SEC Power Rankings following Week Five of 2019: Bye didn’t help Vols

After a 2-1 start, there was a lot of optimism surrounding the Kentucky Wildcats. They barely lost to the Florida Gators and, with an elite defense, appeared to be a team that had not taken any step back despite losing a ton of talent. Mark Stoops seemed to prove he was able to reload in Lexington instead of just rebuild.

Two weeks after that close loss, though, UK has progressively gotten worse. And it has been enough for us to drop them in our SEC Power Rankings. Losing to the Mississippi State Bulldogs was rough, but losing to the South Carolina Gamecocks by three scores, 24-7, really shows where this team stands at the moment.

To be fair, they could just be bad on the road given how young they are. That’s a fair assessment of where such a team like this would be at the moment, especially one that lost its starting quarterback for the season earlier in the year. Well, they at least get a bye this week before returning back home to face the Arkansas Razorbacks in what should be an easy win.

Then there’s a visit to the Georgia Bulldogs. But following that, they host the Missouri Tigers and Tennessee Vols before visiting the Vanderbilt Commodores. Closing out at home against UT Martin and the Louisville Cardinals means they have at least three wins on here and could have up to six.