Is Tennessee THIS good? Week 3 SEC rankings
This week we tried not to be the Negative Nancy. And so, we’re not to going to say that there’s a problem…..for half of the SEC.
Maybe it’s because 2/3 of the SEC is either outstanding or fairly ordinary, one of them is less-than-ordinary, and the other one is a dumpster fire.
- GEORGIA: The destruction of South Carolina wasn’t unpredicted, but Stetson Bennett is looking like the real deal, and Brock Bowers is completely unstoppable. Oh, and that defense? Yeah.
- ALABAMA: Texas last week was a problem, and the Tide were only a B.S. holding call away from losing in a deafening Austin. The ULM game was utterly uncompetitive, and we don’t see Texas A&M give the Crimson Tide many problems unless they can get at Bryce Young.
- TENNESSEE: There’s a glorious smell of revolution down in Appalachhia, and it’s orange. Josh Heupel might not be building a SEC East-winning powerhouse at the moment, but the Vols will give Florida hell on Saturday, and Alabama hell on the third Saturday in October. Pin it down.
- ARKANSAS: Listen, their effort against Bobby Petrino’s Missouri State team was absolutely dire. But they got through it, and KJ Jefferson’s still a faster version of Will Levis.
- KENTUCKY: Is Will Levis the real deal? Maybe not. But that defense sure as hell is.
- TEXAS A&M: Jimbo Fisher’s offense is ordinary, relying on Devon Achane to ensure that it’s not absolute dogsh*t. And although Aggies fans can blame some wide receiver suspensions for not getting the machine working, let’s be honest: Max Johnson isn’t that great. And when defenses find a way to stop Achane, then sweet Lord Fisher – and the Aggies – might be in some trouble. Still, the Miami win is better than anything that Ole Miss have done, which is why they are above them in this table.
- Ole Miss: Ole Miss’ strength at the moment is not at quarterback. Jaxson Dart is serviceable, nothing more. But Zach Evans – the former No.1 recruit in the nation who has transferred in from TCU – is a machine. He’s got two over-100 yard games already, and is averaging 11 yards a carry.
- LSU: After a poor first half, LSU suddenly woke up from 13 points down and demolished Mississippi State, limiting them to 3 second half points while scoring 24 of their own. Jayden Daniels had a very tidy 210 yards, 1 TD day, and ran for 97 more and another TD.
- MISSISSIPPI STATE: If LSU can get to Will Rogers, who was kept to a season-low 57.1% completion percentage with a 1:1 TD/INT ration, then Mississippi State might be gliding into ‘Disappointment Land’ quicker than most people think.
- FLORIDA: Wow. The fact that the Gators were two bad special teams plays away from losing at home to lowly USF, and that the defense is appalling is bad enough. The fact that Anthony Richardson is spiralling down at a rate of knots might be even worse.
- VANDERBILT: The win against a feisty Northern Illinois team was much better than people will give it credit for. Clark Lea’s actually got a good thing going in Nashville. Whether it will come with one or two SEC victories this year is another thing coming. But for the first time in a while, the Commodores are playing watchable football.
- SOUTH CAROLINA: I know we’ve got Vanderbilt at heady heights, but Spencer Rattler’s looking lost (again) out there, not helped by an utterly dreadful offensive line. And although Georgia’s going to make everyone look bad from here to January, Rattler has been sacked NINE times in the last two games.
- AUBURN: We were there to see Penn State demolish the Tigers. While the atmosphere at Jordan-Hare was tremendous at the start, it was strange to see how quickly the place emptied midway through the third quarter. There simply isn’t any faith in Harsin and the team at the moment. To get Harsin back to an ounce of hope, Auburn has to do two things: Start Robby Ashford at QB (TJ Finley is useless) and beat Missouri in the CrapShow Bowl.
- MISSOURI: Well, at least they got the ball to their best player (Luther Burden) this week. He’ll need a bit of playing time before he plays for Alabama next year.