Call it “Entropy Saturday.”

All Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M had to do was take care of business against unranked teams and they would be that much closer to locking up a berth in the College Football Playoff. It didn’t happen, as all three lost, and all three are now teetering on the edge of being eliminated from the 12-team field (or might already be).

That group’s failures gave new life to Georgia and (especially) Tennessee, who are now virtual locks for a spot in the playoff if they can win their final regular-season game this week. And that’s where we are, rivalry week — where the various SEC teams will either secure their postseason destinations or do their best to spoil their opponent’s season.

So how do the teams in the SEC stack up as enter the final week of the regular season? Here’s the Week 14 edition of AL.com’s SEC football power rankings for 2024 (all times Central and all games Saturday unless noted):

16. Mississippi State (2-9, 0-7)

Last week’s ranking: 16

Last week’s game: Lost to Missouri, 39-20

This week’s game: at Ole Miss, 2:30 p.m. Friday, ABC

The Bulldogs have been fairly competitive the last few weeks, but still aren’t any closer to picking up their first SEC win of the Jeff Lebby era. The good news is that the season is one day closer to being over, particularly since the Egg Bowl is on Friday this year. A drawback is that State can’t exactly spoil Ole Miss’ season with a win; the Rebels’ season was already ruined when they lost to Florida this past Saturday.

15. Kentucky (4-7, 1-7)

Last week’s ranking: 15

Last week’s game: Lost to Texas, 31-14

This week’s game: vs. Louisville, 11 a.m., SEC Network

Another team merely playing out the string, and with all kinds of injury issues at the skill positions. The Wildcats continue to play OK defense, but can’t put up any kind of offensive attack against (relatively) peer competition. After the loss to Texas on Saturday, Kentucky’s 8-year bowl streak has officially come to an end.

14. Arkansas (6-5, 3-4)

Last week’s ranking: 12

Last week’s game: Beat Louisiana Tech, 35-14

This week’s game: at Missouri, 2:30 p.m., SEC Network

After taking right at a month to get from Win No. 5 to Win No. 6, the Razorbacks are bowl-eligible for the third time in four years. They didn’t make it look particularly easy against a bad Conference USA team, leading just 14-0 at halftime after a scoreless first quarter. The pressure is off in the regular-season finale, through rumors continue about the future of Sam Pittman, who has been suffering with a bad hip all season and might end up stepping down for health reasons.

13. Auburn (5-6, 2-5)

Last week’s ranking: 14

Last week’s game: Beat Texas A&M, 43-41 in 4 OT

This week’s game: at Alabama, 2:30 p.m., ABC

We hadn’t had a Jordan-Hare Stadium voodoo game all year, but we finally got it on Saturday. The Tigers blew a 21-0 lead, drove nearly the length of the field with no timeouts to tie the game and then won a marathon after A&M’s best player dropped an easy 2-point pass that would have forced a fifth overtime. Quarterback Payton Thorne is no longer a liability, Jarquez Hunter is playing like the best running back in the SEC and the defense gets tough when it counts. All of this makes the Iron Bowl — in which Auburn needs a win to be bowl-eligible — much more interesting than it looked a few weeks ago.

12. Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5)

Last week’s ranking: 13

Last week’s game: Beat Alabama, 24-3

This week’s game: at LSU, 6 p.m., ESPN

Brent Venables and company put together a brilliant game plan to throttle Jalen Milroe, but I don’t think anyone saw the one-dimensional Sooners running the ball on Alabama’s defense like they did. After a catastrophic run of injuries all year, Oklahoma finally looked like it might be a force in the SEC rather than a paper contender from the “soft” Big 12. The win also made OU bowl-eligible, so the Sooners can play loose at LSU on Saturday night.

11. Vanderbilt (6-5, 3-4)

Last week’s ranking: 9

Last week’s game: Lost to LSU, 24-17

This week’s game: vs. Tennessee, 11 a.m., ABC

The Commodores haven’t exactly played inspired football since picking up their sixth win, looking more like the team that lost to Georgia State in recent weeks than the one that beat Alabama and gave Texas all it could handle. Diego Pavia and Vandy have one more chance to ruin things for an SEC contender when they host probably playoff-bound Tennessee at everyone’s favorite construction site on the West End of Nashville.

10. LSU (7-4, 4-3)

Last week’s ranking: 11

Last week’s game: Beat Vanderbilt, 24-17

This week’s game: vs. Oklahoma, 6 p.m., ESPN

The Tigers had lost back-to-back SEC games to drop out of playoff contention and then lost the No. 1 recruit in the country (quarterback Bryce Underwood) to Michigan, but bounced back a little by controlling things for the most part against Vanderbilt on Saturday. Still, LSU’s season has been an unmitigated failure, and a win over suddenly salty Oklahoma in Baton Rouge this weekend won’t change that. Brian Kelly’s buyout is so astronomical that he almost certainly won’t be fired, but LSU needs to do some soul-searching in the offseason.

9. Florida (6-5, 4-4)

Last week’s ranking: 10

Last week’s game: Beat Ole Miss, 24-17

This week’s game: at Florida State, 6 p.m., ESPN2

Most everyone who follows the SEC closely (including this writer) had Napier fired in September, but he and his team never quit and now have a very good shot at finishing 7-5. The November death march never materialized, as the DJ Lagway-led Gators have beaten LSU and Ole Miss in back-to-back weeks to reach bowl-eligibility. Saturday’s finale against a shockingly bad Florida State team is simultaneously meaningless and incredibly meaningful for Florida’s season.

