Last weekend featured even more SEC madness: Texas-Arkansas was only a 10-point game. Tennessee-Georgia was closer than the score would imply. Missouri-South Carolina had what was quite possibly the wildest ending to any SEC game all year. Florida dominated in the second half against LSU to knock the Tigers out of playoff contention. The Hustler’s Week 13 SEC power rankings focus on each program’s best win and worst loss of the 2024 season.

1. Texas (9-1, 5-1 SEC)

Best Win: at Vanderbilt

Worst Loss: vs. Georgia

Texas has dominated college football since entering the SEC, leading the conference heading into Week 14. The Longhorns’ major fumble this year was allowing Trevor Etienne and the Georgia Bulldogs to dominate them at home. Texas was unable to shake off a 23-0 deficit at halftime, and Georgia handed it its only loss of the season. The Longhorns have cruised in three straight SEC battles since their defeat, headlined by their tight victory against No. 25 Vanderbilt on Oct. 26. The Longhorns’ defense shined again, causing quarterback Diego Pavia to throw two interceptions. In Week 13, Texas prevailed in a conference game against Arkansas, holding off the Razorbacks for a 20-10 victory. Texas has two conference matchups left against Kentucky and Texas A&M to finish off the 2024 regular season. 

2. Georgia (8-2, 6-2)

Best Win: at Texas

Worst Loss: at Ole Miss

Georgia, one of two teams to have already finished SEC play, has had a roller coaster of a season. A close loss to Alabama raised a lot of questions, but its dominant performance at then-No. 1 Texas proved that this team is still for real. However, its brutal loss at then-No. 16 Ole Miss three weeks later brought up one big question: just how deep is the SEC? Georgia pulled away late in its matchup last Saturday against then-No. 7 Tennessee, keeping the Bulldogs in the playoff picture. They’ll take on UMass this weekend.

3. Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2)

Best Win: vs. Georgia

Worst Loss: vs. Kentucky

The Rebels were 4-0 after dominating their first set of games until they were shocked by the Kentucky Wildcats in Week Five, losing 20-17. Quarterback Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss’ offense faltered, leading to a Kentucky victory in Week Five. Ole Miss is now in the midst of an eight-game stretch against SEC opponents, where it has dominated. Most recently, In Week 13, Ole Miss pummeled then-No. 3 Georgia 28-10. The Rebels dismantled Carson Beck and the Bulldogs’ offense, forcing three turnovers. Ole Miss heads to the swamp as they match up with the Florida Gators next week.

4. Texas A&M (8-2, 5-1)

Best Win: vs. LSU

Worst Loss: at South Carolina

The Aggies had a serious case for being the best team in the SEC after beating then-No. 8 LSU. Until Nov. 2, that case went unchallenged. However, on that Saturday, South Carolina completely upended Texas A&M’s claims of supremacy in a 44-20 beatdown. Texas A&M spent this past weekend beating a dismal New Mexico State team 38-3, but next weekend, the Aggies will have a tougher task as they travel on the road to face the Auburn Tigers.

5. Tennessee (8-2, 5-2)

Best Win: vs. Alabama

Worst Loss: at Arkansas

The Volunteers took care of business early in the season, cruising to a 4-0 record before losing to Arkansas. Tennessee’s offense faltered against the Razorbacks, only scoring 14 points in a five-point defeat. Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava has since put it together, leading Tennessee to four of five wins against SEC opponents. Most notably, the Volunteers took care of No. 7 Alabama in Neyland Stadium for their first ranked win of the season. Running back Dylan Sampson bruised the Crimson Tide on the ground, scoring 2 touchdowns on top of 139 rushing yards. Tennessee hopes to maintain its playoff status with matchups against UTEP and Vanderbilt to conclude its season. 

6. Alabama (8-2, 4-2)

Best Win: at LSU

Worst Loss: at Vanderbilt

Alabama’s win against Georgia speaks for itself, but its disastrous second-half performance almost cost it the game. The very next week, Alabama couldn’t shake off that second half performance as it fell to a then-unranked Vanderbilt team, 40-35. The Crimson Tide then almost lost at home to South Carolina the next week, and they lost at Tennessee the week after. Something must have clicked after that loss, as they’ve won their three games since then by a total of 108 points. Among those three games came the Crimson Tide’s best win of the season, a 42-13 slaughter at then-No. 15 LSU. Bar a wild upset, Alabama should be able to survive its next two games and make the inaugural 12-team playoff.

7. South Carolina (7-3, 5-3)

Best Win: vs. Texas A&M

Worst Loss: vs. Ole Miss

South Carolina’s season has been filled with ups and downs in head coach Shane Beamer’s third year with the team. Behind its stellar defense, South Carolina has looked dominant at points. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, their three losses will make a berth in the College Football Playoff tough to come by. South Carolina got pummeled, 27-3, when it hosted Ole Miss in Week Six. The following week, it was unable to hold a lead against the Crimson Tide, who produced a 13-point fourth quarter to capture victory. The Gamecocks have since won four straight, including a remarkable upset against Texas A&M, 44-20. South Carolina will face Wofford and Clemson to close its season.

