We learned a lot during the second week of the college season. Some narratives were strengthened, and some were broken during the first marquee weekend of the season. There were a lot of takeaways following Week 2, but here are the three biggest.
1. Back in the high life again
The SEC heard all the trash talk for the past three offseasons. The drought of winning a national title has only been three years, but that three years was long enough to overshadow two decades worth of dominance in the eyes of a lot of people around the country. The Big Ten Conference claimed the throne for supremacy and despite the lack of depth throughout their 18 teams, national pundits applauded how much better the top teams in the Big Ten were coming into the season. Ohio State was the preseason No. 1 team in the polls and Oregon was in the top three. Both those teams ranked ahead of the defending national champion Indiana before Week 1.
It took two weeks for that flimsy narrative to get upset, and it was proven wrong where it matters most – the field. Texas beat Ohio State in dramatic fashion, Oregon lost to lowly Oklahoma State a week after that same team lost by two touchdowns to Tulsa, and when the AP and Coaches Polls were unveiled Sunday the top two spots, and six of the Top 10, were occupied by the SEC.
The empire struck back this weekend and repeatedly throughout the first two weeks, as the SEC posted an 8-2 record in non-conference games against other Power Four opponents. And you’ll never guess which conference currently sits in last place. Who could’ve ever seen that coming.
2. Defense is back in style
It’s only been two weeks, but SEC defenses seem to be back and back in a big way. The offenses and quarterbacks in this league have monopolized a majority of the headlines for the last few seasons. Outside of Oklahoma and Georgia, there haven’t been a lot of elite defenses in this league in the last three to five years.
That seems to have changed this season. It’s early, but four SEC teams currently rank in the top eight for total defense. That includes LSU who sits at No. 1 allowing just 142.5 yards per game. Seven teams rank in the top 20, which is nearly double the next closest conference.
Prioritizing the defensive side of the ball was clearly a target for a lot of teams this offseason, not only with their portal acquisitions, but also the staff retention and hires across the SEC. Places like Mississippi State and Tennessee have made dramatic improvements to their units that were liabilities a season ago, and it looks like there are a great number of teams that look complete this season than over the last two.
3. Don’t overextend yourself by buying too much Texas stock
Saturday night’s win over Ohio State was historic for Texas. It was the first time in the last 22 years that a No. 1 ranked team lost while leading by at least 20 points in the fourth quarter. It was also the first time since they joined the SEC, that Texas got a win in that manner. Before Saturday night, the Longhorns were 0-5 in the last two seasons against teams like Ohio State and Texas.
It had to feel good for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian to get that monkey off his back, and they deserve a ton of credit for their resiliency to complete a comeback like that against a team like Ohio State.
But, to quote Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. This is a really good Texas team, but after watching them struggle for three straight quarters against Ohio State it feels unwise to buy into the notion that they’ve finally turned the corner. Remember, they’re still 0-3 against the SEC’s (literal) big dog, Georgia in the last two years, and while Georgia isn’t on this year’s regular season schedule, there are still six ranked teams in their remaining ten games. That’s before they could potentially face Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Saturday night was a massive win, and a huge step in the right direction for a program desperately hoping to match their onfield success with their off-field arrogance. Now, the toughest part begins for the Longhorns though – living up to expectations.
