SEC Football Week 1 Recap

some information courtesy of LSUwire.com

Saturday marked the beginning of the greatest stretch of the year: College football returns!

Before we get into the details, here are some of my thoughts regarding the conference as a whole this past week. Let’s start with a no-brainer; Georgia is still a powerhouse, even after having to retool once again due to a stellar 2022 NFL draft for the Bulldogs. Vanderbilt is 2-0, surprising almost everyone so far this season. Alabama is still Alabama. Tennessee looks to have taken a jump forward on the defensive side of the ball under Heupel in year two, while still having a dominant offense. LSU loses a heartbreaking game to Florida State, by way of a blocked PAT. Kentucky won against Miami (OH) in convincing fashion. I believed it would be closer than the 37-13 score leads you to believe. Texas A&M won against Sam Houston, no shocker there. Missouri won against Louisiana Tech 52-24, personally that score reflect more on the lack of talent for LA Tech than Missouri being a good football team. Arkansas battled a Cincinnati team that just depleted to say the least. That score was 31-24 even if the game its self was sloppy on the Bearcats’ end. Ole Miss beat Troy 28-10, now if you’re a Rebels’ fan, should you be worried? In my opinion, not really. The main thing to raise eyebrows, would be the fact that they only won by 18. Auburn won against Mercer; as they should. South Carolina won against Elon State, however the Rattler era starts rocky as he throws two picks. Mississippi State gets revenge on Memphis with a score of 49-23. The biggest game for the conference was no doubt Florida upsetting Utah with a score of 29-26. The Anthony Richardson era has begun in the Swamp and with a win like that, the Gators’ have a big momentum boost so far.

No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs vs No.11 Oregon

There’s not much surprising here. Georgia is still a powerhouse, but to make a top-15 ranked team look like a cake-walk surprised most college football fans. Stetson Bennett was an absolute sniper, going 25-for-31 for 368 yards (a career-high) and two touchdowns. Bo Nix (AKA Bo Pix) left a lot to be desired from the former Auburn QB, as he went 21-for-37 for 173 yards and two interceptions.

Tennessee 59, Ball State 10

Ladies and gentlemen, Tennessee has hope yet again! Tennessee did what they were expected to do and routed Ball State but not only did they use that high-powered Rocky Top offensive flare; they were shutdown on defense. Hendon Hooker and the Vols destroyed Ball State as Hooker went 18-for-25 for 221 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for two touchdowns. In fact, they got an interception on the first play of the game. Don’t get me wrong, Tennessee played Ball State of all teams, so the orange and white aren’t off scot-free by any means, but there is hope! Hendon Hooker and the Vols destroyed Ball State as Hooker went 18-for-25 for 221 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for two touchdowns.

Missouri 52, Louisiana Tech 24

Like Tennessee, the Missouri Tigers were so excited for the 2022 season that they started a couple of days early. Brady Cook was the starting quarterback for the Tigers and he went 18-for-27 for 201 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed seven times for 61 yards and a touchdown. Missouri made it look easy in Game 1. We will see how they fare in the East this year. Now, I understand the hesitation in saying that the Tigers are going to be good, but Brady Cook has the potential to be a special talent.

No. 6 Texas A&M 31, Sam Houston State 0

Not much to say honestly, the Aggies won a snooze-fest game against sub-par talent. All those recruits and all of that talk from Jimbo Fisher, yet the Aggies came out and put on a sleeper in their first game of the season. The game was 17-0 at halftime as A&M didn’t impress anyone. Haynes King got the start for the Aggies, going 20-for-31 for 364 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. That performance drew mixed reviews from the Aggie faithful, with many questioning, “If this is how it is going to be against an FCS school, how are we going to beat Alabama?” Although, the silver lining is that the defense was great. Like the Vols’ the Aggies are looking to make noise this year in SEC West, but with rocky QB play and questions that need to be answered; it’s coin toss for Aggieland.

No. 19 Arkansas 31, No. 23 Cincinnati 24

This game was all that it was hyped up to be. KJ Jefferson had a great day going 18-for-26 for 223 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 62 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Sam Pittman and the Hogs got a huge win over a Cincinnati team that made it to the College Football Playoff last year. Jefferson is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the SEC. Let’s not act like it wasn’t obvious that Cincy didn’t lose their team’s identity with the departure of so many stars to the NFL. They did. However, I think they can rebuild it quite fast if done correctly. I have always been high on KJ Jefferson. A Cam Newton type player, and I’m not just talking in looks but also in play-style.

