No. 7 Alabama leads the way among two-loss SEC teams in this week’s USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-134, followed by No. 8 Mississippi, No. 9 Georgia, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 13 Texas A&M.
It’s not easy to sort out this logjam given that not every team has played the other during the regular season. Even worse, the matchups that have unfolded between these contenders don’t provide the sort of clarity that can help differentiate between teams with identical records. (Alabama beat Georgia. Ole Miss beat Georgia. Tennessee beat Alabama. Georgia beat Tennessee.)
That Alabama and Ole Miss beat Georgia end up making the biggest difference in sorting out that three-way comparison. While Tennessee has that win against Alabama, an underachieving offense and no other win of consequence keeps it behind that trio but ahead of A&M right now. The Aggies’ wins against Missouri and LSU have lost luster in recent weeks.
UP AND DOWN: Florida, Colorado lead Week 12 winners and losers
MISERY INDEX: Utah’s further flop leads disappointments from Week 12
Meanwhile, the Big Ten continues to assert itself with four teams in the top five. Oregon stays on top after sneaking past Wisconsin, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana. The Hoosiers are up two spots and ahead of No. 6 Notre Dame heading into Saturday’s clash with the Buckeyes.
And it was a downer of a weekend for the Big 12, led by No. 15 Brigham Young’s loss to Kansas. That dumps the Cougars seven spots. Also dropping is Kansas State, down 10 to No. 25 after losing to Arizona State. The good news is the Sun Devils are up five to No. 23 after moving to 8-2.