| 04 September 2010
First off, Good Lord ... collectively as a league ... the SEC looked awful in week one.
Yes, most of the teams scored a ton of points, but defensively there are enough needed improvements it would give Bob Villa a heart attack. Where do we even begin? With Florida's mediocre start? Ole Miss' melt down against an FCS team?
Let's get it over with. Ole Miss was cruising 31-10. By all rights and means, this game was their's to lose. So they did. The Jacksonville Jaguars State football team did not quit playing.
Jacksonville State 49
Ole Miss 48
In fact, JSU found a weakness in the Tyrone Nix led Ole Miss defense and exploited it for all it was worth. At the same time, JSU had to convert a 2 point conversion to put the game into OT ... then converted a 2 point conversion in the 2nd OT to win the game. Ridonkulous.
Call it sweet revenge for JSU coach Jack Crowe who was fired at Arkansas in 1992 following a loss to The Citadel. We hardly think that Houston Nutt will get "Crowed", but Tyrone Nix's job security took a severe hit. I don't care if Ole Miss is rebuilding ... this is an inexcusable loss for even a middle tier SEC team.
Game Highlights for Ole Miss versus Jacksonville State (not for the faint of heart)
OK, got that one out of my system ... seriously, the SEC has some problems that need to be corrected. At the moment, Alabama is the only team playing on a championship level (and has the talent).
Florida 34
Miami OH 12
At first glance, the score looks about right. Sure, the Gators didn't make the spread ... but there was more to it than that. Keep in mind that LSU's Patrick Peterson had more return yards in the first half than UF did offensively for the game.
Florida did not simply look bad, they were horrible. Bad snaps. Dropped passes. Bad passes. Missed assignments. The offensive line did not fire off the ball. You name it, it probably happened. Keep in mind that the defense nabbed four interceptions, stopped Miami in the red zone a couple of times, and a freak bounce resulted in a Chris Rainey touchdown reception.
This was the ugliest win I have seen in a LONG time.
To say the least, the Gators were booed by their own fans, in their own stadium. Offensively, the team was not anemic, they were DOA, posting 25 yards of total offense through three quarters.
UF did manage to claw their way to the win in spite of their opponent and many of the problems are fixable ... If Florida had been playing any SEC team other than Ole Miss, they would currently be 0-1.
Kentucky 23
Louisville 16
I will admit, this was the game that worried me. Kentucky jumped out to a huge early lead and then put the game on cruise control. Their opponent struggled early in the game, but it is difficult to tell how much UK let up and how much U of L adjusted.
To the haters, told you that the UK quarterback position would be better than expected ... yes, it is just one game, but UK will be better than most would have thought this season.
Alabama 48
San Jose State 3
Bama raced out to a 31-3 half time lead and never looked back. Without Heisman Trophy winning running back Mark Ingram available (knee), the Tide did not miss a single beat offensively, amassing 591 yards of total offense.
Trent Richardson (11 or 66) and Eddie Lacy (13 for 111 and 2 TD's) paced the Crimson Tide on the ground while QB Greg McElroy was nearly flawless (13/15 for 218 yards and 1 TD).
Defensively the Tide looked as good as (or somewhat better) than last season ... but it was just San Jose State ... still, this Alabama team only gave up 175 yards (89 rushing, 86 passing).
Alabama looks ready to repeat as long as they can remain focused ... they are showing no signs of a let down.
Arkansas 44
Tennessee Tech 3
The final score looks great, but keep in mind that Arkansas overcame a slow start (trailed 3-0 at the end of the 1st quarter) to blow the visitors back across the Tennessee State line. Ryan Mallet came alive and finished strong: 21/24 for 301 yards and 3 TD's and an INT.
No Razorback running backs had more than 9 attempts (not good).
Miss State 49
Memphis 7
What? You got it ... a complete game for the Bulldogs ... do we now have a quarterback controversy brewing in Starkville? Chris Relf and Tyler Russell combined for 20/25 for 372 yards and 5 TD's with an INT.
