Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
Alabama strengthened its hold on the No. 1 spot in the SEC power rankings by not playing a game this week. With LSU and Vanderbilt both losing, the Crimson Tide are now the only unbeaten team in the league as they point toward Saturday's home date with Ole Miss. Florida had the most impressive performance of the week with a 30-point butchering of LSU in the Swamp. The Gators appear to be getting well offensively at just the right time. Alabama, Florida, Georgia and LSU still remain very much in the national title picture if they can keep winning. Obviously, they're going to beat up some on each other, but can one team make it through relatively unscathed? We're going to find out:
1. Alabama: The Crimson Tide find themselves ranked No. 2 nationally in both polls and their destiny right there in front of them. They're coming off an open date that couldn't have come at a better time. Count on Nick Saban having this club dialed in for this Saturday's home game against Ole Miss.
2. Florida: The Gators have found a little something extra offensively, namely Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey. They also came up with their best defensive performance of the season in hammering LSU, 51-21. Florida is off this coming weekend before embarking on its final pivotal stretch.
3. Georgia: Georgia fans shouldn't fret about where the Bulldogs are ranked this week in the national polls. The Bulldogs will have ample opportunity to impress voters with games upcoming against LSU and Florida. A more pressing concern is not leaving as many points on the field as they did last Saturday in their 26-14 win over Tennessee.
4. LSU: For starters, LSU is a lot better than it played Saturday in its 51-21 loss to Florida. And LSU coach Les Miles is right when he says the Tigers just simply never got on track. That said, there's something missing on this defense right now. The Tigers are giving up too many big plays and not playing up to their talent. Secondary concerns are a real issue.
5. Vanderbilt: You could almost see it coming. The Commodores were rolling along at 5-0, finding different ways to win, but still a tad fragile in that they simply weren't doing much on offense. It caught up with them at Mississippi State in a 17-14 loss. The sting from that game will disappear in a hurry, though, if the Commodores can win at Georgia this weekend.
6. South Carolina: The Gamecocks are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the league. They've won four in a row, including back-to-back SEC road games, and have finally found their quarterback ... for now. Redshirt freshman Stephen Garcia directed their fourth-quarter rally last week at Kentucky and will start against LSU this coming Saturday.
7. Ole Miss: It's time for the Rebels to reveal who they really are. They frittered away the game at home to Vanderbilt and then couldn't get it done two weeks later at home against South Carolina. In between, though, they go to Florida and beat the Gators. Will the real Ole Miss team stand up? Maybe we get a better idea of who that team really is this weekend at Alabama.
8. Kentucky: You could argue that the Wildcats deserve to be ranked a spot or two higher. Their defense is for real, and they've lost two close, hard-fought games now. This is still a team that has a great chance to go to a bowl for a third straight year. But a fair question at this point: Who have the Wildcats beaten? The answer: Nobody in the SEC.
9. Auburn: What an awful week for Auburn. Tommy Tuberville fires offensive coordinator Tony Franklin during the middle of the week to try to maintain some semblance of chemistry with the rest of his staff, and then the Tigers go out and lay their biggest offensive egg of the season in a 25-22 home loss to Arkansas. This is a season that could unravel in a hurry if Tuberville isn't careful.
10. Miss. State: Granted, it's just one win, but you can see the Bulldogs' improvement the past two games. Going with Tyson Lee at quarterback has made a difference, and Mississippi State didn't do nearly as many things to beat itself in a 17-14 win over Vanderbilt. The week off was huge for the Bulldogs, and now they get a chance to keep it going against a struggling Tennessee team.
11. Arkansas: Bobby Petrino said last week that you've got to emphasize the things you're doing right, the "little wins" when you're as young as the Razorbacks are this season. Well, this week, they can emphasize a real win after going on the road and knocking off Auburn, 25-22, after losing their three previous games by a combined 139-31 margin.
12. Tennessee: Try finding a Tennessee offense over the past few decades any worse or dysfunctional than this one. The Vols have hit a new low. At 2-4, they're off to their worst start in 20 years, and the questions about Phillip Fulmer's job security are growing louder and being uttered increasingly more by people who count. Not fun times on Rocky Top.
