The SEC owned Week 4, hands down, with four of the six matchups between AP Top 25 teams happening right inside the conference. After all that chaos, we’ve got a pretty good idea how this beast of a league stacks up, and it’s already looking like the deepest in college football.
The Heavy Hitters Are Rolling
No. 2 Georgia is still the top dog, period. They just beat Oklahoma 41-13, moving to 4-0 and 2-0 in conference play. Get this: that 28-point win was actually their closest game of the entire season. Even with QB Gunner Stockton now having more incompletions than passing touchdowns after a 14-of-25, 171-yard, one-TD performance, they are still absolutely dominant. Meanwhile, No. 1 Texas barely escaped Knoxville with a 20-17 win over Tennessee, thanks to an onside kick that might or might not have been legal. These two aren’t on the regular-season schedule, but they are absolutely on a collision course for the SEC title game. Unless, of course, No. 8 Alabama crashes the party. The Crimson Tide flat-out dominated South Carolina in a 49-18 rout. QB Keelon Russell is an immediate star in his first season as a starter, throwing for 365 yards and four touchdowns! And WR Ryan Coleman-Williams snagged five catches for 98 yards and two scores. Alabama hosts Georgia in two weeks, so get ready for a heavyweight battle!
Surprise Surges and Early Stumbles
Watch out for No. 21 Florida, because they are about to shoot way up the AP Top 25. Their 52-28 win over Ole Miss on Saturday was pure destruction, with their rushing attack looking absolutely phenomenal. Ole Miss was just helpless trying to stop it, and Jadan Baugh already has 11 touchdowns on the season, racking up 29 carries for 142 yards against the Rebels. The Gators were picked ninth in the preseason media poll, so this early surge is blowing everyone away. They’ve got games against both Georgia and Texas in October, which will be the real test. Then you’ve got No. 4 Ole Miss, No. 10 LSU, and No. 14 Tennessee, who can’t be counted out but are definitely a tier below the top four because of their early conference losses. Ole Miss’s Week 3 win over LSU could be massive for late-season tiebreakers, and LSU worked out its frustrations with a blowout win over Texas A&M this past Saturday. Tennessee’s Faizon Brandon had his “welcome to the SEC” moment against Texas, going just 17-of-29 for 145 yards and getting constantly pressured. He should get better, and Tennessee still has a path to a nine-win season.
Let’s Still Wait and See
No. 24 Mississippi State is sitting at 4-0 after a 31-24 win over Missouri. They squandered a 14-0 lead, but then outscored the Tigers 14-0 in the fourth quarter to snatch the win. They’ve now won their first four games in back-to-back years for the first time since 1944 and 1945. But here’s the kicker: they finished last season at 5-8. So, the jury is definitely still out on them, along with No. 19 Missouri, Kentucky, Auburn, and Vanderbilt.
Mark your calendars, because Alabama hosts Georgia in two weeks. That game is gonna be absolutely bananas. And for Florida, October brings showdowns with both Georgia and Texas, which will really tell us if their incredible start is for real or not. The SEC picture is shaping up, and it’s already appointment viewing.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply