One week of SEC games are in the books and that brings us to our first in-season edition of the Cats Illustrated Power Rankings for the league.
These will be updated through the season and with 16 teams, it's more complicated than ever.
1. Georgia
Georgia did nothing to jeopardize its top spot here or its No. 1 ranking nationally. The Bulldogs started slow and traded blows with Clemson in a first half defensive slugfest but then the offense got going in the second half. This team just has so many ways to beat you. The schedule is tough but this team is still capable of running the table.
2. Alabama
The first Alabama offensive series after the Nick Saban era was a 3-and-out but that was about the only downside. Alabama outscored WKU 21-0 in the first and then 21-0 in the second, rolling to a 63-0 victory. Jalen Milroe only attempted nine passes but went for 200 yards and three scores. The Tide also rushed for 334 yards and completely shut the Hilltopper offense down.
3. Texas
Texas exploded in the second quarter to blow out Colorado State. It was a balanced effort with Quinn Ewers getting his numbers, the ground game solid, and the defense shutting down the pass. If there was a downside it was allowing Justin Marshall to rush for 100 yards and find some consistent success but 52-0 is 52-0.
4. Ole Miss
In a week with many SEC blowouts nobody dominated more than Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Furman 76-0 with Jaxson Dart passing for 418 yards and five touchdowns. It was 52-0 at halftime. Tre Harris had an electrifying opener at receiver with 8 catches, 179 yards and two touchdowns.
5. Tennessee
Nico Iamaleava did not look like a young quarterback against Chattanooga. The second-year Vol was 22/28 for 314 yards and three touchdowns, slicing and dicing the Mocs on the way to a 45-0 halftime advantage. The Vols also went over 300 yards on the ground during an impressive 69-0 win.
6. Missouri
Missouri wasted no time making a statement against Murray State. The Tigers raced out to a 21-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. Brady Cook missed on some opportunities but still had an efficient game. The story of the day was the Mizzou defense, however, which held Murray State to 27 yards passing and 58 yards rushing. Missouri only gave up five first downs all game. It was that kind of day for the Racers in a 51-0 defeat.
7. Oklahoma
Brent Venables helped OU take a big step forward last season and the Sooners were strong in a 51-3 win against Temple in the season opener. Jackson Arnold was only 17/25 for 141 yards but had four touchdowns and no picks. This was a dominant defensive performance with Temple never getting anything going. The OU passing game didn't produce a lot of yards but it was otherwise a dominant day.
8. LSU
LSU went to the wire against No. 23 USC but eventually fell to the Trojans. That was a big win for both Lincoln Riley and the Big Ten, and another tough early season loss for Brian Kelly at LSU. Garrett Nussmeier looks like a quarterback who can do some things for LSU. It looks like they will once again be strong on offense, but Miller Moss (27/36, 378 yards) found success against the LSU passing defense, which was a problem last season.
9. Kentucky
Kentucky defeated Southern Miss 31-0 in a game that went just more than two quarters. Brock Vandagriff showed flashes of great potential in his ability to move around and find receivers when things break down and the offensive line established itself as the game went on. UK's stellar inside 'backing duo made its presence felt.
10. Auburn
All eyes are on improvement in Hugh Freeze's second year with the Tigers and a 73-3 start against Alabama A&M will make the fan base happy. Auburn led 52-0 at halftime so this one was ugly. Payton Thorne was 13/21 for 322 yards and four touchdowns so there were plenty of big plays as you could imagine. Auburn only had 18 rush attempts in the game but went for 177 on the ground.
11. Texas A&M
The Mike Elko era began with a loss to Notre Dame. It was an interesting contest with the Irish quarterbacked by Riley Leonard, who was coached by Elko at Duke in the past. Conner Weigman is regarded as a good draft prospect but he was only 12/30 for 100 yards and two picks. Notre Dame bewildered him and the Aggies simply couldn't generate enough offensive balance, especially with ND rushing for nearly 200 yards.
12. Arkansas
It's a big year for Sam Pittman in Fayetteville and a 70-0 Week 1 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff keeps the natives at bay for a while. It was 49-0 at halftime so there were clearly a lot of SEC blowouts this week. Arkansas may have had the most dominant offensive performance of any team in the league with the Hogs going over 400 yards passing and for nearly 300 rushing.
13. Mississippi State
Mississippi State put a hurting on Eastern Kentucky 56-7 in Starkville and once again we have a game that was over at halftime (35-0). Blake Shapen was an upgrade at quarterback (15/20, 247, 3 TD) and receivers Jordan Mosley and Kevin Coleman were the primary beneficiaries. This is a very retooled MSU team.
14. Florida
Billy Napier is looking for answers and challenging his team to respond after a 41-17 home loss to Miami to start the season. Miami looks like it could be the class of the ACC this year, but that won't make Gator fans feel better. UF still has seven games against teams that were in the preseason top-25 so a path to a bowl game is not so easy to see after that opener.
15. Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt's decision to raid NMSU's offensive brain trust looks good after the Commodores knocked off Virginia Tech 34-27 in maybe the league's most surprising outcome. This was a game of runs with Vandy surging ahead early but the Hokies battling back. Diego Pavia was very good, going 12/16 for 190 yards and two scores through the air and 104 yards on the ground. VT's Kyron Drones passed for 322 yards so the Commodore secondary does still seem vulnerable.
16. South Carolina
Shane Beamer may be approaching the hot seat unless he can get LaNorris Sellers looking a lot better than he did in a 23-19 win against Old Dominion. South Carolina would have lost this game at home if ODU didn't shoot itself in the foot twice with turnovers deep in its own territory. Sellers did not look good as a passer so the roadmap for opponents will clearly be to keep him in the pocket and make him beat you with his arm.
