SEC Power Poll: Texas snags No. 1 votes away from Georgia, Tennessee jumps up

“At the top, credit where it’s due, Torres said: “Those Texas Longhorns went into Michigan and absolutely dominated the Wolverines, taking a 24-3 lead into halftime before taking their foot off the gas and cruising to a 31-12 victory.”

Jenni Carlson, an Oklahoman newspaper columnist for 24 years who now writes for Beyond the Boxscore, also moved Texas ahead of Georgia.

“The preseason and Week 1 polls involved a lot of guesswork ... after a couple of weeks, we’re starting to get actual results, and I’m a believer in ranking teams based on what has happened, not what I think will happen,” Carlson said.

“The Horns’ road win at Michigan — and a domination of the Wolverines at that — puts them ahead of the Bulldogs’ neutral site win against Clemson, which was closer for longer.”

Torres said to keep an eye out for another surging “Big Orange” program in the SEC in the coming weeks.

“Don’t sleep on Tennessee’s beat down of NC State,” Torres said. “It’s not just Nico (Iamaleava), as the Vols rushed for nearly 250 yards, while their defense held NC State under 150 yards.”

Tennessee, with its surprising 51-10 neutral site blowout win over previously No. 23-ranked North Carolina State, went from No. 5 to No. 3 in the AJC Power Poll (121 points), with Ole Miss (118 points), Alabama (109) and Missouri (100) rounding out the upper end of the poll.

SEC power was evident in the week 3 AP Top 25 rankings, as well, with SEC teams occupying six of the top seven slots for the first time in the history of the poll, begging the question: How many SEC teams might make the 12-team playoff?

Five slots are guaranteed — to the winners of the Power Conference Championship Games (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Big Ten), with another slot going to the top-ranked Group of Five team.

That leaves seven at-large spots open for the 13-member CFP Committee to fill before the newly-expanded 12-team playoff games commence.

“If I had to guess today, I think five SEC teams would make the final field, Georgia and Texas are nearly mortal locks,” said CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah, one of the nine voters in the AJC SEC Power Poll.

“Ole Miss is in great shape, especially with a relatively easy schedule. Alabama will have two potential play-in games against Tennessee and Missouri, with the winner of each being a favorite to make the field.”

Biggest riser: South Carolina jumped from last in the SEC up to No. 9 on the strength of its 31-6 road win over Kentucky.

Biggest fall: Auburn and Kentucky fell four spots: Auburn fell four spots, from ninth to 13th, after a 21-14 home loss to Cal, and Kentucky dropped four places from No. 11 to No. 15.

AJC SEC Power Poll after week 2

Note: The parenthetical after the current ranking denotes last week’s ranking.

1. (1) Georgia (6) — 141 points (Highest vote: 1, Lowest vote: 2)

2. (T-2) Texas (3) — 138 points (Highest vote: 1, Lowest vote: 2)

3. (5) Tennessee — 121 points (Highest vote: 3, Lowest vote: 5)

4. (4) Ole Miss — 118 points (Highest vote: 3, Lowest vote: 5)

5. (T-2) Alabama — 109 points (Highest vote: 3, Lowest vote: 6)

6. (6) Missouri — 100 points (Highest vote: 5, Lowest vote: 7)

7. (8) LSU — 87 points (Highest vote: 6, Lowest vote: 9)

8. (7) Oklahoma — 70 points (Highest vote 7, Lowest vote 12)

9. (16) South Carolina — 67 points (Highest vote: 7, Lowest vote: 12)

10. (10) Texas A&M — 64 points (Highest vote: 8, Lowest vote: 12)

11. (13) Vanderbilt — 57 points (Highest vote: 8, Lowest vote: 14)

12. (12) Arkansas — 54 points (Highest vote: 10, Lowest vote: 13)

13. (9) Auburn — 30 points (Highest vote: 10, Lowest vote: 15)

14. (15) Florida — 26 points (Highest vote: 12, Lowest vote: 15)

15. (11) Kentucky — 20 points (Highest vote: 13, Lowest vote: 16)

16. (14) Mississippi State — 12 points (Highest vote: 13, Lowest vote: 16)

SEC Power Poll voting panel

SEC week 3 games