Saturday Blitz Conference Power Rankings Week 3
1. Southeastern Conference (SEC)
This is an obvious one, and it’s not even close. As a matter of fact, it’s time to go out on a limb and confirm everybody’s worst fears: the SEC right now is tougher than it’s ever been.
Consider for a second, that Arkansas blew out Texas Tech over the weekend. Then take into account that every other team in the SEC West is undefeated, with Arkansas’s only loss coming to Auburn, and you’ll see why it’s so tough. This is one division with seven teams. All of them expect to go bowling, six are undefeated and legitimate Top 25 contenders, five expect to be Top 10 teams, and four are thinking about a national championship this year. And that’s just half the conference.
The SEC East, meanwhile, still has Missouri, who is showing that it might not let up at all after last year’s improbable run. Georgia and South Carolina are still top 10-caliber teams, and Florida could fight its way back there while Kentucky tries to make a bowl this year as well. Vanderbilt is going to be Vanderbilt. That can be forgiven. And despite a blowout loss to Oklahoma in a match-up that compared the top of the Big 12 vs. the bottom of the SEC, the Tennessee Vols look like they’ll be back to winning very soon.
So in comparison to the other conferences, this isn’t even a question. The gap between the SEC and everybody else is as wide as ever, and with the way the teams in the conference are recruiting, it’s looking like it’ll only get tougher.