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

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 Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images /

The Ole Miss Rebels surprised everybody with their dominating victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Week 1. Struggling defensively with an FCS school while their offense managed to put up 76 points raised major concerns with the Alabama Crimson Tide set to come to town the next week. Those concerns were validated.

Matt Luke’s team could not stop Bama all day, giving up 49 points in the first half. Nick Saban basically employed the mercy rule in the second half, and despite a touchdown on the first play of the game, Ole Miss’s offense got nothing going after that. So everything that could go wrong, did.

As a result, we had to drop these guys significantly in our SEC Power Rankings. Look, beating a Power Five team counts for something. And we have to give them credit. We also can’t fault them for losing to this Alabama team.

But losing the way they did a week after they looked ugly against an FCS team was more than enough for us to drop them down here. The Rebels were just that bad, and it could be a problem going forward.

They get a chance to redeem themselves this week by hosting the Kent State Golden Flashes, an easy and should-be non-conference win. Two weeks later they also get a home date against Louisiana Monroe. That’s enough for four wins. But in between is a brutal trip to the LSU Tigers. And they have an SEC slate the rest of the way after ULM.

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