LSU drops in SEC power rankings after Week 1 loss to Florida State
Week 1 of the college football season is in the books, and though it wasn’t the best slate of games in recent memory, we got to see several SEC teams face off against Power Five squads.
It was overall a disappointing weekend for the league as it went 0-3 in its contests against ranked opponents. Florida kicked things off with a 24-11 loss on the road to Utah on Thursday before South Carolina fell 31-17 in its border war against North Carolina on Saturday.
In what was expected to be the game of the weekend, LSU held a halftime lead against No. 8 Florida State but had no answer in the second half as the Seminoles surged to a 45-24 win.
The league was perfect outside of that in games that came almost exclusively against Group of Five or FCS opponents, however.
We still have far from a complete sample size on any of these teams, but here’s how we have the 14 SEC squads stacking up after Week 1.
Vanderbilt Commodores (1-0)
The only team on this list to play two games so far, the Commodores looked a bit shaky in a seven-point Week 0 win over Hawaii that was a bit closer than expected before playing with their food for a bit against Alabama A&M in Week 1.
Vandy ultimately pulled away to a comfortable 47-13 win on Saturday, and the early returns on the AJ Swann-led offense have been good. Still, it doesn’t quite feel like this team has taken a major leap, and Saturday’s road game against Wake Forest will paint a much clearer picture.
Missouri Tigers (1-0)
It’s tough to glean much from FCS contests, and Missouri’s 35-10 win over South Dakota — for those wondering, no, the Coyotes are not one of the good Dakota programs — is no different.
You saw what you’d like to see from the offense: Brady Cook was efficient, the run game was reliable and former five-star receiver Luther Burden made plays in the passing game. Still, it’s hard to know if there’s been any real progress achieved.
This weekend’s contest against Middle Tennessee State won’t be particularly enlightening, but Eli Drinkwitz’s team has the chance to make a statement when it hosts a currently ranked Kansas State team in Week 3.
Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-0)
We wondered what the Mississippi State offense would look like without air raid pioneer Mike Leach at the helm, and we got something of an answer on Saturday. Even facing an FCS opponent in Southeastern Louisiana, veteran quarterback Will Rogers attempted just 29 passes, a career low in a start, while the Bulldogs ran the ball 39 times.
Rogers had a respectable day after a slow start, though he had just 227 passing yards, and this defense should be one of the SEC’s better units. We still have a lot of questions, but considering the next two weeks feature a road trip against Arizona before returning home to host LSU in the SEC opener, we should have our answers soon.
Florida Gators (0-1)
Florida didn’t really seem overmatched against a ranked Utah team on the road, but that made the two-score loss even harder to swallow. Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz threw for a career-high 333 yards, and his 70% completion percentage was also a career-high mark in a loss.
But Mertz faced a lot of pressure as Utah’s defensive line won the battle in the trenches. Florida couldn’t run the ball, and it was dogged by unimaginative play-calling, poor time management and a litany of head-scratching procedural penalties.
The defense actually looks improved from last year’s horrid unit, and it’s clear there’s talent on this roster. But Billy Napier, who is now 6-8 in Gainesville, has a lot to prove as he progresses in Year 2.
Auburn Tigers (1-0)
We’ll avoid making any grand proclamations about Auburn until it beats someone who isn’t UMass, but in the Tigers’ defense, this Minutemen team may not be as bad as it’s been in recent years.
Auburn looked good, and Hugh Freeze seems to have finally found a use for Robby Ashford as a package-based weapon. The Tigers face a decent test this weekend as it hits the road for a west-coast matchup against a California team that looks to be improved in 2023.
Kentucky Wildcats (1-0)
Kentucky was one of several SEC teams to struggle in its debut, and it actually trailed Ball State at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats ultimately pulled away, and while it was a middling debut for NC State transfer quarterback Devin Leary, Ray Davis ran for 112 yards and two touchdowns in his first game after coming in from Vanderbilt.
With a laughable start to the season that features games against Eastern Kentucky, Akron and Vanderbilt over the next three weeks, we may not know how much improved the Wildcats are (if at all) until they host Florida in Week 5.
