College Football Rankings: LSU Tigers Lead the Way in SEC Power Poll Marked by Quiet

SEC POWER POLL RESULTS, WEEK 9

	Team (First-place votes)	Points	Change	Standard Deviation
1	LSU Tigers (8)	164	--	0.492
2	Alabama Crimson Tide (4)	160	--	0.492
3	Florida Gators	144	--	0.000
4	Ole Miss Rebels	129	--	0.622
5	Mississippi St. Bulldogs	116	--	0.888
6	Texas A&M Aggies	104	--	1.155
7	Tennessee Volunteers	101	--	1.084
8	Arkansas Razorbacks	86	+1	1.030
9	Georgia Bulldogs	74	-2	0.718
10	Auburn Tigers	61	--	0.515
11	Kentucky Wildcats	48	--	0.426
12	South Carolina Gamecocks	37	--	0.289
13	Vanderbilt Commodores	20	--	0.492
14	Missouri Tigers	16	--	0.492

Finally, the continuation of the season appears to be bringing some consensus and calm to our poll. Everyone remains in the same spot except Arkansas and Georgia. (The reasons that the Razorbacks moved up one spot while Georgia dropped two is that the Bulldogs were tied with Tennessee for seventh last week.) And the standard deviations are extremely low compared to earlier in the season --- when the most controversial team is scoring a 1.155, it's not really controversial at all.

Florida is your only unanimous team, though, clocking in at No. 3 without any dissent. LSU and Alabama divide all the No. 1 votes between them -- it seems like I've heard something about a game between them at some point -- and Vanderbilt and Missouri are splitting the ballots when it comes to the last two spots on the board. South Carolina being an incompetent but lively team appears to have put some distance between the Gamecocks and the other cellar dwellers.

The other slightly notable thing is that Tennessee is very close to overtaking Texas A&M for the No. 6 spot, which adds a little bit of drama to what is otherwise a quiet week. At least until the battle this weekend shakes things up. Voters?

Alabama Crimson Tide

Lane Kiffin just may be the head coach of an SEC team again next year.---Georgia Sports Blog

Bama gets LSU at home, which is either a stroke of good luck or a death sentence depending upon who you talk to.---Rock M Nation

Spent the bye week in a state of confusion where pulling against the team in front of them in the standings meant cheering for the Auburn Tigers to win a football game. It was a dark, dark place.---Roll Bama Roll

Arkansas Razorbacks

You've beaten every team that you've played from the state of Tennessee, which is more than some SEC teams can say.---Anchor of Gold

Ole Miss beat UT-Martin by more points than did Arkansas. That makes us better. You can just go ahead and forfeit this weekend's game if you want to do so.---Red Cup Rebellion

Nobody really seems to have noticed, but the Razorbacks got torched in the air by UT-Martin, and the loss of Rawleigh Williams is a concern moving forward, but Arkansas is still a really dangerous team. Once again, the Hogs have a good chance to cause some serious havoc in the month of November, starting with a team they bludgeoned last season, Ole Miss.---Roll Bama Roll

Auburn Tigers

The Tigers gave up well over 500 yards of offense to Ole Miss, even with Carl Lawson's return.  Obviously the Will Muschamp era is going swimmingly.---Get the Picture

Totally dysfunctional on offense. Georgia fans are envious.---Dawg Sports

War damn mediocre eagle.---Alligator Army

Shanna Lockwood -- USA Today Sports

Florida Gators

Give it to Florida, they are quite adept at taking control of a division when no one else will.---Georgia Sports Blog

November has barely started and it's probably already safe for the Gators to book their tickets in Atlanta.---Garnet and Black Attack

Jim McElwain continues to make Will Muschamp look incompetent from hundreds of miles away.---Dawg Sports

Georgia Bulldogs

So, the best qb is the third string qb, and the best punter is the second string qb. And you say Georgia keeps missing on qb recruiting.---Georgia Sports Blog

Approaching Dorrellian quarterback limits.---Anchor of Gold

I've never been on the "Fire Mark Richt" train, but after a lackluster performance where it looked as if his Bulldogs gave up after halftime I have my foot on the caboose. The train is picking up strong -- and this time warranted -- steam.---Arkansas Fight

Kentucky Wildcats

Kentucky Wildcats, SEC East contenders was fun while it lasted, at least.---Rock M Nation

If the SEC wanted defense like this, they would've kept Tulane.---Anchor of Gold

I theorize that Kentucky is taking my advice from several weeks ago. At that time, I said they should focus all their time and effort in ensuring they beat Vanderbilt two weeks from now. If they do that, they're bowling, and the losses to State, Tennessee, probably Georgia, and probably Lousiville don't really even matter. DO IT. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME.---Red Cup Rebellion

