Week one did not go exactly as expected for the SEC, as many teams did not live up to expectations. Let’s review the week that was as we give you five of the biggest observations from week one of the SEC.
5. The depth of the SEC is lacking
The SEC had a rough weekend going 6-5 in non-conference games through Saturday.
Tennessee limped away with a victory against Appalachian State, as they literally fumbled their way to a victory.
South Carolina and Vanderbilt engaged in an epic slap fight that put most viewers to sleep.
Auburn’s offense couldn’t do anything against the Clemson defense.
LSU laid an egg in Lambeau against the Wisconsin Badgers.
Mississippi State lost to South Alabama. Yes, SOUTH Alabama.
Arkansas survived Louisiana Tech by a single point.
Missouri got rocked by West Virginia.
Kentucky got beat by Southern Miss in a game where they got outscored 27-0 in the second half.
That’s a whole lot of fail for the SEC in week one. There were positives like Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M, but overall the SEC took a huge hit to their reputation in week one. It looks like the conference simply isn’t as deep as it has been in the past, and teams toward the middle and bottom of the conference looked anywhere from incomplete to downright awful.
4. LSU and Tennessee were overhyped but Tennessee is still undefeated
LSU and Tennessee were two teams that were expected to fight for their halves of the SEC. They still may (as both are undefeated in SEC play), but neither looked like they are a contender for the SEC Championship Game.
LSU continues to have significant issues at QB as Brandon Harris went 12 of 21 for 131 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT. The Tigers went down 13-0 and their first score came in the third quarter, when they got a pick six. LSU’s offense continues to be inept and if they don’t get it turned around quick, Les Miles will be looking for another job.
Tennessee looked uninspired in their game against Appalachian State. Give Appalachian State credit, it is a good team. With the talent and depth on the Vols, Tennessee should have controlled this game and won by two touchdowns. The Vols looked overmatched at times and incomplete at best. After reading how great they would be all offseason, Butch Jones needs to get a hold of this team and quickly.
3. Georgia looks like the front-runner in the SEC East
Tennessee fumbled their way to victory against Appalachian State, and Florida got an incomplete in their victory against UMass. Georgia was the one SEC East team that was impressive in victory.
The Bulldogs certainly had their issues, but the fact that they fell behind in the second half and then rallied behind Jacob Eason, Nick Chubb, and an athletic defense shows a lot of promise for a Georgia team that was expected to finish 2nd or 3rd in the SEC East according to most pundits.
This season has a long way to go but Georgia had the best opening weekend of any of the SEC East teams.
2. The lack of quality quarterbacks is a significant issue
There were a few teams that had good quarterback play in week one.
Alabama’s QBs combined to go 12 of 18 for 223 yards and 3 TD vs 1 INT. Freshman Jalen Hurts really stood out as someone who by the end of the year might be able to take Bama to a National Championship Game.
Chad Kelly looked like one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in the first half of Monday night’s game against Florida State. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, there are two halves to a game of football. Kelly finished with 4 TDs against 3 INT. Kelly has more work to do to be a more consistent quarterback that can be counted on in pressure situations.
Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight had some great moments for Texas A&M and helped them come away with an early season upset of UCLA. Knight went 22 of 42 for 239 yards with 3 total TD. It wasn’t a great performance but it was a good debut.
Georgia’s combination of Jacob Eason and Greyson Lambert did what they needed to get the job done. Lambert was shaky, but made some big throws, while Eason showed a ton of promise. They combined to go 13 of 20 for 185 yards and 1 TD against 0 INT.
Joshua Dobbs at Tennessee didn’t have a horrible statistical game, but he didn’t make big plays, and still hasn’t shown the ability to push the ball down the field. If Tennessee wants to contend, they need a QB who can throw the deep ball.
The QB play in South Carolina/Vandy isn’t something we want to go into great detail on.
Auburn’s QB situation can best be described as a hot mess. Malzahn’s once feared offense scored just 13 points against Clemson. It was a shame because Auburn’s defense played good enough to win the game.
Damian Williams couldn’t lead his team to a win over a Sun Belt opponent, and Drew Lock didn’t find the end zone for Missouri until the game was already decided.
Drew Barker’s stats looked good for Kentucky, but his team went scoreless in the second half while losing to Southern Mississippi.
The biggest strike against the SEC in week one was the play of the quarterbacks. With the level of recruiting that goes on in the SEC, the biggest question comes back to coaching. Teams are getting the players they want. Why aren’t they performing?
1. Alabama is still Alabama
The most impressive showing of the weekend for the SEC was the performance of Alabama. Alabama was expected to beat USC. They weren’t expected to systematically destroy them.
USC took a 3-0 lead into the second quarter. The Tide then scored 38 straight points. Alabama scored early and often. They scored through the air, by foot, on defense, and on the ground.
The Tide simply ran over the USC Trojans and once again have placed themselves as the team to beat in the SEC and in the entire world of college football.
