SEC rewind from Week One of the 2013 college football season …
After one week of football, we can make some assumptions about the rest of how the season might go for some of the expected primary contenders for conference and national honors.
Among the top SEC contenders, LSU might have looked the best. That sounds strange given that Alabama beat Virginia Tech by 25 points, but LSU’s 10-point win over TCU was more impressive.
LSU looked like it was going to be a serious title threat this season. Tigers’ quarterback Zach Mettenberger looked to be sharper and in more control this year, perhaps due to new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.
“We’re throwing the ball for bigger plays,” said LSU coach Les Miles. “We’re being able to convert on third downs. I think that’s one of the real successes of the offense at this point.”
Against Virginia Tech, the Crimson Tide looked downright mortal. Offensively, Alabama wasn’t very impressive. The defense looked pretty good, but not defending national championship good. The special teams looked national championship caliber, especially Christion Jones, but that was about the only aspect of the Crimson Tide that looked even SEC championship-caliber worthy. Jones became the first Crimson Tide player since at least the 1940s to have two returns for touchdowns and had another score receiving.
“At least we know where we are,” said Nick Saban. “We know what we need to do to improve. I think our players also have to learn they have to be a little more relentless as a competitor.”
Alabama is off this weekend but next up is Texas A&M, a team that is expected to be a power but struggled for a half against Rice. Then in the second half along came Johnny Manziel and his antics. Along the way he showed that he has not lost his touch on the football field and certainly not his humility, although that has been missing in action for several months now.
Manziel appeared to mimic signing an autograph while getting up from a tackle, an obvious reference to the fact that he beat the NCAA system for signing autographs for money. Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin claimed ignorance on the incident. Sumlin said he didn’t see it or he would have “done something about it” if he had.
Still, A&M looks for real again.
Florida had a tougher time than expected opening against Toledo, one of the MAC’s better teams. The Gators were efficient and never appeared to be in any trouble against the Rockets, but that might change this weekend when they travel to Miami.
The Gators were playing short-handed due to injuries and temporary suspensions.
“That’s why you recruit. That’s why you have the deep roster. That’s why you recruit guys who don’t ask you about the depth chart 400 times,’’ Will Muschamp said. “You recruit guys that want to come in here and compete. Vernon Hargreaves didn’t ask me about the depth chart.”
Tailback Matt Jones is expected to be back from his viral infection and ready to face the Hurricanes although Mack Brown did a good job standing in for Jones. He rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and, famously, vomited on the sideline due to cramps.
“I felt like I was useless around here the last couple years,” said Brown, the little-used junior tailback. “So I took an opportunity and ran with it.”
There is one conference game next weekend and it is between two contenders. Even though it is just the second week of the season, the winner of the SEC East just might be decided when South Carolina and Georgia meet between the hedges on Saturday.
The Gamecocks looked every bit the part of a championship team in beating North Carolina last week and the Bulldogs … well, Georgia looked every bit the part of a championship offensive team against Clemson. The defense is still a work in progress for Mark Richt and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham.
Granted, Clemson’s offense was a major test for Georgia’s in rebuilt defense. The experience in Death Valley should have been a learning experience for the new faces. Facing South Carolina’s offense is a tough test, but the Gamecocks don’t have the offensive weapons that Clemson does. We’ll see this weekend how much, if any, Georgia learned playing at Clemson.
“I think we’ll bounce back, and we’ll be ready to play,” said Richt. “We’ll be excited about playing at home for the first time this year. I know our fans will be ready to support the team. To have our crowd behind us is a big lift for us. We know it’s a big game, and our quest is to try to win the Southeastern Conference, and we haven’t even played a conference game yet. We have a lot to play for.”
South Carolina started fast in the win over North Carolina but didn’t maintain the pace in the second half. The Gamecocks will need to play strong for 60 minutes against Georgia.
“The first half, we had five possessions and scored on four of them, so that’s not too shabby. The second half, we didn’t do much of anything,” said Steve Spurrier.
The winner of the South Carolina-Georgia game will come out leading the SEC East — and just might stay there.