2023 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 9
Four teams enjoyed off weeks as the business end of the season is upon us. The Southeastern Conference celebrated "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party". One SEC school got their first conference win of the year while two other schools took part in the "Battle for the Barrel"
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 react to eight weeks of football throughout the conference.
1. Georgia (-) (8-0, 5-0)
- No Brock Bowers? No problem, the Bulldogs steamrolled the Florida Gators to stay unbeaten on the year.
2. Alabama (-) (7-1, 5-0)
- The Crimson Tide was off this past weekend.
3. Ole Miss (-) (7-1, 4-1)
- The Rebels did what was expected by defeating the Vanderbilt Commodores 33-7.
4. LSU (-) (6-2, 4-1)
- The Tigers were off this past weekend.
5. Missouri (-) (7-1, 3-1)
- The Tigers were off this past weekend.
6. Tennessee (↑1) (6-2, 3-2)
- The Volunteers bounced back from their loss last week taking down the Wildcats on the road 33-27.
7. Texas A&M (↑1) (5-3, 3-2)
- The Aggies fell behind 7-0 but utilized a 21-0 run to get back into the SEC winners column, beating South Carolina 30-17.
8. Florida (↓2) (5-3, 3-2)
- The Gators opening script gave them a 7-0 lead but that was all the Bulldogs allowed them. Florida continues to play less than stellar outside of Gainesville and carried a 43-20 loss back to "The Swamp"
9. Kentucky (-) (5-3, 2-3)
- Only 72 yards rushing doomed Big Blue in its rivalry matchup with the Tennessee Vols.
10. Auburn (↑1) (4-4, 1-4)
- Hugh Freeze got his first SEC win in his new job by grinding down the Mississippi State Bulldogs 27-13. Peyton Thorne got the Tigers passing game going, tallying 230 yards.
11. Mississippi State (↓1) (4-4, 1-4)
- The Bulldogs were only 2-12 on third-down and turned the ball over once. That was enough to come up short on The Plains, falling to 1-4 in conference play.
12. South Carolina (-) (2-6, 1-5)
- The Gamecocks took the long trip to Texas and couldn't get its offense going. Spencer Rattler was sacked four times as his offense converted just 5-16 on third down.
13. Arkansas (↓3) (2-6, 0-5)
- The Razorbacks enjoyed an off weekend.
14. Vanderbilt (↓1) (2-7, 0-5)
- The Commodores played their annual game with Ole Miss and neither Walter Taylor or Ken Seals could get the passing game going. Vandy completed just eight passes for 60 yards and each threw an interception.
