Blake Sims (6) played well in his Alabama starting QB debut. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
As we get ready for the second weekend of Southeastern Conference football, it sometimes helps to think about what we learned from the first weekend.
One game does not necessarily define what a team is going to be for the entire season, but it can give us some ideas about how a team’s season might go.
First we learned that Texas A&M could be a serious contender, if not the favorite, for the SEC West championship. The Aggies’ offense will be potent, but that’s nothing new. If the Aggies are going to be able to beat the heavyweights in the West, they’ll have to shore up the defense. South Carolina didn’t do much damage on the ground, but it did gain 366 yards through the air.
Les Miles proved he hasn’t lost the ability to pull out miraculous wins. LSU trailed Wisconsin 24-7 in the third quarter but rallied from 15 points down to earn the win. Quarterback Anthony Jennings passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns, and Kenny Hilliard had 111 yards rushing. But he was the only rusher who contributed big in the win.
Alabama was less than impressive defensively, but Blake Sims had a big game as a starting quarterback as the Crimson Tide showed off its great group of receivers — Amari Cooper, Christion Jones and DeAndrew White (who was injured and will be out for a couple of weeks) — and a strong running game led by T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry. Defense and special teams play will be stressed this week.
Tennessee put the cap on the weekend with an impressive win over Utah State, a name that doesn’t strike a lot of fear to an SEC team but has grown into a tough program. Heralded quarterback Chuckie Keeton was swamped by a revitalized Tennessee defense. Making his return from injury, Justin Worley made his start at quarterback count in a big way. He threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Vols to an impressive 38-7 win.
Ole Miss started slowly but pulled away late to down Boise State. Senior quarterback Bo Wallace, who threw for 387 yards and four touchdowns, was intercepted three times in the first half, but he was lights out in the second half.
“Real proud of our defense and special teams,” said Rebel coach Hugh Freeze. “They really came to play and played with great passion and energy. Offensively we were totally out of sync the entire first half and never could – always were behind the chains because of – they’re a good defense, but we also hurt ourselves quite a bit. We’ve got a lot to get cleaned up, but at the end of the day, we beat a good football team tonight.”
Heisman candidate Todd Gurley paced Georgia’s win over Clemson by rushing for 198 yards and three touchdowns. He also added a 100-yard kickoff return for a score. If Gurley stays healthy, the Bulldogs are a definite contender for the SEC title and maybe more.
Auburn’s win over Arkansas proved the Tigers will not give up their SEC crown easily. Jeremy Johnson, who started for suspended quarterback Nick Marshall, was sharp hitting 12 of 16 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, but the big star was Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for 177 yards and a touchdown. After Marshall got in the game he was 4 of 6 for 50 yards passing. But his presence was the main difference. The Tigers’ offense seemed to go into another gear with Marshall at the helm.
Among the rest of the SEC schedule, the teams did what was expected against teams from lesser conferences and that should the case again this weekend.
The only exception will be the lone conference game when Ole Miss plays at Vanderbilt. The Commodores need to shake off an embarrassing loss to Temple in new head coach Derek Mason’s debut.
