ESPN updates FPI rankings for each SEC football team after Week 8

ESPN updated its FPI rankings for each SEC football team following Week 8 of the college football regular season. With more chaos on the field, comes a shakeup in rankings ahead of Week 9. Some teams had bye weeks but the action on the field didn’t disappoint. Texas got back on the positive end of things with a win over Ole Miss and LSU went about their business and dominated, for example. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage So without further ado, let’s dive into the latest ESPN FPI rankings for the SEC. Based on the metrics, these rankings could definitely be debate worthy following the weekend’s results. 16. Vanderbilt FPI: 0.3National Rank: 68Projected W-L: 4-8 Vanderbilt is in the basement of the SEC FPI once again after a 34-17 loss to Kentucky. The Commodores are now 3-5 on the season and need to go 3-1 the rest of the way to be bowl eligible. It’s been a tough season since going 10-2 last year. 15. Arkansas FPI: 2.0National Rank: 59Projected W-L: 4-8 Arkansas is still ahead of Vanderbilt in the SEC FPI, presumably due to the head to head, and a bye week this past weekend. The Razorbacks are 3-4 and Ryan Silverfield might have a little more juice going. But the schedule is tough with Mizzou, Auburn, South Carolina, Texas and LSU remaining. 14. Mississippi State FPI: 8.5National Rank: 40Projected W-L: 7-5 The Bulldogs are next up in the SEC FPI rankings, but they will finish the season with a hobbled Kamario Taylor at QB or not at all. It’s a stark difference from earlier in the year when Mississippi State was lighting the world on fire. 13. Auburn FPI: 12.1National Rank: 29Projected W-L: 7-5 Auburn followed up a massive win over Georgia with a less than stellar game against LSU, losing 38-17 at home. The Tigers are still projected to go 3-2 the rest of the way per the SEC FPI, but this is far from an elite team at its current construction. 12. Missouri FPI: 12.2National Rank: 28Projected W-L: 7-5 Missouri is 5-2 on the season and while the SEC FPI has them decently high around the country, within the conference, it’s a different story. The Tigers have to play Arkansas, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma the rest of the way. Good luck. 11. South Carolina FPI: 12.4National Rank: 26Projected W-L: 6-6 South Carolina got a big win over Tennessee this past weekend, erasing some of the bad vibes of a four-game losing streak. Still, the Gamecocks are further back in the SEC FPI and projected to just get six wins with Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgia and Clemson left on the schedule. 10. Kentucky FPI: 13.1National Rank: 24Projected W-L: 9-3 Kentucky might be everyone’s darling this year, but they just cracked the top 10 of the SEC FPI. This is one of the better teams in the country, as they’re ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, but will have a tough schedule to end the year: Tennessee, Florida, Missouri and Louisville. 9. Texas A&M FPI: 13.4National Rank: 22Projected W-L: 6-6 Texas A&M sits at 4-4 on the season, a far cry from last year’s CFP team that hosted Miami in the first round. The Aggies have slogged to a .500 mark, but are ahead of Kentucky, whom they lost to head to head, in the SEC FPI based on all of the metrics. Make of that what you will. 8. Oklahoma FPI: 14.1National Rank: 19Projected W-L: 7-5 Oklahoma’s coming off a much-needed win over Mississippi State to improve to 4-3. Still, they’re only projected to get to 7-5 this year, per the SEC FPI. You have to wonder if there will be a decision on head coach Brent Venables based on the underachievement this fall. 7. Florida FPI: 14.5National Rank: 17Projected W-L: 8-4 Are the Gators back on the right track? If they beat rival Georgia this weekend, they’ll likely vault up the SEC FPI rankings. Jon Sumrall’s squad is 5-2 but a tough schedule has them going 3-2 the rest of the way, based on projections. 6. Tennessee FPI: 16.8National Rank: 12Projected W-L: 8-4 This is make or break time for Tennessee’s CFP hopes, coming off a loss to South Carolina. While the Vols are ahead of them and this week’s opponent Kentucky in the SEC FPI, Josh Heupel’s squad is staring at a difficult end of the season, which also includes LSU coming to Knoxville. 5. Ole Miss FPI: 18.9National Rank: 9Projected W-L: 9-3 Ole Miss is now 5-2 on the season following a loss to Texas, but the Rebels are still top five in the SEC FPI this week. They’ll be in position to win nine or 10 games, but they still have Georgia coming to town on November 7th. That could make or break their CFP hopes this season. 4. Texas FPI: 24.0National Rank: 8Projected W-L: 9-3 Texas needed that win over Ole Miss this past weekend. For Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning and sanity in Austin. They’re top four in the SEC FPI and still in the conference title hunt, as well as the CFP picture. Next up is Mississippi State coming to town. 3. LSU FPI: 24.0National Rank: 7Projected W-L: 9-3 Don’t forget about LSU folks! They are top three in the SEC FPI and just dominated Auburn 38-17 this past weekend. Lane Kiffin has kept his head down for the most part since losing to Ole Miss earlier this year, even though they eventually lost to Kentucky. But they’re right back in the conference race and playoff picture. 2. Alabama FPI: 24.5National Rank: 5Projected W-L: 9-3 Alkabama overcame a slow start to beat Texas A&M on Saturday and improve to 6-2. As long as Keelon Russell plays well under center, the Crimson Tide can overcome a lot of deficiencies in the run game. They’ll need the young QB though if they’re going to stay high up the SEC FPI and in the CFP hunt with two losses. 1. Georgia FPI: 26.5National Rank: 4Projected W-L: 11-1 If Georgia loses a second straight game, this time to Florida this weekend, the Bulldogs might fall out of the No. 1 spot in the SEC FPI. But overall, this is still, pound for pound, the best team in the conference. They’re projected to win out and play for the SEC title and get to the CFP at this time.