2023 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 2

The SEC splits its significant non-conference matchups, shaking up the power rankings in the second week.

The Southeastern Conference stepped up its competition as a whole in Week 2. While there were five meaningless matchups against FCS opponents the conference did clash with five Power 5 foes, up from four in the opening week, and a ranked group of five team, emerging 3-3 on the week. 

Forget preseason polls. Forget what happened last season. Disregard recruiting rankings and what these teams look like on paper. The only criteria considered in this season's BamaCentral SEC Power Rankings is what happens between the white lines during games. 

Winning is rewarded and losing is punished in our 2023 Power Rankings, so lets get right to it as we over react to two weeks of football, three if your Vanderbilt, throughout the conference.

The Ole Miss Rebels take the new top spot in the Power Rankings as they currently boast the conference's best win of the season. Sure, Tulane was without its starting quarterback, but a ranked road win is the best victory in the league through two weeks.

2023 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 2

1. Ole Miss (↑6) (2-0)

• The Rebels blew out Mercer 73-7 in Week 1 then went on the road and beat No. 24 Tulane 37-20 in Week 2, closing out the Green Wave 27-3 in the second half.

2. Auburn (↑4) (2-0)

• The Tigers handled lowly UMASS easily in its opener and then went across the country to beat Cal in a low scoring affair for its second FBS win. 

3. Tennessee (↓2) (2-0)

• The Vols took care of FCS opponent Austin Peay 30-13, but looked sluggish doing so. Additionally, Tennessee's opening weekend win over Virginia takes a big of a black-eye after the Cavaliers lost to James Madison, sending the Orange and White down two spots.

4. Georgia (↑4) (2-0)

• The two-time defending national champions smacked Ball State 45-3 and look poised to make postseason noise again, however two weeks of inferior competition make it tough to move the Bulldogs any higher.

5. Kentucky (↓1) (2-0)

• The Wildcats took care of FCS Eastern Kentucky behind Devin Leary's four touchdown passes, but there was no dominance displayed by Big Blue as they only won 28-17. 

6. Alabama (↓4) (1-1)

• The Crimson Tide struggled with penalties and turnovers in its rematch under the Bryant-Denny Stadium lights against Texas. The Longhorns owned the line of scrimmage and left Tuscaloosa with a 10-point win.

7. Texas A&M (↓1) (1-1)

• The Aggies followed up its Week 1 win over New Mexico with a road loss to the Miami Hurricanes 48-33. Texas A&M committed three turnovers and gave up a kickoff return touchdown to drop to 1-1.

8. Mississippi State (↑3) (2-0)

• The Bulldogs welcomed the Arizona Wildcats to Starkville and sent them home with a 31-24 loss in overtime. Will Rogers was an efficient 13/17 with three touchdowns to keep Mississippi State undefeated.

9. Arkansas (-) (2-0)

• The Razorbacks followed its mauling of FCS Western Carolina in Week 1 with a pedestrian 28-6 victory over Kent State. Arkansas has a chance to take a significant move up with a win over BYU next week.

10. LSU (↑2) (1-1)

• The Bayou Bengals bought a get-right game against FCS Grambling and the Tigers got every penny's worth, winning 72-10. 

11. Vanderbilt (↓6) (2-1)

• The Commodores dream of going undefeated died and Saturday with a 36-20 loss to Wake Forest. After a narrow win over Hawaii and crushing FCS Alabama A&M, Vanderbilt comes down to earth.

12. Missouri (↓2) (2-0)

• The Tigers took care of MTSU at home 23-19 to stay unbeaten, however it's the lackluster nature of its victories over the Blue Raiders and FCS South Dakota that sees them fall by two spots.

13. South Carolina (-) (1-1)

• The Gamecocks were focused on coaching better and playing better and against the FCS Furman Purple Paladins one could say they did, winning 47-21 to get back on track.

14. Florida (-) (1-1)

• The Gators got themselves into the win column for the first time this season, beating FCS McNeese 49-7 in the Swamp.

Week 3 brings us a trio of conference matchups and just one matchup with an FCS foe, ideally giving us an even clearer look at who the contenders and who the pretenders are in the Southeastern Conference. 

See Also: 

Is Alabama Football Slipping From Standard It Created for Itself?