SEC Power Rankings: Alabama cements status as national title contender with statement at LSU

It was a weekend of statements in the SEC, and Alabama made one of the biggest. The Crimson Tide went into Death Valley and notched a three-score win over LSU, reasserting themselves as national championship contenders.

Alabama wasn't perfect against LSU, but considering the environment, it played really well in high-leverage situations. When the Tigers got into Crimson Tide territory, the defense made huge plays to keep the LSU offense out of the end zone. That includes three fourth-down stops and an interception.

On the other side of the ball, Keelon Russell played with a ton of poise in a raucous environment. Russell completed 17 of his 24 pass attempts for 206 yards and three touchdowns. It was an impressive performance from a young quarterback who seems to be coming into his own at the right time of year.

Because of that big win, Alabama has crept back into the top two of our rankings. With a favorable schedule the rest of the way, I don't see the Crimson Tide dropping again anytime soon.

As Alabama climbs once again, here are this week's SEC Power Rankings.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Wow. If that wasn't the most impressive win by any team this season, it has to be awfully close. Georgia went into Oxford and smacked Ole Miss, 42-7, and the game was exactly as lopsided as the scoreboard indicated. Football statistics guru Parker Fleming posted his weekly "Did we really get beat that bad?" chart, and the answer for the Rebels was, "Indeed." The Bulldogs had more rushing yards (295) than the Rebels had total yards (252), and Georgia's defense extinguished what was left of Trinidad Chambliss' Heisman Trophy candidacy. The Bulldogs are on the path to another national championship.

CBS Sports 138: Georgia returns to No. 1 after dominant win, Ohio State plummets in college football rankings

Chip Patterson

2. Alabama Crimson Tide

When the initial College Football Playoff rankings came out last week, the selection committee raised many an eyebrow by placing Alabama at No. 5. Maybe they have a crystal ball in that hotel conference room. Despite being outgained by 172 yards, the Crimson Tide cruised to an 18-point win on the strength of clutch plays in high-leverage moments. Alabama's defense was perfect on fourth down, 4-for-4, and the Tide were plus-2 in turnover margin. Keelon Russell was exceptional at extending plays and making tough throws, and the Death Valley environment didn't faze him at all. If that's the Russell Alabama gets the rest of the way, this team can go on a run.

3. Texas Longhorns

Think about where Texas was after that loss to Florida. Its back was against the wall with a critical stretch approaching. Since then, Steve Sarkisian has done a nice job of rallying the troops with three straight wins. The most impressive part of Saturday's win over Missouri was that the Longhorns didn't blink after falling behind late in the third quarter. They rattled off 21 consecutive points after that to pick up a huge road win, but life doesn't get any easier for Texas this week. Sarkisian has said the Longhorns are "big-game hunters." We're about to find out with a trip to Baton Rouge on deck.

4. Tennessee Volunteers

The "Dark Mode" atmosphere in Neyland Stadium was great as usual, but the Volunteers didn't even need any frills with the way its defense was playing. That unit threw one haymaker after another at the Kentucky offense, and the Wildcats responded by turning the ball over three times. Offensively, it was more meat and potatoes for Tennessee as it rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns. I'm curious to see what will happen if an opponent really forces the Vols to throw the ball more, but will that happen this week at Texas A&M? I'm very skeptical.

5. South Carolina Gamecocks

Make it four consecutive wins for South Carolina. This one wasn't particularly pretty, but there's no accounting for style points in the win column. A mediocre Texas A&M team took the Gamecocks to the wire, but Shane Beamer's squad found a way to win again. South Carolina is still alive in the hunt for a College Football Playoff spot, even though it will need some help. The issue is that LaNorris Sellers was very banged up by the end of the game. The Gamecocks won't need Sellers at 100% to beat Arkansas this week, but they'll need every bit of help they can get against Georgia after that.

6. Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats had been winning on the margins all season, but they lost on those same margins against Tennessee. Kentucky was minus-3 in the turnover margin and failed to convert on either one of its two fourth-down attempts. The good news for the Wildcats is that a College Football Playoff berth is very much still in play if they can run the table against Florida, Missouri and Louisville. That three-game stretch isn't easy, but Kentucky can win each of those games as long as it gets back to playing clean, disciplined football.