8. Missouri (7-3, 3-3)

Best Win: vs. Vanderbilt

Worst Loss: at Alabama

Like Texas, Missouri’s best win comes against the Commodores, albeit not in Nashville. Unlike Texas, however, the Tigers have quite a few bad losses. The worst of them came at Alabama, where the Tigers lost 34-0. This wasn’t Missouri’s first blowout of the season — that happened when Texas A&M blew them out 41-10 in Week Six — but a game in which a team fails to score is an awful sign for things to come. That came to fruition this past weekend, when the Tigers took a lead over the red-hot Gamecocks with only one minute left to play, yet still managed to lose the game.

9. LSU (6-4, 3-3)

Best Win: vs. Ole Miss

Worst Loss: at Florida

LSU’s season was close to excellence to start. The Tigers started 6-1, marked by a decisive victory over No. 9 Ole Miss in overtime in Week Seven. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and Co. have since been unable to recapture their early season magic, dropping their last three games. With a grueling second-half schedule, the Tigers found themselves 6-3 prior to their game in Gainesville, but they were upset in double-digit fashion against the Florida Gators, 27-16. LSU will look to rebound against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma in its final two matchups.

10. Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-3)

Best Win: at Alabama

Worst Loss: vs. Georgia State

In Week Three, the Commodores lost to the Georgia State Panthers, who currently hold a 2-8 record. Two weeks later, they beat then-No. 1 Alabama, expunging that Georgia State loss from the memories of all but those concerned about Vanderbilt’s playoff push. However, South Carolina buried those playoff aspirations two weeks ago when it beat the Commodores 28-7. Up to that point, Vanderbilt had not lost a game by more than four points. This was the first time Vanderbilt looked genuinely outmatched all season, and it represents a scary omen for the Black and Gold’s upcoming games against LSU and Tennessee.

11. Florida (5-5, 3-4)

Best Win: vs. LSU

Worst Loss: vs. Miami

Florida has had a bumpy road to get to its .500 record. The Gators were demolished by Cam Ward and the Miami Hurricanes, 41-17 in a rivalry matchup to open the season in Week One. After an injury to quarterback Graham Mertz, freshman DJ Lagway stepped in and stepped up. Hosting LSU, Lagway’s squad put up 27 points en route to an 11-point victory. Florida’s second-half schedule has been nothing short of cruel; they have been handed losses by SEC strongholds Tennessee, Georgia and Texas. Florida ends their season with a tough game against Ole Miss and a cupcake matchup against Florida State.

12. Arkansas (5-5, 3-4)

Best Win: vs. Tennessee

Worst Loss: vs. Ole Miss

After beating Tennessee, Arkansas should have been on a hot streak. However, the Razorbacks have yet to match the highs of that performance and have faced quite a few beatdowns since. The worst of those beatdowns came at the start of November, when Ole Miss clobbered the Razorbacks, 63-31. The Razorbacks’ secondary looked abysmal as Jaxson Dart threw for 515 yards and 6 touchdowns in the demolition. The defense that was so strong against Tennessee has been mostly absent since then. Even when Arkansas held Texas to 20 points last week, the offense couldn’t muster more than 10 points to match. 

13. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-5)

Best Win: at Auburn

Worst Loss: vs. South Carolina

Oklahoma has had a tough adjustment in its introductory season to the SEC. The Sooners started the season 4-1, capped off by an away victory at Auburn, but their season has dramatically spiraled in the wrong direction since that game. The Gamecocks had two defensive touchdowns in a 35-9 Oklahoma defeat in Week Seven. The Sooners’ second-half schedule has been grueling: They’ve been dealt losses by Texas, South Carolina and Ole Miss with more challenging games against Alabama and LSU left to cap off their first season in the southeast.

14. Auburn (4-6, 1-5)

Best Win: at Kentucky

Worst Loss: vs. California

Auburn began its season with a 70-point win, albeit against an FCS program in Alabama A&M. The Tigers quickly threw their postseason aspirations away in Week Two when they lost to California at home. That game immediately put head coach Hugh Freeze on the hot seat, where he’s been sitting all season since. Auburn’s only SEC win came over Kentucky, as it beat the Wildcats 24-10 to hand them their third-straight loss. Unless the Tigers manage to beat Texas A&M or Alabama, this season will be described as a massive disappointment and most certainly mark the end of the Freeze experiment.

15. Kentucky (4-6, 1-6)

Best Win: at Ole Miss

Worst Loss: vs. Auburn

Kentucky has had quite a shaky year, headlined by the quarterback duo of Brock Vandagriff and Cutter Boley. The Wildcats nearly knocked off Georgia in a devastating 13-12 loss early in the season and followed that game up by beating No. 6 Ole Miss in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Head coach Mark Stoops’ squad followed up that upset with four straight losses, headlined by a 14-point defeat at the hands of a fellow bottom-feeder in Auburn. Tiger running back Jarquez Hunter pummeled Kentucky, gaining 278 yards on the ground. Kentucky demolished Murray State, cruising to a 48-6 victory in Week 13 to break its losing streak.

16. Mississippi State (2-8, 0-6)

Best Win: at Massachusetts

Worst Loss: vs. Toledo

Mississippi State has earned its spot at the bottom of not just the SEC but FBS at large with a series of awful performances, headlined by its Week Three 41-17 blowout against Toledo. Since then, the Bulldogs have won once, against only UMass. This is their only FBS win, and it came against an opponent with no FBS wins. Nonetheless, it was a 25-point win and, by default, Mississippi State’s best. Mississippi State will face off against Missouri and Ole Miss in its final two games of the season as it looks to get its first SEC win of the season.