SEC Roundup: Georgia Smokes South Carolina, A&M Bounces Back, Arkansas, Florida Avoid Disaster

The Southeastern Conference checked in with a 9-1 record in non-conference games this weekend, while a pair of non-conference games told the four schools involved right where they stand a quarter through the regular season. Here's what happened:

SCORES (Rankings reflect the Sept. 11 AP Poll)

Youngstown State 0, No. 9 Kentucky 31

Abilene Christian 17, Missouri 34

No. 1 Georgia 48, South Carolina 7

No. 22 Penn State 41, Auburn 12

No. 20 Ole Miss 42, Georgia Tech 0

Vanderbilt 38, Northern Illinois 28

UL Monroe 7, No. 2 Alabama 63

Mississippi State 16, LSU 31

Missouri State 27, No. 10 Arkansas 38

Akron 6, No. 15 Tennessee 63

South Florida 28, No. 18 Florida 31

No. 13 Miami 9, No. 24 Texas A&M 17

TOP STORYLINES

-Texas A&M rebounded after getting punked at home by Appalachian State, holding a good Miami offense to just nine points. Nothing was pretty about the Saturday night affair, but the Aggies proved that the season might not be over just yet. Once SEC play begins, time will tell.

-Georgia is the best team in the nation, and frankly, it might not be close. Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks were held to virtually nothing, though they became the first team to score a touchdown against the Bulldogs. Stetson Bennett has taken that next step as a legitimate quarterback and is no longer just a game manager. While being a tight end, Brock Bowers may be the best ball-catcher in the country. Good luck taking down UGA this year.

-LSU surprised many Saturday night, handling the air raid and taking it to Mississippi State for a gritty win. Jayden Daniels is progressing as a quarterback, and even though the Tigers aren't as good as they should be, there's still plenty of talent down on the Bayou. For the Bulldogs, Saturday was quite the disappointing result. The SEC West is going to beat up on one another down towards the bottom of the totem pole.

-Honorable mention to Vanderbilt, who defied the odds and defeated Northern Illinois in DeKalb. The Commodores were underdogs, according to Vegas, which frankly is just sad. Vandy possesses a decent offense, it's just that it probably won't work against SEC defenses.

IT JUST MEANS...LESS

-Auburn. Ouch. It shouldn't be that easy for a team to come into Jordan Hare Stadium and leave with a win, but Penn State did just that. The Tigers didn't look great in either in their first two tuneups, but it didn't cause much concern. Many people, myself included, had even talked themselves in picking Auburn to upset the Nittany Lions. Instead, it looks like it's going to be that expected long, long season down on The Plains. Good luck Bryan Harsin.

-Florida did not have the rebound week that many people expected following the tough loss at home to Kentucky. Instead, USF was a field goal away from taking the Gators to overtime inside The Swamp. Anthony Richardson is struggling with passing the football, and has a lot to work on before he heads to Knoxville for a ranked matchup with the Volunteers next weekend.

-Close call, Arkansas! Bobby Petrino was oh-so-close to picking up one final win in Fayetteville. It wasn't just an early onslaught, either. Missouri State went toe-to-toe with a top-10 team for four quarters. It certainly asks some questions of the Razorbacks moving forward, but most of those should be answered next weekend when they square off with Texas A&M.

WEEK 3 POWER RANKINGS

Georgia
Alabama
Kentucky
Tennessee
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Florida
Texas A&M
LSU
Mississippi State
South Carolina
Missouri
Auburn
Vanderbilt

WEEK 4 MATCHUPS

Missouri (2-1) at Auburn (2-1)- Noon EST
Kent State (1-2) at Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC)- Noon
Bowling Green (1-2) at Mississippi State (2-1, 0-1 SEC)- Noon
Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at Tennessee (3-0)- 3:30
Tulsa (2-1) at Ole Miss (3-0)- 4:00
Arkansas (3-0, 1-0 SEC) at Texas A&M (2-1)- 7:00
Northern Illinois (1-2) at Kentucky (3-0, 1-0 SEC)- 7:00
Vanderbilt (3-1) at Alabama (3-0)- 7:30
New Mexico (2-1) at LSU (2-1, 1-0 SEC)- 7:30
Charlotte (1-3) at South Carolina (1-2, 0-2 SEC)- 7:30