We’re getting to the point in the 2023 SEC football schedule where teams essentially are what they are.

With several top-level teams on a bye, we didn’t see much movement in this week’s SEC pecking order, as things went mostly according to plan. Georgia showed the kind of dominance we’ve been waiting for most of the year, while Auburn dusted itself off and started to climb out of the lower third in the rankings.

So how do the teams in the SEC stack up as we head into November? Here’s the Week 10 edition of AL.com’s SEC football power rankings for 2023 (all times Central and all games Saturday):

14. Vanderbilt (2-7, 0-5)

Last week’s ranking: 14

Last week’s game: Lost to Ole Miss, 33-7

This week’s game: vs. Auburn, 3 p.m., SEC Network

Season 2 under Clark Lea has unquestionably been a step back for the Commodores, who have lost seven straight games after beginning the year 2-0. Vandy is also virtually assured of missing out on a bowl game for the fifth consecutive season. A potentially vulnerable Auburn team comes to town on Saturday, though it appears the Tigers have figured themselves out after their best effort of the season this past week.

13. Arkansas (2-6, 0-5)

Last week’s ranking: 13

Last week’s game: Open date

This week’s game: at Florida, 11 a.m., ESPN2

The Razorbacks hopefully did some soul-searching during their open date, trying to figure out how to reverse a six-game slide that has included five losses by one score. Receivers coach Kenny Guiton is in as the play-caller after the firing of offensive coordinator Dan Enos, so we’ll see what, if anything, changes this week in Gainesville. Sam Pittman’s team needs to win out to get to a bowl for the third straight year.

12. South Carolina (2-6, 1-5)

Last week’s ranking: 11

Last week’s game: Lost to Texas A&M, 30-17

This week’s game: vs. Jacksonville State, 11 a.m., ESPNU

The Gamecocks continued their crash back to earth after a seeming breakthrough in 2022, giving up three touchdowns in the second quarter and losing their fourth consecutive game, third by at least two scores. South Carolina must win out to get bowl-eligible, but needs to be on upset alert this week against those other Gamecocks, who have a history of taking down Power 5 teams on the road (ask Florida State and Ole Miss).

11. Mississippi State (4-4, 1-4)

Last week’s ranking: 10

Last week’s game: Lost to Auburn, 27-13

This week’s game: vs. Kentucky, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

Jordan-Hare Stadium is a difficult place to play, but the banged-up Bulldogs never really were in the game against Auburn. Most discouraging was that what had been a mostly solid defense this season got shredded by one of the worst offenses in the SEC. Mississippi State needs to go 2-2 in its final four games for bowl-eligibility, but isn’t going to be favored in any of them outside of a Nov. 18 date with Southern Miss. Kentucky might be the most beatable team among the remaining SEC teams on the schedule, so Zach Arnett’s team faces a virtual must-win on Saturday night.

10. Auburn (4-4, 1-4)

Last week’s ranking: 12

Last week’s game: Beat Mississippi State, 27-13

This week’s game: at Vanderbilt, 3 p.m., SEC Network

After two weeks of handwringing over the team’s direction under first year coach Hugh Freeze, the Tigers showed a lot of life on Saturday vs. Mississippi State. They seem to have finally settled on one quarterback, with Payton Thorne taking most every snap while the game was still in doubt. Still, all that Auburn really proved was that it wasn’t the worst team in the SEC West. Trips to Vanderbilt and Arkansas and a home game with New Mexico State could ease the tensions even more before the Iron Bowl on Nov. 25.

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

Last week’s ranking: 9

Last week’s game: Lost to Georgia, 43-20

This week’s game: vs. Arkansas, 11 a.m., ESPN2

After a pair of encouraging wins in their previous two games, the Gators got a reality check in Jacksonville. The annual “Cocktail Party” game vs. Georgia was all but over by halftime, and it says a lot about the difference between the two teams that Florida felt like it had to resort to trick plays — which failed — to have a chance. Nevertheless, Billy Napier’s team can secure bowl-eligibility by beating listless Arkansas on Saturday in Gainesville.

