The 12 SEC institutions went a combined 11-1 on opening weekend, with the sole loss coming to Georgia at Oklahoma State. In case you were living under a rock, on a desert island or in intensive care, here’s what I saw.
South Carolina edged out NC State in a 7-3 game. As promised, Eric Norwood was all over the place, and if he keeps this up he’ll be a first round draft pick.
Kentucky skulldrug Miami (OH), the Cats got on track and didn’t look back. UK Might take 3rd in the SEC East this year.
Tennessee hammered Western Kentucky to usher in the Lane Kiffin era, but give some credit to Monte Kiffin, his defense looked great. Vol QB Crompton will determine how far this team goes this year, and they might surprise someone this season.
Mississippi State beat Jackson State 45-7 to open the Dan Mullen era in Starkville. Moments before kickoff, a thunderstorm came out of nowhere and delayed kickoff 30 minutes. If the wet field didn’t cause some of the execution issues Mstate had, then its gonna be a long season in vegas. At least WR Chad Bumphis looked great.
Georgia hung tought for two quarters, only to see the Cowboys pull away in the second half, winning 24-10. Fret not Dawg fans, replacing Stafford and Moreno is a tough act, but these guys look like they’ll do just fine as the season progresses.
Auburn pulled away from Louisiana Tech, 37-13. Gene Chizik’s first game as head coach, QB Chris Todd showed why he’s the starter and RB Onterio McCalebb looked fantastic.
Arkansas smacked Missouri State 48-10, setting a school record for passing yards (447) in the process. Dennis Johnson took the opening kickoff back 91 yards for a TD.
Florida beat the bejesus out of Charleston Southern, and Meyer played it smart by letting the pom squad play the second half. The Gators only won 62-3.
Vanderbilt surpsired me by dominating Western Carolina 45-0. Vandy a respectable football program? wow!
Alabama slugged it out with Virginia Tech, winning 34-24 in Atlanta. The game was not as close as the score indicated, with Bama outgaining the Hokies 498-155. Hats off to Mark Ingram for a buck fifty, but Roy Upchuch was the show, he looked for DB’s to punish, and he did that so well.
LSU won a 31-23 game at Washington, a game closer than I thought it would be. LSU did not look great in this game, the stellar defense we are accustomed to was nowhere to be found. Jordan Jefferson looked sharp, as did Terrance Tolliver and Brandon LaFell.
Rounding out the week was Ole Miss and Memphis on Sunday. This was a close ball game for three quarters, Rebel fans were horrified all-world DE Greg Hardy went down on the first defenseive play of the game (he’s ok), and then the offense started clicking and put 28 up in the 4th quarter to win 45-14. Jevan Sneed didn’t look sharp in the first three quarters, but looked great in the fourth. Dexter McCluster is gonna drive people nuts this year, he’s got insane speed and moves.