SEC Football Rankings – Week 9


SEC football rankings heading into Week 9 of the 2016 season. Alabama still reigns after beating Texas A&M, and Auburn makes easy work of Arkansas.


Most of the Alabama-Texas A&M matchup lived up to the hype, as the Aggies had the Crimson Tide on the ropes into the third quarter. But Alabama quickly scored 20 unanswered points to remain the top team in the SEC.

Auburn vs. Arkansas wasn’t nearly as competitive. The Tigers dominated on both sides of the ball in a Top 25 matchup that was out of hand early, shaking up some the middle of this week’s rankings.

Here’s a look at how the rest of the SEC teams rank heading into Week 9 of the season.

Week 9 SEC Football Rankings

14. Mississippi State (Last Week – 14)

In a battle of the bottom two teams in the SEC, the Bulldogs fell short on 51-yard field goal as time expired and lost 40-38 to Kentucky. Mississippi State has lost three in a row.

13. Missouri (10)

Make it three straight losses for Missouri after falling at home to Middle Tennessee. The Tigers’ only wins are over Eastern Michigan and Delaware State.

12. Kentucky (13)

The Wildcats have won back-to-back games, beating Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. That gets them to 4-3 heading into Missouri next week.

11.  Vanderbilt (12)

Vanderbilt got a break from SEC play and got past Tennessee State. It gets a week off before having to face red-hot Auburn on the road.

10. South Carolina (11)

The Gamecocks took advantage of a bad UMass team and won, 34-28, to snap a three-game losing streak. It’s back to reality next week when they host Tennessee.

9. Georgia (9)

Georgia has lost three of its last four and had a bye following last week’s 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs’ schedule doesn’t get any easier as it will face Florida in Jacksonville next week before getting Auburn two weeks after that.

8. Arkansas (4)

Ouch. That certainly didn’t look like a ranked-vs.-ranked matchup, as Auburn completely dominated Arkansas, 56-3. The Razorbacks allowed at least 30 points for the fourth time in five games and are now 1-3 in the SEC.

7. Ole Miss (6)

Three losses weren’t enough to kick Ole Miss out of the AP Top 25. Four losses will after it fell, 38-21, to LSU. The Rebels have dropped two in a row and are kicking themselves now more than ever after blowing big leads against Florida State and Alabama.

6. LSU (8)

What a game for Leonard Fournette, who finished with 284 yards and three touchdowns. LSU is now 5-2 and looking good under interim coach Ed Orgeron heading into the bye week before a home date with Alabama.

5. Florida (5)

The Gators were off for the second time in three weeks, including the postponement of the LSU game Oct. 8. They got the offense going in last week’s 40-14 win over Missouri and will need it against Georgia next week.

4. Auburn (7)

It sure looks like Auburn’s offensive problems are behind it. The Tigers have scored 58, 38 and 56 in their last three games and have now won four in a row, beginning with the win over LSU on Sept. 24. They’ll have to keep it rolling next week against Ole Miss before three straight against weak foes.

3. Tennessee (3)

The Vols had a bye week to shake off the sting of back-to-back losses to Texas A&M and Alabama. The rest of the schedule shapes up nicely for them to win the SEC East pending another loss for Florida, over which the Vols hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

2. Texas A&M (2)

Tough loss at Alabama after holding a one-point lead in the third quarter and allowing 20 unanswered to end the game. Of the Aggies’ last five games, two of them are out of conference – next week against New Mexico State and Nov. 19 vs. UTSA. Ole Miss and LSU still remain, though.

1. Alabama (1)

It’s tough to see Alabama losing a regular-season game. The Tide gets a week off before traveling to LSU, and there’s still the Iron Bowl at home, but the way they handled A&M in the second half shows they’re still head and shoulders above the rest of the SEC.