We’re finally getting into the meat of the CFB season, and the games are about to really heat up (I am tired of sifting through FCS blowouts). Take a peek at our Week 3 rankings to see who moved up and who dropped. Also let us know where you think we screwed up as we head into Week 4.
1. Georgia 3-0 (1-0)
The Dawgs stay in the top spot after beating South Carolina 24-14. The first half was rough as Georgia looked like they were still asleep and fell behind14-3 before the break. The 2nd half Georgia seemed to be alert reeled off 21 straight points and by the end the game didn’t really feel all that close. Georgia still hasn’t looked all that interested in a football game yet but the fact that they outscored an SEC team 21-0 in a half while barely breaking a sweat is pretty telling. Up next the Bulldogs welcome UAB to Athens. The game will be on ESPN2 at 7:30pm ET.
2. LSU 2-1 (1-0)
This looked like the LSU I thought we’d be getting in the preseason. The Tigers dismantled Mississippi State in Starkville 41-14. Jayden Daniels was special, but the most impressive unit was the defense. They held State to under 100 yards rushing and completely flummoxed the Bulldog offense. The Tigers still have some issues in the traditional running game but they’ve really only played one bad half of football this season. Up next for LSU is rival Arkansas at home. The game airs on ESPN at 7pm ET.
3. Ole Miss 3-0
The Rebels ran away from Georgia Tech 48-23 in Oxford this past weekend to jump back into our top 3. Ole Miss put up over 500 yards of offense with Jaxson Dart throwing for 251 yards and adding another 136 on the ground. Kiffin still hasn’t been able to get Quinshon Judkins going though and it has become apparent that offense is dependent on Dart. Concerning because up next for Ole Miss is a trip to Tuscaloosa to take on a desperate Alabama. That game airs on CBS at 3:30pm ET.
4. Alabama 2-1
The Tide played USF in a rainstorm and looked thoroughly uninspiring. For reasons I still can’t comprehend Saban started Tyler Buchner over Jalen Milroe and quickly realized that was a mistake, Ty Simpson replaced him and was just a marginal upgrade. Saban has already announced he’s going back to Jalen Milroe for the game against Ole Miss this Saturday but the most concerning thing for the Tide is they gave up 177 yards on the ground to South Florida. Alabama has been suspect in the trenches and that was exposed against Texas but South Florida being able to run the ball should have alarm bells ringing. I’m still not betting against Alabama getting to 10 or 11 wins, but they have a big test against Ole Miss this weekend. We’ll see if Saban has any tricks up his sleeve.
5. Missouri 3-0
The biggest riser of the week goes to Missouri who jumps all the way into the top 5 with a home win against defending B12 Champs Kansas State. Missouri continues to play complementary football which allows Brady Cook to do only things he’s comfortable with. They have a good defense, excellent special teams (having a kicker who can hit a 61 yarder is a blessing) and good playmakers at WR. Right now it looks like Drinkwitz has his best team in Columbia. Up next Missouri travels to St. Louis to take on Memphis. The game airs on ESPNU at 7:30pm ET.
6. Texas A&M 2-1
The Aggies have struggled to beat Sun Belt opponents in the past but had no issues with ULM this past weekend winning 47-3. It was total domination from start to finish with Conner Weigman looking comfortable throwing for 337 yards. Defensively the debacle in Miami from last week is still in the back of my mind but A&M looked solid all afternoon on that side of the ball. A&M welcomes Auburn to Kyle Field this week and it should tell us a lot about their ceiling. The game airs at Noon ET kickoff on ESPN.
7. Auburn 3-0
Auburn handled FCS opponent Samford 45-13 after a slow start. Auburn put up 562 yards of offense and QB threw for 282 yards and had 123 yards on the ground. To be honest I still don’t know how good this Auburn team is, they looked thoroughly mediocre last week against Cal but I’m moving them up to 7 because they haven’t lost yet and do have a P5 road win. They go on the road to A&M this week and we’ll have a better picture of who they are.
