After an offseason of speculation about the eminent demise of the Southeastern Conference, conference teams went 12-1 in the first week of the season and scored big inter-conference wins against Wisconsin from the Big 10, Arizona State from the Pac-12, and Louisville and North Carolina from the ACC. The report of the SEC’s demise seems to be exaggerated.
There was considerable quarterback talk this off-season, but new quarterbacks looked right at home at Alabama, Ole Miss, and Georgia. The only thing that seemed to stop the SEC during Week 1 was weather, as the LSU game was cancelled and there were delays in Nashville and Athens on Saturday.
As we do every week here at LastWordOnSports College Football, here is our look at how we see the teams stacking up against each other this week.
LWOS College Football SEC Week 2 Power Rankings
SEC West: Things got even more logged-jammed in what is considered the toughest division in college football. Auburn fell back to the pack after an unimpressive win against Louisville and Texas A&M jumped into consideration with their big win against Arizona State. Not to mention Ole Miss played an almost perfect game, even against a lower-tier opponent. Only Alabama and Mississippi State, at the top and bottom spots, had clear consensus at their spots.
1. Alabama (35)
No returning quarterback? No problem. Alabama looked in mid-season form as a dominant defense and punishing running attack dismantled Big 10 power Wisconsin. Jake Coker took control of the offense and looked like a starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide. If it’s even possible, the Crimson Tide might think that people have been underestimating them this off-season as they looked to play with an attitude for the first time in a while. (ML)
2. Auburn (28)
The team that had the worst win of the first week was Auburn. Jeremy Johnson did not play well and the Tigers almost allowed unranked Louisville to score the upset in Atlanta. The Malzahn/Muschamp show looked rusty and out-of-sync for most of the game. Now, instead of title contenders our voters see them in the second SEC West challenger group with Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Still, there’s a lot of talent down there on the Plains. (ML)
3. Ole Miss (24)
The Rebels were another team that seemed to quiet concerns about replacing the quarterback position. Chad Kelly lead the Ole Miss offense to a 70+ point offensive explosion against UT-Martin and the defense looked like you would expect a defense with three future NFL first-round draft picks. (ML)
4. Texas A&M (22)
Arguably no one had a better Week 1 performance than the Aggies with a decisive win over PAC-12 power Arizona State. Mostly forgotten and overlooked in the tough SEC West after a poor finish to 2014, Kevin Sumlin and John Chavis have Aggie fans dreaming of finally realizing their Playoff dreams. (ML)
5. Arkansas (14)
The Razorbacks relied on an efficient passing attach to complement their imposing running attack in an easy victory on Saturday. If Arkansas can continue to get efficient quarterback play and have a slightly improved defense, they are posed to make a move in the SEC West. (ML)
6. LSU (12)
Not playing seemed to hurt LSU as the teams closest to them in our Preseason Rankings lept over them this week (Arkansas, Texas A&M and Ole Miss). Will missing the first regular season game be a tough break for the unpredictable Tigers? The Tigers travel to Starkville next week and face an elite quarterback in Dak Prescott and a team that feels roundly disrespected all off-season. (ML)
7. Mississippi State (5)
The Bulldogs struggled against a Southern Mississippi team that is only 4-32 in the last three seasons. This team will only go as far as Dak Prescott can take them. And in the tough SEC West, that’s going to be a tough road to travel. (KM)
SEC East: This is a three-tiered Division after Week 1. Georgia is solid favorite. The challengers include Missouri, Tennesse and Florida in a close 2-3-4 order. Interestingly, South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt were unanimous 5-6-7 picks.
1. Georgia (34)
With Nick Chubb, Keith Marshall and Sony Michel, you don’t need an All-American quarterback at the helm in Athens. But Grayson Lambert and Brice Ramsey both looked more than capable as Georgia played a weather shortened season opener and showed the nation why they’re the favorite to win the SEC East. (ML)
2. Missouri (29)
The Tigers might have a quarterback controversy brewing in Columbia. Regardless, the Missouri defense, even after losing so much talent to the NFL, showed that it was still good and Mizzou took care of business on Saturday in easy fashion. Have the Tigers been overlooked and underestimated yet again by the supposed experts? This is getting to be a common theme with the Tigers. (ML)
3. Tennessee (25)
After an offseason full of hype, the Vols were one-half disappointment and one-half pleased. Bowling Green put up 30 points and over 400 yards in passing on the Tennessee defense. There’s a lot of concern about that defense with Oklahoma coming into town this weekend. The offense, on the other hand, executed well and has the Vol faithful excited about a breakthrough season. (ML)
4. Florida (22)
The Jim McElwain era started off well enough for the Gators, whose offense put up 61 points on a bad New Mexico State team. McElwain gets a warm start to the season as the Gators host East Carolina next week, which shouldn’t present much of a problem either. Florida has to wait until Week 3 when they travel to Lexington for their first real test of the no-socks era. (ML)
5. South Carolina (15)
South Carolina got a huge win over North Carolina to start the 2015 season. While less than impressive on offense, juggling two quarterbacks, the defense showed a marked improvement from a team that had three disastrous fourth quarter lead losses last season. The injury bug hit the Gamecocks hard this week, but should still be healthy enough to handle Kentucky in Columbia this week if the offense can get going. (LB)
6. Kentucky (10)
The Wildcats blew a 23-point lead against Louisiana-Lafayette but managed to pull out a win in a game they would have lost in previous seasons. Mark Stoops’ club will have to play much better against the run when they travel to South Carolina this weekend or they could be in for a long night. (KM)
7. Vanderbilt (5)
Vanderbilt was the only SEC team to lose in Week 1, and it wasn’t pretty. Coach Derek Mason’s squad is coming off a tumultuous offseason and Thursday’s loss to Western Kentucky can’t inspire confidence in Nashville. Dropped passes, missed blocks, and poor tackling. Unless things get better, you’ve got to think this season will be Mason’s swan song in Music City. (ML)
About this poll: Points are awarded on a sliding scale 7-1 for places 1st through 7th.
This week’s voters: Mike Loveall (ML), Kevin McGuffey (KM), Brendon Steenberger (BS), Matt Atkinson (MA), and Lauren Beasley (LB). Regular contributor Michael Gray is on sabbatical in an exotic location.
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
