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Two quality opponents.
Two 24-point wins.
College Football Playoff selection committee, take notice.
Texas A&M and Georgia, two nationally-ranked teams who weren’t picked to win their respective divisions, looked the part during college football’s opening weekend.
The Aggies flourished through the air at South Carolina while the Bulldogs steamrolled Clemson on the ground between the hedges.
How’s that for a statement?
RELATED: Video — Todd Gurley gashes Clemson
Week 1 was a nightmare for Palmetto State teams, but provided the perfect stage for undervalued Texas A&M and Georgia. Two days after Kevin Sumlin made a SEC Network-rattling announcement on the road, the Bulldogs proved their worth defensively in the second half against the Tigers, limiting Clemson to 15 yards and just one first down in the second half.
Georgia’s first-year defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt altered his game plan a bit at intermission after Clemson notched a few big plays down the field in the passing game and unleashed his front seven on Tiger quarterbacks Cole Stoudt and Deshaun Watson.
RELATED: 5 biggest takeaways from Texas A&M’s win
Todd Gurley carried the Bulldogs the rest of the way, scoring twice in the fourth quarter on his way to a career-high 188 yards rushing.
It was a performance similar to Kenny Hill’s magic in Columbia, S.C. last Thursday, outings that vaulted both players into the way-too-early Heisman conversation. We expected Gurley’s heroics, but Hill’s first career start proved Sumlin knows exactly what he’s doing in College Station despite offseason questions from those of us ‘in the know’ concerning the Aggies’ offense.
Based on what we’ve seen after one game against quality competition, Texas A&M and Georgia are the two best teams in the SEC.
We know it’s early, but this should be another exciting season.
