SEC Power Rankings following Week 4 of 2018: Vols still near bottom

Will Muschamp’s team looked awful against the Georgia Bulldogs, and given the way the Vanderbilt Commodores played against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, they were a hot team to pick against last weekend in Nashville. But the South Carolin Gamecocks took care of business easily.

Coming off the cancellation of the Marshall Thundering Herd game due to Hurricane Florence, South Carolina looks more complete than ever. Yes, Vanderbilt is a much easier game than Georgia. But winning in that fashion is still impressive. As a result, they were able to move into the top half of our SEC Power Rankings for now.

Dating back to last year during their stretch run, though, the only Power Five team who had a winning record in 2017 that the Gamecocks have beaten since the beginning of last year are the Michigan Wolverines in a bowl game that Jim Harbaugh’s team phoned in. So they still have a lot to prove.

Those chances are coming quickly. This week, they have a road test against the upstart Kentucky Wildcats, which should be an interesting game. Two weeks later, just before the bye, they face the Texas A&M Aggies at home. In between the two, there’s a home game against the next team in these rankings, which should really help define these guys.