The start of SEC play is more than a week ago, but some conference teams have shown what they are made of through non-conference play. Sure, Vanderbilt sits 12-0, but their schedule has been a who’s who of cupcake fodder, with the Commodores' most impressive win coming against Memphis.
The same can be said for Georgia, which, while scoring a bunch of points, has yet to face a ranked opponent, and the Bulldogs’ lone loss came to Clemson.
Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama and Tennessee have faced a much tougher schedule, including the Tigers, whose four losses have come to No. 1 Arizona, No. 2 Michigan, No. 5 Purdue and No. 8 Houston.
So who is for real and who has beefed up their record with an easy non-conference schedule? We shall see once SEC play begins. For now, here’s our power rankings heading into the holiday break.
1. Alabama (9-3)
Wins over St. John’s and Illinois put the Crimson Tide above the rest.
2. Arkansas (9-3)
John Calipari’s squad has faced a gauntlet, earning wins over Texas Tech and Louisville.
3. Tennessee (9-3)
Beat Houston and Louisville, but had a bad loss to Syracuse.
4. Florida (8-4)
Losses to Duke, Arizona and UConn are understandable. Losing to TCU? Not so much for the reigning national champs.
5. Kentucky (8-4)
The Cats have struggled early on, but might have found something in Saturday’s win against St. John’s as they get healthy.
6. Auburn (8-4)
Three routs and a one-point loss to Houston are what the Tigers have done against the four top-10 teams they have played. The blowout losses to Arizona, Michigan and Purdue prove how far this team has to come to repeat as SEC champs.
7. Georgia (11-1)
8. Vanderbilt (12-0)
9. LSU (10-1)
10. Texas A&M (9-3)
11. Missouri (10-2)
12. Oklahoma (8-3)
13. Texas (8-4)
