SEC vibes rankings: Big wins and high hopes — and then there’s Florida

The scene: A Fairfield Inn conference room off an exit somewhere between Birmingham and Nashville. The members of the SEC media industrial complex gather for their Sunday morning session to decide talking points for the coming week:

Huzzah! The SEC is back!

(Applause and huzzahs.)

We went — uh, I mean, the SEC went 4-0 against other power-conference teams in Week 2, and is now 7-2 on the season!

Huzzah!

The SEC’s worst team last year beat the Big 12’s best team! Oklahoma got us — uh, the SEC — the win against the Big Ten, and Vanderbilt thumped an ACC team, a week after LSU beat Clemson! Absolute domination, people!

Huzzah! We’re back!

Uh, what about Florida losing to South Florida?

(A few moments of uncomfortable rustling.)

Yeah, OK, maybe it’s time Florida got to fixing that. But otherwise …

Also, Georgia didn’t look great against Austin Peay. People haven’t forgotten about Alabama and Texas the first week. So the top of the conference doesn’t look great, it may just be the middle and bottom and …

That’s right! That’s what we’ve been saying! We are deeper, you can never take a week off. Raise your glasses of Dr. Pepper and let’s toast! The SEC is back!

Other than Florida.

Go away.

A reminder: The following is not a pure ranking of how good each SEC team is now and will be. It’s a ranking of the vibes: the feel inside and outside the program, how the team looks compared to expectations, where the momentum is, and is not, after Week 2:

1. Oklahoma (2-0)

Beat Michigan, 24-13

Last week: 10

John Mateer (344 total yards, three touchdowns) looks to be up to the hype. Brent Venables has shaken off the hot seat, for now. The Sooners had all the pressure on them Saturday night, and they came through.

2. Mississippi State (2-0)

Beat Arizona State, 24-20

Last week: 13

Wow, did Jeff Lebby need that. And what a night in Stark Vegas. Quarterback Blake Shapen (279 yards, three TDs) reminded people that he didn’t play after Week 4 last year, and if he had stayed healthy, maybe the Bulldogs would’ve won an SEC game. Do we expect this team to suddenly vault up the conference standings? Let’s not go crazy yet, but this season has already matched last year’s win total, and that’s big for the vibes.

3. Missouri (2-0)

Beat Kansas, 42-31

Last week: 11

Took down hated Kansas, and quarterback Beau Pribula (334 yards, three TDs) is fitting in nicely. Oh, and the next four games are also at home, including chances to get resume-building wins against South Carolina and Alabama. All is well in Mizzou, and even if things stop going well, it’ll always have Kansas.

4. LSU (2-0)

Beat Louisiana Tech, 23-7

Last week: 1

Do we chill on LSU’s hype after a not-quite-as-dominant win over Louisiana Tech, as well as Clemson’s even less-dominant performance against Troy? Eh, let’s wait for more data points. Both LSU and Clemson put a lot into their season openers, so letdowns can be excused. Still, it’s enough for a slight cooling of the vibes.

5. Tennessee (2-0)

Beat East Tennessee State, 72-14

Last week: 3

“College GameDay” is coming to Knoxville. Quarterback Joey Aguilar looks well-suited for the offense, which is averaging 58.5 points and 605 yards so far. Yes, Josh Heupel’s offense always starts fast, and then wilts when it faces Kirby Smart, but that’s usually in November, so why would anyone even bring that up until … oh, yeah, it’s this week. Well, maybe earlier is better.

6. Auburn (2-0)

Beat Ball State, 42-3

Last week: 4

Whipping up on David Letterman’s alma mater? Sure, whatever. Watching Baylor win at SMU and further validate your Week 1 win? Very nice.

7. Vanderbilt (2-0)

Won at Virginia Tech, 44-20

Last week: 5

Just to review, we’re now at the point where we see Vanderbilt trailing at Virginia Tech at halftime and wonder what’s wrong. Then we see the Commodores run off 34 unanswered points, and it’s not a screaming headline all over the country.

