Bottom 6
16. Blank (It should be Arkansas but they should be kicked out of the league)
15. Vanderbilt
14. Kentucky
13. Auburn
12. Florida
11. Missouri
Top Ten
10. Oklahoma
What in the Les Miles kind of team did we watch on Saturday? A defensive team with offensive problems and a boatload of inefficient playcalling. John Mateer was exposed (once again) as a passer. Now, Oklahoma is staring down the barrel of a three-game stretch that includes Georgia and Texas away from home.
9. Mississippi State
The Kamario Tayor hype train has officially reached the national stage. Last week’s win over Minnesota was an offensive clinic. The story for Mississippi State through two games though is the defense. Zac Arnett has been fantastic in his retread as defensive coordinator and in Minnesota’s nine drives last Saturday, the Bulldogs forced a turnover or punt in seven of them.
8. South Carolina
The passing game sputtered against Towson, but the offense ran for over 400 yards. The Gamecocks are ranked in the top ten in total defense and third nationally in rushing offense trailing only two service academies at 341.5 yards per game.
7. Tennessee
The Vols went on the road and destroyed Georgia Tech. Faizon Brandon looks further ahead than people may have believed, and Desean Bishop was outstanding rushing for over 7.4 yards per carry and two touchdowns. What has been really surprising about Tennessee is that through two games they have already recorded two sacks.
6. Ole Miss
Ole Miss once again scored 41 points, this time against lowly Charlotte. The defense still has room to improve, and Brad Logan reported from Talk of Champions that multiple Charlotte receivers were still running free in the Ole Miss secondary.
5. Alabama
Alabama’s offense still has a lot of room for improvement, but Saturday was a big step in the right direction. The playcalling didn’t exactly set up a first-year starter at quarterback for success in his first road start, but the defense was absolutely lights out. Again. The run game got going, the defense forced multiple turnovers, and Alabama dominated Kentucky in a game where many people picked the upset.
4. Texas A&M
The 48-20 win for the Aggies didn’t tell the whole story. That game against Arizona State was much closer than the yardstick would suggest. That being said, a 28-point win against a Power Four team while playing a B- game? That’ll work.
3. LSU
Focus on Sam Leavitt’s three first-half interceptions all you want. The real story so far is that LSU’s defense leads the entire country in total defense and Saturday was another stellar performance. Louisiana Tech was a team that scored 80 points in Week 1. In Week 2 they went to the locker room at halftime with zero yards of offense.
2. Georgia
Georgia hasn’t played a gauntlet of a schedule, but they are just as dominant as ever. They’ve outscored their opponents by 110 points and over 800 yards of offense.
1. Texas
For three quarters it looked like Texas was once again being the Texas of old. But, a 40-play 236-yard fourth quarter and 20-point comeback changed that. Texas is the new No. 1 in the national rankings. Knowledgeable media type, like the person who wrote this article, had them in the spot already.
