What mattered and what’s important from Week 1 of the SEC college football season?
– Mississippi State vs. Louisiana, South Carolina vs. North Carolina, Georgia State at Tennessee
– Alabama vs. Duke, Portland State at Arkansas, Georgia Southern vs. LSU
– Auburn vs. Oregon, Missouri at Missouri, Georgia at Vanderbilt
Florida 24, Miami 20
– 10 Quick Thoughts on Florida’s big win
Texas A&M 41, Texas State 7
It was exactly the tune-up the Aggies needed before the Clemson showdown. Kellen Mond wasn’t perfect – there were a few misfires and a pick – but he was creative, in command, and able to hit the big play, completing 19-of-27 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns with a rushing score. He’s the type of veteran who might just be able to go into Death Valley and pull it off – at least he looked the part against an overmatched TXST D.
The backs were terrific. Jashaun Corbin didn’t have a whole lot of room to move, but he barrels for 103 yards, and Isaiah Spiller showed off the explosion, But going forward, the O is about Mond and this terrific receiving corps. This attack has to keep pushing the ball down the field.
The O line kept Mond clean and didn’t allow a thing behind the line. The Bobcats didn’t come up with a sack or a tackle for loss. Defensively, the Aggies allowed eight rushing yards and didn’t give up a score until it was way too late.
Kentucky 38, Toledo 24
There isn’t another Benny Snell, but the Wildcats were able to get the ground game going with 78 yards from Kavosiey Smoke – most on one dash – and 64 hard yards from Asim Rose. It wasn’t a dominant performance up front, but it was good enough to balance things out. Fortunately …
That’s the Terry Wilson the UK fans are hoping would step up. He’s never going to be Patrick Mahomes, but he connected on 19-of-26 passes for 246 yards and two scores. He’s got the receivers who can make things happen on the move, and he spread the ball around enough to keep the offense rolling, especially in the second half.
Welcome to DeAndre Square. The sophomore linebacker had a nice first season, but he was turned loose against the Rockets with 11 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He’s not all that big, but he can fly around and make big stops. The defense wasn’t perfect, but it gets one more tune-up – Eastern Michigan – before dealing with Florida.
Memphis 16, Ole Miss 10
Ole Miss did the nearly impossible and made the Memphis defense look like a killer. New offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez’s offense didn’t show up. There wasn’t any passing attack, there wasn’t any running game … there wasn’t anything. Yeah, a slew of key parts are gone, but it’s Ole Miss, and it amassed just 173 yards.
The offensive line couldn’t keep Memphis out of the backfield. The Tigers’ Bryce Huff is a terror, but it wasn’t just him – MU came up with three sacks and ten tackles for loss. There wasn’t anywhere for the backfield guys to move.
On the plus side, that’s a high-powered Memphis offense that got shut down to a dead stop in the second half. Considering the O couldn’t go on any drives, the D held up despite Memphis having the ball for almost 39 minutes. It bent, but it didn’t allow a touchdown in the second half. The offense simply couldn’t help the cause.
NEXT: Mississippi State vs. Louisiana, South Carolina vs. North Carolina, Georgia State at Tennessee
– Texas State at Texas A&M, Toledo at Kentucky, Ole Miss at Memphis
– Alabama vs. Duke, Portland State at Arkansas, Georgia Southern vs. LSU
– Auburn vs. Oregon, Missouri at Wyoming, Georgia at Vanderbilt
Mississippi State 38, Louisiana 28
It was a strange game for the Bulldogs. A slew of players were suspended, it was played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, and Louisiana is good enough to be more than just competitive. It might have been a tougher game than expected, but the offense kept the pressure on and got the win even though the team didn’t play its best. One thing stood out, though – this isn’t last year’s defense.
Tommy Stevens was more than fine. He came up with a few nice throws, kept things moving with his legs, and he completed 20-of-30 passes for 236 yards and two scores. He also ran for 37 yards and a score, but the big difference from the Nick Fitzgerald era should be the rest of the running game – the backs will handle it even more. Kylin Hill ran for 197 yards and a score.
About that D. You don’t get better when you lose a Montez Sweat, Jeffery Simmons and Johnathan Abram, but to give up 431 yards to Louisiana and giving up 164 rushing yards – only Kentucky came up with more than that last season – is a problem. The five takeaways helped, but this is going to be a wee bit of a work in progress.
