1. Alabama
No reason to put anyone else here. It took some heroics last week, but the Tide keeps rolling along.
2. Arkansas
It was a tough loss, but the Razorbacks still nearly won that game. It's the closest anyone has come to beating Bama since last year's Iron Bowl.
3. Auburn
No one shoulders more of a load on offense or defense than Cameron Newton does. So far, that's been enough.
4. Florida
It's amazing what happens when you script a few plays for a guy (Andre Debose) who hadn't previously touched the ball. Suddenly the defense has to worry about him, and the rest of the field opens up.
5. South Carolina
One wonders if Steve Spurrier has ever held a copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and seen the friendly "DON'T PANIC" on the back cover. Didn't seem that way with his quarterback handling Saturday night.
6. LSU
They keep winning, which is good. They keep doing it in usually unsustainable ways, which is bad. But if they sustain the unsustainable, does the universe explode? Or just everyone's heads?
7. Mississippi State
Big wins over Georgia suddenly don't feel as big anymore. But for this team, it's still probably big.
8. Tennessee
It says a lot about the week that passed when an 2OT win over UAB gets a team moved up in the power poll.
9. Kentucky
Florida stomps Kentucky more often than not, but it still feels like reason to say that this is another thoroughly mediocre UK team that really hasn't taken a step forward after all.
10. Vanderbilt
A close loss to Northwestern and a win over Ole Miss is sadly better than what the next two have.
11. Georgia
This team is a car which has every lug nut loose. There's not one big problem, but there's a bunch of little ones. Either everything gets tightened up, or the wheels are coming off and it's going into a ditch.
12. Ole Miss
Beat an SEC team and we can talk about advancement.