No. 21 Ole Miss 28, Troy 10

Jaxon Dart got his first start as a Rebel in this game as Lane Kiffin and the Rebels took down the Troy Trojans. They didn’t win by a lot, but the Trojans are a good football team that is known to sneak up on Power Five programs and beat them. If anyone knows that, it’s LSU. Dart went 18-for-27 for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception. I’m certainly not hitting that big red panic button if i’m the Rebels’. Not yet anyway, it is to be expected to take a step back when you lose the signal-caller as good as Matt Corral.

Auburn 42, Mercer 16

There may be a new sheriff in town for the Auburn Tigers, and I am not talking about TJ Finley. I am talking about Robby Ashford. The transfer from Oregon definitely looked like the best quarterback on the roster going 4-for-7 for 100 yards. Finley got the start and went 9-for-14 for 112 yards one touchdown and two interceptions. Ashford looks like the quarterback of the future for the Tigers. Auburn has so many question to answer, QB is a great place to start to be honest, but outside of Tank Bigsby, the Tiger offense is limited. Losses on the defensive end like Roger McCreary hurt just as much for War Eagle country.

Vanderbilt 41, Elon 31

Mike Wright looks like a bright spot for the Commodores as he went 18-for-29 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. at halftime the score was squarely in Vandy’s favor 28-10. However, Vandy seemed to fall asleep in the second half by letting Elon outscore them 21-14.

South Carolina 35, Georgia State 14

The Spencer Rattler era has begun in Columbia, South Carolina, and it started with a win over the Georgia State Panthers. Rattler finished the game 23-for-37 for 227 yards one touchdown and two interceptions. He didn’t have the best game, but he got the job done. Beamer ball was back, but I’m not talking about Virginia Tech. The Gamecocks blocked two punts that they returned for touchdowns in the second half to pull away in this one.

Mississippi State 49, Memphis 23

A weather delay couldn’t stop the air raid! Mike Leach and the Bulldogs cruised to a 28-3 lead by halftime. As such, they decided to let some of the puppies out of the doghouse to wrap up the game in convincing fashion.

Kentucky 37, Miami (Ohio) 13

Your final score wouldn’t tell the story of this game as it was closer than expected as it was only 13-10 Kentucky at the half; but the Wildcats shifted into another gear in the second half as they took down Miami Ohio. Will Levis finished the game 21-for-32 with 303 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Tayvion Robinson had a career day with six receptions for 136 yards. Is this a sign that last year wasn’t a fluke? I believe so and that the Wildcats’ are a team to watch in the East once again.

Florida 29, No. 7 Utah 26

We’ve found our first upset of the year! Down goes No. 7 Utah. It was AR’s moment in the swamp as the Gators knocked off the No. 7 Utah Utes. Richardson went 17-for-24 for 168 yards and had 11 carries for 106 yards and three touchdowns. He was in command of the offense all night long and every time he touched the ball it seemed as though magic would happen. Richardson is the real deal. What a way to start the Billy Napier era in Gainesville.

Alabama 55, Utah State 0

Once again Alabama gets a easy win against no competition. Let’s be honest that’s the case for most of the SEC these days. They are who we thought they were. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bryce Young had a great day for the Tide going 18-for-28 for 195 yards and five touchdowns, and he had five carries for 100 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Will Anderson is still a menace, my Heisman favorite, and the Death Star is still rolling along to the tune of the imperial march.

LSU 23, Florida State 24

Well, the Brian Kelly era is off to a great start! There is obvious sarcasm in that statement as the Tigers’ are already limping to begin the year. The Tigers lost a heartbreaker to the Seminoles off a blocked PAT to seal the game. LSU couldn’t overcome a laundry list of mistakes in a 24-23 loss that soured Kelly’s debut and gave Seminoles coach Mike Norvell a much-needed win. The Tigers struggled in all aspects of the game, but they managed to stay in it until the end. This defense entered the year with high expectations, but it’s clear the unit still has a long way to go. It was dominated by FSU as quarterback Jordan Travis had one of the best games of his career. Travis completed 20 of 32 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns through the air — both to top receiver Ontaria Wilson. The Seminoles also gashed the Tigers for 132 yards on the ground. LSU lost two of the best players in its front seven as defensive tackle Maason Taylor left and didn’t return with a knee injury while edge rusher Ali Gaye was ejected on a targeting call and will miss the first half next week, as well. Brian Kelly has to put his money where hisw mouth is and fix this as soon as possible.

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