SEC power rankings for week two

College football fans were shocked by SEC teams’ performances in week one. Six teams lost to a non-conference opponent, three of them in games they were favored in. Alabama put any doubts about lost ground from last year’s championship team to rest, but things get murky from there. Here are this week’s power rankings for the SEC.

1. Alabama

No team looked scarier in week one than the Crimson Tide. Some thought USC could give ‘Bama a scare. After about six minutes, it looked like the Trojans might. Then, Jalen Hurts and the rest of the Crimson Tide turned it on to demolish USC, 52-6. Lane Kiffin got to hang half a hundred and send off a fire tweet, too.

Post game w the game ball!!! #3:14AM-LAX pic.twitter.com/cxQkJ89254

— Lane Kiffin (@Lane_Kiffin) September 4, 2016

2. Georgia

It took the Bulldogs a bit longer than first-year head coach Kirby Smart would have liked, but Georgia pulled away in the second half to beat a pretty solid No. 22 North Carolina team. Nick Chubb looked like the Nick Chubb of old, rushing for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason made some sharp throws, and the overall makeup of the Georgia team was just too much for North Carolina for four quarters.

3. Texas A&M 

The Aggies looked really, really good for 50-plus minutes against No. 16 UCLA. Then they blew a 15-point lead. Head coach Kevin Sumlin wasn’t pleased with the defense in the fourth quarter, but to the defense’s credit, the offense couldn’t stay on the field long enough to give the defense much of a break. The Aggies’ run game was a nice complement to Trevor Knight, who was pleasantly good enough to give A&M the upset of the Bruins.

4. Tennessee

The Vols didn’t do a lot right in their Thursday night win over Appalachian State, but they did the one thing that mattered — they won. As long as the Vols right the ship before the Battle at Bristol on Saturday, they should still be the favorites in the SEC East. The defense pitched a shutout to over the last 38 regulation minutes and overtime, allowing the Vols’ offense to slowly climb back into the game. The offense needs to get going for Tennessee to live up to season expectations.

5. Ole Miss

Much like Texas A&M, then- No. 11 Ole Miss played lights-out football before blowing a big lead. However, the Rebels weren’t nearly as fortunate. No. 4 Florida State outscored Ole Miss 39-6 after the Rebels went up 28-6 with 3:04 left in the first half of Monday’s game in Orlando. The Rebels’ defensive line mashed the Seminoles up throughout the first half, but was gassed in the second half when the offense couldn’t stay on the field for more than a minute at a time. The Rebels have to get the run game involved to keep their defense from getting that tired again.

6. Florida

The Gators’ defense played well in the 24-7 win over UMass. Florida held the Minutemen to just 46 rushing yards on 35 rushes, and the Minutemen went a lowly 1-for-11 on third down. However, the offense struggled to get anything moving for a long time. Luke Del Rio threw the ball well, but the Gator offensive line is obviously still young and lacking up front. The return of star cornerback Jalen “Teez” Tabor will keep Kentucky from causing too many problems in Gainesville this week.

7. LSU

Although Brandon Harris’ last-minute interception and Josh Boutte’s late hit and ejection were plastered across social media Saturday, LSU has a lot more to worry about if the Tigers want to compete with Alabama in the SEC West. LSU scored all of its points in less than 90 seconds against Wisconsin. Half of those points came on a pick-six. That’s not exactly ideal for a team with the supposed Heisman frontrunner in the backfield. The return of offensive coordinator Cam Cameron didn’t look like a welcome sight to Tiger fans after the upset.

8. Auburn

Head coach Gus Malzahn probably changed quarterbacks while you were reading this sentence. In what seemed like a common theme from week one around the SEC, Auburn’s defense was impressive while the offense struggled to find consistent footing against No. 2 Clemson. It’s a bit harder to do when any quarterback with momentum is being yanked out for another to play. If Malzahn finds a signal-caller he wants to stick with, Auburn could make some noise in the SEC West.

9. Arkansas

The Razorbacks barely cracked the 100-yard rushing mark, allowed first-time starter Austin Allen to be sacked four times and just avoided being upset by a non-power five school for the second consecutive year. If it wasn’t for a missed Louisiana Tech field goal in the fourth quarter, it might have happened. The good news — Austin Allen played a good game and showed poise and confidence during the game-winning touchdown drive. The bad news — the new offensive line struggled and it took a game-winning touchdown drive to beat Louisiana Tech in Fayetteville.

10. Kentucky 

The Wildcat’s air raid offense looked fantastic en route to a 35-10 lead over Southern Miss in Lexington. Then, it looked like it disappeared as the Golden Eagles scored 34 straight points to upset Kentucky, 44-35. Drew Barker threw for 323 yards, but the Wildcat’s defense gave up over 500 total yards of offense. Now, Kentucky is staring down an 0-2 start with a trip to No. 25 Florida and it doesn’t look like things have changed this year under Mark Stoops.

11. South Carolina

The Gamecocks were gifted with, well, playing Vanderbilt in week one. If Derek Mason keeps starter Kyle Shurmur, who led Vandy’s offense to its 10-0 lead, in the game, the Gamecocks are probably 0-1. But, even with that, South Carolina found a spark in the third quarter when quarterback Perry Orth started the Gamecocks’ comeback bid. The Gamecocks will have to be more efficient on offense to win SEC games, but freshman wideout Bryan Edwards provided some offensive hope with 101 receiving yards.

12. Mississippi State

So, just how good was Dak Prescott? Mississippi State’s 20-point performance in an upset loss to South Alabama is making a lot of fans reconsider Prescott’s value to the Bulldogs. Starting Bulldog quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was benched in favor of Damian Williams after two drives, a move that seemed to work out after the Bulldgogs went up 14-0, but Williams and the rest of the Mississippi State offense were just out of sync until the final drive. Williams made some nice plays to set up the game-winning field goal try, but the Bulldogs shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. Then the field goal bounced off of the left upright and stunned Starkville.

13. Missouri

Drew Lock had just 280 yards on 51 passing attempts. The defense has talent, but gave up over 100 yards rushing to a backup running back. The Tiger offense looked unfortunately similar to the 2015 one that ranked 128th in the FBS last year. Missouri could only muster 11 points against a Mountaineer defense with nine new starters. Things won’t get easier when SEC play starts in two weeks.

14. Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt’s Thursday opener against South Carolina had all the makings of a win well into the second quarter. Then, Derek Mason pulled starting quarterback Kyle Shurmur in favor of Wade Freebeck. Although Mason said the move was predetermined, Shurmur had led Vandy to a 10-0 lead and the offense looked potentially promising for the first time under Mason. The switch killed any momentum the offense had. In the second half, the defense couldn’t make plays to get off the field. The Commodores could end up with their hands full when MTSU’s high-powered offense makes the short trip to Nashville this week.

Edited by David Bradford

Featured image by Hayley Pennesi, courtesy of Tennessee Athletics

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