WBN SEC Football Power Rankings: 09-08-2013 Edition
Aug 31, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Christion Jones (22) celebrates his touchdown with Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver DeAndrew White (2) during the third quarter of the 2013 Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
1. #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (1-0, 0-0) Last Game *Bye week*: The top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide are coming off an early bye-week, following a 35-10 victory against the Virginia Tech Hokies. You better bet that Nick Saban and staff are going to try and get well prepared for an intense match up next weekend. Alabama and the fan base behind them are hungry for revenge, and the bye week could prove to be an important one as they get re-grouped to fix the week one problems. Next Game: vs. Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday, September 14th @ 3:30 PM ET.
2. #6 Texas A&M Aggies (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. Sam Houston State 65-28 Win: It didn’t take long for Johny Manziel, who threw for 497 yards and 6 TD’s while going 34-49, to get the offense rolling early. However, it wasn’t only Maziel who stepped up big time for the Aggies. Ben Molina and Tra Carson combined for 300 yards on the ground. Texas A&M showed poise the whole game from start to finish. This was definitely a confidence booster, and a lot of confidence is going to be needed to take down their next opponent. Next Game: vs. #1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday, September 14th @ 3:30 PM ET
3. #8 LSU Tigers (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. UAB 56-17 Win: A dominating 21-0 first quarter start is what pushed the Tigers the rest of the way through. Zach Mettenberger had a monster day, while throwing for 533 yards and tossing in six TD passes. The defense also looked good while show-casing three impressive shut out quarters. LSU has gotten of to a good start this season with their explosive offense. Next Game: vs. Kent State on Saturday, September 14th @ 7:00 PM ET
4. #9 Georgia Bulldogs (1-1, 0-0) Last Game vs. #13 South Carolina Gamecocks 41-30 Win: Andy Murray put up career numbers this weekend while throwing for 632 yards and 4 TD passes. On the other hand, it helps to have a man named Todd Gurley who ran for 288 yards and three TD rushes for the day. The bulldogs also had another 100-yard rusher in Keith Marshall, who put went one yard past the century mark with one TD. Georgia recovered well after their loss to the now #3 ranked Clemson Tigers, and they look like they’re well prepared for what lies next ahead. Next Game: *Bye Week*
5. #13 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. #9 Georgia Bulldogs 41-30 Loss: The defense was badly exposed for the Gamecocks. After taking back ground the second quarter, South Carolina only responded with six points for the rest of the game. Finishing strong with a solid second half performance is what the Gamecocks failed to do. Quarterback Connor Shaw did show some impressive numbers though, going 27-45 with 377 yards and three TD tosses. Shaw also rushed for 118 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Mike Davis played a great game with 264 yards on the ground and 2 TD’s. The schedule looks in favor for the Gamecocks over these next few weeks, and I look for Steve Spurrier to take advantage of that. Next Game: vs. Vanderbilt on Saturday, September 14th @ 7:00 PM ET
6. #18 Florida Gators (1-1, 0-0) Last Game vs. #15 Miami (FL) 21-16 Loss: The Gators didn’t look like themselves over the weekend. An early road game against a tough Miami team shook up the Gator’s game plan all together. Jeff Driskel aired out for 444 yards and scored 2 TD’s. The ball was ran an awful lot for Florida, and the 35 rush attempts for Mack Brown got him 141 yards in total. The end of the game wasn’t as close as it seemed by looking at the box score, but big second half performances are what’s needed in order to win games. Next Game: *Bye Week*
7. #25 Ole Miss Rebels (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. South Eastern Missouri State 31-13 Win: As you can see, the Rebels have inched their way into the top 25 after taking care of business two weeks in a row. The offense did all of the scoring in the first half after not even scoring a point in the second half. Bo Wallace threw the ball 62 times while going for 471 yards in the air and scoring 2 TD’s. The young Ole Miss Rebels are making noise early, and they look to continue their mojo for their next big opponent. Next Game: at Texas Longhorns on Saturday, September 14th @ 8:00 PM ET
