College Football Rankings: LSU Tops SEC Power Poll as Alabama Falls to No. 2; Missouri Ranked Last

SEC POWER POLL RESULTS, WEEK 8

	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Change	Standard Deviation
1	LSU Tigers (8)	164	+1	0.492
2	Alabama Crimson Tide (4)	160	-1	0.492
3	Florida Gators	142	--	0.577
4	Ole Miss Rebels	129	+2	0.754
5	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	119	--	1.165
6	Texas A&M Aggies	99	-2	1.658
7	Georgia Bulldogs	92	--	1.371
7	Tennessee Volunteers	92	+1	0.888
9	Arkansas Razorbacks	82	--	0.937
10	Auburn Tigers	58	--	0.389
11	Kentucky Wildcats	51	--	0.622
12	South Carolina Gamecocks	28	+1	0.888
13	Vanderbilt Commodores	27	+1	0.622
14	Missouri Tigers	17	-2	0.669

We have a new No. 1. Again. LSU becomes the third team to take the top spot in our poll this season, following Alabama (twice) and Ole Miss. It's still a close margin, because every voter agrees that the Tigers and the Tide are No. 1 and No. 2 in some order. Next week's GAME OF THE CENTURY OF THE SEASON should decide things, at least for a while.

Elsewhere, Ole Miss moves up two spots after pummeling Texas A&M, which drops two places. Tennessee moves into a tie with Georgia. And South Carolina and Vanderbilt are essentially tied for the No. 12 spot right now, with Missouri's inability to score anything resembling a touchdown moves the Tigers to the bottom of the rankings. There's no way to arrange the bottom three without someone being ahead of someone they beat, which is one reason things are a little jumbled.

Your most controversial teams are Texas A&M and Georgia, though the standard deviations are getting lower as we get more data and voters tend to agree about the general ranking of teams. The Aggies are likely there because they are continuing the pattern they began last season: Great out of the box and fading down the stretch. Georgia, meanwhile, is either an SEC East contender or a mid-tier bowl team, and the collective guessing at which one it is leads to the divide. Voters?

Alabama Crimson Tide

I don't know what it is about Alabama, maybe it's the pressure of the Tide faithful, but they look like a completely different team away from Tuscaloosa. Dominant on the road, vulnerable at home. And the LSU game is at home in two weeks.---A Sea of Blue

They have now dodged so many bullets that they look like Neo in the Matrix.---And the Valley Shook

Even grizzly bears get tired sometimes. The Tide were more than content to sit on Tennessee and let the air drain from their body while they snacked on some delicious wild berries. They even have a bye week this weekend to recover from the inevitable intestinal complications stemming from said berries.---Rock M Nation

Arkansas Razorbacks

Perhaps Arky needs to install an overtime offensive package and run that all the time.---Georgia Sports Blog

Taking four OTs to beat Auburn is simultaneously a sign of toughness and a sign of incompetence. So here we are.---Anchor of Gold

The Hogs outlasted Auburn in quadruple overtime and have a reprieve next week against UT-Martin before taking on a brutal November slate of games.---Garnet and Black Attack

Jasen Vinlove -- USA Today Sports

Auburn Tigers

Malzahn the Football Wizard: two years ago, Gandalf; last year, David Copperfield; this year, David Blaine. "Oooooo, I can sit in a box for a long time!"---Rocky Top Talk

The Gus Bus threw another engine rod.  All Auburn can do now is try to get the vehicle fixed for next season's race.---Get the Picture

The Auburn offense is starting to show some serious life, but the defense is bad. Will Muschamp obviously needs some time to remake this defensive roster. Peyton Barber is an under-appreciated workhorse in a conference full of them.---Roll Bama Roll

Florida Gators

I assume that the Gators spent their bye week laughing at the rest of the SEC East.---Garnet and Black Attack

I don't think Florida beats Alabama on a neutral field right now. Will Grier's still a little better than Treon Harris. But Florida does have the better loss.---Alligator Army

The only thing standing between UF and a trip to Atlanta is a spooky cocktail party and you know damn well that Floridians can handle any nefarious goings on at an outdoor drinking event.---Rock M Nation

Georgia Bulldogs

Hopefully Georgia took the bye week to figure out their post-Chubb identity. After three lackluster performances, I don't think Greyson Lambert has the ability to put this team on his back and propel them past Florida.---A Sea of Blue

We'll see this week if the season can be salvaged or if the #firemarkricht chants will reach decibels that are unsafe without hearing protection.---Anchor of Gold

