SEC Football: Contenders or Pretenders
By Thomas Watts
Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
SEC football has two weeks of games in the books, and the members of the Southeastern Conference have had their fair share of ups and downs. Alabama and LSU each demolished a strong non-conference opponent, while Arkansas got demolished by a far less talent ULM Warhawk squad. Who are the contenders, and who are the pretenders in the SEC?
Contenders
LSU. The Tigers have done nothing to remove their preseason tag as contenders. They beat an overmatched UNT squad 44-14 two weeks ago and followed it up with by destroying a good Washington squad 41-3. Next game: Idaho
Alabama. It only took the Crimson Tide’s one week of the 2012 season to move to No. 1 in the country. Everyone’s favorite football team blew Michigan apart 41-14, and follwed that by blanking Western Kentucky 35-0. Next game: at Arkansas
Georgia. Joining the two titans of the SEC West are the Georgia Bulldogs. In a very un-Mark Richtian early season performance, they went on the road to Missouri and soundly thumped a good Tigers team 41-20. The Dawgs had a lackluster game before that, but still managed to beat Buffalo 45-23. Next game: Florida Atlantic
Trending Up
South Carolina. The Gamecocks went out on a Thursday night to open the season and tried their hardest to lose on the road against Vanderbilt. Connor Shaw couldn’t play against ECU last week, but South Carolina still managed a 48-10 win over East Carolina. Next game: University of Alabama-Birmingham
Mississippi State. Trending up following their 28-10 victory over Auburn. The Auburn/Miss St. matchup has historically been a litmus test for both teams. The loser has a rough season, and the winner has a good season. Bully added the AU win to their blowout 56-9 win over Jackson St. Next game: at Troy
Florida. The Gators join the ranks of those trending up if only because they were horrid in a 27-14 week 1 against Bowling Green, and had a gritty come from behind victory against SEC newcomer Texas A&M by a final of 20-17. Next game: at Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols opened the season with a victory against NC State in Atlanta 35-21, and then flattened 51-13. Next game: Florida
Staying Put
Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels have beaten two cupcakes. They have done nothing to really impress or depress. A visit from the Texas Longhorns will clear up the Ole Miss picture. Next game: Texas
Trending Down
Texas A&M Aggies. Hurricane Isaac backed up the Aggies season by one week. The extra week didn’t do very much. After a strong first half, A&M wilted and dropped its SEC opener against the Florida Gators. Next game: SMU Mustangs
Missouri. While the Tigers loss to the Georgia Bulldogs this past week forces a downward trend, they looked strong through three quarters of the game. The Tigers can get their season back on track against a surprising Arizona St. team at home. Next game: Arizona State
Pretenders
Auburn Tigers. Auburn had a decent game in a loss against a highly-ranked Clemson team in Atlanta. They followed it up with a humiliating 28-10 loss in Starkville that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated. The Tigers are staring 1-4, or even 0-5, to open the season in the face. Next game: University of Louisiana-Monroe
Arkansas. The Razorbacks not only lost to the ULM Warhawks this past week, they also may have lost their starting quarterback in the process. Tyler Wilson is day-to-day. Oh, and the No. 1 team in the land is coming to town. Next game: Alabama
Kentucky. The Wildcats join the pretender ranks simply because of their Week One showing against Louisville, losing 32-14 against the Cardinals. While they did beat a Kent State cupcake last week, the sting of loss from an instate rival in a far weaker conference will not fade. Next game: Western Kentucky
Vanderbilt. Rounding out the pretenders through the first two weeks are the Commodores. Yes, there was a pass interference no-call against South Carolina that negatively affected the outcome of the game. No, it is not an excuse to lose to Northwestern even if Northwestern has offensive firepower all over the field. Next game: Presbyterian
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