Around the SEC: How the Rest of the League Fared in Week Two
The second weekend of conference play tends to give us some clarity on where the conference actually stands. Who got fluke week one wins? Who’s the real deal? Who’s going to disappoint us after a hyped-up offseason?
Conference contenders and pretenders are now predictable thanks to week two, leaving only four undefeated SEC teams remaining. Here are some takeaways from all seven conference matchups.
Florida (2-0) 38, South Carolina (0-2) 24
Clock management does not seem to be a strength for South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp. The Gamecocks got the ball back with 8:11 left in the game down 14. They ate up over seven minutes of clock, drove inside the Gator five-yard line, and didn’t even score.
The Florida defense played very conservatively on that final drive not to allow the “home-run” play. That was the strategy all game as the Gators didn’t allow a play longer than 22 yards.
However, as a staple in a Todd Grantham defense, getting off the field on critical downs is appearing to be an issue. The Gamecocks were 6-17 on third down, but an efficient 5-6 on fourth down. Not to mention South Carolina ate up over 36 minutes of the game clock.
Florida's offense is legit, and it’s going to be tough for anyone to stop Kyle Trask (21/29, 268 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT). But, if the offense is only able to run 53 plays in a game, that’s a bit concerning, especially for a defensive front that’s already thin and has to be on the field even longer.
The Gamecocks will give teams fits all season, and it looks like they’ll be in a lot of close games, and, in peak Muschamp fashion, lose most of them.
Next up: Florida @ Texas A&M (1-1), South Carolina @ Vanderbilt (0-2)
Tennessee (2-0) 35, Missouri (0-2) 12
The Tennessee ground game is quite good. The Vols have two running backs in Eric Gray and Ty Chandler who are very explosive, powerful runners that are also threats in the passing game. The duo combined for 221 yards of offense and three scores in the win.
Jarrett Guarantano was solid, not turning the ball over and making good throws on timing patterns when need be. The offensive line for Tennessee is their strength though. They only allowed two sacks all game and constantly cleared rushing lanes for Gray and Chandler.
For Missouri, Connor Bazelak appears to be a decent option at quarterback after he replaced Shawn Robinson early in the game. He made some nice throws downfield and somewhat got the offense going in the second half before throwing a bad interception on a promising drive.
Tennessee does look good, albeit the combined record of teams they’ve played is 0-4, but they’ve limited turnovers and seem to have found strength in the run game. They’ll be a challenge for the top teams in the SEC going forward.
Next up: Tennessee @ Georgia (2-0), Missouri @ LSU (1-1)
Alabama (2-0) 52, Texas A&M (1-1) 24
Alabama cemented themselves as the best team in the SEC on Saturday. Mac Jones threw for 435 yards and four touchdowns, hitting his uber-talented receiving corps downfield on numerous occasions with beautiful touch throws. It’s easy to forget what Bama lost receiving-wise from a year ago when a guy like John Metchie III catches five passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Texas A&M was fortunate to score 24 points. Ainias Smith scored after the Alabama defense thought he stepped out of bounds on a pass in the first quarter, and they scored on one play after the defense picked off Jones inside the Alabama 25-yard line to tie the game at 14-14. Other than that, there wasn't much consistency with the Aggie offense.
Yes, Kellen Mond threw for over 300 yards, but he didn’t make good reads and his pocket presence was not good for most of the game. It didn’t help that the Aggies leading rusher was their back-up quarterback who ran for 43 yards in garbage time.
The hype around Texas A&M being the second-best team in the SEC West seems to have evaporated, especially with how poor the secondary has played in the first two weeks of the season.
Next up: Alabama @ Ole Miss (1-1), Texas A&M vs. Florida (2-0)
Ole Miss (1-1) 42, Kentucky (0-2) 41
This Lane Kiffin passing game is for real. Matt Corral was once again super-efficient, throwing for 320 yards and four touchdowns on an 83% completion percentage.
