Week 4 is usually when the SEC starts to eat itself. Honestly, we should have seen it coming. For three weeks, we watched the heavyweights beat up on directional schools and mid-majors, but once conference play actually kicked in, the vibes shifted instantly.
If you were looking at the sec college football rankings week 4, the biggest shocker wasn't even a loss. It was how a win felt like a disaster for the former No. 1 team in the country. Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs went into Lexington and barely escaped with a 13-12 win over Kentucky. It was ugly. It was gritty. It was frankly kind of boring until the final whistle. But more importantly, it was enough for the AP voters to finally pull the trigger and drop them from the top spot.
Texas is now the king of the hill.
The New Hierarchy: Texas Takes Over
Seeing Texas at the top of the sec college football rankings week 4 feels right for some and like a fever dream for others. They didn't even have Quinn Ewers for the bulk of their win against ULM. Arch Manning stepped in for his first start and, yeah, he looked like a Manning.
The Longhorns are playing with a different kind of speed right now. While Georgia was struggling to find the end zone against a Kentucky defense that got shredded by South Carolina the week before, Texas was putting up 51 points without breaking a sweat. Steve Sarkisian has built a roster that doesn't just rely on a star quarterback; they have Jaydon Blue scoring four touchdowns and a defense that looks genuinely mean.
Tennessee Is the Real Boogie Man
If you aren't terrified of what Josh Heupel is doing in Knoxville, you haven't been paying attention. Tennessee went into Norman for Oklahoma's big SEC debut and basically ruined the party.
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The 25-15 score doesn't really tell the whole story. The Vols' defense is legitimate. They held the Sooners to 40 yards rushing. Forty! You can’t win games in this league if you can't run the ball, and Oklahoma found that out the hard way. Jackson Arnold struggled so much he got benched for Michael Hawkins Jr., and suddenly the "Welcome to the SEC" meme became a very harsh reality for the folks in Oklahoma.
Tennessee jumped to No. 6 in the AP Poll, but in terms of "teams you actually want to play," they might be top three. Nico Iamaleava didn't even have to be a superhero because the defensive front was just living in the Oklahoma backfield.
The Top 10 SEC Landscape
- Texas (No. 1): The new gold standard. Depth everywhere.
- Georgia (No. 2): Still elite, but the offensive line and Carson Beck looked human against Kentucky.
- Alabama (No. 4): They had a bye week to prep for the Georgia showdown. They're looming.
- Ole Miss (No. 5): Lane Kiffin’s squad is outscoring people by 200+ points. We still don't know if they're "Georgia tough," but they are "Track Meet fast."
- Tennessee (No. 6): The most balanced team in the conference right now? Maybe.
- Missouri (No. 7): Barely survived a double-overtime scare against Vanderbilt.
Missouri and the Vanderbilt Heart Attack
Can we talk about Missouri? They entered Week 4 ranked No. 7 in the country and nearly let Vanderbilt—yes, Clark Lea's Vanderbilt—walk out of Columbia with a win.
The Tigers won 30-27 in double OT, but man, it was a mess. Blake Craig missed three field goals before finally hitting the winner. Nate Noel had a career day with 199 yards on the ground, but the passing game felt out of sync. Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia is quickly becoming the most annoying player for opposing coordinators to deal with. He’s scrappy, he makes plays out of nothing, and he almost pulled off the upset of the decade.
Missouri stayed in the top 10 of the sec college football rankings week 4, but they definitely lost some of that "playoff lock" shine. You can’t play like that against the big boys and expect to survive.
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The Middle Class Mess
The rest of the league is basically a chaotic bar fight.
Arkansas went into Auburn and forced five turnovers. Five! Hugh Freeze is currently going through it. The quarterback situation on the Plains is a total disaster between Payton Thorne and Hank Brown, and the fans are losing patience fast. Arkansas, meanwhile, is 3-1 and 1-0 in the SEC. Nobody had that on their bingo card a month ago.
LSU is still a mystery box. They beat UCLA 34-17, and Garrett Nussmeier looked great with over 350 passing yards, but the defense still gives up chunks of yardage that make you nervous. They're sitting at No. 14 in the AP Poll, just waiting for a chance to prove they belong back in the top 10 conversation.
Notable Week 4 Scores & Shifts
- Texas A&M 26, Bowling Green 20: Not a convincing win for Mike Elko, but Marcel Reed is doing enough while Conner Weigman heals up.
- South Carolina 50, Akron 7: The Gamecocks bounced back from the LSU heartbreak. Robby Ashford looked like a playmaker.
- Florida 45, Mississippi State 28: Billy Napier bought himself another week of life. Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway shared the load, and it actually worked.
- Kentucky 41, Ohio 6: The Wildcats got their mojo back after the Georgia heartbreaker.
Looking Ahead to the Bloodbath
The sec college football rankings week 4 are essentially just a setup for Week 5. We have the "Game of the Century" (version 1.0) coming up with Georgia heading to Tuscaloosa.
If Georgia plays like they did against Kentucky, Alabama might run them out of the building. But Kirby Smart usually doesn't let his teams play bad twice in a row. Plus, we get Kentucky at Ole Miss and Oklahoma trying to find an identity at Auburn.
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The reality is that the SEC is currently deeper than it’s been in years. There are six teams that have a legitimate argument for being top 10 caliber. That’s great for TV ratings, but it's going to be a nightmare for the selection committee when these teams start handing each other two or three losses.
What You Should Watch For Next
If you're trying to track how these rankings will shift, focus on the line of scrimmage. Georgia's struggles were because their offensive line got pushed around by Kentucky’s front. Tennessee is winning because their defensive line is a wall.
Keep an eye on the injury reports for Quinn Ewers (Texas) and Conner Weigman (Texas A&M). Backup quarterbacks are currently ruling the SEC, but that only lasts so long before the lack of experience catches up to you in a road environment like Death Valley or Neyland Stadium.
Actionable Next Steps for SEC Fans:
- Check the updated AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll to see the official point gaps between No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Georgia.
- Monitor the point spread for the Georgia-Alabama game; it’s a massive indicator of how Vegas views the "Kentucky Fluke."
- Watch the Oklahoma quarterback competition news throughout the week to see if Michael Hawkins Jr. gets the official nod for the Auburn game.