SEC Week Two Preview: Ole Miss at Kentucky, Michigan at Oklahoma; Times and TV

OXFORD, Miss. — We are through the first weekend of college football so we are getting closer to the meat of teams’ schedules. Many of the Southeastern Conference teams are still going to dine on cupcakes, but the entree is coming soon.

Here is what is on this week’s SEC menu:

San Jose State (0-1) at No. 7 Texas (0-1): 11 a.m. on ABC

Texas did not like the meal it had last week at Ohio State in a 14-7 loss, so this week, the Longhorns will look to feast on an inferior opponent.

Arch Manning will look to rebound after missing his receivers on more than a few occasions. He did throw for 170 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw an interception.

The Longhorn defense was impressive, holding OSU to just  203 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

San Jose State fell to Central Michigan in California 16-12. The Spartans’ quarterback did throw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, but SJSU was held to just 75 yards rushing.

Utah State (1-0) at No. 14 Texas A&M: 11:45 a.m. on SEC Network

The Utah State Aggies jumped out to a 28-10 lead and then held on in the fourth quarter to win, 28-16. It was not an impressive win against UTEP.

The Texas variety of Aggies had a much better season debut. A&M ran over a decent UT-San Antonio team, 42-24. Marcel Reed was impressive, throwing for 289 yards and four touchdowns.

It was a clean game for a season opener — neither team committed a turnover.

Austin Peay (1-0) at No. 4 Georgia (1-0): 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+

The Governors got off to a good start winning 34-14 at a tough place to play, Middle Tennessee State. APSU just missed out making the FCS Poll this week, but received the most votes for a non-ranked team.

But playing in Athens is a little different than a game in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

UGA, as expected, destroyed Marshall, 45-7.

In limited action, the Bulldogs’ Gunner Stockton passed for 190 yards and a couple of touchdowns and he ran for 73 yards and scored two more times.

The game was a chance for Georgia to knock a little rust off from the offseason. This game will be the same before Kirby Smart’s team heads to Tennessee the next week.

No. 20 Ole Miss (1-0) at Kentucky (1-0): 2:30 p.m. on ABC

The most-overused statement this week is ‘this is a revenge game for Ole Miss.’ The Rebs missed a last-second field goal last season and Kentucky escaped Oxford with a 20-17 win. Many of the players on this year’s team either were not there last year or didn’t play much.

Austin Simmons led the way last week as Ole Miss beat Georgia State 63-7. The Rebels need to take care of business this week because Arkansas comes calling in week three.

Last week, Kentucky got by Toledo in unimpressive fashion, 24-16. New quarterback Zach Calzada — well new to Kentucky, but not to the conference with previous stops at Texas A&M and Auburn — only accounted for 99 total yards, 85 through the air. Dante Dowdell bailed out his new quarterback by running for 129 and a score.

The Rockets outgained UK 329-305.

East Tennessee State  (1-0) at No. 22 Tennessee: 2:30 p.m. on ESPN +

ETSU outraced Murray State in the opener, 45-17. The Bucs ran for 392 yards and held Murray State to 34 on the ground.

The only problem for East Tennessee State is the Racers are not Tennessee.

Joey Aguilar threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns and he chipped in 34 yards on the ground in the Vols’ not-as-competitive 45-26 win over Syracuse. Welcome to the Big Orange. The Appalachian State transfer looked comfortable with his new team. He will use this week to get even more comfortable and he and the Vols need this one.

Next week, Georgia visits Rocky Top.

Kansas (2-0) at Missouri (1-0): 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2

This was a great rivalry back in the day and Kansas has the luxury of coming into this game with two games under its belt.

The Jayhawks have beaten Fresno State and Wagner by a combined score of 77-14.

There is no question quarterback Jalon Daniels is the star of the Kansas team. He has thrown for 476 yards and seven touchdowns already. Daniels is also an oddity in college football. He is a redshirt senior who has played his entire career at Kansas.

