Week one of SEC football is in the books, and Georgia football once again looks like one of the best teams in the conference after their dominant 45-7 win over Marshall. It’s also clear that a few other teams in the SEC are legit contenders this season as well, but those teams who will challenge Georgia in the race for the SEC are not who college football fans expected.
Texas, Alabama no longer belong in the same conversation as Georgia
Texas was voted the preseason favorite to win the SEC this season followed by Georgia and Alabama. While a few other teams could challenge for the SEC Championship, the consensus was that these three teams were the favorites to win the conference this year. That is no longer the case for Texas and Alabama.
The Longhorns went on the road Saturday to No. 3 Ohio State and lost 14-7. A loss against a team like the Buckeyes is far from an embarrassment, but the manner in which they lost is concerning. Quarterback Arch Manning looked average at best, and the entire Texas offense looked like they didn’t belong on the same field as Ohio State.
Texas was joined by Alabama on Saturday as the two teams who dropped out of SEC contention after losing at Florida State 31-17.
As a reminder, the Seminoles only won two games last season. Sure they were expected to be a much better team this season, but no one expected them to beat Alabama let alone dominate them all game, but that is exactly what happened. Since beating Georgia last season, the Tide are a disappointing 5-5, and that’s clearly not going to cut it in the SEC.
New teams emerge as true SEC contenders
While Texas and Alabama proved they may not be contenders this season, a couple other teams showed they belong in the top tier with Georgia. LSU had the best win of the weekend as they took down No. 4 Clemson on the road 17-10. Tennessee also dominated Syracuse on Saturday and showed their new quarterback Joey Aguilar might be better than Nico Iamaleava was last season.
The good news for Texas and Alabama is that these losses don’t impact their chances of winning the SEC since they are nonconference losses. But it’s hard to think they stand much of a chance this year after teams like Georgia, LSU and Tennessee shined during their week one wins.
Georgia’s path to repeat as SEC Champions is much different now after this weekend because their future games against Texas and Alabama no longer appear as difficult as they once did.