The Rebels also didn’t turn the ball over and only committed five penalties.
Looking at the entire box score, it’s hard to believe Ole Miss won this game. Kentucky rushed for 408 yards as a team, Terry Wilson completed 14-18 passes and didn’t throw a pick, and they controlled time of possession by a 13-minute margin. But, the Rebel offense was hyper-efficient and stayed disciplined, making minimal mistakes.
Kentucky committed eight penalties for 81 yards and had a costly turnover early in the first quarter, on a goal-line run by A.J. Rose. The Wildcats also missed a field goal, turned the ball over on downs in their own territory, and missed an extra point in overtime that allowed the Rebels to win it.
The biggest takeaway from this game is both teams are solid. The Rebel offense can probably compete with anyone, and when they play Alabama this coming week, that statement will be put to the test. The Kentucky ground game is going to be an issue for teams that aren’t as explosive as Ole Miss offensively to keep up with.
Next up: Ole Miss vs. Alabama (2-0), Kentucky vs. Mississippi St. (1-1)
Georgia (2-0) 27, Auburn (1-1) 6
Georgia put a lot of questions to rest Saturday with their thumping of Auburn. The offensive line was dominant, Zamir White was efficient on the ground, and it appears the Bulldogs have their quarterback in Stetson Bennett.
Bennett looked very comfortable in Todd Monken's offense, averaging nearly nine yards per attempt and looking poised in the pocket when given time. He also found a favorite target in wide receiver Kearis Jackson, who had nine catches for 147 yards.
Auburn, meanwhile, regressed heavily from week one. Bo Nix barely completed 50% of his passes, he bailed out of the pocket prematurely far too often, and he looked skittish when under duress. It didn’t help Georgia limited Auburn to 39 rushing yards and took away any balance in the Auburn offense, but Nix missed some throws badly, particularly a pair of throws to very open Anthony Schwartz, who burned the UGA secondary numerous times.
Next up: Georgia vs. Tennessee (2-0), Auburn vs. Arkansas (1-1)
Arkansas (1-1) 21, Mississippi State (1-1) 14
This was the most surprising outcome of the week by far.
After Mike Leach, K.J. Costello, and the Bulldog offense dropped 44 points on LSU, they managed only two touchdowns against a team that hadn’t won an SEC game since 2017.
Hats off to Sam Pittman and defensive coordinator Barry Odom for drawing up a masterful game plan and learning from LSU’s mistake of playing man coverage, and instead playing zone the entire game. The coverage confused Costello all night long as he threw three interceptions and averaged just over five yards an attempt. It didn’t do him any favors that running back Kylin Hill went down with an injury early in the game after getting only one touch, either.
Razorback quarterback Feliepe Franks was rock solid all game. He completed nearly 70% of his passes, didn’t turn the ball over, and was smart with the football.
Defensively, Arkansas was fantastic in the open field tackling, not letting Mississippi St. pass catchers to pick up much after the catch.
Next up: Arkansas @ Auburn (1-1), Mississippi St @ Kentucky (0-2)
LSU (1-1) 41, Vanderbilt (0-2) 7
This was the bounce-back game, and frankly the opponent, Myles Brennan needed. Brennan looked very comfortable in the LSU offense, tossing four touchdowns and over 330 yards. He delivered some balls in tight windows, particularly on his first touchdown throw to Jontre Kirklin that made it 14-0.
The ground game also got going. John Emory rushed for over 100 yards and a score, helping lead the Tigers to over 160 yards on the ground.
A bright spot for Vanderbilt could be the run game. The Commodores picked up 153 yards on the ground and had a nice showing from Ja’Veon Marlow, who had 83 of those yards.
LSU had it easy in their first two opponents, and they get another lower-tier SEC team this coming week in Missouri. It’ll be important they have another strong defensive showing before they head to Florida in the following week.
Next up: LSU vs. Missouri (0-2), Vanderbilt vs. South Carolina (0-2)
