2024 Week Four SEC Power Rankings
After Week Four, Tennessee football and Ole Miss continue to tighten the race for the top two spots in the SEC. Tennessee earned its fourth win of the season in a primetime, ranked road win against No. 15 Oklahoma.
The Vols took an early lead and leaned on their defense to earn the win for one of the first times in Josh Heupel's tenure. That win marked a new era in Tennessee football under Heupel. The Vols' offense has potential through the roof, and the defense is competing at a championship level.
Ole Miss is also inching closer to becoming one of the top teams in the conference. Lane Kiffin is a great offensive mind and has finally put together a solid defense led by Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding.
So, where do the Vols and Rebs sit in the SEC after Week Four? Well, it's not much different than last week, but Ole Miss does jump Alabama after the Crimson Tide comes off their BYE Week.
Rank | Team | Previous Rank | Week Four Result |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas Longhorns | 1 | W 51-3 vs ULM |
2 | Georgia Bulldogs | 2 | IDLE |
3 | Tennessee Volunteers | 3 | W 25-15 vs Oklahoma |
4 | Ole Miss Rebels | 5 | W 52-13 vs Georgia Southern |
5 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 4 | IDLE |
6 | Missouri Tigers | 6 | W 30-27 vs Vanderbilt |
7 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 9 | W 24-14 vs Auburn |
8 | LSU Tigers | 8 | W 34-17 vs UCLA |
9 | Oklahoma Sooners | 7 | L 15-25 vs Tennessee |
10 | Texas A&M Aggies | 10 | W 26-20 vs Bowling Green |
11 | South Carolina Gamecocks | 12 | W 50-7 vs Akron |
12 | Auburn Tigers | 11 | L 14-24 vs Arkansas |
13 | Kentucky Wildcats | 13 | W 41-6 vs Ohio |
14 | Vanderbilt Commodores | 14 | L 27-30 vs Missouri |
15 | Florida Gators | 15 | W 45-28 vs Mississippi State |
16 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | 16 | L 28-45 vs Florida |
Winners
Tennessee went into Oklahoma and beat the Sooners in a dominant win. Oklahoma hasn't lost a dozen games at home in the past 100 years, but Tennessee went into Norman and won. It's also a pretty big resume builder for the Vols, who look like early College Football Playoff contenders.
Ole Miss is also a winner after another dominant win. We will see if they are true contenders later in the season when they're tested in some SEC venues and face Georgia in November, but right now, they look primed and ready for the expanded CFP.
Arkansas won its third game of the season and started conference play 1-0. Not very many people outside of Fayetteville believed that the Razorbacks would win more than three games this season, much less have the opportunity to do it this early in the season.
Losers
Oklahoma's offense is worse than they imagined in Norman. Jackson Arnold is no longer the starting quarterback, and the Sooners will look to find their offensive identity with a freshman quarterback leading the charge under center.
Auburn is also having quarterback issues—and head coach issues—after the Tigers' post-game press conference after their loss to Arkansas. Hugh Freeze still has a lot of football to coach at Auburn, but year two has started less than ideal.
Missouri almost lost its second game in a row. Vanderbilt took the Tigers to double overtime, making them look like the furthest thing from a potential CFP contender. Missouri is heading into their BYE Week and will need to use it to get things figured out on both sides of the ball if they want to make the expanded playoff.
Week Five in the SEC
Week Five will bring us one of the biggest games of the year. Georgia heads to Bryant-Denny Stadium to take on Alabama in a top-five matchup and potentially a spot in Atlanta. Other conference matchups include Kentucky-Ole Miss, Oklahoma-Auburn, Arkansas-Texas A&M, and Texas-Mississippi State.