Week three's games gave us a lot of perspective on how things will shake out this season in the SEC, with some tight games that went down to the wire along with some very one-sided contests. Here's how I rank each SEC team after the third week of the 2015 season:
14. Vanderbilt Commodores
Sure, Vandy got the win over Austin-Peay. Things won't be so pretty next weekend when the Commodores travel to Oxford to take over Chad Kelly and the Ole Miss Rebels.
13. Arkansas Razorbacks
Bret Bielema continues to eat his words after Arkansas fell 35-24 to Texas Tech on Saturday, dropping the Hogs to 1-2 on the season. Arkansas will need to have a short memory this week, as they prepare for Texas A&M next weekend.
12. South Carolina Gamecocks
The only reason that Steve Spurrier's squad gets the nod over Arkansas is that they've lost their last two games to a little tougher competition. The Gamecocks usually play Georgia tough, but that wasn't the case in Athens this weekend, leaving Spurrier "open to suggestions" to increase offensive production. South Carolina lost starting center Alan Knott for at least several weeks, after he sprained his ankle. True freshman Zack Bailey filled-in decently, and he will start next week against Central Florida.
11. Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky went from riding the highs of last weekend's victory over South Carolina to the lows of dropping a tough loss to the Florida Gators. The Gators took advantage of an early Patrick Towles' interception to go up a score early, and Kentucky was never able to recover offensively due to a sputtering running game and dropped passes. The Wildcats will try to get the season back on track next week when they host Missouri in Lexington.
10. Florida Gators
The Gators didn't score many points on Saturday, but they did score enough to hold off Kentucky, earning them their first conference win. Florida will have to play sharp in The Swamp next week when they host Tennessee in big SEC East matchup.
9. Missouri Tigers
The Tigers' offense wasn't pretty against Connecticut, but their defense played well enough to get the "W." Maty Mauk failed to throw over 150 yards for a second consecutive week against an inferior opponent, and you have to think that this team is on upset alert when they travel to Kentucky next weekend.
8. Auburn Tigers
Auburn had a rough Saturday in Baton Rouge, allowing LSU running back Leonard Fournette to post video game numbers against their defense. Gus Malzahn's team faces another hard test next Saturday when Mississippi State travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium to square off underneath the lights.
7. Mississippi State Bulldogs
Dan Mullen's Bulldogs were able to recover from a disappointing loss to LSU in a tune-up game against Northwestern State. The Bulldogs jump back into their SEC West schedule against Auburn next weekend.
6. Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee was able to beat up on Western Carolina after their fourth quarter meltdown against Oklahoma the previous weekend. This game was a great opportunity for the Vols to polish up their game a bit before traveling to Florida for their first SEC matchup of the 2015 season.
5. Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama fell to Ole Miss for the second straight year on Saturday, as the Tide's 20-point fourth quarter wasn't enough to grab the win. The loss snaps a 17-game home winning streak for Alabama, who will face Louisiana-Monroe next weekend before traveling to Athens to face Georgia in week five.
4. Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies handled Nevada at Kyle Field this weekend, improving their record to 3-0. Starting quarterback Kyle Allen and heavily recruited freshman Kyler Murray have combined for 10 touchdown passes in the first three weeks. A&M begins their SEC schedule next week when they face off against Arkansas, who will look to rebound from two disheartening losses.
3. Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs' quarterback Greyson Lambert was nearly perfect on Saturday in a convincing win over South Carolina, completing 24-of-25 passes. This set the FBS record for highest completion percentage with at least 20 attempts. Nick Chubb rushed for over 150 yards and two touchdowns and needs just one more 100-yard rushing perfromance to tie Herschel Walker's school record of 12 consecutive games with 100-plus rushing yards. Chubb might have more than 100, as the Bulldogs host the Southern Jaguars in Athens on Saturday.
2. LSU Tigers
Leonard Fournette put himself at the front of the Heisman Trophy conversation with his incredible performance against the Auburn Tigers. Fournette rushed for 228 yards on 19 carries with three touchdowns on a day where the Tigers looked the part of a legitimate playoff contender. LSU is now 2-0 in SEC play to start the season, and they get a slight break this weekend when they travel to Syracuse.
1. Ole Miss Rebels
The Rebels knocked off Alabama for the second year in a row, and Chad Kelly has looked like the real deal so far this season. Hugh Freeze's squad will face Vanderbilt in Oxford this weekend that will begin a four week stretch of opponents outside of the SEC West. The Rebels will have to prove themselves as the real deal down the stretch, as they'll have to play SEC West rivals in their last five games.
As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow me on Twitter @griffaldo for more college football updates.
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