South Carolina 24. North Carolina 20
South Carolina played this game not to lose … and then it lost. It was a way-too-conservative gameplan that relied on the Gamecock defense, and the hope that going against a true freshman quarterback in Sam Howell, would be enough to get by after taking an early lead. The Tar Heels kept on pressing, and the Gamecocks got tighter and tighter.
Jake Bentley played like the true freshman, and Howell played like the four-year starter. Bentley’s bad late interception will what the game will ultimately be remembered for, but he only completed 16-of-30 passes for 142 yards and a score with another pick on the day. The entire offense appeared to be off – again, it just never seemed to want to push it too hard. Playing for field position didn’t work.
This was absolutely devastating. The Gamecocks only finished with 270 yards, committed nine penalties, and whiffed on chance after chance. This was a must win with Alabama, at Missouri, Kentucky, at Georgia, Florida, at Texas A&M and Clemson still to play.
Georgia State 38, Tennessee 30
That this doesn’t seem all that shocking is the real issue. Tennessee had its chances several times to get up and put this away, but it failed time and again to come through in key moments. The biggest problem continues to be the lines – they’re just not fixed, and that’s the most embarrassing part about all of this – the Vols were outrushed 213 yards to 93.
It’s not like the Georgia State offense lit up the Vols. Panther QB Dan Ellington came though in the clutch, but he only hit 11-of-24 passes and didn’t do much of anything down the field. The inability to hold up on the line – Georgia State ran it 53 times – was the big problem. Time of possession wasn’t an issue, but the Vols could never establish control.
The Tennessee offense keep things moving. It was fine on third downs, it outgunned the Panthers, and Jarrett Guarantano wasn’t bad – throwing for 311 yards and two scores – but the three turnovers and the meltdown in the fourth proved costly. This is hardly a deathblow – the Vols could absolutely bounce back against BYU and UT Chattanooga before going to Florida – but again, the lines have to be far, far better.
NEXT: Alabama vs. Duke, Portland State at Arkansas, Georgia Southern vs. LSU
– Texas State at Texas A&M, Toledo at Kentucky, Ole Miss at Memphis
– Mississippi State vs. Louisiana, South Carolina vs. North Carolina, Georgia State at Tennessee
– Auburn vs. Oregon, Missouri at Wyoming, Georgia at Vanderbilt
Alabama 42, Duke 3
The Tide showed off just how spectacular they really are. It took a quarter to get going – gasp! Bama was shut out in the first – and then is was college football porn. The passing game was brilliant, the NFL talents were brilliant, and the defense was brilliant. This looked a whole lot like a team on a mission – it seemed, if possible, a bit more relaxed and loose. It just let the talent shine through.
Tua Tagovailoa? 26-of-31 for 336 yards and four scores. Jerry Jeudy? Ten catches for 137 yards and a score. Everything clicked in sensational fashion with the unstoppable passing game. However, the ground game might need a wee bit to get going. It was a bit ragged with Najee Harris suspended for a bit and with Brian Robinson only getting nine carries. There needs to be more pop from the rushing attack, but the line did a nice job in pass protection.
The loss of Dylan Moses obviously matters, but the linebacking corps didn’t have any problems holding up against the Duke ground game, and there was no threat whatsoever of giving up a long drive. The Blue Devils gained just 204 yards, even though the Tide didn’t sell out to do much to get into the backfield.
Arkansas 20, Portland State 13
Why do you schedule Portland State to start the season? When you need to get a whole new starting group in place offensively, you go through the motions and still get the win. The offense couldn’t do anything down the field with a whole lot of dinking and dunking, and the running game was functional but not sensational.
The quarterback battle should continue. Ben Hicks couldn’t do anything to stretch the field – throwing for an inconsistent 143 yards – and Nick Starkel completed 4-of-5 passes for 48 yards, but with a pick. The offense is still wide open for jobs and spots, but Rakeem Boyd was in midseason form with 114 yards and a score.
The defensive front helped save the day with constant pressure into the backfield. DT McTelvin Agim took over, tying for the team lead with six tackles and two sacks. As ugly as the game was overall, Portland State still only gained 230 yards.
LSU 55, Georgia Southern 3
LSU was supposed to have a few problems with the Georgia Southern option attack … whatever. It was total and complete domination as the Tigers were flying all over the field stuffing everything the Eagles tried to do. The owned the line and didn’t allow anything outside. The great O only gained 74 rushing yards and converted 1-of-12 third down chances.
