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SEC Power Rankings: RIP Tua

Auburn and Missouri are slumming it in new neighborhoods and Alabama’s Playoff hopes might be dashed.

NCAA Football: Alabama at Mississippi State Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

Tua Tagovailoa is an elite quarterback, and regardless of your feelings about Alabama football in general, it always sucks to see a talent like that lose a season in such a gruesome injury. That’s a Heisman-winning NFL 1st Round-1st Pick kind of player whose hopes (and paychecks) were just demolished. My thought is that he comes back next year, but regardless, I hope he heals up quickly and correctly. On to the Power Rankings!

Tier I

No movement here. LSU’s defense is looking more and more vulnerable while the Alabama offense will get a late season face lift with Mac Jones at quarterback. Certainly there’s a chance that LSU could lose to Georgia or Alabama gets Auburn’d, but for now, 1 & 2 stay where they are.

Tier II

Kirby Smart insists on playing that ugly ‘09 Alabama offensive style — seemingly the last man in the sport to want to do that — and it nearly cost him against Auburn. Florida won ugly, but a.) still won, and b.) still is not going to be the representative of the East. If you had told a Florida fan at the end of the year that they’d have 9 games with Kyle Trask at quarterback, they’d take it in a heartbeat.

Tier III

Hi, Auburn. Maybe don’t make your freshman quarterback pass 50 times a game against an elite defense and decide to wake up offensively in the 4th quarter? Texas A&M is unfortunately in the West, which means there’s 3 losses baked-in every year, but is having a very strong season regardless. The matchup against LSU will be tasty.

Tier IV

Missouri insists on being bad at offense, some of the worst play in that unit since the 2015 debacle. Tennessee insists on replicating the Barry Odom approved “win late, baby!” style of schedule management. Ole Miss insists on scaring the bejesus out of every team it plays and then losing anyway. South Carolina insists on keeping Will Muschamp around? And Mississippi State...uh...stop hurting good football players.

Tier V

Vandy endorsing Derek Mason is admirable but foolish, taking a page right out of my playbook of making an argument in keeping that dust-covered treadmill around: some day, it’ll work out.