2024 Week Two SEC football power rankings

Week Two opened the SEC season for a couple of teams and changed the SEC football power rankings after the second week of the year. 

Tennessee football continued its dominance with its 51-10 win over North Carolina State in Charlotte. The Vols proved to be a College Football Playoff contender and possible SEC Championship contender if they can get to the Georgia game undefeated. 

As for the rest of the SEC, there are changes throughout the rankings. Only five teams remain in the same spot as they did last week, while the other 11 move at least one spot after Week Two. Here is where every SEC team sits after the season's second week.

Georgia stays on top, while Texas and Tennessee move up a spot to round out the top three. Alabama drops two spots after struggling with USF for the second straight season. Ole Miss and Missouri hold steady at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, and Oklahoma sits at No. 7. 

The rest of the SEC could shake up every week of the season. Arkansas had a rare, impressive loss, moving up in the rankings after competing with Oklahoma State, a top contender for the Big 12 championship. 

Biggest Risers

One of the biggest risers of Week Two is Texas. They only moved up one spot in the rankings, but that jump put them at No. 2 in prime position to earn a spot in Atlanta and a near lock for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. 

Tennessee is another big riser. The Vols' dominant win against NC State put the entire country on notice, with redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava running the offense this season. They could make an SEC Championship appearance if the ball falls in Tennessee's favor. 

South Carolina jumped up the most spots in the rankings from No. 16 to No. 12. The Gamecocks looked terrible in Week One but rallied against Kentucky and took the Wildcats to the woodshed in a 31-6 win in Lexington. 

Biggest Fallers

On the flip side of South Carolina's rise comes Kentucky's fall. The Cats dropped from No. 12 to No. 16 and swapped spots with SC after the blowout loss. Kentucky likely won't finish the season as the worst team in the SEC, but after their Week Two loss, they certainly look like one of the worst teams in the conference. 

Auburn dropped three spots to No. 10 after their 21-14 loss to California. Hugh Freeze was hoping to get the Tigers moving in the right direction this season, but after the tough loss to Cal, it looks like it could be another tough year for the Auburn faithful if Payton Thorne can't turn the corner at quarterback. 

Alabama's struggle against USF says a lot more about the Bulls than it does the Crimson Tide, but they will drop two spots in the power rankings as a result. Alabama was able to pull away late after a dominant fourth quarter but didn't look like one of the top two teams in the SEC throughout most of the game. 

Week Three in the SEC

There are a few SEC matchups in Week Three, and College Gameday will be in attendance. LSU travels to Columbia to take on South Carolina as the premiere conference matchup. A win for the Gamecocks could shoot them up the rankings, while a loss for LSU could virtually tank their season. 

Florida and Texas A&M are looking to right the ship after a tough Week One loss, and Georgia should continue to hold the SEC hostage with their conference opener against Kentucky. 

There will be some intriguing non-conference matchups that could shake things up in the rankings. Alabama could prove everyone wrong and handle business when it travels to Wisconsin on Saturday, or it could fall further down the rankings if it continues to struggle. 

Missouri has a "show me" game in the Show Me State against No. 24 Boston College to prove they are worthy of College Football Playoff hype. Oklahoma faces another tough challenge against Tulane, while Ole Miss faces Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.