Did College Football's "Greatest Weekend Ever" hold up to the hype? Yes, and no, depending on who you ask in the SEC. Some SEC teams took on nationally touted match-ups, other struggled getting out of the gate with so-called "cupcake" opponents. Though a little rough around the edges, it looks to be another dominant year for college football's greatest conference. This is what you need to know in the SEC after week one:
Tennessee
Ok, so maybe No. 9 Tennessee isn't terrible. However, Thursday night versus Appalachian State was anything but a dominant performance by the preseason pick to win the SEC East. The Vols escaped Appalachian State in overtime, 20 to 13. Their highly touted defense gave up 184 yards on the ground, with Appalachian State running back Marcus Cox accounting for 115 yards.
Appalachian State controlled the clock too, up until the very end of the game, with 33:29 minutes of possession. Tennessee also had two turnovers and six penalties for a total of 55 yards. Overall, not a strong performance for the orange and white, but Tennessee has never been one for strong starts in recent memory.
Alabama
In the Western division, No. 1 ranked Alabama continues it's reign as college footballs most dominant program with a win over the USC Trojans, 52 to 6. The Tide was scoreless in the first quarter, but the offense picked up steam in the second and never stopped from then on.
Alabama finished the game with 465 total yards of offense, with balanced passing and rushing attack. Highly touted true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts was 6 of 11 for 113 yards and two touchdowns. USC was heading into this game with high hopes of an upset, but the returning national champions were just too good. Alabama goes on to their home-opener versus Western Kentucky next weekend, before opening up their SEC schedule September 17.
LSU
No. 5 LSU will see their AP ranking drop significantly after being handed a shocking upset from unranked Wisconsin. The Tigers were Lee Corso's first headgear pick of the season, but it wasn't enough to help the struggling LSU offense gain momentum against the Badgers.
While Lambeau Field was anything but a neutral site for a season opener, LSU quarterback Brandon Harris was inconsistent; he was 12 of 21 and threw two interceptions. Running back and Heisman-contender Leonard Fournette had 23 carries for 138 years, but had no touchdowns in the loss. The team was held scoreless in the first half, but by the fourth quarter it was too late. With under a minute to go, Harris threw an interception to give the ball back to Wisconsin, who then ran out the clock- not the ideal start to the Tiger's 2016 season.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M gave the SEC its upset of the week with a surprise overtime win over No. 16 UCLA. Senior quarterback and Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight led the Aggies to the win, sealing the game with the final rushing touchdown in overtime. Knight was 22 of 42 on passing attemps, for 239 yards.
The Texas A&M secondary was responsible for three interceptions from UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen. The defense still has a lot of work to do though, giving up 468 yards of offense to the Bruins, and a late fourth quarter comeback. The Aggies might not be an SEC West threat just yet, but this Top-25 upset will surely push them into next week's AP rankings.
Florida
The Gators had a slow start in the rain at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but went on to beat UMass 24 to 7. After honoring legend Steve Spurrier with a special dedication in the Swamp, Gator fans got a look at new quarterback Luke Del Rio running a very Spurrier-esque Fun and Gun offensive attack. Del Rio was 29 of 44 passing attempts, for 256 passing yards. While not very effective in the end-zone, the Gators seem to be returning to a more passing-based offensive attack compared to previous years.
The Florida defense held the Minutemen to under 200 yards of total offense, less than 50 of those yards on the ground. Gator receivers Brandon Powell and Antonio Callaway led the team with 73 and 72 yards respectively. Watching the first three quarters, the Gators were far from dominant, but in Coach McElwain's second year, the team is on the right track.
Around the SEC
South Caroline beats Vanderbilt, 13 - 10
Auburn loses to No. 2 Clemson, 19 - 13
No. 18 Georgia beats No. 22 North Carolina, 33 - 24
Mississippi State loses to South Alabama, 21 - 20
Missouri loses to West Virginia, 26 - 11
Arkansas beats Lousiana Tech, 21 - 20
Kentucky loses to Southern Miss., 44 - 35