Joe Burrow was nearly perfect. He didn’t get pressured, and he did whatever he wanted completing 23-of-27 passes for 278 yards and five scores. Terrace Marshall caught three of the scoring passes, but the work was spread around enough to make the Texas secondary worry next week.
It would’ve been nice if the running game could’ve done more. It’s nitpicking, but there wasn’t much of a push for a ground game that didn’t come up with enough big gashes. That will come – sharpening up the passing attack was more important.
NEXT: Auburn vs. Oregon, Missouri at Missouri, Georgia at Vanderbilt
– Texas State at Texas A&M, Toledo at Kentucky, Ole Miss at Memphis
– Mississippi State vs. Louisiana, South Carolina vs. North Carolina, Georgia State at Tennessee
– Alabama vs. Duke, Portland State at Arkansas, Georgia Southern vs. LSU
Auburn 27, Oregon 21
How the hell did Auburn win that? The Tigers didn’t seem to have anyone open all game long, Bo Nix looked and played like he wasn’t ready for the big moment, and Oregon was faster, tougher, and looking more athletic, but … Auburn managed to hang around, got its chance, and pulled out a classic. Give Nix and the Tigers credit – they stayed in the game, and they were able to handle the marathon of a very, very long game. The AU D stepped it up in a big, big way.
Gus Malzahn got the win, but it wasn’t a well-coached game – Oregon managed to gack as much as Auburn was able to come though in the clutch. All’s well that ends well, but this would’ve been a complete and utter disaster if Oregon had come up with a touchdown on that final play, and would’ve won it on the extra point after Auburn didn’t go for two after the Nix game-winning scoring pass, and … WHATEVER. Oregon is the better team, it has more talent, more experience, and it was dominating for most of the contest, the Auburn found a way. It’s Week One … optics don’t matter.
The Tiger lines were getting beaten up early, but they lasted the long haul. Oregon didn’t have much of a running game, the D was dialed in on key plays late, and the offensive line did enough to get JaTarvious Whitlow 110 yards and help keep things moving when Nix was struggling. With Tulane and Kent State up next before going to Texas A&M, the Tigers have a few weeks to figure it all out – they got the win they absolutely needed to have considering what’s coming over the second half of the year.
Wyoming 37, Missouri 31
The defensive tackle situation was the concern this offseason, but that’s not the only reason why the Missouri run defense was such a disaster. The secondary stopped the Cowboys to a dead stop, but UW QB Sean Chambers ran wild for 120 yards, Xazavian Valladay tore off 118 yards and a touchdown, and in all, the Tigers allowed more than seven yards per carry and close to 300 yards.
Kelly Bryant wasn’t perfect – there was a BAD pick in the end zone – but he showed off what he can do in this offense. There were too many misfires, and he’ll have to be more consistent and accurate, but he gave the Tigers a shot with 423 passing yards and two score with a pick. He’s going to be in for a monster statistical season, but he needs that run defense to give the offense some help.
Don’t just blame this on Week 1 – give Wyoming credit for being able to run wild – but the three turnovers, the lack of takeaways, and the empty drives early on in the second half were a massive issue. This is still going to be a dangerous team that can hang with just about anyone, but again the line that didn’t generate a sack and only came up with two tackles for loss has to crank it up in a big, big way.
Georgia at Vanderbilt
Georgia had no issues and didn’t need to press, buuuuuut, it would’ve been nice if it could’ve showed off a bit more from the passing game. The Dawgs ran at will and didn’t have to take any big chances – D’Andre Swift was brilliant, coming up with 147 yards on 16 carries – and Jake Fromm took it easy completing 15-of-23 passes for 156 yards and a score. It was a smart game – let the lines do the work, and don’t screw it up. However, converting just one of seven third down tries wasn’t okay.
How did the Vanderbilt stars do? The passing game never got going with nothing happening down the field – the longes pass play was just 16 yards. Kalija Lipscomb was bottled up for eight yards on his three catches, and RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn led the way with three catches for 24 yards. Vaughn also ran for 74 yards on 15 carries, but he could never get in the game. Ball State transfer Riley Neal completed 14-of-25 passes for 85 yards.
It all went according to plan. Georgia was business-like as it showed it really is among the three best teams in America – remember, this was an SEC road game – and Vanderbilt wasn’t totally awful against one of the elite teams. Now it’s about tightening up for both teams – they each got flagged ten times – and they each have to unleash the air show next week. Georgia can do that against Murray State, and the Commodores have to get rolling against Purdue.
