It was supposed to be a year in which the SEC might take a step back. Alabama had to replace a quarterback and running back, LSU had issues at quarterback, Mississippi State has to replace a lot of talent, Auburn was allegedly a work in progress and Texas A&M was supposedly retooling. After one week, it’s safe to say that the SEC is not going to be falling off very much. They’re still the premier conference in the nation…even if the top team in the country doesn’t hail from the SEC.
Alabama
The biggest question marks facing Alabama heading in to this season had to do with an offense that had lost its starting quarterback, starting running back and top three wide receivers. Those concerns were certainly addressed very quickly in their dominant 35-17 win over the Wisconsin Badgers in Week 1. Running back Derrick Henry looked like a Heisman candidate at the running back position while consistently bulldozing his way through the Badgers defense en route to 147 yards and three touchdowns.
At quarterback, Jake Coker looked very comfortable as the Tide put up 35 points in a big win over a Power 5 opponent. The receiving corps still has work to do – no player had more than 50 yards in the opener – but that’s not a big concern right now. The disappointment of last year’s College Football Playoff has lingered but the reality is that Alabama is once again a national title contender that only has the potential to get better as the year progresses.
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Auburn
Junior quarterback Jeremy Johnson had been given a lot of hype as a preseason Heisman trophy candidate but he really struggled in Auburn’s opener as he completed just 11-of-21 passes for 137 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. However, why Auburn makes this list is because their defense showed a lot more punch against a good Louisville offense as they found a way to grind out a 31-24 win. The Tigers certainly have their work cut out for them but if offense is going to be their biggest problem, they’re in good hands. The good news is that they have a date with Jacksonville State this week to work out their offensive kinks and they should be ready for a tough test the following week when they go on the road to LSU.
Auburn decided right now was a good time for a massive defensive touchdown. http://t.co/xRxvjRuEmx
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) September 5, 2015
Texas A&M
Everybody expected the SEC’s other top 10 team Georgia to dominate Louisiana Monroe but more impressive was Texas A&M’s lopsided Week 1 win over Arizona State 1. John Chavis’ defense looked excellent in the 38-17 win and while quarterback Kyle Allen struggled a bit in the second and third quarters, the Aggies rallied to earn a big win. Texas A&M gets Ball State and Nevada at home in consecutive weeks before hosting Arkansas and that should be more than enough time to prepare for a tough test against another top 25 opponent.
South Carolina
South Carolina might have allowed 440 total yards but the defense did register four sacks and forced two end zone interceptions to help secure a 17-13 win over rival North Carolina in its season opener. The Gamecocks still have issues on both sides of the football but the fact that they were able to do just enough to squeeze out a close win was impressive. Remember, this was a UNC team that was supposed to be fairly explosive on offense and South Carolina had all sorts of issues on defense last year. They looked significantly improved in the opener, holding UNC to just 13 points. This was an important win for South Carolina considering the upcoming schedule, which includes six Top 25 teams in the next eight weeks.
With their win, that meant that Vanderbilt was the lone SEC team to actually lose on the opening weekend of the college football season. While many people talked about the SEC falling off a little bit in 2015, it’s pretty clear that there will be no such scenario.
