2024 Week Five SEC Power Rankings: New leader in the clubhouse
Tennessee football was off in Week Five, so they didn't move, but after the season's first five weeks, there is a new leader in the Southeastern Conference clubhouse.
After a near-perfect first half and a dominant win against Georgia, the Alabama Crimson Tide rose to No. 1 in the SEC power rankings for the first time this season. It also marks the third team to hold the top spot as we near the season's halfway point.
Georgia was the perceived favorite heading into the season until Texas jumped them. The Longhorns continue to win, but Alabama's win over Georgia is more valuable than Texas' win over Mississippi State, especially considering how the Horns looked throughout most of that game.
The new-look SEC has 16 teams, and for the first time, the conference is playing without divisions. So, the top two teams will advance to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship Game. Right now, it looks like any of the top four teams could earn a spot in Atlanta. The big question is, which two teams will it become in December?
Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Week Five Result |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 5 | W 41-34 vs Georgia |
2 | Texas Longhorns | 1 | W 35-13 vs Mississippi State |
3 | Tennessee Volunteers | 3 | IDLE |
4 | Georgia Bulldogs | 2 | L 34-41 vs Alabama |
5 | Missouri Tigers | 6 | IDLE |
6 | LSU Tigers | 8 | W 42-10 vs South Alabama |
7 | Texas A&M Aggies | 10 | W 21-17 vs Arkansas |
8 | Ole Miss Rebels | 4 | L 17-20 vs Kentucky |
9 | Oklahoma Sooners | 9 | W 27-21 vs Auburn |
10 | Kentucky Wildcats | 13 | W 20-17 vs Ole Miss |
11 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 11 | IDLE |
12 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 7 | L 17-21 vs Texas A&M |
13 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 14 | IDLE |
14 | Florida Gators | 15 | IDLE |
15 | Auburn Tigers | 12 | L 21-27 vs Oklahoma |
16 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 16 | L 13-35 vs Texas |
Winners
The biggest winner of the week is Alabama. This was not only in the win-loss column but also proved that they could still be the top dog in the conference and country in the Kalen DeBoer era. Jalen Milroe looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the country and solidified the Tide as National Championship contenders.
Despite their slow start to the season, Kentucky comes out of Week Five a winner. They almost pulled off the heist of the century last week when they almost upset Georgia, and they followed that up by going into Ole Miss' house and upsetting the Rebels in front of their home crowd.
Texas A&M is also a winner after Week Five. They beat Arkansas in the Southwest Classic and are looking to get back after an early-season loss to Notre Dame. The Aggies are now 4-1 and 2-0 in conference play with a big-time matchup against Missouri.
Losers
Georgia came out as a loser this week and looked like the biggest loser in the country after 30 minutes of play in Tuscaloosa. They battled back but still fell to the Tide as they looked for answers after a rough showing in two straight weeks.
Ole Miss is a loser after Week Five. The Rebels looked to be College Football Playoff contenders after the first four weeks of the season but were absolutely dominated by Kentucky's defense in a shocking home upset.
Arkansas is another loser after dropping another close loss in a winnable game. The Razorbacks could very easily be 5-0 if they didn't blow their lead to Oklahoma State and didn't turn the ball over three times to Texas A&M, but they did, and they lost as a result and fell to 3-2 on the season.
Week Six in the SEC
Week Six gives us some exciting conference matchups throughout Saturday. No. 9 Missouri plays No. 25 Texas A&M to start the day, Ole Miss heads to South Carolina, and the Deep South's oldest rivalry, Auburn-Georgia, covers the mid-day games. Tennessee heads to Arkansas to play in front of a stripe out in primetime to end the night.