Mizzou crushed Central Arkansas in the season opener 61-6. Beau Pribula, a transfer from Penn State, threw for 283 yards, ran for another 65 and accounted for four touchdowns.

Kansas is a step up in competition from Central Arkansas, and the Tigers get Louisiana after the Jayhawks and step up again the next week against South Carolina.

South Florida (1-0) at No. 13 Florida (1-0): 3:15 p.m. on SEC Network

D.J. Lagway’s name is on the mind of every Gator fan. In the opener, he completed 18-of-19 passes for a pedestrian 120 yards. But he was impressive and led his team to an easy 55-0 win over Long Island University.

The Gators would have gotten a better game against one of the high schools in Gainesville.

But this week will be a tad different.

South Florida makes the short drive from Tampa to take on UF.

As impressive as Lagway is for the Gators, do not discount USF quarterback Byrum Brown. He looks like a clone of Steve McNair in college except Brown is an inch taller and ten pounds heavier than McNair was.

Last week, Brown led the Bulls to an impressive 34-7 win over No. 25 Boise State. That game probably crushed the Broncos’ playoff hopes. Brown was 16-of-24 passing for 210 yards and used his bruising body and speed to run for another 70.

It gets no easier for either team next week. Florida goes to LSU while USF visits Miami.

Arkansas State (1-0) at Arkansas (1-0): 4 p.m. on ESPN+

This will be the first time these two schools, located just four hours apart, will play each other.

The Red Wolves of the Sun Belt got off to a good start to the season beating Southeast Missouri, 42-24. A-State quarterback Jaylen Raynor threw for 345 yards and three touchdowns.

But Arkansas’ Taylen Green passed for 322 yards and six scores in a 52-7 blowout of Alabama A&M.

This one could be entertaining early. But only early. Once the Razorbacks pull away, they will be looking ahead to a trip the next week at Ole Miss.

South Carolina State (1-0) at No. 10 South Carolina (1-0): 6 p.m. on ESPN+

South Carolina State will be thanking the flagship college of the state for the $500,000 check for being a sacrificial lamb in the Gamecocks’ home opener. That is chump change for Carolina. It earned $4.3 million last week for playing Virginia Tech in Atlanta.

Carolina will thank the Bulldogs for the scrimmage.

Shane Beamer’s goal is to make sure LaNorris Sellers gets out early and healthy. He had 234 total yards in the 24-11 win last week.

The Gamecocks need to preserve the team’s health as a dangerous Vanderbilt team heads to Columbia the next week.

Vanderbilt at Virginia Tech: 6:30 p.m. CT on ACCN

This is the game that set the tone for Vanderbilt’s amazing season last year as they beat VT in overtime.

Last week, the Commodores easily beat Charleston Southern 45-3. Vandy racked up 481 yards against the Bucs with Diego Pavia throwing for 275 yards and three touchdowns, Tre Richarson and Eli Stowers combined for nine catches and 160 yards.

Defensively, the Dores held CSU to just 135 yards, collected three sacks and only allowed 3-of-13 third down conversions.

Virginia Tech gets its second consecutive SEC opponent after falling to South Carolina a week ago in Atlanta 24-11.

The Hokies had 386 total yards in the loss.

At least this one is at home where VT has a distinct home-field advantage. Not only is Lane Stadium one of the loudest in the nation, it has the highest elevation of any college stadium east of the Mississippi River.

Louisiana Tech (1-0) at No. 3 LSU (1-0): 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+

The good news for the Pelican State is a lot of programs in Louisiana are off to good starts. At the FBS level, LSU, Tulane, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe won their first games. Northwestern State, Grambling and McNeese State won their opening games in the FCS.

Bad news? That comes crashing down this week. Northwestern State plays at Minnesota, Grambling goes to Ohio State, ULM is at Alabama and Tech is headed to LSU.

