Week 1: The Disaster

by Chris Paschal

SEC fans, let’s be real, that was an abysmal start to the college football season. While there were some bright spots, impressive victories were overshadowed by the six SEC losses.

Southerner’s haven’t been this upset since Merle entered the pearly gates, and they have every right to be. Forget the SEC West and SEC East, right now the SEC is broken into three divisions: the good, the bad, and the ugly. With the exclusion of Ole Miss.

The Good:

Alabama:

You won 52-6… against Southern Cal, a team that returned basically its entire offense and had aspirations of winning the Pac-12. The Trojans entered the field with swagger, they left with a whippin’ that is illegal in 47 of the 50 states.

Georgia:

The Dawgs proved me wrong. I thought the stage was too big for Georgia, but instead embarrassed Chapel Hill in the second half. Georgia, in my opinion, is the new favorite out of the East. The season is still young but Georgia played a complete football game in the second half.

Texas A&M:

The Aggies pulled out an epic, close win over 16th ranked UCLA. They benefitted from a great home field atmosphere and survived UCLA’s comeback to start the season off 1-0.

The Bad:

South Carolina:

Sometimes you just have to win ugly, and that is exactly what the Gamecocks did. In tough conference games in the SEC, special teams and defense sometimes come to the rescue. I am concerned about the quarterback situation. Orth threw for mere 152 yards and McIlwain fumbled twice.

Auburn:

Auburn looked pretty bad on Saturday, yet they still found a way to be in the game until the bitter end. They competed and Jordan-Hare was great, but I am concerned with Auburn being able to overshadow their lack of offensive production for an entire season.

Florida:

Yes, Florida won. No, it was not impressive. UMass gave the Gators all they could handle and this game was not settled until the fourth quarter. The offense looked like it still has a long ways to go before competing for SEC Titles.

Arkansas:

Maybe this is just what Arkansas does? They play like garbage against lesser opponents and then well against quality opponents.

The Ugly:

LSU:

Les, are you serious? You were given a second chance at the end of last year. The Tigers come into the season with one of the best rosters in college football. You play an unranked Wisconsin team, and it is the same song, second verse. It is actually embarrassing. The one criticism you had all off season was the quarterback play. Nothing changed. Brandon Harris still stinks, which in the past was somewhat masked by a good, but not championship worthy roster. No excuses this year. Brandon Harris cost LSU the game in which they had no business losing.

Mississippi State and Kentucky:

Gentlemen, are you kidding me?

Tennessee:

It seemed like everybody was holding their breath for this game. Pundits pleaded with the Volunteers, “prove to us you are real, crush a talented, but inferior App State.” Tennessee did the opposite, and in my opinion should have been punished for it. If App manages the clock better, they leave Neyland with a win. Tennessee survived, but the question remains, can Tennessee pass the football.

Vanderbilt:

I never had faith in you Vanderbilt. In fact, I predicted, while others promised six wins and a bowl appearance, that you would fall flat on your face again. But, you lost to South Carolina. Even I didn’t think it would be that bad. The season is still young, but c’mon guys.

Missouri:

You stink and I really don’t mind. You aren’t even in the South.