8. Auburn Tigers (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. Arkansas State 38-9 Win: The Tiger’s did an impressive job stopping Arkansas State’s nine game winning streak, as Nick Marshall led the team tossing 2 TD’s and throwing for 246 yards. The consistency in the offensive attack carried the Tigers the whole way through. Speaking of carrying, Corey Grant and Tre Mason carried their team fro 358 total yards on the ground. Auburn show-cased their SEC defense and ceased any momentum that Arkansas State showed. The Tigers look ready to go for their first SEC game of the season next week. Next Game: vs. Mississippi State on Saturday, September 14th @ 7:00 PM ET
9. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. Samford 31-21 Win: Samford stuck in this game until the forth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Razorback’s scored 14 un-answered thanks to Jonathan Williams’s one yard TD run along with Alex Collins’s two yard with 9:04 left to put the game away. Brandon Allen looked really good out on the football field while throwing for 355 yards and tossing a whopping 5 TD passes. Arkansas could have had a break out game against Samford, but getting the win is good enough. Next Game: at Southern Miss on Saturday, September 14th @ 12:21 PM ET
10. Missouri Tigers (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. Toledo 38-23 Win: A breakout offensive performance by the Tigers showed to be very impressive throughout the game. James Franklin looked well poised while going for 530 yards passing and making 4 TD conversions. Dorial Green-Beckham racked up nine receptions for 134 yards and a TD, while the duo of Henry Josey and Russel Hansbrough ran the ball for 5 TD’s on the ground. Missouri is clicking on offense on all variables. Next Game: *Bye Week*
11. Tennessee Volunteers (2-0, 0-0) Last Game vs. Western Kentucky 52-20 Win: After the Hill-toppers took care of the Kentucky Wildcats last weekend, they fell apart starting out with five offensive turnovers against Tennessee. Justin Coleman and Cameron Sutton each had a pair of pick six’s for the Vol’s to help add to their dominant performance. Justin Worley squeezed in 4 TD passes while going for 246 yards in the air. Rajion Neal torched Western Kentucky with 215 yards on the ground, and he never looked back. Next Game: at #2 Oregon on Saturday, September 14th @ 3:30 PM ET
12. Mississippi State Bulldogs (1-1, 0-0) Last Game vs. Alcorn State 51-7 Win: The Bulldogs got their game together following the week one loss to Oklahoma State. Quarterback Dak Prescott went for 263 yards and two TD’s in his first ever career start. Tyler Russell, who suffered a concussion in week one, was still ruled out even though the Bulldogs took care of business at home. The score was 37-0 at half, and they never looked back. Next Game: at Auburn on Saturday, September 14th @ 7:00 PM ET
13. Vanderbilt Commodores (1-1, 0-0) Last Game vs. Austin Peay 38-3 Win: The player of the game was definitely quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels as he put up 523 yards passing and hurled in a TD and ran for two others. Leading 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Commodores opened the game up in the second, scoring touchdowns on four straight possessions. His main person of interest, Jordan Matthews, had a total of 16 receptions for 289 yards and had two TD’s himself. The Commodores rebounded quickly after week one, and the offense was the force behind it along with their pressuring defense which only held Austin Peay to three points the whole game. Next Game: at #13 South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, September 14th @ 7:00 PM ET
14. Kentucky Wildcats (1-1, 0-0) Last Game vs. Miami (OH) 41-7 Win: Max Smith proved that he deserves to be the starting quarterback after he made a statement throwing for 435 yards and 4 TD passes. The Wildcats also got things going on the ground in a positive way. Raymond Sanders took 20 carries and ran for 137 yards and a TD to get his season off to a better start than the week before. Even though Jalen Whitlow had a down-grade performance during week one, the kid came back and made things better for the team and himself. Jalen went 20 for 27 and threw for 181 yards, while also carrying the ball on the ground for 14 rushes and 123 yards with 2 TD’s. The Wildcats made a winner of rookie coach Mark Stoops. Next Game: vs. #7 Louisville on Saturday , September 14th @ 12:00 PM ET