Auburn’s 27-24 shocker at Sanford Stadium reshuffled the SEC on a wild Week 7 Saturday, and the Tigers suddenly have real momentum after stunning Georgia. The win sent Auburn soaring, but it also exposed just how much upheaval is rippling through the conference. Two teams that had previously sat at No. 1 overall in the rankings both fell, and a handful of others saw their stock crater along the way.
At the top, Georgia stays put at No. 1 despite the loss. The Bulldogs were already dealing with injuries before kickoff, and quarterback Gunner Stockton was hobbled on the very first play of the game. Even after the setback, Georgia still looks like the team to beat in the SEC, but only once the health picture improves.
Ole Miss slides into No. 2 after a dominant performance against Missouri. The Rebels have now allowed 20 points in their last two games while scoring 83, and that kind of balance has them back in strong standing.
Kentucky checks in at No. 3 after knocking Oklahoma down a peg following the Sooners’ upset of Texas in the Red River Rivalry. The Wildcats have turned into an SEC contender in a hurry, and the piece of the schedule still ahead of them is enough to keep CFP talk alive. “UK is a football school now.”
Tennessee sits at No. 4 after handling Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville on the Third Saturday in October. The Volunteers have only lost to the Longhorns so far this season, and they remain firmly in the CFP mix.
Alabama drops to No. 5 after getting worn down in that loss. The Crimson Tide still have the kind of talent that keeps them in the conversation, but Kalen DeBoer is losing steam in year three, and Keelon Russell had a rough first big road rivalry game.
Florida comes in at No. 6, with two of the best wins in the conference now on its résumé after beating Ole Miss and Texas. The Gators still have ugly losses to South Carolina at home and Missouri, but Jon Sumrall has them moving in the right direction after the trip to Austin ended with a win.
Auburn’s leap lands it at No. 7.
Beating Georgia has the Tigers sniffing the upper half of the SEC, and there’s a growing belief in the Loveliest Village on the Plains after ending a nine-year drought against the Bulldogs. A win over LSU next week would push that conversation even further.
LSU follows at No. 8 after a 31-0 shutout of Mississippi State. That kind of performance gets the Tigers back into the top half of the league, and it sets up a huge test at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Auburn next weekend.
Texas falls to No. 9 after a second straight loss, and the tone around the Forty Acres is getting harsher by the week. Arch Manning is not looking like the generational quarterback many expected, and Steve Sarkisian is hearing calls for his head coaching job to be vacated.
South Carolina stays at No. 10 after its bye week, unchanged from the previous ranking.
Missouri slides to No. 11 after scoring only three points at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels left Eliah Drinkwitz’s team in a tough spot heading into the bye.
Mississippi State is No. 12 after getting blanked in Death Valley, though the Bulldogs get a chance to bounce back against Oklahoma in Starkville next Saturday afternoon.
Arkansas moves up to No. 13 after a 31-21 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville. Ryan Silverfield’s Razorbacks may not be one of the conference’s bottom-feeders after all.
Texas A&M sits at No. 14 after a 41-0 shutout of the Citadel at Kyle Field, an expected result that still leaves the Aggies with a major test ahead at Bryant-Denny Stadium against Alabama.
Oklahoma drops to No. 15, and Brent Venables may not have fully bought himself enough time with last week’s Texas win. There does not appear to be a guaranteed victory left on the Sooners’ schedule.
Vanderbilt rounds out the list at No. 16 after the loss to Arkansas. The question hanging over the Commodores is blunt: is Clark Lea simply a Diego Pavia merchant? Jared Curtis couldn’t pull things together against the Razorbacks, and Vanderbilt is back in the basement.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Had To Admit What Auburn Did To Georgia
Auburn did more than just survive Saturday's matchup with Georgia, it controlled enough of the game to walk out with a win after taking a halftime lead and protecting it the rest of the way. Kirby Smart had to give Auburn its due afterward, pointing to the Tigers' cleaner execution while Georgia spent too much of the afternoon dealing with uncharacteristic mistakes and penalties.
For Auburn, the result was a timely statement against one of the SEC's standard-bearers. For Georgia, it was a reminder that even a team still sitting atop the conference standings can look vulnerable on the wrong day, though the Bulldogs remain positioned to make the College Football Playoff. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Is Treating The Georgia Win Like A Message To Everyone
Alex Golesh wasted little time turning Auburns upset of No. 1 Georgia into a standard he wants his program to chase, not celebrate as an outlier. The Tigers erased a 14-0 hole and walked away with a 27-24 win, giving Golesh his first victory over a top-ranked team and Auburn its biggest comeback since 2019. In the moment, it was a signature win. In Goleshs telling, it was also proof that the Tigers can do more than just hang around with elite opponents.
The challenge now is making sure the result changes the way Auburn is viewed every week, not just for a night. Golesh has kept the message centered on one play at a time and on taking advantage when chances come, which matters with LSU and Ole Miss both still ahead on the schedule. For Auburn, the Georgia game offered a burst of belief. The next test is whether that belief can travel with the Tigers into another stretch against ranked competition. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Georgia Stunner Meant Even More For Alex Golesh And Byrum Brown
The win over No. 1 Georgia was already the kind of result that can change a seasons mood in an instant, but it carried an extra layer for Alex Golesh and Byrum Brown. Golesh came away impressed not just by the final outcome, but by the way Brown handled the moment, with the quarterback doing plenty of the heavy lifting in Auburns biggest victory of the year. Brown finished with 115 rushing yards, 150 passing yards and two touchdowns, a performance that fit the poise Golesh said he values most.
What stood out afterward was the mutual respect between the coach and quarterback, a reminder that this one was about more than a signature upset. Golesh pointed to Browns preparation and toughness, using the night as another example of why trust in the process and a collective approach still matter when the opponent is ranked No. 1. For Auburn, the victory will live on for what it meant in the standings, but for Golesh and Brown, it also served as a validation of the work that had been building behind the scenes. [Read more 🡒]