The Tennessee-Alabama game highlighted Southeastern Conference Week 8 action. Alabama dominated Tennessee in the second half en route to scoring 27 unanswered points. The Crimson Tide remain undefeated in SEC play.
The Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators had the week off ahead of the Georgia-Florida game. Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Kentucky also had bye weeks.
LSU crushed Army at home. The Tigers have the best offense in the SEC. Mississippi State won a snoozer against Arkansas between two of the weakest teams in the SEC. Missouri continued to impressive in Week 8 with a strong 34-12 win over South Carolina.
What are our SEC power rankings after Week 8 of the college football season?
14
Vanderbilt Commodores
Record: 2-6
Week 8: bye week
Vanderbilt has lost six straight games entering its bye week. The Commodores have not been getting demolished as much this season (largest loss is by 24 points), but they aren’t close to moving up in the power rankings.
13
Arkansas Razorbacks
Record: 2-6
Week 8: Mississippi State 7, Arkansas 3
Hopefully you had better things to do with your Saturday than watch the dreadful Mississippi State-Arkansas game. Arkansas has lost in one-score games in five of its last six games as the Razorbacks have dropped six straight games in SEC play. Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson averaged 3.1 yards per passing attempt and failed to pass for 100 total yards in an ugly Arkansas loss.
12
South Carolina Gamecocks
Record: 2-5
Week 8: Missouri 34, South Carolina 12
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer broke his foot in frustration following the Gamecocks’ loss last week to Florida. Hopefully he did not break his other foot after the Missouri game because South Carolina suffered another demoralizing defeat.
Missouri jumped to a 24-0 lead against Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks. South Carolina responded with a few field goals, but never found the end zone.
11
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Record: 4-3
Week 8: Mississippi State 7, Arkansas 3
Mississippi State missed starting quarterback Will Rogers against Arkansas. The Bulldogs struggled to get anything going offensively with quarterback Mike Wright, but seven points was enough for Mississippi State to win its first SEC game of the season. On the bright side, Mississippi State and Arkansas may have earned invitations to the Big Ten for their low-scoring affair.
10
Auburn Tigers
Record: 3-4
Week 8: Ole Miss 28, Auburn 21
Auburn is always a tough team to beat when the Tigers play at Jordan-Hare. The Tigers didn’t have enough in the tank to knock off Ole Miss. The passing game (122 total passing yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions) continues to fail the Tigers, who will struggle to make a bowl game after starting 0-4 in SEC play.
9
Texas A&M Aggies
Record: 4-3
Week 8: bye week
A bye week may be the only thing keeping head coach Jimbo Fisher’s seat from getting any hotter. Quarterback Max Johnson and the Aggies lost to Tennessee on the road before the bye week and host South Carolina in Week 9. The situation could look a lot different for Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M if they’d won one of their last two games, which were both one-score defeats.
8
Florida Gators
Record: 5-2
Week 8: bye week
Florida had a bye week entering the Georgia-Florida game. The Gators are coming off a clutch win over South Carolina and have one of the top receivers in the SEC: Ricky Pearsall.
7
Kentucky Wildcats
Record: 5-2
Week 8: bye week
Kentucky has suffered back-to-back defeats to SEC East opponents after starting the season 5-0. Wildcats quarterback Devin Leary has struggled to get much going in the passing game. Kentucky hosts Tennessee after its bye week.
6
Tennessee Volunteers
Record: 5-2
Week 8: Alabama 34, Tennessee 20
Tennessee struggled in the red zone against Alabama. Quarterback Joe Milton and the Tennessee offense scored just one touchdown and kicked two field goals on four red zone attempts. The Volunteers looked good in flashes against Alabama, but failed to convert a few key fourth downs and could not move the ball in the second half on Alabama’s stout defense.
5
Missouri Tigers
Record: 7-1
Week 8: Missouri 34, South Carolina 12
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook had one of his quieter days through the air, but the Tigers utilized a strong rushing attack to dismantle South Carolina. Missouri running back Cody Shrader ran for a season-high 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The Tigers finally have a bye week in Week 9 before playing at Georgia the following week. Missouri could give the Bulldogs a run for their money in the SEC East.
4
LSU Tigers
The throw by @JayD__5 and @BrianThomas_11 TO THE HOUSE
📺 SEC Network pic.twitter.com/irKcm8xsUj
— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) October 22, 2023
Record: 6-2
Week 8: LSU 62, Army 0
LSU Tigers star quarterback Jayden Daniels would be a Heisman contender if the Tigers didn’t already have two losses and if the LSU defense had just gotten a few more stops against Ole Miss. Daniels finished with four total touchdowns in LSU’s dominant home win over Army.
3
Ole Miss Rebels
Record: 6-1
Week 8: Ole Miss 28, Auburn 21
Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart contributed three total touchdowns and over 240 total yards in the Rebels’ gritty road win at Auburn. The Rebels host Vanderbilt in Week 9.
2
Alabama Crimson Tide
Record: 7-1
Week 8: Alabama 34, Tennessee 20
Tennessee jumped to a 13-0 lead at Alabama, but the Crimson Tide made adjustments and used a big third quarter to move to 7-1. Alabama’s defense looked impressive in the second half against Tennessee.
Alabama has a bye week in Week 9 before hosting LSU on Nov. 4. The Alabama-LSU game will probably decide who represents the SEC West in the SEC championship game.
1
Georgia Bulldogs
Record: 7-0
Week 8: bye week
As usual, Georgia had its bye week ahead of the Florida game. The Bulldogs are the SEC’s only undefeated team left. The defending back-to-back national champions are seeking more consistency, but will have to do so without injured star tight end Brock Bowers over the next few weeks.
