Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The SEC down, or was Week 1 deceiving?

Can you bury the mighty SEC after Week One?
On face value, you could conclude that the oft-powerful SEC is down after the first week. Or is it a mistake to put so much stock into one week of 12?
Alabama, No. 2, came as close to struggling as it can, winning 33-23 over unranked West Virginia.
Arkansas went to Auburn and played well, before the No. 6 Tigers pulled away to win 45-21.
And No. 9 South Carolina, not usually a hot-starter, looked atrocious, versus what-was-thought to be a rebuilding No. 21 Texas A&M squad. The Aggies won easily, 52-28.
Vanderbilt, that had become legitimate under now-departed James Franklin, lost by 30 to Temple. And No. 13 LSU won by only four, 28-24, at home over No. 14 Wisconsin. It will be called a quality win, but that is not the Tiger standard most have come to expect. And while No. 12 Georgia instantly became the SEC-East favorite after a 45-21 win over No. 16 Clemson, the verdict is far from over in qualifying either of those teams.
The rest of the conference played such a light schedule, we will not know about strength until a more worthy opponent is fielded.
If you have followed college football for any length of time, you know it is easy to draw conclusions based on week one. But so often what the first game of the season teaches us, turns out to be deceiving.
You can take a swat at the SEC, maybe begin to bury it, with a little chuckle of jealousy. But do so at your own risk. So many times, those who exaggerate the demise of the conference end up with egg on their face by January.
But surely that will not stop the pundits, experts and gurus from dancing on the SEC's graves. Because sometimes what you want to be true is difficult to let go of, even if it's not.

#21 Texas A&M 52, #9 South Carolina 28
Boise State 13, #18 Ole Miss 35
Temple 37, Vanderbilt 7
Tennessee-Martin 14, Kentucky 59
South Dakota State 18, #24 Missouri 38
West Virginia 23, #2 Alabama 33
Arkansas 21, #6 Auburn 45
#16 Clemson 21, #12 Georgia 45
Southern Miss 0, Mississippi State 49
#14 Wisconsin 24, #13 LSU 28
Idaho at Florida - Postponed due to weather

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