Yeah, there were some straight up head scratchers this week in the SEC. Multiple teams almost dropped their cupcakes, one team made a statement, and one team hurt themselves badly. I’m probably gonna get called a major homer for one of my rankings. With that being said, let’s get her done.
14. Texas A&M Aggies (LW: 11)
The SEC Network literally aired a special during SEC Nation about cupcake games. An offensive lineman from Nicholls, Texas A&M’s opponent from Saturday, literally admitted that they knew they were cupcakes and were supposed to lose. With less than ten minutes in the 4th quarter, this game was tied at 14 a piece. Had Kevin Sumlin lost this game, he would’ve been fired. The Aggies are going to be putrid this year. They’ll be lucky to win six games.
13. Kentucky Wildcats (LW: 14)
The only reason Kentucky bumped up a spot from last week is because of how awful Texas A&M is. The Wildcats struggled just as much as the Aggies, but Kentucky is 2-0 and A&M is 1-1. They held a three point lead over Eastern Kentucky going in to halftime, who is a team that will probably end up 6-6. Which is probably what Kentucky’s final record will be.
12. Vanderbilt Commodores (LW: 13)
The Commodores can thank A&M and UK for sucking it up the last two weeks for this spot. Neither of these three teams have proven little to nothing to me. Vanderbilt is 2-0 for the first time since Derek Mason took over, and they have held their opponents to 3 points per game. That is a good stat, but the opponents were Alabama A&M and Middle Tennessee State. Those aren’t exactly great teams. We’ll know more after the next two weeks, when they play Alabama and Kansas State.
11. Missouri Tigers (LW: 10)
Yeah, Mizzou put up 73 on an FCS opponent and everyone called them world beaters. This week, they played South Carolina at home and scored 13 on a defense that isn’t supposed to be great by any means. Drew Lock did get screwed with a couple of drops from his WRs, but that doesn’t excuse 13 points. They play Purdue and Auburn in back to back weeks, so the schedule doesn’t get any easier.
10. Ole Miss Rebels (LW: 12)
Well, through two week Shea Patterson has tore up South Alabama and UT Martin. People think he is nothing short of a god for this, but I don’t. I think Ole Miss is an average team, and will only go down as the year goes on. I don’t get his hype train, mainly because the talent around him is only going to decrease as time rolls on. The Rebels have Alabama in three weeks, so they better get prepared.
My hate for Tennessee will never allow them to be high on these rankings unless they go 15-0. Even then, I doubt I will give them credit. They barely scraped out a week one win against Georgia Tech, and now have to travel to Florida in a big game for the East. The Gators will be a very good measurement stick for where they are after next week’s game.
8. Mississippi State Bulldogs (LW: 8)
The Bulldogs put on an offensive showcase last week, putting 57 on LA Tech and Skip Holtz. State hasn’t had anything but two cupcake games to open up the season and make them feel good about themselves. Unlike other teams in the SEC, they’ve dominated their cupcakes. They have LSU coming in to town this week, so we will know if the Bulldogs are the real deal or not.
7. Arkansas Razorbacks (LW: 6)
Austin Allen was on his back for a lot of this game and the offensive line looked pretty bad. TCU beat the Razorbacks 28-7, and Arkansas couldn’t get their offense going at all. The Horned Frogs usually have a pretty high powered offense, so giving up 28 points wasn’t the entire problem. Hopefully Bret Bielema can offensively get them right so they won’t drop a stinker to Texas A&M.
6. Florida Gators (LW: 7)
Florida didn’t even play this week and they moved up a spot. Their game was cancelled because of Hurricane Irma, and our prayers and thoughts are with everyone that has been affected by this. If the Gators can find an identity on offense, they should be able to handle the Volunteers in the Swamp.
5. Georgia Bulldogs (LW: 4)
Georgia just went on the road and beat a ranked Notre Dame team. A team that will end up 5-7, and this is one of those teams that is always overhyped and ranked heading in to the season (looking at you Southern Cal). Part of this is my hate for Georgia, and the other part is me being realistic. Georgia is the team everyone is expecting to win the SEC East, but I don’t know if they have the passing game to do it. Jake Fromm ended with a QBR of 13.2, which is atrocious. If Sony Michel and Nick Chubb weren’t on that team, they would have scored 6 points.
4. South Carolina Gamecocks (LW: 5)
I realize to 99.9% of you, this seems like a homer answer. Part of it is, part of it is being realistic. South Carolina has the potential to start the season 4-0, which no one except me said they could do. The Cocks held Missouri to 13 points on the road, when the previous week they scored 70+. The defense for South Carolina is starting to play like the better teams of the Spurrier era, which is a great sign. I think Georgia doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep with South Carolina. Boom, bold prediction for you.
3. Auburn Tigers (LW: 3)
Auburn went on the road and played one of the best defensive lines in the country. It showed, with Jarrett Stidham getting sacked 11 times. I think they have the defense and run game to compete in the West, and they stayed in competition with the defending National Champions for all of the game. I give credit where credit is due, but the passing attack from the Tigers is going to have to improve if they want to have a legit chance to win the West.
Honestly, the defense for LSU has looked great but the opponents have been BYU and Chattanooga. Their offense has looked pretty good so far, but the defense has a real test next week with Nick Fitzgerald coming in to town. I think LSU will be a contender in the West right there with Auburn and Alabama, and it is going to be a very interesting year in the SEC.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (same)
It’s Alabama. They handed Florida State with a crappy night offensively and beat Fresno State 41-10. Don’t know what else anyone could want.