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After a wild first week, plenty of questions come to mind for the SEC. Sadly, many of them center around: Just what in the world happened in that game and does it mean anything moving forward?
- Probably the most troubling loss in Week 1 occurred in Starkville, where Mississippi State lost to a middle-of-the-road Sun Belt team in South Alabama by one point. How does this set the tone for the remainder of the season? For some teams, a humiliating loss is a stern wake-up call, but some teams never recover. How do the Bulldogs respond? They get a chance to show the home crowd Week 1 was not representative of the team when they host South Carolina on Saturday.
- On the opposite side of the coin is Tennessee, a team that received excellent luck when the opposing kicker not only missed a potential game-winning field goal but also earlier missed an extra point attempt. Tennessee narrowly escaped defeat with a 20-13 overtime win against Appalachian State, a much better team in the same Sun Belt conference. The Volunteers don’t face a conference game, but they do face one of the better teams in the ACC. No, Virginia Tech isn’t anywhere on the level of Clemson, Florida State or even Louisville, but it is in the same ballpark as North Carolina. Bottom line: Tennessee needs to show a lot more than it did in Week 1.
- Will all of the missed field goals in Week 1 cause men to lose their jobs, or perhaps in the case of Butch Jones, allow a man’s job to be saved? Dan Mullen? Derek Mason? Meanwhile, Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss got to witness an opposing kicker set a school record for most field goals made in a single game.
- Can LSU rebound from a poor Week 1? LSU can’t afford another mistake-riddled performance from Brandon Harris. While Jacksonville State is an FCS opponent, the Gamecocks took Auburn into overtime last season. An intriguing development is to see if Les Miles gives backup quarterback Danny Etling any playing time. If the Tigers are going to compete for the SEC West, they’ll need someone on offense other than Leonard Fournette. They have two very talented receivers in Travin Dural and Malachi Dupre, but both guys need a quarterback who can get the ball to them.
- With Tennessee’s subpar Week 1 performance, is it possible Florida or Georgia is the team to beat in the East? Florida earns the benefit of the doubt as the reigning East champs, although the win against UMass was less than inspiring. Nevertheless, the defense looked strong, and that counts for a lot. Meanwhile, Georgia had a great effort against a ranked North Carolina team. If Nick Chubb stays healthy, the Bulldogs should be in good shape.
- Which freshman quarterback is better: Jalen Hurts or Jacob Eason? More importantly, does either quarterback get the start in Week 2? It’s way too early to answer the first question, but it is intriguing to see if Hurts gets to start after a strong performance against USC. Meanwhile, Eason showed strong elements against North Carolina and clearly is already a fan favorite. On the other hand, Georgia has a solid game manager in Greyson Lambert, while Alabama has its own game manager (Cooper Bateman) and more of a gunslinger-style quarterback (Blake Barnett).
- Alabama sits a shade above after Week 1, but is Texas A&M a legitimate contender in the West? Trevor Knight took action when he was needed. The wide receivers are solid. The defense needs some improvement but looked good on the whole. A road game against Auburn may be a stronger test in Week 3, but Week 1 started well with a win against a ranked opponent.
- Was Auburn’s game against Clemson a true barometer for how strong the team is this season? Auburn nearly upset Clemson with two Hail Mary passes that failed at the end of the game, although quarterback Sean White put the last chance at it on the money. Auburn’s defense had a strong showing, stopping Clemson short on a big fourth-down gamble to give the team two last desperation shots at victory. The offense still needs a lot of work, but the team has potential.
- Who is worst in the East: Kentucky or Vanderbilt? Kentucky lost to Conference USA powerhouse Southern Miss in a back-and-forth game. It was an unexpected loss, even from a lower-tier SEC team like Kentucky. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt suffered a demoralizing home loss to South Carolina. The team had a chance to take a 13-10 lead, but kicker Tommy Openshaw missed a 45-yard field goal. South Carolina kicker Elliott Fry made a more difficult 55-yard attempt to give South Carolina the win. Neither team looked strong, although the Kentucky loss might have been the more embarrassing defeat since the Wildcats had a 25-point lead.
- Is there reason to be concerned after Arkansas narrowly escaped defeat against LA Tech? Starting quarterback Austin Allen struggled at times but helped the team score the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. The team will need stronger play from an inexperienced offensive line.
