Many teams are a quarter of the way through their regular season and identities are being shaped and revealed. Get a platter of brisket, sausage, pulled pork, or ribs (all of the above, por favor) and let's make some sense and memories.
Quick Recaps
Louisville 27
Kentucky 13
I watched a good portion of this game and was impressed with Kentucky's first half efforts on defense. The D had an old-school, Stoops feel to it. Alas, the second half happened and Louisville cruised to another Governor's Cup victory despite a rather pedestrian performance from Teddy Bridgewater. After the game, Bluegrass State folk went back to loathing each other over more important matters like horses, basketball, and bourbon.
Southern Miss 3
Arkansas 24
The Pigs lost quarterback Brandon Allen early in this tilt, but still made hasty work of an abysmal Southern Miss team. Arkansas moved to a very unimpressive 3-0 and has a trip to Rutgers before hosting the Ags on September 28th.
I'm going to knock you over with a feather here. Bret Bielema is married to just a peach of a wholesome lady, and she managed to tweet the following after Wisconsin lost to Arizona State in truly puzzling fashion:
— Jen Bielema (@jenbielema) September 15, 2013
Jen, you'll do fine in the SEC. Something tells me you and Bret are into weird swingers parties.
Arkansas looks pretty salty in the run game which is mortifying as an A&M fan.
Alabama 49
Texas A&M 42
AJ McCarron and that Manziel guy are good at American football. The Texas A&M defense is still learning. Did McCarron even get touched or make a poor decision yesterday? Hopefully the last two meetings lay the groundwork to the start of a tremendous rivalry for decades.
Tennessee 14
Oregon 59
The Vols actually led this game at one point. Then the second and third quarters featured a flock of Ducks outscoring their foe 49-0. It was the worst loss for Tennessee in over 100 years. Ducks fans jeered the Vols with chants of "S-E-C" and "we want Bama". Look, Oregon, I think you're mighty good and could win the MNC this year, but we wouldn't start chanting "Pac-12" if we boatraced Colorado. Same thing.
Mississippi State 20
Auburn 24
Remember when Dan Mullen was a hot coaching commodity and considered to be a great hire in Starkville?
Kent State 13
LSU 45
True story: New LSU offensive coordinator Cam Cameron brought Zach Mettenberger a voodoo doll of Zach Mettenberger when he arrived in Baton Rouge. Mettenberger spent the summer destroying said doll in just disturbing, mutilating fashion. As is customary in Cajun culture, a quarterback was reborn and is now serviceable.
Now that Alabama has come and gone from College Station, can the media priests and clergymen please take their swords away from Johnny and perhaps acknowledge Jeremy Hill and actual off the field issues?
Vanderbilt 25
South Carolina 35
The Cocks came close to blowing a four touchdown lead to the Dores but righted the ship a week after the tough loss in Athens. Jadeveon Clowney finally made some plays to lift the defense to go along with Connor Shaw's three touchdown passes. They need Georgia to trip, but things still shape up favorably for the Cocks in the East quagmire.
Ole Miss 44
Texas 23
I don't even know who Mack Brown is talking to in pressers anymore and I don't think he does either. Is it his team? The media? The fans? The dead? The homeless? Himself? This is a man that publicly said that 2013 was the year he was going to get Texas back to where they "deserve" to be. "Deserve". Hilarious.
Anyway, Hugh Freeze is establishing something pretty nice in Oxford and gets a week off before a massive trip to Tuscaloosa.
Current SEC Standings
| EAST | CONF | OVERALL |
| Georgia | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| South Carolina | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Missouri | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Tennessee | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Florida | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Kentucky | 0-0 | 1-2 |
| Vanderbilt | 0-2 | 1-2 |
| WEST | CONF | OVERALL |
| Auburn | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| Ole Miss | 1-0 | 3-0 |
| Alabama | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Arkansas | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| LSU | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| Texas A&M | 0-1 | 2-1 |
| Mississippi State | 0-1 | 1-2 |
The Week Ahead
Pretty paltry platter of games. I guess you can whittle a couple story lines. How will Florida and Tennessee respond after a couple difficult road losses? How will Gus Malzahn's 3-0 Auburn Tigers fare at night in Death Valley?
Other than that, things are pretty ho hum. Here are the games (current Vegas lines included):
Vanderbilt -32 at UMass
North Texas at Georgia (9) -32
Tennessee at Florida (19) -14.5
Arkansas at Rutgers
SMU at Texas A&M (10) -28.51
Colorado State at Alabama (1) -38
Troy at Mississippi State -14.5
Auburn at LSU (6) -15.5
Missouri -5.5 at Indiana
SEC Saturday Stars
AJ McCarron, QB, Alabama
Johnny was flashy, but AJ was near-flawless. Alabama's offensive coaches put McCarron in a great position to succeed against an out-matched A&M defense and he executed. With three touchdown passes and 251 yards in the first half and a couple big drives in the second half, McCarron led the Tide to a massive road victory.
Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
The stage was set, and Mike Evans put a show on the for the country. If Alabama can't draw up a way to defend Evans, I don't know how anyone else will. Evans showed the college football world what Aggies have been thinking for awhile - he might be the best receiver in the country. 279 yards. Wow. The NFL surely took notice as well.
Nick Marshall, QB, Auburn
Keep an eye on Marshall in Malzahn's offense in the coming weeks. He tossed for 339 yards against a respectable Mississippi State defense and led the Tigers on a big game winning drive for Auburn's first league win in 11 (!) tries.
Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
What more can be said? Get him between the white lines and his competitive spirit is second to none. Frankly, the Ags would have blown out if not for #2's performance on Saturday. The two INT's were back breaking in terms of game momentum, but Manziel left all of his heart out on the field and played a particularly stellar fourth quarter.
28 of 39, 464 yards, 5 touchdowns. 14 carries for 98 yards. Enjoy what you're witnessing, gang. This is one of the greatest ever.
Jeff Scott, RB, Ole Miss
Tell me if you've heard this one before - a relative no-name has a career day on the ground against the Texas Longhorns. Scott racked up 164 yards on the ground with a touchdown and sealed the deal for the Rebs with a 73 yard punt return for a score. Useful.
Until another Saturday brings us all that is holy, enjoy some 'cue.