A Look Around the SEC After Week 3 of the College Football Season

We’re introducing a new feature this week. I am going to take a look around the SEC following every week, along with my very own SEC Power Rankings, for the rest of the year. If you enjoy this, let me know. If I leave something out or if you would like for me to add something, tell me. Good or bad, I want to know what I can do to make this the best SEC round up anywhere. That being said, let’s dive into this week’s recap and power rankings.

I’m going to start this week out by giving Georgia fans the attention they deserve. Arkansas State HC Blake Anderson recently lost his wife to cancer, his first game back on the sidelines was at Georgia. Fans that attended the game in Athens were asked to wear pink in honor of Anderson’s wife, Wendy, in what I thought was the best thing I’ve seen all weekend. Even though Georgia ended up dismantling Arkansas State, that will be something that the Arkansas State HC will remember for the rest of his life. Georgia fans, administration, and whoever decided to do that, I tip my hat to you for realizing there are more important things than what happens on a football field. Now, as far as the game that was played, Georgia looked dominant for a third straight week. This sets up a huge game in Athens next Saturday night when Notre Dame comes to town.

Looking at other SEC games, there isn’t much that meets the eye when it comes to good games this weekend around the conference.

• LSU dominated a Northwestern State team, after beating Texas on the road a week ago.
• Ole Miss struggled in pass defense vs Southeastern Louisiana, but wound up winning their game 40-29.
• Arkansas was on the ropes early against Colorado State, but they hung in and delivered the knockout blow in the 4th by outscoring the Rams 21-0. It also looks like coach Chad Morris has found his starting QB in Texas A&M transfer Nick Starkel after he benched QB Ben Hicks a week ago in Oxford.
• Following 2 brutal losses at home, Tennessee and Jeremy Pruitt finally got in the win column against UT-Chattanooga. Not sure how much you can take away from this, but if you’re a Vols fan it’s probably a relief beating a team you should beat when you have Florida and Georgia looming.
• Texas A&M handled Lamar, Kellen Mond responded after his rough outing at Clemson by throwing for 317 yards and 1 touchdown, while rushing for another TD.
• Missouri took care of SE Missouri State. Kelly Bryant threw for 225 and a touchdown, while the Missouri defense continues to look better than they did at Wyoming.
• Tua Tagovaoila threw for 444 yards as Alabama went on the road and beat a South Carolina team that kept it close through one half.
• Tommy Stevens left the game with an injury for the second week a row, forcing Garrett Shrader into action again. Shrader went viral for his effort trying to get a first down on 4th and 16 in the 4th quarter but Kansas State left Starkville with a 31-24 lead. Stevens’ status for next week’s game vs Kentucky is unclear but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him sit that game out to try and get healthy for Auburn in 2 weeks.
• Auburn fed Boobee Whitlow, as he carried the ball 17 times for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Tigers’ 55-16 win vs Kent State.
• Florida went on the road and beat Kentucky but it came at the price of Feleipe Franks dislocating his ankle. Kyle Trask came in a really lifted that Gator offense up. Tigers outscored Kentucky 19-0 after Franks’ injury. As for Kentucky, what a brutal loss. It was right in front of them and they just let it slip away. Sawyer Smith looked good until he didn’t.

Power Rankings through Week 3

Before I get into my power rankings, I just want to add that there are 4 different tiers. The elite (1-3), the good (4-6), the average (7-9), the bad (10-14). Now that I’ve covered that, let’s get into the rankings.

1. Georgia (3-0; 1-0) – While Georgia has lacked a quality opponent through 3 games, they’ve done exactly what they should do against teams with lesser talent. They’ll  finally get a quality opponent when Notre Dame goes to Athens next Saturday.
2. Alabama (3-0; 1-0) – What was said for Georgia, can also be said here. Tua and company have looked impressive through their first 3 games, especially Saturday at South Carolina. The Tide will host Southern Miss next week.
3. LSU (3-0; 1-0) – LSU went on the road to Texas and beat the Longhorns last week. Joe Burrow looks like a completely different QB than he was a year ago. LSU will hit the road again next week to play a bad Vandy team.
4. Auburn (3-0; 0-0) – You can swap 4-6 however you’d like and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. I have Auburn here because their win over Oregon on a neutral site carries more weight than a Florida win over Miami. Gus needs to ride Boobee Whitlow as much as can to take some pressure off freshman Bo Nix.
5. Texas A&M (2-1; 0-0) – Aggies bounced back after their loss on the road to Clemson. A huge matchup between Auburn and A&M looms in College Station next Saturday.
6. Florida (3-0; 1-0) – The Gators likely would have been 5th but losing Feleipe Franks knocks them down a spot even though Trask came in and led the Gators to a comeback win on the road at Kentucky.
7. Mississippi State (2-1; 0-0) – Same case as 4-6, you can rank these teams wherever and I wouldn’t have a problem with it. State is ranked 7th because of Kylin Hill, I’m not sure any of these next 3 teams could stop him. Kentucky will get their shot next week, however.
8. Kentucky (2-1; 0-1) – Really a toss up between the Cats and Missouri. For Kentucky, their loss was to a top 10 team while Missouri’s was to a G5 team. Huge game next week for the Wildcats when they travel to Mississippi State
9. Missouri (2-1; 0-0) – Mizzou’s defense has bounced back following their loss to Wyoming, plus Kelly Bryant has been really good in his first three games at Mizzou.
10. South Carolina (1-2; 0-1) – SC’s season opening loss to UNC really puts the Gamecocks behind the 8 ball for a bowl bid. That game could be the deciding factor between a bowl game or Will Muschamp losing his job. A lot is riding on freshman QB Ryan Hilinski’s arm, since Jake Bentley is likely out for the season with an injury.
11. Ole Miss (2-1; 1-0) – Ole Miss has been up and down so far. One week their defense is good and their offense is bad, the next weekend their offense is fine and defense is bad. Rebels need a win next week at home vs Cal or their attempt for a trip to a bowl game will be in serious jeopardy.
12. Arkansas (2-1; 0-1) – Before you get mad and say I’m crazy, this spot was between the Hogs and the Vols. Took Arkansas because they’ve won the 2 games they were supposed to win, ugly or not. An ugly win is better than any loss.
13. Tennessee (1-2; 0-0) – Not much to say here. Tennessee is bad, Jeremy Pruitt is awful but on the bright side they beat UT-Chattanooga so that must count for something. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tennessee win a game they aren’t supposed to.
14. Vanderbilt (0-2; 0-1) – When you’ve given up 72 combined points through 2 games, it’s going to be a long year for the Dores and Derek Mason. With LSU coming to town next week, I just hope Vandy makes it out alive. #PrayForVandy