The SEC enters Week 2 in desperate need of a bounceback. The conference went 0-3 in marquee games, with Florida, South Carolina, and LSU all suffering double-digit losses against power conference opponents. Tennessee did beat Virginia for the SEC’s only Power 5 win in Week 1.
There will be plenty of opportunities to score big victories in Week 2. Texas visits Alabama for a rematch of last year’s thriller in Austin. Texas A&M will test out its new offense on the road against Miami. Ole Miss has a very tricky road game against Tulane. And Mississippi State and Auburn are both battling on-the-rise Pac-12 schools.
Arkansas has another relatively easy game. We’ll look at Kent State later this week, but the Golden Flashes aren’t very scary; in fact, they may end up being the worst team in the FBS this year. KSU has among the most underfunded football programs in the FBS, and they lost promising head coach Sean Lewis to the Colorado OC job this offseason. UCF trounced them 56-6 in the opener. Expect the Hogs to be very vanilla, with a focus on getting reps for new guys and avoiding injuries.
Arkansas and Kent State tip off at 3 pm on the SEC Network.
Games to Watch
Wake Forest at Vanderbilt (10 am, ACC Network).Vanderbilt is a weak 2-0, with unimpressive wins over Hawaii and Alabama A&M, and now faces their first big challenge. The Dores have a shot at bowl eligibility if they can win, but they’re 10.5-point underdogs on the road.
Ball State at Georgia (11 am, SEC Network).Georgia started slow against UT Martin last week and likely won’t be overly impressive in this one either. They’ll be focusing on getting reps for new guys, including starting QB Carson Beck.
Eastern Kentucky at Kentucky (2 pm, ESPN+).Devin Leary looked fine in Kentucky’s opener against Ball State, and he won’t be asked to do too much in this one.
Ole Miss at Tulane (2:30 pm, ESPN2). The first major matchup of the day has Ole Miss in a unique road game against a non-power team, though Tulane did make a New Year’s Six bowl last year. The Green Wave run a unique spread offense that can put up a ton of points. Is Jaxson Dart improved enough to win a shootout? Is Ole Miss’s defense improved enough to keep this one from becoming a shootout?
Texas A&M at Miami (2:30 pm, ABC). Alright, Bobby P, let’s see what you’ve got. QB Conner Weigman looked fine against hapless New Mexico, though his 39% depth-adjusted accuracy was a bit low and the 39% pressure rate the Aggies allowed was a bit high (stats courtesy SEC Stat Cat). Both are potential red flags. Miami was bad last year but is expected to be much improved.
Austin Peay at Tennessee (4 pm, ESPN+). Joe Milton was a lot less explosive than we expected against Virginia, so he might take out frustration by landing some bombs against Austin Peay.
Texas at Alabama (6 pm, ESPN). This is a fascinating matchup. Jalen Milroe ran all over Middle Tennessee, but the Tide aren’t going to be elite if he can’t pass at a high level. Texas’s Quinn Ewers has a good arm but is inconsistent.
Middle Tennessee at Mizzou (6 pm, ESPN+).Mizzou is another team with potential quarterback issues, and Brady Cook didn’t show much in Week 1. The Tigers can probably win this one without showing much.
Grambling at LSU (6:30 pm, ESPN+). All three SEC teams that took Week 1 losses have an FCS opponent this week, starting with LSU. Surely Grambling won’t torch the LSU secondary?
McNeese at Florida (6:30 pm, ESPNU). Florida’s a mess on offense, but I don’t think they have any options other than doubling down on Graham Mertz and a high-efficiency passing game.
Arizona at Mississippi State (6:30 pm, SEC Network). State started very slowly against Southeastern last week but ended up rushing for more than 200 yards. They’ve left the Air Raid behind, which leaves plenty of questions about how their veteran personnel can adapt. Arizona is expected to be a bowl team, so we’ll learn a lot from this game.
Furman at South Carolina (6:30 pm, ESPN+). The Gamecocks are like Florida in that their main weakness is their offensive line. The main difference is that Carolina at least has a dynamic quarterback in Spencer Rattler. If they can figure out how to protect him, they’ll be fine.
Auburn at Cal (9:30 pm, ESPN). Cal is a dark horse breakout candidate this year, and they made those backing them look good by hanging 58 points in a road win against North Texas. Auburn has a lot more talent, but this could get interesting, especially if Payton Thorne looks as shaky as a passer as he did in the opener.
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