It’s no longer surprising for Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt to pick up a big road win. (Ryan Hunt / Getty Images)

8. South Carolina (2-0)

Beat South Carolina State, 38-10

Last week: 2

Beamer Ball again in full effect: Vicari Swain returned back-to-back punts for touchdowns to wake the Gamecocks up from a 3-0 deficit in the second quarter. (That’s three in two games for Swain.) It was also quick bursts that helped South Carolina pull away from what looks like a bad Virginia Tech team. But is that a good long-term formula?

Vicari Swain takes it to the HOUSE pic.twitter.com/FIUqdyBMn6

— South Carolina Football (@GamecockFB) September 7, 2025

9. Texas A&M (2-0)

Beat Utah State, 44-22

Last week: 7

The score of Texas A&M’s first win was 42-24, so things are trending up heading into Notre Dame. Especially if Marcel Reed’s health is fine, which it is, reportedly. The Aggies also provided the defensive highlight of the week: Edge rusher Cashius Howell had sacks on three straight plays: first, second and third down, with Utah State for some reason still single-blocking him. Take note, Marcus Freeman.

10. Ole Miss (2-0, 1-0)

Won at Kentucky, 30-23

Last week: 8

The bad: Austin Simmons now has four interceptions in two games. Jaxson Dart had six all of last year. The good: Kewan Lacy has two straight 100-yard games, and Harrison Wallace has two straight 100-yard receiving games. The question: Should the defense be worried about giving up 359 yards — just over 5 yards per play — to Kentucky?

11. Texas (1-1)

Beat San Jose State, 38-7

Last week: 14

The optimist would say the final score was respectable, and Arch Manning threw for four touchdowns. The pessimist would say Texas puttered around most of the game and scored 28 of its points in a six-minute span in the first and second quarters, and that Manning threw an interception. What the vibes say: Look at Texas’ schedule, and wake us up in October.

Week 2 turned out better for Arch Manning, but greatest challenges await. (Tim Warner / Getty Images)

12. Georgia (2-0)

Beat Austin Peay, 28-6

Last week: 6

Angst level: rising, especially about Gunner Stockton and the offense’s lack of explosiveness against an FCS team. But when your results go down in a second consecutive home guarantee game, it’s also possible boredom is to blame. Georgia’s fan base seems in mild panic already, but as far as the rest of the country is concerned, the Dawgs’ season begins this week.

13. Kentucky (1-1, 0-1)

Lost to Ole Miss, 30-23

Last week: 15

Hey, maybe it’s time to start buying into the idea of Motivated Mark Stoops? This roster still has a long way to go, especially at quarterback, but the ‘Cats put forth a competitive, respectable showing against a Rebels team that should’ve been amped up for revenge. Of course, Kentucky nearly beat Georgia in Week 2 last year, and that momentum didn’t really carry into the rest of the season, so we shall see.

14. Arkansas (2-0)

Beat Arkansas State, 56-14

Last week: 12

The cupcake games are over, now here we go: road games at Ole Miss and Memphis, then Notre Dame comes to town, then another road game at Tennessee … then it doesn’t get much easier in the second half of the season. Good luck, Hogs.

15. Alabama (1-1)

Beat UL Monroe, 73-0

Last week: 16

Building back confidence continues this week against Wisconsin. The reality, however, is the heat check on Kalen DeBoer truly comes in three weeks when Alabama travels to Georgia. Unless it goes badly this Saturday. But for now, DeBoer can be thankful for …

16. Florida (1-1)

Lost to South Florida, 18-16

Last week: 9

Sigh. We were starting to buy into the Billy Napier turnaround. That episode of the Netflix show “Any Given Saturday” was nice. DJ Lagway looked like a star. Everyone knew the schedule would be tough, so there should still be some leeway.

So when you have the trifecta of a) losing, b) at home, c) when a player spits on an opponent to spark the final drive … well, you welcome the Gators back to the vibes basement. Sorry to see you again.

(Top photo: Matt Pendleton / Imagn Images)