2021 SEC Football Power Rankings: Week 1

Alabama remains on top of the conference after pummeling Miami, but how did the rest of the SEC play out over the weekend?

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Publish date:
Sep 5, 2021 11:00 AM EDT

Gosh it felt good to watch SEC football this weekend, didn't it? Well, at least it did for fans of most SEC programs.

Alabama proved why it was No. 1 in the preseason power rankings, pummeling No. 14 Miami 44-13 at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Quarterback Bryce Young shined in his debut, completing 27-of-38 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. There were a lot of concerns for the Crimson Tide this season due to the team losing so many starters on offense, but the program looked to be in midseason form in Week 1.

For obvious reasons, Alabama remains in the top spot this week.

While their victory wasn't nearly as impressive as the Crimson Tide's, the Georgia Bulldogs picked up a big win over No. 3 Clemson, downing the Tigers 10-3. The only touchdown of the game was a pick-six off of Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. Both the Tigers' and Bulldogs' offenses looked a little lackluster in their 2021 debuts, but both teams' defenses looked sharp.

Georgia remains second this week, but an SEC West contender is hot on its heels.

It wasn't the hottest of first halves for Texas A&M, as the Aggies entered the locker room at halftime leading the Kent State Flashes just 10-3. However, the Aggies outscored the Golden Flashes 31-7 in the second half, bringing home a 41-10 win.

Here are the biggest movers this week:

Biggest winner(s): Auburn/Tennessee — The Tigers rose from ninth up to sixth after downing Akron 60-10 while the Volunteers rose from 13th to 10th following a 38-6 victory over Bowling Green.

Biggest loser: LSU — dropped from fourth all the way down to eighth after losing 38-27 against UCLA.