SEC Roundup: Bama Survives, A&M Stumbles at Home
Week two of the college football season was...something. The Southeastern Conference went 7-3 in non-conference matchups, with two big early inter-conference games in the mix.
SCORES:
Alabama 20, Texas 19
South Carolina 30, Arkansas 44
Wake Forest 45, Vanderbilt 25
Missouri 12, Kansas State 40
Tennessee 34, Pittsburgh 27 OT
Appalachian State 17, Texas A&M 14
Samford 0, Georgia 33
Kentucky 26, Florida 16
Cent. Arkansas 3, Ole Miss 59
San Jose State 16, Auburn 24
Southern 17, LSU 65
Mississippi State 39, Arizona 17
TOP STORYLINES
-Texas A&M paid Appalachian State $1.5 million dollars to come to Kyle Field and beat the No. 6 team in the nation. Haynes King looked suspect at best, and the panic button has been pressed for the Aggies. They take on Miami this weekend, so we'll see if Jimbo Fisher's team can respond, or if the season will continue to take a swift nose dive.
-Alabama was given all they could handle by the Longhorns in Austin, but scathed away at the last second via a field goal. Nick Saban's group looked undisciplined at times, which is more than uncharacteristic for a Crimson Tide group. Texas isn't back quite yet, but it could be on its way.
-It's been covered at length here at Wildcats Today, but Kentucky waltzed out of The Swamp with one of the biggest wins in program history. The Cats have back-to-back non-conference games lined up before a big one in Oxford against Ole Miss on Oct. 1.
-Tennessee started off sluggish in Pittsburgh, but rallied and eventually held off the game Panthers in overtime. The offense looks great, and the Vols aren't going anywhere in the jam-packed SEC East. A big one with the Gators is just two weeks away.
-Arkansas might be the most underrated team in the country, even after being bumped to No. 10 in the nation by the AP Poll. KJ Jefferson is a beast with the ball in his hands or when he's whipping it to his receivers. We thought it was going to be A&M challenging Alabama for the SEC West, but it might end up being the Razorbacks.
IT JUST MEANS...LESS
-Missouri was hit with a hard reality check in Manhattan on Saturday, as it was smushed by Kansas State. Deuce Vaughn was far too much to handle, as might any decent running back in the SEC that the Tigers will face this season. The seat isn't hot, but could be getting a tad warm for Eli Drinkwitz.
-Vanderbilt might become a weekly feature in this section of the roundup. Sam Hartman and Wake Forest did whatever they wanted on offense. Mike Wright might not be the answer at quarterback. The Dores travel to Northern Illinois this week, and are currently a one-point underdog.
-Auburn has done nothing but coast, in the worst way, through two weeks. Defeating San Jose State by eight points isn't acceptable, but Bryan Harsin will take any win that he can get this year, because once SEC play starts, there might not be many. A true test comes this weekend against Penn State inside Jordan Hare.
WEEK 2 POWER RANKINGS:
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- Florida
- Mississippi State
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- South Carolina
- Auburn
- LSU
- Missouri
- Vanderbilt
WEEK THREE MATCHUPS:
- Youngstown State (2-0) at No. 9 Kentucky (2-0, 1-0 SEC)- Noon EST
- Abilene Christian (2-0) at Missouri (1-1)- Noon
- No. 1 Georgia (2-0) at South Carolina (1-1, 0-1 SEC)- Noon
- No. 22 Penn State (2-0) at Auburn (2-0)- 3:30
- No. 20 Ole Miss (2-0) at Georgia Tech (1-1)- 3:30
- Vanderbilt (2-1) at Northern Illinois (1-1)- 3:30
- UL Monroe (1-1) at No. 2 Alabama (2-0)- 4:00
- Mississippi State (2-0) at LSU (1-1)- 6:00
- Missouri State (2-0) at No. 10 Arkansas (2-0, 1-0 SEC)- 7:00
- Akron (1-1) at No. 15 Tennessee (2-0)- 7:00
- South Florida (1-1) at No. 18 Florida (1-1, 0-1 SEC)
- No. 13 Miami (2-0) at No. 24 Texas A&M (1-1)