Bryan Lynn -- USA Today Sports

LSU Tigers

In this corner, an Alabama team facing another must win game.  And in this corner, Les Miles.  How much time do you think Bama spends on fake punt preparation?---Get the Picture

The time has finally come. The Fighting Fournettes take on the No. 3 rushing defense in the country in Alabama. Which seemingly unyielding counterpart will prove the lesser? That question is likely to decide the SEC Western Division Champion.---Red Cup Rebellion

If LF7 does go buckwild on Alabama, then he should just be handed the Heisman. As in, the committee should be waiting on the sidelines with the trophy-- no ceremony, no New York, no runners-up.---Rocky Top Talk

Mississippi St. Bulldogs

Dan Mullen is quietly building quite a nice resume for the Texas job.---Georgia Sports Blog

Earlier this season, I was worried about MSU's chances in a Thursday night affair against a team whose coach is in the MAC hall of fame, but the Bulldogs have been more impressive that I thought and Mizzou has been ... less so.---Rock M Nation

The Bulldogs were off before going to Columbia to face an inferior team from the East. Not South Carolina, a Maty Mauk-less Mizzou.---Arkansas Fight

Missouri Tigers

If the SEC wanted offense like this, they would've kept Sewanee.---Anchor of Gold

"2013 Florida would probably beat 2015 Missouri 20-0." "Maybe like 13-3. Maaaaybe."---Alligator Army

Mizzou scored as many points as Vanderbilt did against Houston this past week, and they didn't even play in the game. Or any game for that matter.---Roll Bama Roll

Ole Miss Rebels

If Mississippi continues their trend, they'll hold Fournette to negative four yards rushing, but allow Dak Prescott 300 all purpose yards.---Georgia Sports Blog

Chad Kelly's arm must be welded to his shoulder. Either that, or it's cybernetic and replaceable after each game. Those are the only explanations I can think of for his Air Raid levels of pass attempts not taking a noticeable toll.---Rock M Nation

The Rebels earned their first victory on The Plains, sweeping both road games in Alabama for the first time in history. More importantly, they remain in control of their SECCG hopes and have a healthy Robert Nkemdiche back in playing shape.---Arkansas Fight

John Reed -- USA Today Sports

South Carolina Gamecocks

South Carolina is starting to look more and more like the fourth best team in the SEC East.---Georgia Sports Blog

Goal: do not get absolutely annihilated in three of their last four games.---Rock M Nation

Considering the head-coaching matchup featured an undistinguished interim head coach versus Future National Championship Winning Coach and Offensive Genius, South Carolina looked surprisingly frisky against A&M.---Rocky Top Talk

Tennessee Volunteers

Positioning themselves as a sexy pick to win the SEC East next year, just like in 2014, 2013, 2012 ...---Anchor of Gold

Tennessee just trucked Kentucky. Like, Kentucky did the "wear black for a night game" thing and got all worked up for a chance to beat a team that very recently had nearly as long a winning streak against it as Florida still does ... and lost by 30. Tennessee's pretty good.---Alligator Army

Tennessee is easily the best 4-4 team in the country, and they flexed their muscles in Lexington Saturday night. Keep in mind that this team should have beaten Oklahoma, and had nearly everything that could possibly go wrong for them late in order to lose a one point game in Gainesville. Those weren't flukes, and with the back end of the schedule looking extremely light, there is no reason this team shouldn't be 8-4 with a ton of momentum carrying them into the 2016 season.---Roll Bama Roll

Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies' offense is like a bad quick service restaurant: too many options that are done poorly and all the cooks are on work release or just a month out of high school.---Georgia Sports Blog

The Aggies ended a two-game losing streak, but didn't exactly dominate a weak South Carolina team in doing so.  Progress of a sort, in other words.---Get the Picture

The Aggies started a new quarterback against South Carolina and he put up great numbers, so it's safe to say that all of their problems are solved.---Garnet and Black Attack

Troy Taormina -- USA Today Sports

Vanderbilt Commodores

Houston is a great team, but come on Commodores.---Garnet and Black Attack

Cheer up, Commodores-- Houston is actually good this year and is coached by OTHER HOT CANDIDATE TO BE YOUR NEXT HEAD COACH (NOT THE GUY WHO BEAT OLE MISS). Just beat Florida this weekend and you'll control your own destiny in the SEC East.---Rocky Top Talk

Vandy did hold Houston to season lows on offense. And 21 of Houston's points were off of Vandy turnovers. Being shut out is terrible, don't get me wrong, but their defense played well.---Alligator Army