2017 SEC Country Power Poll (Week 14): Georgia rises up
Suddenly, the top spot in the SEC Country Power Poll has become a revolving door.
Georgia (12-1) supplants Auburn for the No. 1 position after its 28-7 head-to-head win in the SEC Championship Game. Auburn snagged first place last week following its upset win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Previously, the Crimson Tide held the top spot for all of the 2016 season and the first dozen weeks of 2017.
Despite the loss, Auburn (10-3) remains second in our poll this week on the strength of its 26-14 win over Alabama. Of course, Auburn had also beaten Georgia, 40-17, in Week 11.
Alabama (11-1) checks in at No. 3, a fact that won’t hurt too many feelings in Tuscaloosa, where fans are too busy celebrating the Tide’s inclusion in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia will face Oklahoma (12-1) in one national semifinal at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. Later the same day, Alabama is set to oppose Clemson (12-1) at the Sugar Bowl in the other semifinal. Although Clemson is the top seed in the CFP, the fourth-seeded Tide opened as a 1-point favorite in Las Vegas. The national championship game is Jan. 8 in Atlanta.
Auburn earned a Peach Bowl date with surprising Central Florida (12-0), on the afternoon of Jan. 1. Here are the remainder of the SEC bowl matchups, in order of SEC Country Power Poll ranking:
LSU (9-3), ranked fourth in our poll, is headed to Orlando to face Notre Dame (9-3) in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1.
Mississippi State (8-4), ranked fifth, will oppose Louisville (8-4) in the TaxSlayer (née Gator) Bowl on Dec. 30 in Jacksonville, Fla.
South Carolina (8-4), ranked sixth, matches up with Michigan (8-4) in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla.
Texas A&M (7-5), ranked seventh, goes to Charlotte, N.C., for a Dec. 29 date with Wake Forest (7-5) in the Belk Bowl.
Missouri (7-5), ranked eighth, is bound for the Texas Bowl in Houston and a Dec. 27 matchup against Texas (6-6).
Kentucky (7-5), ranked ninth, squares off against Northwestern (9-3) on Dec. 29 in Nashville, Tenn., at the Music City Bowl.
- Also see: How the SEC fared in The Associated Press poll
- How the SEC fared in the Amway Coaches Poll
- Shute: How I voted in AP Top 25 following Week 14
Your Week 14 SEC Country Power Poll rankings
Results are below:RANK | TEAM | POINTS |
---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 260 |
2 | ![]() | 232 |
3 | ![]() | 228 |
4 | ![]() | 198 |
5 | ![]() | 172 |
6 | ![]() | 150 |
7 | ![]() | 137 |
8 | ![]() | 121 |
9 | ![]() | 105 |
10 | ![]() | 85 |
11 | ![]() | 62 |
12 | ![]() | 43 |
13 | ![]() | 23 |
14 | ![]() | 4 |
This week's voters:
Alex Hickey (SEC Country)
Alex Martin Smith (SEC Country)
Andrew Astleford (SEC Country)
Ben Wolk (SEC Country)
Blake Morgan
Brandon Walker (SEC Country)
Christopher Walsh (SEC Country)
Eric Bolin (SEC Country)
Hale McGranahan (SEC Country)
Joe Mussatto (SEC Country)
Jordan Mcpherson (SEC Country)
Justin Ferguson (SEC Country)
Ken Bradley (SEC Country)
Marq Burnett (SEC Country)
Pete Scantlebury
Ryan Young
Sam Spiegelman
Thomas Neumann (SEC Country)
Trent Shadid (SEC Country)
Zach Abolverdi (SEC Country)