SEC Power Rankings following Week Five of 2019: Bye didn’t help Vols
. 3-1 (1-0). Previous: . Tigers . 6. team. 822
It probably wasn’t the best time for the Missouri Tigers to hit their bye week. They had gotten on a roll offensively, blowing out the West Virginia Mountaineers and then easily dismantling the South Carolina Gamecocks for their first conference win, and with a 1-0 league record, that season-opening loss to the Wyoming Cowboys looks further and further away.
That same Wyoming team is now 4-1 and looking beyond dangerous at home. Meanwhile Mizzou lost that in the opener, which was Kelly Bryant’s first game as a starter, and it came with a ton of turnovers. So it clearly looked like a fluke, and they have only gotten better since then with the balance Derek Dooley and Barry Odom have brought to the offense.
As a result, this team is the top middle of the pack program in our SEC Power Rankings. It’s actually scary to think about how much better they got in the bye. And it’s even scarier to look at how easy their upcoming schedule is.
The Troy Trojans and Ole Miss Rebels at home are both next. Then they visit the Vanderbilt Commodores. So they have a sure five wins on the slate, and Vandy is likely a sixth win. Hosting the Tennessee Vols and Arkansas Razorbacks to close out the year means there are a sure seven wins on here and likely eight. Visiting the Kentucky Wildcats after Vandy is their biggest toss-up.