With 10 SEC teams ranked this week in the Associated Press Top 25, and five, including Oklahoma, in the top 10, every week for the remainder of the season is bound to be a dog fight in college football's strongest conference.
Out of the eight games involving SEC teams this past weekend, six featured a ranked SEC team and two were head-to-head contests (Alabama at Georgia and LSU at Ole Miss) involving a pair of top-25 teams. This will pretty much be the case practically every weekend the rest of the season.
We've already seen a big shakeup at the top of the Week 6 SEC Power Rankings, and we're still relatively early in the 2025 season. Buckle up, for there is certain to be more to come, and the rollercoaster ride is just getting started.
Ole Miss makes giant leap into No. 1 spot of SEC Power Rankings
1. Ole Miss Rebels (5-0, 3-0)
Ole Miss looked impressive in defeating LSU 24-19 at home over the weekend and made a giant leap into the top spot courtesy of a couple of other marquee head-to-head battles. The Rebels and South Carolina are the only SEC teams to have played three conference games, and Ole Miss is perfect on the season, including conference wins over Kentucky, South Carolina and now LSU, the No. 2 team in last week's SEC Power Rankings.
Previous ranking: 9
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-1, 1-0)
Alabama won its third straight game on Saturday after a season-opening loss to Florida State. The Crimson Tide bested Georgia 24-21 in a heavyweight matchup on the road at Georgia, knocking the Bulldogs off the top perch in this week's power rankings. Bama faces another tough matchup this coming weekend, but this one is at home against an undefeated Vanderbilt team that continues to surprise.
Previous ranking: 1
3. Oklahoma Sooners (4-0, 1-0)
The Sooners had a bye last week and return to action on Saturday hosting Kent State. OU is one of just two SEC teams that did not change places from last week, largely because it did not play. The schedule couldn't have worked out better for the Sooners, who will go with backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. for at least their next outing. Hawkins replaces starting QB John Mateer, who injured his throwing hand against Auburn and needed surgery last week. The Red River Rivalry is next week, and according to Matt Zenits of CBS Sports, there's an "outside chance" Mateer plays against Texas.
Previous ranking: 3
4. Georgia Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1)
Georgia's 33-game home winning streak, the longest active win streak in the FBS, came to an end on Saturday with the loss to Alabama. Georgia had an opportunity to at least tie or potentially win the game, but failed on a fourth-and-one attempt deep in Alabama territory early in the fourth quarter with Alabama leading 24-21. That ended up being the final score. Georgia hosts Kentucky this weekend, then goes to Auburn before Ole Miss comes to town three weeks from now.
Previous ranking: 1
5. Texas Longhorns (3-1, 0-0)
Like Oklahoma, the Longhorns were idle last week. They have yet to play a conference game, but that changes this weekend with a road test in The Swamp against a struggling but hungry Florida team. This will be an intriguing game to follow. If Texas, ranked No. 1 in the preseason, can go into Gainesville and bury the Gators, that could be a pretty good sign that the Longhorns are for real this season. But if the reverse is true, that will raise some serious questions about how good this Longhorn team with Arch Manning at quarterback really is, with the Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma the following weekend at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Previous ranking: 8
6. LSU Tigers (4-1, 1-1)
LSU suffered its first loss of the season over the weekend, losing at Ole Miss. The Tigers get a bit of a break hosting South Carolina this weekend, but then comes Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Alabama in the next three games. And Vanderbilt and Alabama are on the road.
Previous ranking: 2
7. Texas A&M Aggies (4-0, 1-0)
Texas A&M is one of five SEC teams that remains undefeated this season. The Aggies are coming off of a 16-10 home win over Auburn, which may still be bickering over the Oklahoma game. A&M remains at home this weekend to take on Mississippi State, the most surprising team in the SEC this season. The Aggies have a relatively easy schedule compared to other SEC teams, having to face only three opponents that are currently ranked the rest of the way. The problem is, all three games (LSU, Missouri and Texas) are on the road.