Georgia hasn't looked very good during the month of October, and the loss of Nick Chubb is tough to overlook, but Mark Richt's team is a win over Florida away from being in complete control of the East. Even without Chubb, this team has no reason why it should finish in the bottom half of these rankings.---Roll Bama Roll

Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats only had to do one thing to win Saturday. Regretfully, that one thing was to score 43 points.---Georgia Sports Blog

It's time to move on to basketball season. Fortunately, football got you most of the way through October!---Anchor of Gold

A 4-1 start feels like a long time ago for the Wildcats. Coach Mike Stoops has them on the verge of leaving the cellar, but they keep tripping on the last few stairs.---Arkansas Fight

Matt Bush -- USA Today Sports

LSU Tigers

Hey, remember when Western Kentucky was actually in the game? Yeah, neither do I. 20-6 third quarters will do that.---A Sea of Blue

LSU has the only offense in the SEC which averages over 7 yards/play (7.19). Brandon Harris has thrown for over 200 yards in three consecutive games. Fournette is so good that we now consider a 150-yard output a bad game. Someone break up this offensive juggernaut!---And the Valley Shook

LSU has the best running attack in college football; there is no question about this. If Brandon Harris can continue to play as well as he has the last few weeks, this team may just win the whole thing. The defense isn't the elite unit we have come to expect from the Bayou Bengals, but they aren't exactly mediocre. Also, Leonard Fournette still plays for this team, so LSU will have the best player on the field every week.---Roll Bama Roll

Mississippi St. Bulldogs

If Mississippi State slips up and beats LSU or Alabama, I'd look for some Dak for Heisman talk to get started.---Georgia Sports Blog

Not many seem to have noticed, but Dan Mullen's squad laid a beat-down on the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday night. Dak Prescott had arguably his finest performance as a Bulldog, accounting for 6 touchdowns and 465 total yards. The defense gave up a decent chunk of yardage to Kentucky, but, much like last season, made stops when they needed to. This really is just a lesser version of last season's ten win team.---Roll Bama Roll

Low key, I think MSU might be the third-best team in the West. I want to dress up as Dak Prescott for Halloween and terrify opposing defenses.---Rock M Nation

Missouri Tigers

I'm not sure this is the Missouri the SEC thought they were getting.---Georgia Sports Blog

Florida's defense scored more touchdowns on Missouri than Missouri's offense has since October 4.---Alligator Army

[intentionally left blank as an artistic representation of Mizzou's offensive production]---Rock M Nation

Ole Miss Rebels

Ole Miss proved one thing: they have the talent to beat any team in the country but they are wildly inconsistent. And they are still alive in the West.---A Sea of Blue

A dangerous team, in the Jekyll and Hyde sense of being dangerous.---Get the Picture

They still somehow control their own destiny in the West, but losses to Memphis should disqualify them from Atlanta. It should be in the SEC bylaws.---And the Valley Shook

Justin Ford -- USA Today Sports

South Carolina Gamecocks

Let's see how they play now that they are past their dead cat bounce week.---And the Valley Shook

"South Carolina, what's the strength of that team?" "Shawn Elliott yells a lot?"---Alligator Army

Emotional and inspired home win over Vandy aside, this is the worst team in the conference. At least Vandy and Mizzou have good defenses. South Carolina doesn't do anything well.---Roll Bama Roll

Tennessee Volunteers

Too bad Alabama didn't try a field goal at the end of the game.---Georgia Sports Blog

Ironically, the last Tennessee head coach to earn a moral victory against Alabama was Lane Kiffin.---Get the Picture

Butch may regret leaving all these bricks around angry Vols fans...---Anchor of Gold

Texas A&M Aggies

Two weeks ago they were undefeated and getting no respect. Now we know why. ---Anchor of Gold

The Aggies have now been soundly defeated by two conference opponents in a row. But the Tide and the Rebels are both really good, so the Aggies are probably don't need to panic.---Garnet and Black Attack

Another big-time game for Texas A&M, another bad loss. At what point do people start really questioning whether or not Kevin Sumlin can get it done in the SEC? Outside of their upset wins over Alabama in 2012 and Auburn in 2014, what has A&M done other than pad the stats against the bottom half of the conference? The defense that many have paraded as being greatly improved this year has been abused in SEC play for the most part, as they continue to get gashed in the run game.---Roll Bama Roll

Vanderbilt Commodores

Congrats on the biennial conference win!---Rocky Top Talk

(After 12 in-conference attempts) Derek Mason CAN win in Nashville!---Arkansas Fight

Out-Missouri'd Missouri. I know that may not seem like a compliment this year, but it is. I promise.---Rock M Nation

Jim Brown -- USA Today Sports