There wasn’t as much meat on the bone in the first week of SEC football, with only three teams facing Power conference opponents. But there’s no room to complain when SEC football is back, and the conference did something it hasn’t done since the Clinton administration (more on that in a minute).
I’m changing up Standout Stats a little this season. Instead of forcing one statistic for every SEC team, I’m narrowing the focus to the numbers – or team/player performances – that best explain what happened across the conference each week.
Before flipping over to Week 2, let’s break down the standout stats and performances from the first weekend of SEC football in 2026.
SEC went undefeated in Week 1
The SEC literally could not have asked for a better start to the college football season than going 16-0 in Week 1. It’s the first time since 1997 that the conference went undefeated to begin a football season. Worth noting that only three SEC teams played a Power conference opponent during opening weekend. Still, the SEC is one of only three Power conferences to go undefeated in Week 1 in the last 10 years (excluding COVID). The Pac-12 – before Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, and Stanford bolted – was the last Power conference to go undefeated in Week 1 in 2023.
SEC won its Week 1 matchups against Group of Six and FCS teams by an average of 42.8 points per game
Two things can be true: The SEC played an overall weak slate of opening games. Its teams also dominated. There were no close calls against inferior competition. Last season, Kentucky beat the MAC’s Toledo by one score, and Mississippi State and Texas A&M let G6 teams hang around into the second half. Leaving no doubt against the teams you should dominate is a positive sign.
LSU outrushed Clemson 309-40 in its 51-10 victory
I could write a 1,000-word article on LSU’s dominant performance against Clemson in Lane Kiffin’s Baton Rouge debut. For this column, I’ll keep the focus on a mind-boggling stat that encapsulates how dominant LSU was against the ACC Tigers. Let me remind you that despite what the final score may suggest, Clemson is a Power conference program. LSU just treated it like an FCS squad. I write about the SEC, so I can’t go into a full psychoanalysis of how far Clemson has fallen in the current era. Even if Clemson is at best a 6-6 team, it’s extremely improbable to hold a Power conference opponent to under 50 yards rushing and outgain them by 269 yards on the ground. Historically, Power-conference winners outrush another Power-conference opponent by roughly 50 to 70 yards. LSU crushed the average by around 200 yards.
Ole Miss scored 31 second-half points in its win over Louisville while giving up 32 points in the second half
Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding said during SEC Media Days that he felt his defensive unit is the most talented he’s had since joining the Rebels coaching staff (2023). Golding knows more than we do about the talent level of his players, but talent doesn’t always translate to production. It’s concerning that the defense allowed 32 second-half points to Louisville when the unit was lights out in the first half (83 yards, six points). Luckily for the Rebels, Heisman-contending QB Trinidad Chambliss accounted for four touchdowns and 277 total yards in the second half to help his team edge the Cardinals. Week 1 overreaction: Ole Miss will have to outscore everyone to make it back to the College Football Playoff.
Mississippi State amassed a school-record 762 yards of total offense in its 62–13 win over ULM, the ninth-highest single-game total in SEC history
Even against a G6 program, I believe Mississippi State deserves a shoutout for putting on the best offensive performance of opening weekend in the conference and setting a school record. Quarterback Kamario Taylor, who reportedly turned down NIL offers from more historic programs to stay in Starkville, accounted for 413 yards of total offense. Head coach Jeff Lebby’s Robert Griffin III comparisons for Taylor might not have been hyperbole.
By Jake Thigpen (@Jake_Thigpen)
