Most years in the Southeastern Conference, the league can be split into four tiers.
The national title contenders. The New Year’s Six types. The mediocre. Vanderbilt. And while those four categories may still apply, the two in the middle have grown to enormous size so far five weeks into the 2023 season.
Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, is still in position to make it three in a row, but the Bulldogs are making it awfully ugly for themselves en route. Meanwhile, Alabama and LSU have already had their share of disappointments – in the Tigers’ case, two of them – and have fallen out of that top tier. So has Tennessee.
Ole Miss appeared to be on the edge of the second and third before a clear result Saturday put the Rebels – in pencil – in a clear place. What about Kentucky? Are the Wildcats good? Missouri? Is Arkansas bad? How about Auburn? The answer very well could be yes to both.
About the only thing we do know? Vanderbilt is Vanderbilt.
Other than that, let’s take a look at the SEC Football Power Rankings through five weeks.