SEC POWER RANKINGS

Now before I copy & paste this ... I must warn you that I am not quite sure what the fellow from YAHOO was drinking ... because he has bowl projections showing 10 outta 12 SEC teams making a bowl ....... hmmmmm has that ever happened?

Power Poll
By Travis Reier, BamaOnLine.com Senior Analyst Oct 15, 1:20 pm EDT

SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE POWER RANKINGS
RANK

1
Alabama Crimson Tide
Nick Saban can’t even enjoy an open week. Bama’s boss said he tried to watch the Oklahoma-Texas last Saturday game, only to throw in the towel after mentally matching up his defensive players against the Texas and Oklahoma offenses. I mean, really, why breakdown the Longhorns and Sooners when a dangerous Ole Miss team awaits?
Midseason bowl projection: BCS Championship Game
Up next: UA (6-0, 3-0 in SEC) hosts Ole Miss on Oct. 18 (2:30 p.m. CT/CBS).

2
Florida Gators
From the fringes of the BCS title hunt to squarely in the mix. From the outer edges of the Heisman race to top three candidate. That’s a day in the life Tim Tebow, whose team beat the defending national champions by 30 points in primetime. Since winning it all two seasons ago, the Gators (5-1, 3-1) have been largely without star power on the defensive side of the ball. They have that now in middle linebacker Brandon Spikes.
Midseason bowl projection: Sugar
Up next: UF hosts UK on Oct. 25 (12:30 p.m. ET/Raycom).

3
Georgia Bulldogs
Lost in Matthew Stafford’s career-high passing day in the win over Tennessee was the fact that he took way too many shots. And with the revolving door at left tackle welcoming another newcomer this week against Vanderbilt, I’m wondering if Stafford will be upright by the time Georgia Tech rolls around in late November.
Midseason bowl projection: Capital One
Up next: UGA (5-1, 2-1) hosts Vanderbilt on Oct. 18 (12:30 p.m. ET/Raycom).

4
LSU Tigers
My immediate thought following Florida’s hammering of the Tigers: Other than offensive coordinator Gary Crowton, is there a current LSU assistant that Georgia, UF or Alabama would really want? Think about it. Jimbo Fisher and Stacy Searels gone to Florida State and Georgia, respectively, after the 2006 season. Bo Pelini takes over at Nebraska following the 2007 campaign. Crowton was a nice hire, but can anyone outside the state of Louisiana name the Tigers’ current defensive coordinator? (Hint: There are actually two of them)
Midseason bowl projection: Cotton
Up next: LSU (4-1, 2-1) travels to South Carolina on Oct. 18 (8 p.m ET/ESPN).

5
South Carolina
The quarterback position at USC has produced SEC player of the week honors in each of the past two weeks. And in true Steve Spurrier fashion, two different signal callers have been on the receiving end. After taking offensive player of the week honors against Ole Miss, Chris Smelley was benched in favor of Stephen Garcia in the Gamecocks’ 24-17 win over Kentucky. Spurrier’s decision proved to be the correct one, because without Garcia, who went on to earn freshman of the week honors after leading a 10-0 fourth quarter surge in Lexington, Carolina (5-2, 2-2) would not be in favorable bowl position today.
Midseason bowl projection: Outback
Up next: USC hosts LSU on Oct. 18 (8 p.m. ET/ESPN).

6
Ole Miss Rebels
Can Ole Miss (3-3, 1-2) produce some more SEC road magic this week at Alabama? If quarterback Jevan Snead plays in Tuscaloosa like he did in the Rebels’ first two road games of the season, they’ll have a shot. Six of Snead’s nine touchdown passes have come on the road, while seven of his nine interceptions have come at home.
Midseason bowl projection: Liberty
Up next: Ole Miss travels to Alabama on Oct. 18 (2:30 p.m. CT/CBS).

7
Vanderbilt Commodores
Now that the Commodores’ magical run has come to an end, their bowl hopes may come down to one game: vs. Duke in Nashville on Oct. 25. Kentucky and Tennessee look to be winnable games, but it’s hard to hand out Ws to a team that mustered just 107 yards of offense in a loss to Mississippi State. Quarterback Chris Nickson defines the term student-athlete, but Mackenzi Adams gives this team its best chance to win. Bobby Johnson may have made that call a few quarters too late.
Midseason bowl projection: Chick-fil-A
Up next: Vandy (5-1, 3-1) travels to UGA on Oct. 18 (12:30 p.m. ET/Raycom).

8
Kentucky Wildcats
In a 24-17 loss to South Carolina, the strongest area of this team didn’t have an answer for an inexperienced quarterback—Stephen Garcia—coming off the bench. And to make matters worse, the Wildcats (4-2, 0-2) lost their top offensive player—Dickey Lyons, Jr. (knee)—for the remainder of the season. Now the load will fall almost entirely to running back Derrick Locke and athlete/quarterback Randall Cobb to give the offense some juice.
Midseason bowl projection: Independence
Up next: UK hosts Arkansas on Oct. 18 (7 p.m. ET).

9
Arkansas Razorbacks
Darren McWho? Maybe losing two running backs to the first round of the NFL Draft wasn’t such a bad thing after all. In leading the SEC in rushing, Michael Smith, fresh from a 176-yard performance in the Razorbacks’ upset of Auburn, has stepped into the Bigfoot-sized addidas cleats left behind by Darren McFadden and Felix Jones quite well.
Midseason bowl projection: None
Up next: The Hogs (3-3, 1-2) travel to UK on Oct. 18 (7 p.m. ET).

10
Auburn Tigers
Since last we met, the following has taken place down on the Plains: Tony Frankin was dismissed as offensive coordinator and the Tigers (4-3, 2-3) lost at home to an Arkansas team that I thought might take the collar in league play this season. For all the talk about this team’s offensive woes, the biggest red flag when looking at this team might be the 416 yards its heralded defense gave up to the Razorbacks. Tommy Tuberville was motivated enough to not only survive a coup attempt in 2003, but to take the program to unprecedented heights one year later. Five years later, there are questions about whether he has the same fire in his gut.
Midseason bowl projection: Music City
Up next: AU travels to West Virginia on Oct. 23 (6:30 p.m. CT/ESPN).

11
Tennessee Volunteers
The 26-14 final didn’t indicate the lengths at which Georgia dominated the Vols (2-4; 0-3), but stats like total yards (UT: 209; UGA: 458) and time of possession (UT: 17:56, UGA: 42:04) certainly did. If nothing else, the Nick Stephens experiment at quarterback has show us what Phillip Rivers would have looked like in a Tennessee uniform.
Midseason bowl projection: Papa John’s
Up next: UT hosts MSU on Oct. 18 (7 p.m. ET).

12
Mississippi State Bulldogs
So much for the much anticipated 0-fer bowl pitting State (2-4, 1-2) against Arkansas on Nov. 22. That’s right, on the same day that Tennessee, Auburn and LSU lost games, the Dogs and Hogs got league wins. In throwing for 81 yards and a touchdowns, Tyson Lee wasn’t prolific by any means—but he’s definitely a step up from Wesley Carroll.
Midseason bowl projection: None
Up next: The Bullies travel to UT on Oct. 18 (7 p.m. ET).