8. Missouri (8-3, 4-3)

Last week’s ranking: 8

Last week’s game: Beat Mississippi State, 39-20

This week’s game: vs. Arkansas, 2:30 p.m., SEC Network

The Tigers are finally healthy and have a shot at a 9-3 regular season, which in most years during the program’s history would be cause for celebration. This isn’t most years, however, as Eli Drinkwitz’s team entered 2024 with legitimate playoff hopes. That isn’t going to happen, but a win Saturday and in a bowl game would give Mizzou back-to-back double-digit win seasons for the first time since its early days in the SEC.

7. Texas A&M (8-3, 5-2)

Last week’s ranking: 6

Last week’s game: Lost to Auburn, 43-41 in 4 OT

This week’s game: vs. Texas, 6:30 p.m., ABC

The four-overtime loss to Auburn has taken a little shine off Saturday night’s showdown with Texas, the Aggies’ first meeting with the Longhorns since 2011. The SEC’s convoluted tiebreaker system means the winner is still likely to play in the SEC championship game (definitely in Texas’ case, probably in A&M’s). However, the Aggies picking up a third loss means they’re no longer guaranteed a playoff spot if they win and then lose in Atlanta. Nevertheless, it would be difficult to paint this season as a disappointment, given the team’s rebound in the post-Jimbo Fisher era and the development of freshman quarterback Marcel Reed.

6. South Carolina (8-3, 5-3)

Last week’s ranking: 7

Last week’s game: Beat Wofford, 56-12

This week’s game: at Clemson, 11 a.m., ESPN

The Gamecocks continued their red-hot play by blasting an FCS opponent, but didn’t play with their food in the game like some of their SEC brethren have done this year. LaNorris Sellers continues to play like the best all-around quarterback in the conference, and the defensive front continues to terrorize the opposition. A very interesting matchup with Clemson looms on Saturday, with the winner in good position for an at-large playoff spot. If only Carolina could have held on vs. LSU or Alabama, this could have been a truly special season.

5. Ole Miss (8-3, 4-3)

Last week’s ranking: 3

Last week’s game: Lost to Florida, 24-17

This week’s game: vs. Mississippi State, 2:30 p.m. Friday, ABC

Lane Kiffin said the quiet part out loud earlier in the week about 2-loss SEC teams probably being better off not playing in the league championship game, and the football gods made him pay. The Rebels looked disjointed in an 11 a.m. kickoff game again, and removed themselves from the conversation for Atlanta — and possibly for a playoff spot. Ole Miss can take its frustrations out on 2-9 Mississippi State in Friday’s Egg Bowl, but all that NIL money the Rebels spent in the offseason has them in no better position than they were a year ago.

4. Alabama (8-3, 4-3)

Last week’s ranking: 2

Last week’s game: Lost to Oklahoma, 24-3

This week’s game: vs. Auburn, 2:30 p.m., ABC

Many eventually successful first-year coaches have an inexplicable loss in Year 1; Nick Saban had his ULM, Kirby Smart his Vanderbilt. However, Kalen DeBoer has now suffered two of those losses this season, and no longer gets the benefit of the doubt. Jalen Milroe suddenly looks broken again, with the Crimson Tide’s offense looking comparable to the worst of the Mike Shula era on Saturday in Norman. Alabama enters the Iron Bowl coming off a loss for the first time in 17 years, and you have to wonder what kind of headspace its players will be in when they face a suddenly fired-up bunch of Auburn Tigers in Tuscaloosa.

3. Tennessee (9-2, 5-2)

Last week’s ranking: 5

Last week’s game: Beat UTEP, 56-0

This week’s game: at Vanderbilt, 11 a.m., ABC

The Volunteers have life again, if not to reach the SEC championship game then definitely to earn an at-large playoff spot after they were shut out of the most recent CFP rankings. UTEP was no kind of test, but Nico Iamaleava and the passing game executed well for the first time in a few weeks. If Tennessee can avoid stepping on the Vanderbilt landmine, the Vols will be in very good position to host a first-round playoff game.

2. Georgia (9-2, 6-2)

Last week’s ranking: 4

Last week’s game: Beat Massachusetts, 59-21

This week’s game: vs. Georgia Tech, 6:30 p.m. Friday, ABC

The Bulldogs clinched a spot in the SEC championship game on Saturday despite already being done with conference play, and are one of two remaining teams in the league who could wind up with a Top 2 national seed and a first-round playoff bye if they win their next two. This past weekend, Georgia did what it often does against Group of 5 competition — let its opponent hang around for one or two quarterbacks before dropping the throttle and dominating the rest of the way. Carson Beck played a clean game for the second straight week, and the offensive line finally appears healthy.

1. Texas (10-1, 6-1)

Last week’s ranking: 1

Last week’s game: Beat Kentucky, 31-14

This week’s game: at Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m., ABC

Texas once again didn’t look totally dominant, but again never appeared like it was in any danger of losing. As a one-loss team, the Longhorns control their destiny more than any team in the SEC — even Georgia, which won the head-to-head but has two losses. Win at Texas A&M on Saturday, and Texas is in the SEC championship game in its first year in the league. Steve Sarkisian’s team also has an outside shot at the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff should it take home the SEC title in Atlanta on Dec. 7. There’s a bit of worry regarding Quinn Ewers’ health, as he suffered an ankle injury vs. Kentucky and was due to go for an MRI over the weekend.

Creg Stephenson has worked for AL.com since 2010 and covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.