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College Football Rankings: SEC Power Poll Has Alabama on Top, Vanderbilt Back at No. 14

The Tide maintains the top position after hammering Texas A&M in College Station, while the battle for No. 14 gives us a clear-cut winner for last place in the poll

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

SEC POWER POLL RESULTS, WEEK 7

Team (First-place votes) Points Change Standard Deviation
1 Alabama Crimson Tide (7) 150 -- 0.505
2 LSU Tigers (4) 146.5 -- 0.505
3 Florida Gators 130 +1 0.405
4 Texas A&M Aggies 121.5 -1 0.831
5 Mississippi St. Bulldogs 105 +1 1.128
6 Ole Miss Rebels 95 -1 1.748
7 Georgia Bulldogs 84 -- 1.120
8 Tennessee Volunteers 80 -- 1.421
9 Arkansas Razorbacks 67 -- 1.446
10 Auburn Tigers 57 +2 1.471
11 Kentucky Wildcats 49 -2 0.820
12 Missouri Tigers 37 -1 0.674
13 South Carolina Gamecocks 22 +1 0.000
14 Vanderbilt Commodores 11 -1 0.000

Vanderbilt has reclaimed its crown as the worst team in the conference. Following the head-to-head loss to South Carolina on the road (though by more than what you'll get for homefield advantage in most books), the Commodores are back at No. 14 by unanimous vote. But South Carolina shouldn't get too full of itself (not that that was likely), given that the Gamecocks are the unanimous choice for No. 13.

Most of the changes are flips and flops here and there; Florida once again moves past Texas A&M after the Aggies took third place last week, for example. LSU continues to be right behind Alabama in the race for first place. Auburn and Kentucky pass each other, also following an on-field result.

The most controversial team this week is Ole Miss, which is kind of what you would expect when a team once seen as a contender for the SEC West title loses to Memphis. Auburn, Arkansas and Tennessee also really divide our voters. As far as the least controversial -- outside of the unanimous votes -- almost everyone seems to acknowledge that Alabama, LSU, Florida and maybe Texas A&M are better than everyone else, but the order is still being determined

Alabama Crimson Tide

Man, it's almost like that fluky Ole Miss loss was a weird, glitchy game and the Tide were really good the entire time. Either that, or Memphis is one of the top contenders in the West.---Rock M Nation

Balanced scoring, Tuscaloosa-style: offense 20 points, defense 21 points.---Rocky Top Talk

Turns out that the Tide is still pretty good and, as usual, we're all circling LSU-Bama on our calendars.---Garnet and Black Attack

Arkansas Razorbacks

At some point, the media will get tired of hoping the Razorbacks will 'get over the hump' and just see them for the 3-5 SEC team they are.---Georgia Sports Blog

They at least know their identity. It's not a very good one, but it at least is an identity.---And the Valley Shook

Arkansas has a real shot at being the best 6-6 team in the country at the end of two regular seasons in a row.---Anchor of Gold

Auburn Tigers

Gus' group showed signs of life in the first half against Kentucky, and then held on for dear life.---Get the Picture

This team has a knack for winning close games. They're like 2010 Auburn, only not very good.---Anchor of Gold

It's hard to read too much into the tricky game in Lexington last Thursday, but Auburn definitely looked like it played its best game of the season. Sean White still has a lot of developing to do, but he doesn't hurt them the way Jeremy Johnson did, and that indicates progress. Will Muschamp still has a ways to go with this defense.---Roll Bama Roll

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Mark Zerof -- USA Today Sports

Florida Gators

Florida and Jim McElwain deserve all the credit in thw world going into LSU and coming with a seven point loss considering all of the turmoil they faced last week. McElwain is proving that he belongs in the SEC.---A Sea of Blue

Don't get down, Gator fans. Les was on a heater, there aren't many teams capable of beating him when he's that hot. I mean, how could you have known that LSU's kicker was capable of OUTRUNNING VERNON HARGREAVES.---Rock M Nation

The Gators held their own on a Saturday night in Baton Rouge down a starting quarterback; there's a lot to be said about that.---Arkansas Fight

Georgia Bulldogs

I got into an actual, real life argument over the weekend with a few Bulldog fans about whether Missouri or Georgia was worse. They were quite adamant about UGA being a pile of trash, but they're at least a pile of trash with an offense.---Rock M Nation

Beat Missouri and is in 2nd place in the East, but I'm assuming the Bulldogs would prefer that we never speak of that game again.---Garnet and Black Attack

Hey, a week went by without a player Georgia faced getting an offensive player of the week honor. That's something.---Georgia Sports Blog

