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These ratings are as of December 2, 2014.
1. Kentucky - You can lock this in for the season.
2. Arkansas - Nice wins at SMU and against Iona have the Hogs rolling early.
3. Florida - Don't judge them until they return all their players, but for now, this team is struggling.
4. Texas A&M - Not many tests so far, but passing those they are facing with flying colors. That said, the space between these guys and Florida is bigger than the space between the Aggies and Georgia.
5. Mississippi - The loss to Charleston Southern to start the year continues to confound, but back-to-back wins over Creighton and Cincinnati warrant this spot.
6. Alabama - A nice win over Arizona State early, although not much distinguishes them from the next 3-4 teams below them, and we still have a lot to learn.
7. South Carolina - Some tough close losses, but dominant in the rest of their games. Plus, it's hard to reward the teams below them for simply not playing the tougher games to bolster their record.
8. Georgia - Similar to USC, they've lost their tough games, but they've been in every one of them, and that worm will turn if they keep playing as they have.
9. Mississippi State - Lost their first real contest against TCU, but a blowout neutral win over St. Louis is still impressive.
10. Vanderbilt - We'll know a lot more about the ‘Dores after games against Baylor and Purdue upcoming, but the win against La Salle shows there's a pulse here.
11. LSU - Too many losses they shouldn't have (Clemson, Old Dominion at neutral sites), and too many close games at home against weaker opposition.
12. Tennessee - Let's throw out their three games against capable competition, and this team's still just scraping past Texas Southern and Santa Clara. Nice job hanging around against Kansas, but not impressed by the loss to a mediocre Marquette.
13. Missouri - Two chances against Arizona and Purdue to show they could contend this year. Two losses by 19 points. Those are good teams, but this one sure isn't.
14. Auburn - Bruce Pearl learns what Frank Martin learned: just because you're a good coach, that doesn't mean you can show up and win in year one.