Georgia-Texas, Alabama-Tennessee games could cause major poll movement | SEC Power Poll

Georgia, still No. 2 in the AJC SEC Power Poll after beating Mississippi State, travels to Austin for this Saturday’s marquee event in a 7:30 p.m. game.

AJC SEC Power Poll No. 3 Alabama heads to Knoxville for a clash with nail-biter potential.

Certainly, there were plenty of those close moments last Saturday, leaving an impression on AJC Power Poll voters.

“I was wowed by LSU’s drive to tie the game against Ole Miss at the end of regulation last Saturday,” said Josh Ward, radio host on Knoxville’s WNML-FM radio. “The Tigers converted twice on fourth down against one of the nation’s best defenses. I think that’s ‘wow’ worthy.

“This was a game that each side had to win. Imagine the reaction in Baton Rouge if the Tigers had lost at home to Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss with two weeks to prepare for the game.”

Cinderella Vanderbilt continues to move the needed with the pollsters as well.

“Never would have thought Vanderbilt would sit at No. 8 in the SEC at the season’s midpoint, but Diego Pavia and the ‘Dores have made me a believer the past two weeks,” said Edgar Thompson, who covers Florida at the Orlando Sentinel.

“After winning ugly at Kentucky and outpacing Alabama, Clark Lea’s program cannot afford a Georgia State-style slip-up Saturday against Ball State before hosting No. 1 Texas seeking to pull off the ultimate shocker.”

Texas’ Orangebloods writer Anwar Richardson believes in Vanderbilt, but also, continues to have his doubts about Kalen DeBoer’s version of Alabama football.

“Some of you may have thought I was taking crazy pills for ranking Vanderbilt third and Alabama fourth in last week’s power rankings,” Richardson said. “Even if you thought my Vanderbilt ranking was ridiculous, maybe I can finally convince some of you that Alabama is not a great team. Alabama struggled for three quarters against USF, struggled against Vanderbilt, and South Carolina, one of the SEC’s worst teams, nearly defeated the Crimson Tide this past Saturday.

“Heck, I dropped Vanderbilt this week because I do not believe it defeated a great Alabama team. At this rate, Alabama has another loss — or two — on the horizon.”

The Tide, of course, finally prevailed over Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks by a 27-25, just as Tennessee pulled out a 23-17 overtime thriller over Florida.

CBS sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah, however, was not impressed.

“I’ve been underwhelmed with Tennessee’s passing offense for several weeks, but the Vols’ performance against 3-3 Florida was the last straw,” Jeyarajah said, asked what he though most notable about last Saturday’s SEC action.

“Tennessee was shut out for more than 40 minutes of game time and quarterback Nico Iamaleava mustered only 169 yards passing against one of the worst defenses in major college football,” Jeyarajah said.

“Tennessee might be 5-1, but the Vols aren’t a serious contender if their passing offense can’t impact games. It’s not all on the quarterback, but Iamaleava has not cleared 200 yards passing since Week 2.”

RISING UP: LSU and South Carolina were the big gainers in this week’s AJC SEC Power Poll.

The Tigers moved up from No. 7 to No. 5 on the heels of their 29-26 overtime win over Ole Miss, providing them momentum for their road trip to Arkansas on Saturday night.

The Gamecocks moved up two spots despite losing. South Carolina rallied from 14-0 down to regain the lead over Alabama in Tuscaloosa before ultimately falling 27-25, unable to convert on a late 2-point conversion or take advantage of a recovered onside kick in the final minute.

Falling Down: Kentucky fell from No. 11 in the AJC SEC Power Poll to No. 13 after losing a home game to Vanderbilt 20-13.

AJC SEC Power Poll

Note: The parenthetical after the current ranking denotes last week’s ranking.

1. (1) Texas — 144 points — Highest vote 1, Lowest vote 1

2. (2) Georgia — 133 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 2

3. (3) Alabama — 118 points — Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 6

4. (4) Texas A&M — 116 points — Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 6

5. (7) LSU — 108 points — Highest vote 4, Lowest vote 6

6. (5) Tennessee — 101 points, Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 9

7. (6) Ole Miss — 85 points — Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 10

8. (T-9) Vanderbilt — 79 points — Highest vote 4, Lowest vote 12

9. (8) Arkansas — 73 points — Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 11

10. (T-9) Missouri — 67 points — Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 12

11. (13) South Carolina — 52 points — Highest vote 9, Lowest vote 15

12. (12) Oklahoma — 45 points — Highest vote 8, Lowest vote 13

13. (11) Kentucky — 39 points — Highest vote 11, Lowest vote 15

14. (14) Florida — 33 points — Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 15

15. (15) Auburn — 19 points — Highest vote 14, Lowest vote 16

16. (16) Mississippi State — 12 points — Highest vote 13, Lowest vote 16

SEC Power poll voting panel

SEC football games this weekend

(Opening lines)

Auburn at Missouri (-6), Noon, ESPN

South Carolina at Oklahoma (-4), 12:45 p.m., SEC Network

Alabama (-1) at Tennessee, 3:30 p.m., ABC

Texas A&M (-15) at Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m., SEC Network

LSU (-1) at Arkansas, 7 p.m. ESPN

Ball State at Vanderbilt (-27), 7 p.m. ESPN-Plus Stream

Georgia at Texas (-3), 7:30 p.m., ABC

Kentucky at Florida (-2), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network

IDLE: Ole Miss