2023 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 3

Conference play opened up with three games so the picture gets a bit clearer as teams play tougher competition.

The Southeastern Conference opened up conference play with a three game slate, giving the public a clearer picture of the contenders and the pretenders. 

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 three weeks of football throughout the conference. 

1. Ole Miss (-) (3-0)

• The Rebels have breezed through non-conference play and continued by handling the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets, dumping 38 second-half points on them to maintain the top spot in our poll.

2. Georgia (↑2) (3-0, 1-0)

• The Bulldogs continues its climb up our poll as the competition gets tougher. Sure, they faced an 11-point halftime deficit, but Kirby Smart peeled the pant off the walls and blanked the Gamecocks 21-0 in the second half to stay perfect through three weeks.

3. Auburn (↓1) (3-0)

• The Tigers slide one spot despite playing well at home. Hugh Freeze and the Tigers beat up on the FCS Samford Bulldogs to keep a perfect record, however the best win is at Cal in a game that could have gone either way. The jury is still out on Auburn, but the early results are favorable.

4. Missouri (↑8) (3-0)

• Harrison Mevis sends the Tigers flying up the Power Rankings with a 61-yard game-winning field goal for the second ranked victory in the SEC this season. Missouri's last two weeks have been marked by survival, but winning a rivalry game against No. 15 Kansas State should certainly be respected.

5. Kentucky (-) (3-0)

• Big Blue devours its third cupcake in a row by defeating the Akron Zips 35-3. The Wildcats continue its soft-launch into the 2023 season by heading to Nashville next week for a date with Vanderbilt.

6. LSU (↑4) (2-1, 1-0)

• The Bayou Bengals went to Starkville and dismantled Mississippi State 41-14 for its first quality win of the year. Jayden Daniels became the first SEC quarterback to account for 400+ yards and 4+ touchdowns in a game since Jalen Hurts in 2016.

7. Alabama (↓1) (2-1)

• A win is a win, but the Crimson Tide look completely out of sorts offensively after playing Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson at quarterback. Gene Stallings would be proud of the 17-3 score on the road at South Florida. 

8. Florida (↑6) (2-1, 1-0)

• The Gators jump out of the basement with Billy Napier's best SEC victory in his short tenure. Florida protected The Swamp by beating the No. 11 Vols 29-16 behind a huge rushing effort by Trevor Etienne. 

9. Tennessee (↓6) (2-1, 0-1)

• The Volunteers hit the biggest slide in the poll after its lackluster effort in Gainesville. On the main stage of ESPN's Saturday night football Tennessee saved it's fighting for after the whistle tallying one turnover, 10 penalties and going 0-3 on 4th down.

10. Texas A&M (↓3) (2-1)

• The three-spot slide has more to do with the other team's quality wins than the Aggies poor play. Jimbo Fisher's squad handled UL-Monroe 47-3 to wash last week's loss to Miami out of its mouth. Texas A&M has a chance to make a leap next week as they host the Auburn Tigers.

11. Arkansas (↓2) (2-1)

• Initial wins over Western Carolina and Kent State didn't prepare the Hogs for BYU. The Cougars went into Fayetteville as 9-point underdogs and left with a 38-31 win. It gets no easier for the Razorbacks as they travel to Baton Rouge next week.

12. South Carolina (↑1) (1-2, 0-1)

• The fightin' Shane Beamers went into Athens and left it all on the field taking a 14-3 lead into halftime against the back-to-back champs. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks they had to play the second half, getting blanked by Georgia 21-0 to lose by 10. 

13. Mississippi State (↓5) (2-1, 0-1)

• The Bulldogs had hopes of keeping things close with LSU, entering the game as just 9.5-point underdogs. However, both sides of the football looked lifeless as they failed to slow down or keep up with the Tigers, losing 41-14.

14. Vanderbilt (↓3) (2-2)

• Back-to-back losses for the Commodores sours the 2-0 start for Clark Lea and his football team. Vanderbilt went out to Las Vegas and kept things close, but lost 40-37 for a dose of reality. 

See Also: 

The Crimson Tide's Tampa Trip Signals Shift in Alabama's Scheduling