The eye popping stat? 2.0 yards per carry surrendered. Yes, it was Memphis, but still .... only allowing 2.0 yards per carry is allowing 2.0 yards per carry. Could the Bulldogs be better than anticipated? Is it appearing that Mullen was the lynch pin that made the vaunted UF machine run? Only time will tell.
Auburn 52
Arkansas State 26
When a team puts up 52 offensive points, there shouldn't be much to gripe about, should there? AU overcame a slow defensive start to put an out-manned, out-coached, out-talented team away. 608 offensive yards should make anyone happy, but AU scored so fast at times that Arkansas State actually held the ball almost nine full minutes longer. AU was solid against the run, but gave up 323 yards passing.
Northwestern 23
Vandy 21
First, Vandy looked better on offense than I would have imagined. NW was not an SEC caliber opponent, so my season prediction still sticks, but this 'Dores team could make a few teams sweat this season ... that is the good ... the bad is Vandy got screwed ... a late personal foul penalty should not have been called. Vandy outgained their opponent 432-365. Larry Smith actually looked comfortable running the offense ... never thought I would say that one ... ever. Vandy's coaching staff needs to get Zac Stacy and Warren Norman in the backfield at the same time. Defensively, there were some breakdowns, but for their first game, over all not bad.
Tennessee 50
UT Martin 0
Not that this score is a shock, but it was refreshing to see the fans in Neyland Stadium actually having something to cheer about. UT overcame a slow start (and very poor blocking) to put 23 points on the board in the 3rd quarter. Offensive line will be a priority this week in practice ... run and pass blocking. Matt Simms must settle down ... too many of his passes were too high. Not bad for his first game in front of 99,000 fans though.
UT fans biggest worry this next week (other than Oregon scoring 72 points)? Not knowing where their team is actually at. UTM was such an over matched opponent, NO ONE can accurately determine where UT is at.
Georgia 55
La Lafayette 7
Another SEC East team that will be difficult to determine what they truly have. Aaron Murray played well, 17/26 for 160 yards, 3 TD's and an INT ... against bad competition. Carlton Thomas led the Dawgs with 61 yards on 13 carries. Yeah, we had to look him up as well: link
UGA's defense absolutely shut the run down (29 carries, 14 yards), but again, look at the opponent. It is difficult to determine what the Bulldogs really have at this point ... we shall know in a week when the Dawgs travel to play the Gamecocks in Columbia.
South Carolina 41
Southern Miss 13
South Carolina fans are already licking their chops ... the team finally has a running back (can Marcus Lattimore stay away from injuries given his size?) ... and Stephen Garcia did not show a willingness to get outside of the offensive system. The Gamecocks must improve defensively and not surrender 400+ yards to an SEC team ... any SEC team.
LSU 30
UNC 24
North Carolina gave LSU the ball inside the 40 twice early and dodged major bullets ... LSU has outstanding speed on the outside, but could not block ... at all ... to save their life. LSU's offensive line wasn't bad .... they weren't just 'bad' ... they were freaking HORRIBLE. If you watch the LSU offensive line at all, you immediately see that they do not fire off of the ball, immediately elevate too high, and simply do not drive block ... at all. Defensively, Patrick Peterson is a stud ... outside of that? No household names ... LSU must correct their problems STAT! or this will be a long season for the Tigers .... at this point, I way over estimated this team.
So what do we have?
At this point, it is difficult to say. Alabama looked rock solid (against zero competition) ... Florida's offense looked so bad the fans were ready to puke behind the bleachers .... Ole Miss blew a HUGE lead ... LSU? Sheesh ... Mississippi State threw the ball all over the field against a bad pass defense ... South Carolina .... heck, at this point, your guess is as good as mine ... Vandy is Vandy ... UT had better solve their blocking problems or they won't be able to move the ball the rest of the season ... I hate sounding like the Hee-Haw skit (doom - despair - and agony on me), but honestly, over all? The SEC did not look like the top shelf, best conference in the nation this weekend ... even though most of the box scores appear that they did.