7. LSU Tigers

LSU spent a lot of money on its roster to make sure Lane Kiffin had what he needed to reach the College Football Playoff in Year 1, but the Tigers have three losses with three games left on the schedule. The latest loss was yet another home failure against Alabama, which is 7-1 in its last eight trips to Death Valley. With the net beneath them gone, Kiffin and the Tigers will have to pull off a high-wire act over the next couple of weeks. LSU hosts Texas on Saturday, and then it goes on the road to play Tennessee. If the Tigers can't get out of those two games unscathed, there will be a very disappointed fan base in Baton Rouge.

8. Ole Miss Rebels

Sometimes, it's just not your day. Other times, it's just not your day, and you walk headfirst into a giant red-and-black buzzsaw. The Rebels' bid for a College Football Playoff spot ended with a whimper on Saturday night as they lost control of the game immediately against Georgia. Given its upcoming schedule, Ole Miss should be able to reach 9-3 in Pete Golding's first full year on the job, which is a solid start. Unfortunately for the Rebels, they don't have enough quality wins to build a serious case for the playoff.

9. Missouri Tigers

Coming off a blown second-half lead against Texas, there is bad news and good news for Missouri. The bad news is that the Tigers must immediately dust themselves off and face Georgia before taking on Kentucky. The upside of those tough matchups is that Missouri has the opportunity to pick up a couple big-time wins to boost its College Football Playoff resume at the buzzer. If the Tigers are going to pull a rabbit out of their hat, they probably need to rush for more than 84 yards on 24 carries, which is all they could muster against the Longhorns.

10. Oklahoma Sooners

Jason Witten is officially 1-0 as an offensive play caller. Now, to be fair, the Sooners didn't exactly set the world on fire offensively with 351 total yards in the win over Florida. However, Oklahoma didn't turn the ball over and won the time of possession battle by 15:40. The Sooners' defense was as salty as ever and allowed just 2.8 yards per attempt on the ground. This was a big win for Oklahoma's bowl outlook because the team needs just one win over Ole Miss, Texas A&M, or Missouri to reach the postseason.

11. Auburn Tigers

Auburn narrowly avoided a terrible loss to Arkansas, but a win is a win. After taking its lumps against two of the better teams in the SEC, Auburn was able to get back in the win column with a late field goal from Alex McPherson. Byrum Brown once again put the offense on his back with 302 total yards and three total touchdowns. With upcoming games against Mississippi State and Samford, the Tigers could get to 7-4 heading into the Iron Bowl.

12. Texas A&M Aggies

The Aggies have now lost five of their last seven games after blowing a slim fourth-quarter lead against South Carolina. Texas A&M actually moved the ball fairly well on offense, but it just couldn't finish in the red zone. If the Aggies want to avoid losing season in Year 2 of the Mike Elko era, they have to win at least two of their last three games. A tough Tennessee team rolls into College Station this week, but there's a path to victory for Texas A&M if it can frustrate a Vols offense that has struggled on the road this season.

13. Florida Gators

What in the world was that? How did this team beat Texas in Austin? Those were the questions I was asking myself as I watched Florida put up seven points in a brutal home loss to Oklahoma. The Gators have now scored a combined 15 points in their last two games, and now they have to go on the road to face a Kentucky team looking to rebound from a tough loss. One thing that has become apparent over the last few weeks is that Jon Sumrall's top offseason priority will be sorting out the quarterback position.

14. Vanderbilt Commodores

There will be no winless teams in SEC play this season. The Commodores finally got on the board with a road win over Mississippi State, and Jared Curtis continues to flash his high-end potential every week. Winning in the SEC is hard, and Vanderbilt should enjoy this one, especially because it finishes with home games against Alabama and Tennessee with a road trip to The Swamp in between.

15. Mississippi State Bulldogs

After starting the season 4-0, Mississippi State is in serious jeopardy of missing a bowl game entirely. The Bulldogs will get five wins since Tennessee Tech is still on the schedule, but they need to pick up at least one win in matchups against Auburn and Ole Miss. After losing at home to Vanderbilt, it's hard to have much confidence that Mississippi State will hit that six-win threshold.

16. Arkansas Razorbacks