Texas A&M Aggies (1-0)
We may still not know who is actually calling plays for Texas A&M, but Saturday’s 52-10 demolition of an admittedly bad New Mexico team was a promising start. Connor Weigman was very efficient as he tossed five touchdowns, and his connection with fellow sophomore receiver Evan Stewart, who had two touchdowns and finished over 100 yards, looks better than ever.
This team hits the road for one of the better matchups in Week 2 as it faces Mario Cristobal’s Miami team in what feels like a must-win for Jimbo Fisher. The Aggies won this game a year ago, and a loss wouldn’t bode well heading into an SEC West schedule that’s always tricky.
South Carolina Gamecocks (0-1)
North Carolina’s defense could be vastly improved from the abysmal unit it fielded last fall. That’s certainly what South Carolina hopes is the case.
The Gamecocks didn’t surrender a single turnover in this game, a welcome change from the often volatile offense we saw last fall. Still, it wasn’t enough as South Carolina was dominated at the line of scrimmage. Spencer Rattler, who played well, all things considered, was sacked nine times.
Coach Shane Beamer’s team had no run game to speak of, and it couldn’t take advantage of a solid defensive performance against a Heisman-contending quarterback. South Carolina could still have a very good season, but it seems this team still may not be ready to take a leap.
Arkansas Razorbacks (1-0)
It’s hard to find much fault with Arkansas‘ 56-13 win over an inferior Western Carolina team. A veteran Razorbacks squad very much looked the part as KJ Jefferson had an impressive start to the season. Running back Raheim Sanders didn’t see a major workload as the team split its carries quite a bit, but he still found the endzone twice.
This is a big year for Sam Pittman and the Hogs, and they’ll have a big early season test when they go to Death Valley in Week 4 after home games against Kent State and BYU.
Ole Miss Rebels (1-0)
Congrats to Ole Miss for turning in the most lopsided result in the SEC in Week 1. Mercer was really no match for the Rebels offense in a 73-7 loss as Jaxson Dart impressed after winning the starting quarterback job, though all three contending players saw action in this game.
It was hardly an unexpected result for this Ole Miss team, and we’ll be able to learn a lot more from its Week 2 contest as it travels to New Orleans to face a ranked Tulane team that was the top G5 squad in the country a year ago, beating USC in the Cotton Bowl.
LSU Tigers (0-1)
LSU entered the year with potential CFP aspirations, but things came crashing down to Earth during Sunday night’s loss to the Seminoles. The Tigers had trouble containing Jordan Travis and a talented FSU receiving duo all night, and its offense was productive but lacked efficiency due to losing the battle up front against the Florida State front four.
The Tigers can still have a very good season, perhaps even still compete in the SEC West. But it’s clear this team still has schematic issues to work out — most notably, its mind-boggling usage of star linebacker Harold Perkins — that were not expected in Year 2 under this staff.
Until those problems are ironed out, it’s hard to see the Tigers competing with the best of the best.
Tennessee Volunteers (1-0)
It wasn’t the most prolific day we’ve seen for Tennessee’s offense under Josh Heupel, but it was more than enough as the Volunteers easily dispatched Virginia 49-13 in Nashville. Joe Milton didn’t exactly dazzle in his season debut, but the Vols got a lot of production on the ground with Jaylen Wright’s 115 yards leading the way.
The Cavaliers were far from the toughest matchup Tennessee will face this season, and after the Vols take on Austin Peay this weekend, all eyes will be on Tennessee as it looks to beat Florida in Gainesville for the first time since 2003.
Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0)
A dominating 56-7 win over Middle Tennessee far from guarantees that Alabama has fixed the problems that held it back from national title contention last fall, but it was still an encouraging debut for quarterback Jalen Milroe and a pair of new coordinators.
Milroe especially looked impressive passing the ball despite only doing so 18 times.
Tuscaloosa will be the talk of the college football world this weekend as Alabama hosts Texas in one of the biggest early-season contests of 2023.
Georgia Bulldogs (1-0)
The debut of the Carson Beck era in Athens was a bit underwhelming, at least by the standards it has set for itself in recent years. Georgia only led UT Martin 17-0 at halftime before pulling away to a 48-7 victory over the FCS opponent.
It will be interesting to see how this team looks moving forward, but the Bulldogs will continue to occupy the top spot until another SEC team proves it on the field by handing Georgia its first loss in regular season conference play since 2020.
