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SEC Power Rankings following Week 3 of 2018: Vols still near bottom

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Kai Locksley #1 of the UTEP Miners tries to avoid a tackle from Defensive back Micah Abernathy #22 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Linebacker Jonathan Kongbo #99 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the UTEP Miners and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-0. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Kai Locksley #1 of the UTEP Miners tries to avoid a tackle from Defensive back Micah Abernathy #22 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Linebacker Jonathan Kongbo #99 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the UTEP Miners and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-0. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images
Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images /

The Mississippi State Bulldogs haven’t lost a step early on with a new head coach. While Dan Mullen struggles to get the Florida Gators back to where they once were, Joe Moorhead is putting up gaudy stats and scoring at will with the offense he left. And yes, the last two weeks, that’s been happening with Nick Fitzgerald.

But Moorhead did that without Fitzgerald the first week. He’s just got his team torching everybody. Mississippi State has more to prove, though. The jury is out on their Power Five win over the Kansas State Wildcats only because Bill Snyder has new coordinators on both sides of the ball this year. So that team is rebuilding.

As a result, we need to see more from this team before firmly supplanting them in the upper echelon of our SEC Power Rankings. Just blowing out solid to mediocre teams puts them right there with the Texas A&M Aggies and Vanderbilt Commodores. They just haven’t had to play a true Top 25 program yet.

This week will give them a bit better of a test as they visit the Kentucky Wildcats, another undefeated team that is ranked significantly below them. But it’s also a way for them to potentially lose lots of their good standing. Should they hold, though, they could easily get to 5-0 because the Florida Gators, and Mullen himself, head to Starkville the next week.

They’ll be favored in both games, and if they win both, that’ll make for a great showdown a week later. Mississippi State will then be undefeated and set to host the next team we have listed in these power rankings.

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