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SEC Football: Preseason power rankings for 2022 season

By Matt Melton

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 13: Will Anderson Jr. #31 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during pregame warm-ups against the New Mexico State Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - NOVEMBER 13: Will Anderson Jr. #31 of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during pregame warm-ups against the New Mexico State Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 13, 2021 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Vanderbilt Commodores quarterback Mike Wright (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

14. Vanderbilt Commodores

Week 1 Opponent: Elon

Our 2022 SEC Football preseason power rankings begin here at No. 14 with Vanderbilt, the lone team from the conference to have officially played a game so far.

As mentioned previously, Vanderbilt officially kicked off their 2022 season last Saturday night as the Commodores topped Hawaii 63-10 in a week zero matchup. A game in which Vanderbilt accumulated 601 yards of total offense, this was certainly an impressive showing for the Commodores, one that marked their first season opening win since 2018.

Now entering week one at 1-0 for the year, Vanderbilt is coming off a 2-10 season a year ago, one in which the Commodores went 0-8 in SEC play. In what was year one of the Clark Lea era in Nashville, this was only a year after the Commodores went 0-9 in 2020, combined with a 3-9 record in 2019 (combined 1-24 record in SEC play from 2019-21).

At the moment, Vanderbilt is the only team that we officially know what they look like in a true game setting. The Commodores offense, led by quarterback Mike Wright, was impressive against Hawaii, while the defense was strong as well, but we also have to account that facing an SEC opponent will certainly be a completely different animal than facing the Rainbow Warriors.

Potentially set for their highest win total in recent years, Vanderbilt should take care of business in week one against Elon as well, assuming that a repeat of last season does not happen (lost 23-3 at home to East Tennessee State).

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