The top of the SEC standings may feature a pair of teams from the Lone Star State, but there’s plenty of debate to be had about their standing in the conference. After week 12, an argument could be made for a number of teams to be considered the best in the SEC.
Several two-loss teams have a stronger argument to be considered the best team in the conference than Texas and Texas A&M. However, with two weeks left in the regular season, those teams can write their own path to the SEC championship game and the College Football Playoff.
They may have the best records in the conference, but they aren’t the two best teams in the conference at this point in this season.
Here’s a look at this week’s SEC power rankings.
Also, check out how the SEC stacks up in 247Sports team recruiting rankings for 2025.
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Last Week’s Rank: 16
Week 12: Bye Week
After the bye week the Mississippi State Bulldogs will welcome the Missouri Tigers to Starkville hoping to earn their first conference win of the season.
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Last Week’s Rank: 15
Week 12: Beat Murray State 48-6
Kentucky isn’t going to move the needle much beating a one-win Murray State team but it was the most points scored in a game this year by the Wildcats, so there’s that.
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Last Week’s Rank: 14
Week 12: Beat UL-Monroe 48-14
Payton Thorne threw for 286 yards and five touchdowns as the Auburn Tigers beat UL-Monroe. Next up, the Tigers will host Texas A&M.
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Last Week’s Rank: 13
Week 12: Bye Week
Next week, the Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Alabama Crimson Tide hoping to play spoiler and earn bowl eligibility.
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Last Week’s Rank: 12
Week 12: Lost to Texas 20-10
The Razorbacks came alive in the third quarter and were driving to keep pull within three points in the fourth, but a fumble gave the ball back to Texas, who was able to milk the final 6:55 off the clock for the win.
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Last Week’s Rank: 10
Week 12: Bye Week
Vanderbilt has lost two of their last three to Texas and South Carolina, two of the hottest teams in the conference. Now, they get ready to take on a team that’s cooling off in the second half of the season, the LSU Tigers.
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Last Week’s Rank: 9
Week 12: Lost to South Carolina 34-30
Missouri still hasn’t beaten anyone of significance since their win over a Boston College team that is now 5-5 on the season. Brady Cook returned to spark the Tiger’s offense, but they couldn’t stop LaNorris Sellers, who totaled nearly 400 yards of offense for the Gamecocks.
The Tigers couldn’t get a stop in the final minute after taking the lead with 1:10 remaining in the game.
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Last Week’s Rank: 7
Week 12: Lost to Florida 27-16
You look at the box score and there’s no reason LSU should have lost that game. They dominated the time of possession and held Florida under 350 yards of offense for the game. But here we are. The Tigers were inefficient on offense, couldn’t great any big plays. and had to settle for field goals.
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Last Week’s Rank: 11
Week 12: Beat LSU 27-16
The Florida Gators only created 339 yards of total offense, but they got a big play in the run game, won the turnover battle, and the defense held the Tigers to 13 of 24 on third down.
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Last Week’s Rank: 8
Week 12: Beat Missouri 34-30
It was another strong win for the South Carolina Gamecocks as they continue their ascent up the SEC standings. LaNorris Sellers had 398 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the win. Sellers orchestrated a go-ahead touchdown drive with 1:10 on the clock, which was capped off by Raheim Sanders touchdown run.
The Gamecocks have now won four in a row, including a pair of top 25 wins over Mizzou and Texas A&M.
Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News
Last Week’s Rank: 6
Week 12: Beat Mercer 52-7
Jalen Milroe had three total touchdowns in the win over Mercer and Alabama went to the bench early in this one. Now the Crimson Tide prepare for their road trip to take on the Oklahoma Sooners.
Alabama has turned it on of late after losses to Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
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Last Week’s Rank: 5
Week 12: Beat New Mexico State 38-3
Marcel Reed totaled 309 yards of total offense and three touchdowns in the Aggies win. Texas A&M will next go on the road to take on Auburn before closing the season with a home game against the Texas Longhorns.
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Last Week’s Rank: 1
Week 12: Lost to Georgia 31-17
With an opportunity to assert themselves as an SEC title contender, the Tennessee Volunteers fell flat, getting shutout in the second half against Georgia.
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Last Week’s Rank: 2
Week 12: Beat Arkansas Razorbacks 20-10
Texas’ strength of schedule has been hotly debated all year, and all they continue to do is win. It didn’t have a ton of style points, but they picked up a solid win over a scrappy Arkansas team on Saturday. Still, it’s hard to know just how good the Longhorns are at this point in the season.
In the Longhorns only game of significance against the Georgia Bulldogs, they lost by two scores. With the Bulldogs owning the head-to-head win over Texas, the Longhorns drop a spot this week.
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Last Week’s Rank: 4
Week 12: Beat Tennessee 31-17
After falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, the Georgia Bulldogs outscored the Volunteers 31-7 over the final three quarters. Carson Beck threw for 347 yards and two touchdowns after struggling early in the game. Could this be the win that propels the Bulldogs to contender status for the rest of the season?
Georgia’s only losses this season are to Alabama and Ole Miss.
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Last Week’s Rank: 3
Week 12: Bye Week
Coming out of the bye, the Rebels will look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they travel to Gainesville to take on a surging Florida team. Prior to the bye week, Ole Miss beat Georgia by 18 points. That loss to Kentucky earlier in the season hurts, but Ole Miss looks like the best team in the SEC right now.