8. Kentucky (5-3, 2-3)

Last week’s ranking: 8

Last week’s game: Lost to Tennessee, 33-27

This week’s game: at Mississippi State, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network

A Wildcats program that not that long ago had a serious claim to be second-best in the SEC East has slipped several rungs down the ladder, with a frustrating home loss to the Volunteers the latest example. Kentucky never led, and got beaten at its own game as Tennessee ran the ball with authority all evening. Mark Stoops’ team plays three of its final four games on the road — and the other one is against Alabama — so an eighth straight bowl trip is not exactly a lock just yet.

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

Last week’s ranking: 7

Last week’s game: Beat South Carolina, 30-17

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

It was an encouraging step for the Aggies, who for once controlled the action vs. a less-talented opponent. Texas A&M still has games remaining against Ole Miss, Mississippi State and LSU, so Jimbo Fisher’s team still has an outside shot at second place in the SEC West. It seems unlikely they can score enough points to hang with the Rebels or Tigers — both games are on the road — so Fisher’s seat is not likely to cool off any time soon.

6. Tennessee (6-2, 3-2)

Last week’s ranking: 6

Last week’s game: Beat Kentucky, 33-27

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

The Volunteers aren’t the point-a-minute thrill ride this season they often were the previous two years, but are playing a physical style of football that can still win in the modern SEC and that old-school fans no doubt find appealing. A visit Saturday from 1-7 UConn is the last hurdle before a two-week stretch vs. Missouri and Georgia that will determine if Josh Heupel’s team has any hope at all of winning the SEC East for the first time since the Phillip Fulmer era.

5. Missouri (7-1, 3-1)

Last week’s ranking: 5

Last week’s game: Open date

This week’s game: at Georgia, 2:30 p.m., CBS

The Tigers’ breakthrough season under Eli Drinkwitz has been building to this moment — a shot at two-time defending national champion Georgia on Saturday in Athens. Outside of (and maybe including) back-to-back trips to the SEC championship game in 2013-14, this is the biggest moment for Missouri since it joined the league 11 years ago. The Tigers have among the more-balanced offenses in the SEC, but must show strength in the trenches to stay with the Bulldogs.

4. LSU (6-2, 4-1)

Last week’s ranking: 4

Last week’s game: Open date

This week’s game: at Alabama, 6:45 p.m., CBS

The Tigers still need help to win the SEC West because of their shootout loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 30, but can put themselves in pretty solid position if they can beat Alabama for the second straight season. The Jayden Daniels-led offense is among the best in the country, and has been largely unstopped this season outside of the second half of the season-opener vs. Florida State. LSU’s season has been defined by how it plays vs. the Crimson Tide since Nick Saban went to Tuscaloosa in 2007, and this year’s game at what will certainly be a wild Bryant-Denny Stadium is no different.

3. Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1)

Last week’s ranking: 3

Last week’s game: Beat Vanderbilt, 33-7

This week’s game: vs. Texas A&M, 11 a.m., ESPN

The Rebels took care of business vs. the lowly Commodores, scoring on their first five possessions on the way to a 26-0 halftime lead and cruising to the win. The Aggies are sure to show more resistance this week, and Lane Kiffin’s team had best not be caught looking ahead to a showdown with Georgia in Athens on Nov. 11. For the Rebels to have any shot to win the SEC West, they need to keeping winning and hope Alabama somehow loses two of its last three league games.

2. Alabama (7-1, 5-0)

Last week’s ranking: 2

Last week’s game: Open date

This week’s game: vs. LSU, 6:45 p.m., CBS

The Crimson Tide was playing its best football of the season heading into the open date, and is lurking on the fringes of the College Football Playoff conversation as November begins. The Saturday night showdown with the Tigers in Tuscaloosa will be a classic matchup of strength vs. strength — Alabama’s dominant defense vs. LSU’s super-charged offense. The Crimson Tide has also big-play capability on offense of late, which could bode well vs. the Tigers’ porous defense.

1. Georgia (8-0, 5-0)

Last week’s ranking: 1

Last week’s game: Beat Florida, 43-20

This week’s game: vs. Missouri, 2:30 p.m., CBS

No Brock Bowers, no problem for the Bulldogs, who continued their physical and psychological stranglehold on the Gators in a “Cocktail Party” game that was essentially over by halftime and cruised to their 25th straight victory. This week’s opponents is much more interesting, however, as the upstart Tigers come to town. Georgia can go a long way toward locking up its sixth SEC East title in seven years with a win.

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.