Alabama Football: Week 2 SEC Football Power Rankings
9. South Carolina
You get a feeling that the more things change for head coach Will Muschamp, the more they stay the same. He’s recruited well at a difficult place to secure top-shelf recruits, but still the offensive woes persist. Not to throw shade at a Power 5 team, but that team was UNC on Saturday and it was coached by a man who hadn’t been on a sideline in almost six years.
In the middle of all this was senior Jake Bentley (16 of 30 for 142 yards, one touchdown and two INTs) who was out-dueled by a true freshman on the other side. This is an offense that couldn’t scare up 300 total yards and a defense that allowed almost 500. To a team coached by Mack Brown.
Surely something will break their way, but with a schedule that includes Alabama, Clemson, Texas A&M and Georgia, Muschamp’s team may end up closer to the cellar than they’d like.
The Gamecocks host Charleston Southern on Saturday.
10. Missouri
Does anything good come out of going to Laramie, Wyoming?
Barry Odom, whose 2018 Missouri squad was a couple of bad breaks away from being a 10-win team, is fighting the perception that he is truly in over his head after a loss to Wyoming on Saturday.
Transfer QB Kelly Bryant looked about as good as a former starter at Clemson playing with a lesser amount of talent can look. He threw for 423 yards and two touchdowns, yet his defense allowed nearly 300 yards on the ground. The fact that a Bryant fumble and subsequent touchdown by the Cowboys is the difference in this game is probably a tougher pill to swallow than the Tiger faithful would like.
If Mizzou can get the ground game going, then OC Derek Dooley has a lot to work with. If not, then Bryant might’ve been better off choosing Auburn.
The Tigers host West Virginia on Saturday.
11. Arkansas
Any win for the Razorbacks is good. We don’t care how it comes or against what team, but the important thing is that Chad Morris’ bunch are 1-0.
They posted an ugly 20-13 win against FCS Portland State this past Saturday, but beggars can’t be choosers and this is a program that got rocked by North Texas one season ago. They’ll take it.
Morris decided to go with multiple QBs with Ben Hicks shouldering much of the burden. While only going 14 of 29 for 143 yards and no touchdowns, the Arkansas ground game got going with junior running back Rakeem Boyd rushing 18 times for 114 yards and a touchdown.
John Chavis’ defense largely did a good job of stifling the Vikings, but one does have to assume it won’t get easier from here. Lots of underclassmen are going to be relied upon on both sides of the ball, so the Razorbacks may be a couple seasons away from being bowl eligible.
Arkansas hosts Colorado State this Saturday.