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 Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

The Kentucky Wildcats continue to look better and better each week. Okay, so blowing out the Murray State Racers is not as impressive as a solidly convincing win over the Florida Gators in The Swamp. But they didn’t score a blowout win in their season-opener against the Central Michigan Chippewas, so that’s clearly improvement.

Now, at 3-0 and with an SEC win, Mark Stoops team has to feel better than ever about where it stands at this point in the season. We had to drop them in our SEC Power Rankings simply because there’s absolutely nothing impressive about playing an FCS school and blowing them out. We’ve made that clear many times.

However, that’s not something that’ll bring these guys down at this point. Kentucky is undefeated and has won every game by double-digits, even if that’s a little misleading for the Florida game. Now, though, they are about to get their best test.

The Wildcats host the Mississippi State Bulldogs this weekend, who have been blowing out teams early on this season. A huge home game like that will definitely be worth tuning into to prove how far this team has come.

And that’s just the start of a gauntlet. They also have to face the South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas A&M Aggies following MSU before they can even get to their bye week. So more real tests are underway for this team.

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