ATHENS — Alabama scored the first SEC conference-game “statement win” among league leaders, elevating the Crimson Tide to the top of the AJC Power Poll rankings.
The Tide moved past Texas to the No. 1 spot on the strength of its 41-34 win over Georgia on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
The Longhorns had more trouble at home with Mississippi State (35-13) than expected as Arch Manning made his second start in place of an injured Quinn Ewers. That apparently was enough for seven of the nine poll voters to feel strongly enough about Alabama to elevate it from its No. 4 standing last week to No. 1 after it held on against Georgia.
The Tide scored touchdowns on its first four possessions against coach Kirby Smart’s team and held a commanding 30-7 at halftime before the Bulldogs charged back to take a 34-33 lead.
Alabama rallied for the game-winning touchdown when Jalen Milroe answered UGA’s go-ahead score with a 75-yard touchdown strike to freshman Ryan Williams.
Still, that Georgia rally was enough for SEC Network analyst Chris Doering to keep the Longhorns ahead of the Tide at No. 1 on his ballot.
“The reason I put Texas ahead of Alabama is because even though Alabama has the best win of the season, they still squandered a 28-point lead,” Doering said, “and if not for the long touchdown at the end, they could have been dealing with one of the biggest choke jobs in SEC history.
“So I commend them for finding a way to get that lead, and commend them for finding a way when everything was going wrong to find a way to win, but at the end of the day there has to be a little bit of a penalty for letting the 28-point lead slip away.”
Orlando Sentinel reporter Edgar Thompson and Oklahoma columnist Jenni Carlson stuck with more conventional wisdom on their ballots.
“Right now, Alabama has its best wins against Georgia and at Wisconsin, (and) Texas has only one big win at Michigan,” Carlson said. “Georgia, while having wins against Clemson and Kentucky, has a loss. It’s a loss to a really good team, but it’s still a loss.
“And losses are significant in my rankings. Hence, Alabama No. 1, Texas No. 2, Georgia No. 3.”
Thompson believes the Alabama-Georgia result could prove significant down the line when tiebreakers take effect.
“To become No. 1, you have to beat No. 1,” Thompson said. “Kalen DeBoer picked up where Nick Saban left off to become Kirby Smart’s kryptonite.”
Maybe so, but Fox Sports radio host Aaron Torres isn’t ready to move Texas from the No. 1 spot.
“While Alabama certainly made the argument to be No. 1 … I still have Texas in the top spot,” Torres said. “The bottom line is that at full strength, they are not only the best team that I’ve personally seen, but their dominant start to finish a win at Michigan is as impressive as anything in college football this season.”
Ryan Fowler, who covers Alabama for Tide 100.9, sees the value of the Crimson Tide’s 41-34 win over Georgia differently.
“I put Alabama in the No. 1 spot because Alabama’s win against UGA is simply more impressive than Texas’s win at Michigan,” Fowler said. “The eye test provides validity that the Crimson Tide is slightly better than the Longhorns.”
Moving up: Kentucky made the biggest jump, from 12th into a tie for ninth after beating Ole Miss on the road by a 20-17 count. The Wildcats are tied for ninth with South Carolina, which defeated it 31-6 in Lexington earlier this season.
Falling down: Georgia and Ole Miss each dropped two spots, as Tennessee edged by the Bulldogs into third after UGA dropped a 41-34 road loss at Tuscaloosa. The Rebels, predictably, fell into SEC middle-class grounds, falling from fifth to seventh after the home loss to Kentucky.
Look ahead: Missouri is coming off a bye week heading to Texas A&M in a showdown of two teams with unbeaten conference records. The Aggies lead the series 9-7 and won the most recent meeting by a 35-14 count in Missouri.
The Ole Miss offense will get a re-evaluation after a road trip to South Carolina in a battle of curious contenders looking to remain in the race for the SEC Championship game. The Rebels lead the series 9-8 most recently beating the Gamecocks in a 59-42 shootout in Oxford in 2020.
This week’s AJC SEC Power Poll
1. (4) Alabama, 141 points, Highest vote 1, Lowest vote 3
2. (1) Texas, 137 points, Highest vote 1, Lowest vote 2
3. (3) Tennessee 123 points, Highest vote 2, Lowest vote 4
4. (2) Georgia 121 points, Highest vote 3, Lowest vote 4
5. (6) Missouri 104 points, Highest vote 5, Lowest vote 8
6. (7) LSU 97 points, Highest vote 5, Lowest vote 7
7. (5) Ole Miss 87 points, Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 9
8. (T-8) Texas A&M 77 points, Highest vote 6, Lowest vote 11
T-9. (12) Kentucky 68 points, Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 11
T-9. (9) South Carolina, 68 points, Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 11
11. (10) Oklahoma, 66 points, Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 11
12. (12) Arkansas, 42 points, Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 14
13. (13) Vanderbilt, 34 points, Highest vote 13, Lowest vote 16
T-14 (T-14) Auburn, 25 points, Highest vote 13, Lowest vote 15
T-14 (T-14) Florida, 25 points, Highest vote 12, Lowest vote 15
16. (16) Mississippi State, 9 points, Highest vote 16, Lowest vote 16
SEC Power poll voting panel
Chris Doering, SEC Network
Jenni Carlson, Beyond the Boxscore
Shehan Jeyarajah, CBS Sports
Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel
Josh Ward, Knoxville WNML
Ryan Fowler, Tuscaloosa Tide-100.9
Anwar Richardson, Orange Bloods
Aaron Torres, Fox Sports Radio
Mike Griffith, AJC-DawgNation
This week’s SEC games
Missouri (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0), Noon, ABC
Auburn (2-3, 0-2 SEC) at Georgia (3-1, 1-1), 3:30 p.m., ABC
Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC) at South Carolina (3-1, 1-1), 3:30 p.m., ESPN
Alabama (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at Vanderbilt (2-2, 0-1), 4:15 p.m., SEC Network
Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) at Arkansas (3-2, 1-1), 7:30 p.m., ABC
Central Florida (3-1) at Florida (2-2, 1-1 SEC), 7:45 p.m., SEC Network
Open: Kentucky (3-2, 1-2 SEC), LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC), Mississippi State (1-4, 0-2 SEC), Oklahoma (4-1, 1-1 SEC), Texas (5-0, 1-0 SEC)
