SEC Wrap-Up: Week Two Brings Surprising Losses, Close Games and Big Wins Around the League
OXFORD, Miss. – Okay, perhaps some of Saturday’s games did not go exactly the way the Southeastern Conference teams may have wanted, but there were still plenty of highlights.
[Click here for current SEC Standings.]
There were successes, some that went how they were supposed to, then a few of the sort of and semi-embarrassing, and then the ‘what is going on here?’ games.
But hey, not every league can be the Sun Belt now, can it?
Here is a look at what happened Saturday in SEC action.
THE COOL GAMES
Kentucky 26, Florida 16: The Wildcats may have provided a blueprint on how to defend Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson — make him beat you with his arm and not his legs. The ‘Cats held the sophomore to only four yards on the ground and Richardson’s arm could only account for 143 yards through the air with two picks, including a pick six from former Rebel Keidron Smith. Of course, it also helps that the UK is pretty good too.
Arkansas 44, South Carolina 30: Spencer Rattler threw for nearly 400 yards in the game, but Arkansas proved to be too much to handle on the offensive and defensive lines. The Gamecocks only could muster 40 yards on the ground and Arky ran for just shy of 300. Hogs’ QB K.J. Jefferson continued to impress by completing 18-of-21 passing and he ran for another 67.
Tennessee 34, Pitt 27 (OT): Tennessee is good. Vols’ quarterback Hendon Hooker is very good. The Virginia Tech transfer threw for 325 yards with 162 of those yards going to wide receiver Cedric Tillman. Although the game went to overtime, that might be a good thing for UT later in the year. Despite going to the extra period in a hostile road environment, the Vols showed they had the will to win.
Mississippi State 39, Arizona 17: This one started so late, by the time it ended, it was competing with Dateline NBC reruns. Still, the Bulldogs handled the travel and time difference well. Will Rogers passed for 313 yards (450 last week) and four touchdowns, so why is he not getting any national love? Mike Leach’s air-raid offense appears to be reaching its stride.
THEY WENT HOW WE THOUGHT
Ole Miss 59, Central Arkansas 3: Ole Miss led 28-0 almost before the crowd from The Grove had a chance to enter the stadium. Get used to the name Quinshon Judkins. The true freshman ran for 104 yards on ten carries, and he is just getting started. Lane Kiffin’s starting quarterback decision may have gotten easier as Luke Altmyer had to leave the game with a shoulder injury.
LSU 65, Southern 17: Brian Kelly got his first win as the Bayou Bengals’ coach, but it still did not take the sting away from the season-opening loss to Florida State. A win against an FCS school will not tame the ire of the Tigers’ fans if Kelly cannot win some SEC games. LSU was able to play two quarterbacks in the rout, combining for 320 yards, but it is kind of easy to throw against a much-smaller HBCU school.
Georgia 33, Samford 0: The battle between Bulldogs was more like a pit bull against a stuffed animal. Stetson Bennett did throw for 300 yards and ran for a touchdown, but against the visitors from Birmingham, the performance will probably be discarded by the Heisman voters. On the downside, UGA only ran for 127 yards on 32 attempts.
SORT OF EMBARRASSING
Auburn 24, San Jose State 16: Perhaps Auburn was looking ahead to the game against Penn State? At any rate, the Spartans threw for 275 yards while limiting Brian Harsin’s crew to just 168 through the air. San Jose State even held a halftime lead, and that had to get the powers that be at Auburn to start thinking what other coaches might be available for next season.
SEMI-EMBARRASSING
Alabama 20, Texas 19: If Alabama fans still want to lament how the Tide would have won the national title last year if a pair of wide receivers had not gotten injured, they must realize if the Longhorns’ starting quarterback didn’t go down with an injury after a roughing the passer penalty and the backup wasn’t on one leg, Bama would have gone down. Alabama dropped in the polls, and that is good news. Now Nick Saban can tell his team they are being disrespected.
Wake Forest 45, Vanderbilt 25: Hey, it was a fun couple of weeks for the Commodores. After two wins – over Hawaii and Elon – Vandy crashed back to earth by playing a Power Five school. Vanderbilt hung as long as it could, but Sam Hartman was making his season debut and it appears he might be one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC. But hey, Commodores, Northern Illinois is on the schedule in a couple of weeks.
WHAT THE @*%$?
Kansas State 40, Missouri 12: Mizzou met a monster Saturday that only stands 5-foot-6. The Wildcats’ Deuce Vaughn ran over, through and around Missouri to the tune of 145 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Adrian Martinez, a transfer from Nebraska, ran for another 52 and a score. If Mizzou cannot right the ship soon, it could get ugly later this season.
Appalachian State 17, Texas A&M 14: Before scheduling App State, perhaps the Aggies should have checked in with Michigan who was embarrassed by the Mountaineers once upon a time. Or at least warned Notre Dame about Marshall and Nebraska about Georgia Southern. All three big-time schools will be the answer to a trivia question forever: Which three Power Five schools lost to Sun Belt teams on the same day in 2022? Another few games like this and the A&M boosters will have one word on their minds when it comes to coach Jimbo Fisher – buyout.
Steve Barnes
Steve Barnes joins The Rebel Walk staff as a senior writer and brings a trifecta of journalistic experience. As a writer, he has covered college sports for Rivals.com, Football.com and SaturdayDownSouth.com as well as served as a beat writer for various traditional newspapers.
He has been a broadcaster for arena football and several national tournament events for the National Junior College Athletic Association as well as hosting various shows on radio.
A former sports information director at Albany (Ga.) State University and an assistant at Troy and West Florida, he has helped host many NCAA conference, regional and national events, including serving five years on the media committee of the NCAA Division II World Series.
Barnes, a native of Pensacola, Fla., attended Ole Miss in 1983-84, where his first journalism teacher was David Kellum. The duo has come a long way since that time.
He will bring a proven journalistic track record, along with a knack for finding the out-of-the-ordinary story angles to The Rebel Walk.
Barnes continues to reside in Pensacola a mere ten minutes from the beach because he does have taste and a brain.
