The mighty Southeastern Conference, which has won 13 of the past 17 national championships in major college football, including four straight, looks far more vulnerable than anyone expected through the first two full weekends on the schedule.
The slow start might only be a talking point right now, but it could be very important closer to the regular season’s end — because that’s when teams are competing for playoff spots, and those remain precious and few. The College Football Playoff will expand to 12 teams starting with the 2024 season, but it remains a four-team event this season.
The SEC’s 1-4 record against Atlantic Coast Conference teams ranks as perhaps the biggest surprise so far this season. The SEC also has been humbled in other high-profile matchups with teams from other fellow power conferences, including Big 12 member Texas winning 34-24 at Alabama this past Saturday and Florida falling at Pac-12 foe Utah in a season opener.
The SEC’s 3-6 record against Power Five teams includes two attention-grabbing losses against ACC teams. Florida State beat LSU while North Carolina rolled past South Carolina on Labor Day weekend, the first full slate of games. Last weekend, Texas A&M was clobbered at Miami, yet another ACC opponent.
More signs of SEC mediocrity came last week when Auburn had to rally to win 14-10 at California of the Pac-12 and Kentucky struggled to a 28-17 win against Eastern Kentucky, which is not only from outside the power conferences but outside of Division I’s top-tier Football Bowl Subdivision. The Colonels are part of the Football Championship Subdivision.
The league’s customary strength-of-schedule advantage with the CFP committee may be in jeopardy this year. A one-loss team that is not the SEC champion may have a more difficult argument for a playoff spot against a one-loss team from another league, including the ACC and the Big 12.
Would No. 1 Georgia, the two-time reigning national champion still sitting atop the AP Top 25, have more reason to worry about the implication of a loss? Georgia coach Kirby Smart noted all those SEC losses in the first two weeks came against quality opponents as his Bulldogs prepared for their league opener Saturday, when South Carolina visits.
“I really have no idea,” Smart said when asked about the league’s rough start. “I mean, I can’t put a finger on it or explain it. I think that every team you mentioned that beat an SEC team is a really good team, really, really good teams. And most of those teams have been improving for a while.”
Florida coach Billy Napier, whose Gators open SEC play this week by hosting Tennessee, suggested patience when evaluating the league.
“I do think as we settle in here, the end of the year typically, I think you’ll be able to evaluate that more,” Napier said.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops remained optimistic even after the Wildcats trailed Eastern Kentucky until late in the first half.
“We know we will get better,” Stoops said. “… We are 2-0. And there are plenty of teams around the country that have a lot to do.”
The league’s only win over an ACC team was Tennessee’s 49-13 rout of Virginia on Sept. 2 in Nashville. The Volunteers dropped two spots to No. 11 in this week’s Top 25 after their lackluster 30-13 home win over Austin Peay, an in-state FCS foe. The uninspiring performance led to a players-only meeting to refocus ahead of the trip to Florida.
“It was a great meeting for us, honestly, just because it allowed everybody to see that we all still have the same page, flush the game that happened, and let’s just continue to go work this week,” Vols defensive lineman Omari Thomas said.
Two special players
Georgia’s Mekhi Mews, a 5-foot-8, 185-pound walk-on receiver, leads the SEC and ranks second in the nation with 130 yards on five punt returns, including a 69-yard touchdown in last week’s 45-3 win over Ball State. The speedy Mews also leads the Bulldogs with six catches for 102 yards.
“I’ve seen it every day since he came in here,” wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint said. “Him being on scout teams, just going out there against the (first-string team) and just giving everybody the blues. Every day he makes plays. That’s all he does. Those little runs, that’s what he does on a daily basis.”
Tennessee’s Dee Williams, a cornerback, ranks third in the nation — right behind Mews — with 123 punt return yards in two games.
Williams, a junior-college transfer, is a senior in his second season with the Vols. After missing the first four games last season with an injury, he had 281 yards on 15 returns for an SEC-best 18.7 yards per return. He had a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown against Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale.