Moral Victory! Power ratings: Commies actually slide deeper into the cellar

Here we go with the weekly power ratings. Note Vanderbilt's ranking. At least it'll give us room for improvement as the season progresses.

1. ALABAMA: 7-0 (4-0)
• Last week: Beat South Carolina 20-6
• This week: At home against Tennessee
• Summary: After blowing out Arkansas and Kentucky, Bama tried something new and slowly squeezed the life out of Ole Miss and South Carolina. This will be a very tough team to beat, though this week’s UT game could be too close for comfort.

2. FLORIDA: 6-0 (4-0)
• Last week: Beat Arkansas 23-20
• This week: At Miss State
• Summary: Gators barely missed a repeat of last year’s Ole Miss game in which they struggled offensively and got beat by a transfer quarterback. Urban Meyer faces Dan Mullen this week on the road, which may remind you of Pete Carroll traveling to face Steve Sarkisian and losing. Nice thought, but won’t happen this week.

3. LSU: 5-1 (3-1)
• Last week: Bye
• This week: At home against Auburn
• Summary: Maybe the Tigers found an offense over their break. They’ve already got a decent defense, which should give Auburn fits in Baton Rouge.

4. GEORGIA: 4-3 (3-2)
• Last week: Beat Vanderbilt 34-10
• This week: Bye
• Summary: Georgia’s already beaten South Carolina, which gave Bama fits on Saturday, and Arkansas, which gave Florida fits. And that just makes the Dawgs blowout loss in Knoxville all the more puzzling.

5. SOUTH CAROLINA: 5-2 (2-2)
• Last week: Lost to Alabama 20-6
• This week: At home against Vanderbilt
• Summary: Victories over Ole Miss and Kentucky may or may not look impressive at the end of the season, but the Gamecocks could be undefeated in the league if they were just average in red zone scoring.

6. ARKANSAS: 3-3 (1-3)
• Last week: Lost to Florida 23-20
• This week: At Ole Miss
• Summary: Watch out, Ole Miss, you’re facing a clone of yourselves last season. Ryan Mallett is a big-time quarterback and the leader of a team just hitting its stride after drawing both Bama and Florida early in the season.

7. TENNESSEE: 3-3 (1-2)
• Last week: Bye
• This week: At Alabama
• Summary: The win over Georgia is still awfully impressive, but the loss to Auburn is especially disheartening after the Tigers’ recent home loss to Kentucky. But this is a tough league, and the Vols have a mighty tough defense.

8. KENTUCKY: 3-3 (1-3)
• Last week: Beat Auburn 21-14
• This week: At home against La-Monroe
• Summary: Like Arkansas, Kentucky had the misfortune of playing the nation’s top two teams early in the season. With that out of the way, the Wildcats found new hope on the Plains on Saturday.

9. AUBURN: 5-2 (2-2)
• Last week: Lost to Kentucky 21-14
• This week: At LSU
• Summary: The Tigers thought they’d found an offense. It won’t get any easier in Baton Rouge this weekend, but maybe they just got caught looking past Kentucky.

10. OLE MISS: 4-2 (1-2)
• Last week: Beat UAB 48-13
• This week: At home against Arkansas
• Summary: It’s put up or shut up time for the Rebels. They’ve gotten punched in the mouth in two games and now they face an Arkansas team that’s angry about its narrow loss in Gainesville.

11. MISS STATE: 3-4 (1-2)
• Last week: Beat MTSU 27-6
• This week: At home against Florida
• Summary: Well, at least the Bulldogs have beaten Vanderbilt.

13. VANDERBILT: 2-5 (0-4)
• Last week: Lost to Georgia 34-10
• This week: At South Carolina
• Summary: As injuries mount, the Commodores appear to be a fixture in this year’s SEC cellar.