SEC Football power rankings, Week 1: Nick Saban is still king
By Kathryn Rose
In 2022, SEC football hopes to place two teams in the playoff once again. Here are the power ratings for a league as deep as it ever has been.
Last year, SEC football put two teams in the playoff, as well as showing off an all-SEC national championship. This year, the championship two of Alabama and Georgia are back in the running, and should be in the top three nationally this year.
The rest of the upper tier is solid. Texas A&M brings a potential national title contender into the fray after a series of great recruiting classes. Meanwhile, Ole Miss went out and got themselves a new team on the transfer market, and Kentucky hopes that Will Levis and company can put up double-digit wins again.
In the mid-tier, a hodgepodge of storylines appears. LSU has at least two first-round prospects in Kayshon Boutte and B.J. Ojulari, and with Brian Kelly. The Tigers appear to be a true wild-card team. Tennessee hopes to keep the momentum going after a surprising first year on Rocky Top by coach Josh Heupel.
Another team looking to keep the momentum going is Arkansas, who hope that KJ Jefferson at quarterback and a bunch of transfers inject some more juice into the Razorback program. Keeping it in the west, Mississippi State will have a devastating offense, and if they pair it with a good defense like last year, they’ll rise up the power rankings quickly.
Florida and South Carolina are the last two teams in the mid-pack, and both of them think they’ve got pro prospects at quarterback. It should be interesting to see whether South Carolina can keep their momentum going after a wonderfully-coached year one under Shane Beamer.
In the basement, Auburn seems like they’ll be coach-hunting in a few months, while Missouri and Vanderbilt have some hope for the future at the very bottom.
Here are the SEC power ratings for the first week of the season.