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All for Tennessee Official Week 4 SEC Power Rankings: Vols Shoot Up

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the first quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the first quarter of the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 24, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats tight end C.J. Conrad (87) celebrates with running back Benny Snell (26) after scoring a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky defeated South Carolina 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats tight end C.J. Conrad (87) celebrates with running back Benny Snell (26) after scoring a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Commonwealth Stadium. Kentucky defeated South Carolina 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /

All of a sudden, the Kentucky Wildcats have new life. Just as we were predicting that the wheels would fall off of Mark Stoops’s program this year, they make a switch at quarterback. And without Drew Barker, they’ve been able to rise two spots in our SEC Power Rankings.

An ugly 17-10 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks following a shootout win the week before is enough to give this team some level of respect. They’re still in the bottom tier of the conference, but they’ve jumped ahead of Vanderbilt and South Carolina in terms of teams most likely to make a bowl game at the bottom.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, Stephen Johnson wasn’t great at quarterback for Kentucky. He only had 135 yards after all. But he was playing a Will Muschamp-coached defense and did a solid job managing the game.

Meanwhile, the Kentucky running backs stole the show with nearly 200 combined yards between Stanley Williams and Benjamin Snell Jr. Don’t read anything into the defense yet. They were playing the Gamecocks.

Still, this team now has life. Vanderbilt and Austin Peay are two games on the schedule that should be wins, and they might have a chance to go bowling if they win their other two toss-up games: at Missouri and at home against our next team, Mississippi State.

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