The South Carolina Gamecocks reminded the Florida Gators of an important lesson on Saturday. In the SEC, it's really anyone's game week in and week out.
Aside from the Gamecocks' upset win over the Gators, elsewhere in the SEC, we saw Texas lose to an embattled Oklahoma team, LSU go down on the road against Will Stein's Kentucky team, and Georgia bested Alabama in a heavyweight fight.
With Week 6 in the books, let's take a look at the latest SEC Power Rankings.
Cream of the crop
1. Georgia Bulldogs: The Bulldogs may have benefitted from a missed pass interference call and Alabama's late personal foul penalty. But after the Dawgs' 20-17 win on the road, it's hard to ignore just how good Georgia looks on offense. Quarterback Gunnar Stockton and the run game combined for 455 yards of offense against a pretty good Alabama defense.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: Like I said, had those two penalties gone the other way, the Tide were absolutely in this game. Keelon Russell is not fazed by the bright lights, and I think he will only get better as the season progresses. A three-point loss against a very good Georgia team doesn't warrant a free fall in these rankings.
I wouldn't be surprised if these two teams meet again in an epic SEC title game later down the line.
3. Ole Miss Rebels: With how poorly Florida has played in the last two weeks, the Rebels' loss to the Gators earlier this season might be more of a fluke than a real sign of how good this Ole Miss team is. Trinidad Chambliss threw for three touchdowns over Vanderbilt. He gets a big test this week, going up against a very good Missouri team at home.
4. Kentucky Wildcats: Welcome to the party, Will Stein. Kentucky made history as the first-ever team in FBS history to win back-to-back games in overtime by a point. In just two short weeks, the Wildcats proved they aren't scared of anyone, let alone LSU or Lane Kiffin's $40 million roster. With just one loss to Alabama so far, Kentucky is legitimately in the mix for the College Football Playoff. Who had that on their bingo card at the start of the season?
Still in the thick of it, even with a loss or two
5. Missouri Tigers: After Mizzou's loss to Mississippi State, several folks wrote off this Eli Drinkwitz team. But with impressive wins over Florida and Texas A&M, this Tiger team can play with just about anybody. We should be in for a fun quarterback battle between Chambliss and Mizzou's Austin Simmons on Saturday.
6. Texas Longhorns: Arch Manning did not play well against Oklahoma, throwing two interceptions, including a pick-six. Not to mention the Sooners haven't exactly looked like a juggernaut all season. But rivalry games are always wonky, and that Ohio State win will carry weight as the season progresses. If Manning plays like he did against Oklahoma, Texas will lose more games, though.
7. Tennessee Volunteers: Head coach Josh Heupel has two very good quarterbacks he can play in George MacIntyre and freshman Faizon Brandon. It'll be interesting to see which one gets the nod against a very good Alabama team looking to take out some frustration from the loss to Georgia.
8. LSU Tigers: It's hard to believe that Kiffin's LSU team, with one of the most loaded rosters in all of college football, is entering mid-October with two losses. Sam Leavitt has also struggled to be an elite passer, which you need to win games in the SEC. With a loss against Ole Miss and a loss to unranked Kentucky, LSU has to win out to keep its CFP hopes alive. Going up against Alabama, Texas and Tennessee, that might be a tall task, even for a team as talented as LSU.
9. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs' dream start to the season took a hit with their 56-23 loss to Alabama. As the Bulldogs take on Kiffin's LSU team this week, the big question is whether or not quarterback Kamario Taylor will play. He's still dealing with some injuries that caused him to leave the Alabama game early. If he is healthy and can play well, it could be a competitive matchup in Baton Rouge.
Middle of the pack
10. South Carolina Gamecocks: The Gamecocks have three SEC losses already. But finally, the team that head coach Shane Beamer has been telling us that had a hell of a practice finally showed up. This is Beamer's most talented roster he's had since he's been in Columbia, and we finally saw this team put the pieces together for a big road win. The Gamecocks get a much-needed bye before a big game at home against Tennessee next week.
11. Oklahoma Sooners: Oklahoma's defense did a great job against Texas, and it should get a lot of credit for that upset victory. But if the Sooners want to be truly competitive again in the SEC, quarterback John Mateer has to be better. He's been sacked six times in the last two games. We'll see if the Sooners can get another upset win over Kentucky this week.
12. Florida Gators: Perhaps head coach Jon Sumrall was right when he said after the Ole Miss win that his team has a lot to improve on. The Gators have been stagnant on offense in the last two weeks, and have to go on the road to face a Texas team eager to rebound.
Bottom Feeders
13. Texas A&M Aggies: The Aggies are averaging six points a game in its last three SEC games. This Texas A&M offense has to get things figured out in a hurry, as it has remaining games against Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
14. Vanderbilt Commodores: Vandy has three straight losses to Auburn, Georgia and Ole Miss in the last three weeks. Former five-star quarterback Jared Curtis did not play well against the Rebels, throwing for two interceptions.
15. Auburn Tigers: Auburn has two conference losses to Florida and Tennessee already. That will turn into three this weekend, as the Tigers have to go on the road to face a Georgia Bulldog team that's rolling.
16. Arkansas Razorbacks: Arkansas is 2-4 so far this season, as first-year head coach Ryan Silverfield is struggling to find his footing in Fayetteville. It could be a long season for Razorback fans in 2026.
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