Hello SEC fans. My name is Jacob Thigpen, aka Thiggy, and I’ll be covering the best conference in college football for The Walk-On Redshirts this season. My goal each week is to provide readers with reactions and overreactions from the previous weekend, along with the player who stood out the most to me, the best game or performance, the team with the most on the line the next week, and my SEC Top 5.
This column could expand into more topics as the season progresses. Because of Labor Day, my first SEC Weekly Observations is posted later than usual. Expect the next edition to come out earlier in the week.
Hope you enjoy it and remember to let me know how dumb my takes are.
Week 1 SEC Observations
Reactions and Overreactions
Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee winning by 60 doesn’t matter
Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Tennessee beat their respective opponents by 60 or more points on Saturday. Throw in Arkansas’ 70-0 win last Thursday, and the SEC tied the record for the most 60+ point wins by a conference in one season. These are the teams they beat: Western Kentucky, Alabama A&M, Furman, Chattanooga, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Four FCS teams and one from Conference USA. Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart finished 22-for-27 for 418 yards and six TDs, all in the first half of his team’s 73-0 win. Impressive? Yes. Heisman-worthy? Let’s not give out college football’s most prestigious trophy after lighting up Furman (only picking on Dart because Fan Duel now has him tied for the best odds to win the Heisman).
Florida is guaranteed a third-straight losing season
Florida losing to a preseason top-20 team isn’t a problem. Some might argue it is a problem given the Gators have five opponents currently ranked in the AP Top 25 left to play. What we can all agree is the problem is this Florida football program. The defense looked as bad as ever giving up over 500 yards to Miami and its new starting QB. The offense, led by fifth-year senior Graham Mertz, gained 261 yards. The Gators were at the Swamp. Mertz got hurt and now 5-star freshman DJ Lagway will start against Samford in Week 2. Lagway could be the spark this team needs to beat low expectations. He also could play like most true freshman QBs and further limit the offense. Regardless, getting thumped at home to an in-state rival elicits nothing but hopelessness for Gator Nation. Napier should have one foot out the door in Gainesville.
Texas A&M’s Connor Weigman is a bust
Weigman’s poor performance in the season opener against top-10 Notre Dame was a key reason the Aggies missed an upset that was in reach. Completing only 40% of his 30 attempts for 100 yards and throwing two interceptions, his ineffective play stood out in the low-scoring game. While injuries have hampered him, Weigman’s struggles raise doubts about whether he will live up to his 5-star billing by the end of his college career. Luckily for A&M, Weigman won’t face a defense at or near the level of Notre Dame’s until October 5th when it hosts Missouri.
Georgia will squeeze its opponents to defeat on the way to 12-0
This is the epitome of a Week 1 overreaction. Let me be clear, I do not think Georgia goes 12-0 for the fourth (!) straight season. But watching the Bulldogs rebound from a slow first half against Clemson and suffocate the Tigers in the second half has me believing that 12-0 isn’t impossible. Defense is the main reason for my optimism. Clemson hasn’t had an elite offense since Trevor Lawerence was leading the Tigers (2020), but the program still recruits at a high level. According to 247Sports’ composite team rankings (2020-24), Clemson has the sixth-most talented roster in college football. Georgia, with its second-most talented roster, held Clemson and its own former 5-star QB to 188 total yards. Georgia is going to play better offenses with better QBs as the season progresses (four of which led their teams to 60+ point victories last Saturday). Even if the Bulldogs defense isn’t able to squeeze the heavyweight teams it faces in conference play the way they did Clemson, those teams will need a nearly perfect offensive game plan to keep UGA from another undefeated regular season.
Stud of the Week
Dylan Stewart, EDGE, South Carolina
Stewart was named SEC co-Defensive Player of the Week, and for good reason. The former 5-star recruit had four tackles, 1.5 sacks, and forced two fumbles – one in the fourth quarter that set up the Gamecocks for the game-winning score over Old Dominion. Without Stewart’s impact, South Carolina was staring down a loss to a Sun Belt team that finished 6-7 last year. Proof that 5-stars can make game-changing impacts to middle-of-the-pack programs.
Best Game
Vanderbilt 34, Virginia Tech 27 (OT)
How could it not be? Vandy has had three losing seasons to start Clark Lea’s head coaching tenure. The Commodores hadn’t won a non-conference game against a Power 4 team since 2017. Perhaps bowl eligibility still eludes Vanderbilt this season, but this game showed a side of the Dores football program we haven’t seen in a long time. Vanderbilt held a 17-point lead against a consensus dark horse contender in the ACC. Let said lead disappear – typical Vandy. They tied the game late in the fourth quarter, scored a touchdown in overtime, and held on for the win – not typical Vandy. This was one of the more entertaining Week 1 games. Perhaps the Dores will be one of the more fun teams in the SEC this season.
Team with most on the line in Week 2
South Carolina’s 23-19 win over Old Dominion felt like a loss. The offense looked awful. A true freshman led the defense. The Gamecocks need a win at Kentucky to give fans hope that the team isn’t destined for another losing season in a tougher SEC. Beating Kentucky would likely mean QB Lanorris Sellers drastically improves on his 10-of-23 for 114 yards, 0 TD performance against ODU.
Top 5 SEC Rankings
- Georgia
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Tennessee
By Jacob Thigpen (@Jake_Thigpen)