Previous ranking: 6
8. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-0, 1-0)
Watch out for this team. The Commodores are playing very well and they have one of the better quarterbacks in the conference in Diego Pavia. They are off to a 5-0 start, and we are going to learn a lot more about this team over the next month, starting with a huge road test at Alabama this weekend. Vandy is off the following weekend, but the next three games coming out of the bye week are against LSU, Missouri and Texas. Fortunately for the Commodores, the LSU and Missouri games are in Nashville.
Previous ranking: 7
9. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1)
Tennessee was fortunate to have escaped a hungry and much improved Mississippi State team this past weekend. As a direct result, the Vols had the biggest drop in the power rankings from a week ago, despite surviving 41-34 in an overtime victory over Mississippi State to go 1-1 in conference play. Tennessee this weekend welcomes an Arkansas team that lost its head coach after a humbling loss to Notre Dame on Saturday. The Volunteers, who are second in the SEC in total offense, are at Alabama and Kentucky the next two weekends before returning home to take on Oklahoma on Nov. 1.
Previous rank: 4
10. Missouri Tigers (5-0, 1-0)
Missouri is a bit of an enigma to me. The Tigers appear to have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball and actually lead the SEC in both total offense and defense entering Week 6. I still, however, question how good this team really is because of two principal factors: The Tigers' first six games, including this weekend, are all at home (their first road game is Oct. 18 at Auburn), and other than Kansas and South Carolina, they haven't really played anybody of consequence. Alabama comes calling after a week off, though, so we should have a much better read on Missouri after that.
Previous rank: 10
11. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-1, 0-1)
Between Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the state of Mississippi is 9-1 so far this season. The Bulldogs are the most surprising team in the SEC this season. They were 2-10 overall a year ago and 0-8 in the SEC and were projected to finish last in this season's SEC Preseason Media Poll. The Bulldogs are at Texas A&M on Saturday, and then get a week off before going back on the road to face Florida. After that, the difficulty of the schedule ramps up considerably with Texas, Georgia, Missouri and the annual Egg Bowl rivalry game against Ole Miss looming.
Previous ranking: 13
12. Auburn Tigers (3-2, 0-2)
Auburn followed its loss to Oklahoma with a 16-10 road loss at Texas A&M. The Tigers get a much-needed breather this week before it's right back at it with a home game against Georgia, followed by Missouri coming in the next week. Auburn is still winless in conference play, but this team is good enough both offensively and defensively to knock off three or four teams before the regular season is over.
Previous ranking: 11
13. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2)
More was expected of this South Carolina team coming into the season. The Gamecocks, who were projected to finish sixth in the SEC Preseason Media Poll, picked up their first conference win of the season, hammering Kentucky 35-13 over the weekend. They are idle this week, but then comes a consecutive string of games against LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss that will largely define their season.
Previous ranking: 15
14. Florida Gators (1-3, 0-1)
Like South Carolina, the Gators were projected to fare much better than they have so far in 2025. Florida was stunned by South Florida several weeks ago, but was competitive the next two outings against LSU and Miami, although in a losing cause. Now, after a week off, Florida welcomes an also well-rested Texas Longhorn team looking to prove something to its critics. That is not a particularly good omen for Florida, which is still looking for its first SEC win and No. 2 overall.
Previous ranking: 12
15. Kentucky Wildcats (2-2, 0-2)
Kentucky played a good strong game at home against Ole Miss in Week 2 of the season, but the same cannot be said about Saturday's 35-13 loss at South Carolina. The Wildcats rank near the bottom of the SEC in both offense and defense, and this weekend they are at Georgia, which is coming off a tough loss to Alabama. Kentucky has a rough season still in front of it. The good news for the Wildcats is that they moved up one spot this week in the power rankings despite a loss.
Previous ranking: 16
16. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-3, 0-1)
Arkansas' reward for getting absolutely obliterated by Notre Dame over the weekend was a pink slip for head coach Sam Pittman and a date this weekend at Tennessee. This is a Razorback team that hasn't played that badly through five games, but obviously has some issues finding its true identity. And now the Razorbacks must do so without their head coach. I don't see Arkansas necessarily as the worst team in the SEC, but it's definitely going to be tough hoeing from now to the end of the season.
Previous ranking: 14
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