8. Florida 2-1 (1-0)
Billy Napier got a big win as Florida beat Tennessee 29-16 in a game that wasn’t that close. Trevor Etienne rushed for 172 yards and Graham Mertz didn’t screw it up which provided a winning blueprint for Florida the rest of the season. The defense kept the Vols gimmicky offense in front of them and didn’t allow explosive plays and just allowed Tennessee to self-destruct. Tennessee did rack up some garbage time stats to make the box score look closer but people who watched the game won’t be fooled by that. Up next the Gators welcome Charlotte to Gainesville. The game is at 7pm ET and airs on SECN+.
9. Kentucky 3-0
Kentucky picked up another sloppy win over a MAC opponent beating Akron 35-3 at home. There was a plethora of explosive plays from the Kentucky offense led by Ray Davis, Devin Leary, and Tayvion Robinsson but still an alarming number of brainfarts with bad special teams, OL protection issues, bad fumbles, untimely penalties, and drops/bad routes from multiple WRs. Both Mark Stoops and Liam Coen were upset after the performance and that probably isn’t a good sign after Stoops had similar thoughts after beating Ball State in Week 1 and EKU gave the Cats all they could handle last week. Even more so when Kentucky had similar issues derail their season last year. The Wildcats travel to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt in what has become an important game. Kentucky/Vandy is a noon kickoff on the SECN.
10. Tennessee 2-1 (0-1)
Gainesville continues to be a house of horrors for Tennessee as the Vols lost 29-16 to Florida. Joe Milton doesn’t have the same command of Heupel’s offense that Hendon Hooker did, and Tennessee struggled to run the ball while Florida controlled the game from start to finish. Without a high-powered offense the Tennessee defense is being exposed and that should be the biggest concern right now for Heupel. Letting Graham Mertz stay comfortable while Etienne gashes you for 172 yards (Utah held Florida to 13 rushing yards as a team) is frightening. Up next for Tennessee is a frisky but banged up UTSA program coming to Knoxville. The game airs at 4pm ET on the SECN.
11. Arkansas 2-1
The Hogs let a 10-point 3rd quarter lead slip and lost at home to BYU 38-31. It’s a brutal loss for an Arkansas program hoping to make a premier bowl game and for the SEC perception nation-wide. The Hogs gifted the game to the Cougars by allowing two 3rd and long conversions on BYU’s winning drive and then picking up awful penalties on their potential game-tying drive as they got into the redzone. The OL seemed to be a real concern as KJ Jeffereson was under pressure the whole night but especially on the final drive. Things don’t get easier for the Razorbacks as they head to Baton Rouge to take on LSU this weekend.
12. Mississippi State 2-1 (0-1)
Things unraveled for State at home against LSU. The offense had seemed like a work in progress the previous two weeks and the wheels came off on Saturday. Falling into a 24-0 hole forced them to move away from the running game and Will Rogers doesn’t look like the same QB without Mike Leach’s Air Raid principles. The Bulldogs could only muster 107 yards through the air and a typically stingy defense was hung out to dry and melted. Mississippi State heads to Columbia to take on South Carolina in what has become a big game for both programs. The game kicks off at 7:30pm ET on SECN.
13. South Carolina 1-2 (0-1)
For a half it looked like the Andy Bernard of CFB was going to be given a gift but ultimately the Gamecocks fell to Georgia 24-14. South Carolina was unable to establish any run game and seems totally reliant on Spencer Rattler carrying their offense (good luck with that) despite not surrounding him with SEC level playmakers at WR. I just don’t think this is a very good football team, but we’ll find out how bad they are on Saturday. They welcome Mississippi State to Columbia and it’s a must-win if Beamer wants to keep his cringey hype train rolling.
14. Vanderbilt 2-2
Vanderbilt fell behind UNLV and was unable to complete the comeback and lost 40-37 in Las Vegas. UNLV is improving (Barry Odom is a good coach) but there is no excuse for an SEC team to be losing to a meh Mountain West program. Clark Lea took advantage of deeply flawed Kentucky and Florida programs last year, but all that momentum is completely gone. The Commodores couldn’t run the ball and AJ Swann turned the ball over twice. The good news for Vandy is their first SEC is a wobbly Kentucky team that they beat last year.
