SEC Power Rankings: Florida Shaky as Mississppi State Surprises After Week 1

I can admit when I am wrong. The Mississippi schools made me look foolish. 

Mississippi State surprises me after I ranked them last in my first edition of the SEC power rankings.  Memphis put up little to no fight against them. Mississippi State certainly looks like a team on the rise.

On the other hand, I assumed the Masoli would make Ole Miss legitimate again.  Wrong on that count as well as Jacksonville State stole the game in overtime. 

Jacksonville State?  That may have been one of the worst second half collapses of an SEC team I have ever witnessed.

The shakeup here was my surprise folks. 

1.  Alabama (1-0, AP #1, Last Weeks Ranking: #1)

Alabama looked completely dominant in a beat down of San Jose St.  Gregg McElroy  missed on only two passes and looked the part of an elite SEC QB.  

Without Mark Ingram, the ground game still went forward, scoring four touchdowns.

Bottom line with Alabama--they did what they were supposed to do and did it in impressive fashion.

2.  Auburn (1-0, AP #22, Last Weeks Ranking: #3)

Cameron Newton looked very good in their game against Arkansas State.  It's difficult to judge teams based on teams they are supposed to dominate. His performance against the Red Wolverines regardless was nothing short of a masterpiece.

Throwing for three touchdowns and rushing for 171 yards and two TD's may win him  Offensive Player of the Week honors. 

That wasn't their only weapon.  Michael Dyer and Ontario McCalebb ran the ball well. 

One area of concern is their passing defense.  Shore that up and they stand a good chance of making a run at Alabama. 

3.  South Carolina (1-0, AP N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: #4)

The argument for Georgia can be made at this spot.  Yes, I am a bit biased towards this team.  No one, however, can argue their impressive victory Thursday night over Southern Mississipp. 

While most of the SEC feasted on cupcakes, South Carolina opened with a team supposedly on the rise. Southern Mississippi boasted a wide receiver ranked as one of  the top five wide outs by ESPN.  Many media pundits predicted a close game. Some even a Southern Mississippi victory.

Instead we received a dominant performance and possibly the most impressive of all the SEC teams. 

The Southern Miss hype could have been over blown.  That still doesn't change the fact that South Carolina dominated a non-cupcake team. 

Marcus Lattimore and Ace Sanders look like two big time freshmen.  Next week's game against Georgia should be huge. 

4.  Georgia (1-0, AP #23, Last Weeks Ranking: #6)

Georgia played a very good game against a hapless Ragin' Cajuns team.  The impressive aspect of the game was Georgia's stifling defense.  La. Lafayette couldn't do anything.

Georgia scored 55 points without A.J. Green.  Murray looked good in throwing three touchdown passes.  His first big test will be against a good South Carolina defense which is much different then the one he just faced.

Let's hope A.J. Green gets back in the lineup for next week. And none of South Carolina's players get suspended for that game so both teams can be at full strength.  It could be a classic. 

5.  Arkansas (1-0, AP #17, Last Weeks Ranking: 5)

Arkansas played a sandwich game.  In quarters 1 and 4, they looked awful.  The shocking part about quarter one was the offenses inability to score. 

When Tennessee Tech goes into the second quarter leading 3-0, the offense decided to wake up.

The most impressive thing from this game was how well the defense played.  Everyone knows Mallet will be good and probably the best SEC quarterback this year.  The questions revolved around the defense.

The dominance may be due to the fact they were playing Tennessee Tech.  But this weekend showed you can't take any team for granted. 

6.  Florida (1-0, AP #4, Last Weeks Ranking: #2)

Florida drops all the way to six.  No other team in the SEC (other than LSU) looked so sad after winning.

Watching the game against Miami, Ohio was an odd affair.  Even though Florida won, their body language on the sideline suggested they knew how bad they looked. 

Urban Myer looks tired already and that can't bode well for the future.  This team lacked something.  I am positive they can get it together. But after that performance can you really rank them ahead of any of the teams in front?

You are only as good as your last game. 

7.  Mississippi State (1-0, AP N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: 12)

I completely dropped the ball on this team last week. 

They looked great in this game.  The story of the day is Tyler Russell.  Four touchdown passes.  This is Mississippi States backup!  Is there a quarterback controversy in Starksville involving a red shirt freshman?

The running game wasn't stellar but didn't need to be. 

Mississippi State could play the spoiler role for many teams this year. 

8.  Tennessee (1-0, AP N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: #9)

Tennessee dominated a team that it was supposed to. The small school's only purpose for this game was to line the pockets of Tennessee Martin's athletic department.

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Tennessee, however, showed a surprising amount of spunk for a team that is supposedly in rebuilding mode. 

Tauren Poole looked very good.  There are some potential problems in the passing game.  Matt Simms didn't always look comfortable and missed 10 passes against a weak Tennessee-Martin pass defense.

9.  LSU (1-0, AP #21, Last Weeks Ranking: #6)

In what can only be called the second biggest disappointment of the day for the SEC, LSU held on to beat a severely undermanned North Carolina squad. 

At first it looked like LSU would run away with this game.  In the second half they looked like a lost team.  As soon as North Carolina adjusted to almost ALL their defensive starters being suspended, LSU couldn't do anything.

The reason this is so disappointing is they had the chance to show the nation they had improved.  Instead they struggled against an ACC opponent who was short handed.  That does not bode well for the SEC slate.

10. Kentucky (1-0, AP N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: #8)

This is a tough one to judge.  First of all they won a rivalry game in a gritty fashion.  Second there is no way to tell how good Louisville is with Charlie Strong as the coach.  They could be very good and Kentucky plays a heck of a game.

 Or Kentucky has to squeak out a win against a poor team. 

I am guessing the latter but Strong will get Louisville around the bend at some point.

Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb both looked strong running for Kentucky.  Mike Hartline looked OL.  Not spectacular but good nonetheless. 

The passing defense looked solid but they gave up 190 yards against the run. 

11. Vanderbilt (0-1, N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: #11)

Vanderbilt got shafted on a call.  There is no denying that.  On third and six from their own 33, Northwestern threw a short pass that got blown up by Vanderbilt safety Jay Fullam.

Flag on the play on a high hit.

Replays clearly show two shoulders hit. 

Vanderbilt played better then I anticipated.  They out gained Northwestern 432-365.  The passing game put up some yards even if it wasn't particularly crisp on this day.  The running of Zac Stacey was impressive.  In fact all their backs average a fairly solid clip per carry.

They may struggle this year in the SEC but they will play hard.  Teams won't be able to sleep on them.

12.  Ole Miss (0-1, N/A, Last Weeks Ranking: #10)

In what I can only call sweet justice, Masoli's debut in Ole Miss blue and red turned out to be a loss. 

To a Football Championship Subdivision team. 

This was a pathetic display of coaching, desire, and skill.  This in NO way looked like an SEC team.  Yes, they scored 48 points.  Against a team where you should.  Defensively they looked lost. 

Houston Nutt, your time in Ole Miss is coming to a close, very soon.