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky was *this* close to making a run at a top of the SEC bowl line up. ---Georgia Sports Blog

This is my fault, Kentucky. I screwed up. I trusted in you. Looking back, that was a nearly insane decision completely contrary to my prior experience. So I'm not even mad. I think we all learned something: never believe in Kentucky football.---And the Valley Shook

Kentucky has 6 games left on their schedule that look like they could be winnable under the right circumstances. Unfortunately, 5 of them could also easily be losable under the wrong ones.---Anchor of Gold

LSU Tigers

LSU and Leonard Fournette continue to impress as they knocked off a wounded but talented Gator team in the Bayou. Can we go ahead and skip ahead to the titanic Alabama showdown?---A Sea of Blue

How does anybody fall for a fake field goal from the Hat anymore?---Get the Picture

Les Miles at LSU is the perfect example of "Infinite Monkey Theorem" for college football coaching.---Rocky Top Talk

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Derick E. Hingle -- USA Today Sports

Mississippi St. Bulldogs

After a sleepy first half, Dak Prescott and the Bulldogs put it to Louisiana Tech. The 12th-year quarterback doesn't make many mistakes but there are still question marks surrounding the rest of his team. Be careful with Kentucky this week.---A Sea of Blue

Don't look now, but Dak and company only have two close losses to A&M and LSU on their record. They'll probably lose to Alabama, but at this point who else do you see them falling to? It's not like Memphis is coming to Starkville any time soon.---Rock M Nation

Mississippi State is putting together a nice little season so far. Now for the inevitable run for the Liberty Bowl.---Georgia Sports Blog

Missouri Tigers

Lost a 6-9 game to Georgia. SEC defense, right?---Garnet and Black Attack

It's been almost two games since the Tigers scored a touchdown. Drop the quarterback position. Switch to the triple-option. No passing necessary.---Arkansas Fight

Mizzou's defense continues to be very, very good. The offense continues to be very, very bad. The poor play by the offensive line has been particularly surprising, as this unit had a lot of experience and past success prior to this year. This week's game with Vandy could invoke images of the infamous 3-2 Auburn-Mississippi State game.---Roll Bama Roll

Ole Miss Rebels

An SEC team doesn't go on the road and lose to an AAC team on a Saturday afternoon. Unless you're the Rebels and you completely put everything you had into one game against Alabama and now you have nothing left to give.---A Sea of Blue

We don't talk enough about how charitable Hugh Freeze is. Just this past weekend, he went and secured Justin Fuente a sweet promotion. That's unselfishness in its purest form, right there.---Rock M Nation

I guess November arrived early this year.---Anchor of Gold

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Justin Ford -- USA Today Sports

South Carolina Gamecocks

Is a gutsy win over Vandy enough to get Shawn Elliott a real shot at the head coaching job? That would be a reverse Crooming, right?---Georgia Sports Blog

Recovering nicely from disaster as the recipient of truckloads of water, generators, and turnovers from Vandy.---Anchor of Gold

In a tribute to the Ole Ball Coach himself, the Gamecocks refused to let Vanderbilt place ahead of them in the power rankings this week. Unfortunately, this is still a bad football team.---Roll Bama Roll

Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee took the bye week preparing for their "rival" Alabama after coming back to defeat a Georgia team searching for an identity without NIck Chubb. Can you really consider another team your rival if you haven't beaten them since Phillip Fulmer was the head coach of the Vols?---A Sea of Blue

Having to play a must win game in Tuscaloosa probably isn't the Vols' first choice this week.---Get the Picture

This year isn't truly chaos until Tennessee beat Alabama. I'm not holding my breath, but I bet they have a lead after three quarters.---And the Valley Shook

Texas A&M Aggies

Don't feel bad Aggies, Alabama does that to everybody. Except Ole Miss for some unfathomable reason.---A Sea of Blue

Aggies, you fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia," but only slightly less well-known is this: " Never go in against Alabama when you're perceived as a challenge."---Get the Picture

Aggie let a bit of their Texas confidence get to their heads. I know you've played well so far, but spotting the Tide 21 points might've been overkill.---Rock M Nation

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Justin Ford -- USA Today Sports

Vanderbilt Commodores

I hope Derek Mason receives a lifetime contract to coach Vanderbilt football -- at this rate of improvement, he may need every bit of it to secure his first SEC win.---Rocky Top Talk

Even Missouri and South Carolina imploding can't get the 'Dores out of the cellar.---Georgia Sports Blog

It was a hard spot for the Commodores, but a victory at South Carolina was their best shot at an SEC win this year.---Arkansas Fight