunteers, coached by Josh Heupel, the former Oklahoma offensive coordinator and quarterback of the Sooners 2000 national championship team, a No. 14 national ranking. This weekend will be the first big challenge of the season for Tennessee, as top-ranked Texas comes to Knoxville.
Texas A&M suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday as Kentucky rolled into College Station determined to show that its second-half collapse the week before against Alabama was not to be taken seriously. The Aggies were punched in the mouth and outmuscled by a determined Kentucky team that left A&M with a 32-21 victory.
The schedule doesn't get easier this week with No. 10 LSU, also reeling from a loss over the weekend, lying in wait in Baton Rouge for the No. 23 Aggies
Kentucky picked up a huge win over the weekend on the road at Texas A&M to even its SEC record to 1-1. This week, head coach Will Stein's Wildcats go back out of conference and will host 2-1 South Alabama, whose only loss this season was by four points to Tulane.
No. 19 Missouri opens its SEC season this weekend, going on the road to face No. 24 Mississippi State. The Tigers defeated Mississippi State 49-27 last season in Columbia, but this appears to be a better Mississippi State team this season. Both teams are 3-0 to begin the season, so only one will remain so after Saturday.
Missouri is coming off a 27-17 win over Troy on Saturday to complete the non-conference portion of its 2026 schedule.
Mississippi State has already matched its SEC win total from last season with a 41-34 victory over South Carolina on Saturday and is three away from bettering last season's five wins overall. Former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby is in his third full season leading the Bulldogs and has his team off to a 3-0 start to begin the season and averaging 47 points through three games.
No. 24 Mississippi State welcomes No. 19 Missouri to Starkville this weekend.
Oklahoma is the only SEC team that won its game on Saturday but dropped in the Week 4 SEC Power Rankings. The reason was a second straight week of lethargic performance by the Sooner offense. Oklahoma had to rely on its elite defense to hold off New Mexico in Norman and escape with a 14-6 win.
If that narrow margin of victory scares you, hold on to your hats this weekend when the Sooners travel for the first time to Athens, Georgia, to do battle against the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs. Oklahoma dropped completely out of AP Top 25 this week after beginning the season at No. 11
Auburn did the reverse of Oklahoma, advancing one spot in the conference power rankings despite losing 44-39 at home to Florida over the weekend. That was Auburn's first loss of the season. The Tigers remain at home this weekend, hosting Vanderbilt.
South Carolina suffered its first loss of the season this past weekend, falling at home to Mississippi State 41-34. This week, the Gamecocks head out on the road to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to go against the No. 8 Crimson Tide. South Carolina is 1-10 vs. Alabama all-time in games played in Tuscaloosa and 4-13 overall in games against the Crimson Tide.
Vanderbilt was the beneficiary of an unbelievable ending to its game against visiting North Carolina State on Saturday. NC State was leading 31-28 with the ball and backed up against its own end zone with six seconds remaining in the game. All NC State needed to do was take a knee and the game would have been over. Instead, the Wolfpack quarterback was tackled in the end zone, and in the process, fumbled the football as time expired. The ball was recovered by Vanderbilt, resulting in a walk-off touchdown that won the game.
🚨 VANDERBILT WALK-OFF FUMBLE RECOVERY IN THE END ZONE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 19, 2026
NC STATE FUMBLED WHILE RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK 😳 pic.twitter.com/TrahtvSGmG
The Commodores are 3-0 but have yet to move out of the No. 15 spot in the SEC Power Rankings. Their three wins are over Austin Peay, Delaware and NC State. They will play at Auburn this weekend in their SEC opener.
Arkansas had the misfortune of opening its SEC season at home against No. 2 Georgia and paid the price dearly, as Georgia won the game 45-17. Arkansas scored a couple of touchdowns late, otherwise it would have been much worse than the final score indicated.
The Razorbacks' two losses to Utah and Georgia were by an average of 30 points. Arkansas finishes its non-conference schedule this weekend with a home game against Tulsa, which is 3-0.
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