SEC Football Week Two: The Rundown

Week two of college football 2012 marked a new day for the Southeastern Conference - the first day of competition for new members Texas A&M and Missouri.  It also saw the first major upset of the season, the top dogs taking care of business and a couple of programs on the brink of [football] disaster.  Let's dig in.

1.  Blame Bobby Petrino.
Eighth-ranked Arkansas's overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe 34-31 shocked the football world on Saturday, but the origins of this devastating failure occurred on Arkansas Highway 16 back in April, where former coach Bobby Petrino wrecked his motorcycle, his career, and this Razorback squad.  Granted, quarterback Tyler Wilson left the game in the first half with an "above the shoulder" injury (a concussion; a rumored broken collarbone; ???) and did not return, but does anyone doubt that the Razorbacks would have won this game had Petrino been roaming the sidelines?  Future former head coach John L. Smith signed a reported 10-month contract to lead Arkansas for the 2012 season.  Unless the 'Backs reach the SEC Championship and/or the BCS Championship game (an unlikely prospect at this point) the chances of that contract being renewed fall somewhere between slim and none.

2.  Welcome to the SEC.
Texas A&M and Missouri were officially welcomed into the SEC with smiles and handshakes back in July, but the hard reality of life in the nation's toughest football conference began to make itself felt today.  The  home office in Birmingham made certain that both teams received high-profile matchups for their first league games with two of the conference's big six - (24) Florida in the case of the Aggies and (7) Georgia for the Tigers.  Both teams had exuberant, sellout crowds that expected their teams to compete and win, and several pundits predicted one or the other to pull the upset.  Some even said that if A&M and Missouri both won, it would repudiate the SEC to a certain extent, proving that good football was played in other parts of the country than the Deep South.  Whether or not the newcomers to the conference will be competitive in 2012 remains to be seen, but at the end of the day, despite both teams having a lead fairly late into their respective games, the record was 0-2.

3.  Auburn's ship is sinking fast/Mullen gets signature win.
Mississippi State had never won a game against another SEC West team, other than Ole Miss, during Dan Mullen's tenure at Starkville, going a combined 0-12 against Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn and LSU before Saturday's 28-10 wipeout of the Tigers.  The Bulldogs completely dominated Auburn in every facet of the game, forcing five turnovers and holding the Tigers to just 216 total yards of offense.  For at least one week, Bully stands atop the SEC West at 1-0, while Auburn falls to 0-2 overall.  With Louisiana-Monroe coming to town next week after their stunning upset of Arkansas, even games that seemed easy wins previously will likely be a challenge given Auburn's anemic offense.  The Gene Chizik hotseat watch begins now.


4.  Quarterback controversy in Carolina?
A week after South Carolina struggled to a 17-13 win over Vanderbilt and QB Connor Shaw dealt with multiple injuries while throwing for a paltry 67 yards against the Commodores, here comes Dylan Thompson to start for the Gamecocks against East Carolina.  Thompson threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns in a 48-10 romp.  Clearly if Shaw is unhealthy, Thompson will be able to sub for him, but the real question now is whether or not Thompson should be the starter.

5.  In Other News: The Good

(1) Alabama (35-0 over Western Kentucky at home)

 Nick Saban complained this week about how the media didn't treat the Hilltoppers with respect by assuming that the top-ranked Tide would blow them out.  Way to make your point, Coach.


(3) LSU (41-3 over Washington at home)

The Tigers have scored 41 points in two straight games and are flying under the radar as much as possible for a third-ranked team with two blowouts on their resume.


Tennessee (51-13 over Georgia State at home)

Tennessee coasted to an easy victory, led by Tyler Bray's 333 yards passing and two touchdowns in their last tuneup before the Gators come to Knoxville.

Kentucky (47-14 over Kent State at home)

Savor this one Wildcats fans.  Savor it well.

Ole Miss (28-10 over UTEP at home)

The Rebels have quietly started 2-0 for only the second time in the last ten years.  It's all downhill from here.

6.  In Other News: The Bad

Vanderbilt (lost 23-13 at Northwestern)

The media and the fanbase love James Franklin and the way he has inspired Vandy to be more competitive, but in the end, the 'Dores still start off 0-2.


Games to watch in Week Three:

Alabama travels to Arkansas for what promised to be a marquee matchup of top ten teams until the Razorbacks wet the bed against LA-Monroe.  Now the storyline will be focused on whether Wilson will be back and whether Arkansas can rebound.  I expect 'Bama to cruise to an easy victory.

The most intriguing contest of the weekend is the game at Knoxville between Florida and Tennessee.  What used to be the regular first SEC on CBS game has been relegated to second-tier status, but both teams enter the game undefeated and the game poses the first real test for both teams.  I'm picking the Vols to win in a slight upset.

Texas comes to Oxford to face the Ole Miss Rebels, which I suppose is an important game.  Way to step out of the Big 12 to compete against one of the worst teams in the SEC, Texas!  Look for the Longhorns to drop the Rebels by double digits.