The Bulldogs topped Southeastern Louisiana 24-0 in unimpressive fashion. Tech did outrush the Lions by ten yards, but gave up more passing yards, total yards and first downs. Fortunately for the Dogs, they earned five sacks to keep SLU bottled up the entire game.

LSU had one of the most-impressive wins in the nation, going to Clemson and getting out of there with a 17-10 victory.

Garrett Nussmeier bested Cabe Klubnik in an early Heisman matchup. The LSU quarterback only outpassed his counterpart by two yards, but he threw two touchdowns, while Klubnik had just one.

After this breather, LSU hosts a dangerous Florida team in Baton Rouge.

No. 22 Arizona State (1-0) at Mississippi State (1-0): 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2

Cam Skateboo is gone, but the Sun Devils can still run the ball. In a 38-19 win over Northern Arizona, ASU had 291 yards on the ground. The Devils also threw for 257.

Last year, ASU went to the college football playoff. It is safe to say the Sun Devils are still good.

Mississippi State made the short drive to Hattiesburg and whipped Southern Miss, 34-17.

State gave up just 301 total yards but only a third of those were on the ground. The Bulldogs gained 465 total yards. Quarterback Blake Shapen was sharp, completing 26-of-34 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown. MSU also used a balanced running game as nine different players rushed for 188 yards.

Don’t count out the Bulldogs in this one.

No. 15 Michigan (1-0) at No. 18 Oklahoma (1-0): 6:30 p.m. on ABC

This is easily the most-intriguing game of the week in the SEC.

Michigan got by New Mexico, 34-17, in the first game. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood looked like a seasoned veteran completing 21-of-31 throws for 251 yards and a touchdown. Justice Haynes was just as impressive out of the backfield, running for 159 yards and three scores.

The Wolverines’ defense surrendered just 50 yards rushing.

John Mateer made his Oklahoma debut and if he continues to play like he did in the 35-3 win over Illinois State, he may never pay for a meal in Norman. The Washington State transfer passed for 392 yards and three touchdowns, but more importantly, he looked like a leader. OU’s defense only gave up 151 yards.

Ball State (0-1) at Auburn (1-0): 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU

David Letterman’s alma mater cannot buy a break. In week one, Ball State went to Purdue and absorbed a 31-0 drubbing — and as a follow up, the Cardinals get to go to Auburn.

Not only did BSU get smashed, it wasn’t really competitive. The Cards’ first-half drives ended in four punts, a turnover on downs and the end of the half. Ball State only had three second-half drives, and they resulted in a punt and a pair of missed field goals.

Auburn fared a lot better. The Tigers went to Waco, Texas and came back to the Plains with a 38-24 win over Baylor.

New quarterback, Jackson Arnold, led the Auburn with 108 yards passing and 137 rushing. Welcome to east Alabama. The Tigers’ defense also racked up four sacks.It should be a nice little respite for Auburn now. Ball State this week and South Alabama the next.

Louisiana-Monroe (1-0) at No. 21 Alabama (0-1): 6:45 p.m. on SEC NETWORK

ULM shut out some team called St. Francis 29-0 last week. The Warhawks did gain 311 yards on the ground and that was pretty much all the offense in the game.

St. Francis only picked up 131 total yards and just seven first downs. ULM should not get used to the defensive success.

No team in the country needs a rebound week quite like Alabama.

Bama looked un-Tide like in the 31-17 loss at Florida State. If Alabama had not been wearing Crimson Tide uniforms, most would not have recognized the team as they were simply pushed around all afternoon.

Ty Simpson did throw for 254 yards, but he was pressured all day and was sacked three times.

The Seminoles had 382 total yards in the game and while running 230 yards, FSU only had to throw the ball 14 times.

Kalen DeBoer needs this one more than the ‘Bama team does. In Tuscaloosa, the natives are restless and anything less than a Tide blowout will add flames to the coach’s already-hot seat. Fortunately for DeBoer, his buyout is probably more than Alabama would want to spend to get rid of him. Unless he loses this week.