The first Saturday Down South has come and gone, but you’re in luck, because Tennessee plays Utah State tonight. And more SEC football is in your forecast. But let’s get right down to business.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the SEC’s first Saturday:

RELATED: SEC football’s Thursday night biggest takeaways

Much more athletic: Kentucky received an upgrade in talent, and they now look like a football team that can compete and are much more athletic. Patrick Towles and the offense is much crisper in Neal Browns’ spread-’em-out attack. Towles completed 20 of 29 passes for 377 yards and one touchdown, and that doesn’t include his 23-yard touchdown run. Yes, it was UT Martin, but the running game can be really good. The duo of Braylon Heard and Jojo Kemp will present any defense with challenges, especially if Towles is slinging the rock like he did, but Heard looks like an elite player and finished with 116 yards on two carries with two touchdowns. There’s not too much you can take away from this blowout, other than the Wildcats did exactly what they needed to…blow out the Skyhawks.

Finally seized control: Tempo offenses continue to give Alabama issues. Another tempo offense and another game where the opponent moved the football with consistency. This time it was West Virginia. As long as teams have an accurate and efficient quarterback and a few athletes on the perimeter, Alabama will have trouble with tempo. But let’s not overreact just yet. Alabama was methodical, and Blake Sims was 24 of 33 for 250 yards and one INT, but the running game was dominant, rushing for 288 yards and three touchdowns. It was all aided by the offensive line, which played really well both run blocking and pass blocking. Now to the defense. Cornerback Bradley Sylve was abused, and the defense gave up 365 yards passing and one touchdown. It’s a different year, but the same questions remain about the secondary with no solutions, yet. The Crimson Tide will face five or six offenses this season that will present tempo mismatches, and three of those can take advantage of the secondary with bigger receivers and a legitimate passing game. Finally, special teams played well, and kicker Adam Griffith nailed four kicks from 47, 41, 27 and 45 yards. Let’s not sell out stock on Alabama just yet, but the SEC West is wide open.

Gurley kicked off his Heisman campaign: Is there a better player in the country? Todd Gurley powered Georgia to victory over Clemson. That’s basically all you need to know. Gurley rushed 15 times for 198 yards and three touchdowns, and that doesn’t include his 100-yard kickoff return, in which no Clemson player even touched him. Speechless. He scored on runs of 23, 18 and 51 yards. If there’s a better player in college football, I want to see him. Gurley’s three rushing touchdowns and 198 yards were more than Clemson’s entire team.

Building a championship team: More so than Todd Gurley powering Georgia to victory — beating a top 25 team in Clemson helps build a championship team. Although Clemson wasn’t ranked in the top 10, they are top 10 caliber team. Huston Mason played exactly like he needs to in order to win a championship. Aaron Murray set records. Mason doesn’t have to, because he has enough talent around him and a better defense. Oh, and speaking of Georgia’s defense, the Dawgs clamped down on the Tigers’ offense in the second half. Jeremy Pruitt’s impact is obvious, and he’s a difference maker. The second half adjustments were beautiful. Clemson had just one first down in the second half. One. A close win against a top ranked team is exactly what helps build character within a team and furthermore helps build a championship team.

How much do we know about Missouri? Remember, Missouri didn’t look too good last year when it started the season either, and it didn’t look too good or too bad against South Dakota State. Maty Mauk threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns, and the Tigers racked up 215 yards rushing with one touchdown. The emergence of receiver Darius White is huge for Mizzou, as the Tigers need playmakers for Mauk. South Dakota State moved the football, though, and running back Zach Zenner rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Due to the parity in the SEC East, Mizzou is right in the mix, but we just don’t know how good the Tigers are yet.The Tigers merely confirmed their strengths and weaknesses yesterday. Offensive coordinator Josh Henson needs to feed running backs Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy more, and they have a chance to be great.

46 in a row: That’s how many regular season non-conference games LSU has won. Les Miles specifically is 36-0 against regular season non-conference foes. That’s astounding. We were beginning to wonder about LSU in the first half, as Wisconsin was basically pushing the Tigers around, but thanks to the River Boat Gambler Les Miles, the fake punt was the turning point. Had Miles not faked the punt, Wisconsin may have out-LSU’d LSU, by pounding the rock. But LSU’s running game, particularly Kenny Hilliard, took over in the second half. Down 24-10, LSU came charging back and made a 17-point rally that could have sealed the Big Ten’s fate in the College Football Playoff. Anthony Jennings wasn’t sharp, but he threw two beautiful touchdown passes. And he’s clearly the guy for the offense right now. It also helped LSU that Wisconsin went away from its bread and butter — the running game and Melvin Gordon — in the second half. LSU’s win for the conference was huge on so many levels, and most notably, it probably sealed the Big Ten’s fate in the College Football Playoff.

Auburn is exactly what we thought: The Tigers are electric on offense, but the defense, particularly the front four, needs work. The Hogs pushed the Tigers around in the first half before tightening down in the second half. Let’s credit defensive line coach Rodney Gardner and the rain delay. Jeremy Johnson played at an elite level, and his release reminds me of Vince Young. Johnson threw for 246 yards and two touchdowns, and he was sharp all day. Then, Nick Marshall took over, and the offense looked even better. The Tigers have the SEC’s best quarterback situation, and it’s not even close. But the player of the game was Cameron Artis-Payne, who rushed for 177 yards and one touchdown, including 98 of those in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. Auburn’s offense is going to move the football at will, and it’s going to come down to the defense and the schedule to seal their 2014 fate.

Arkansas is better: Should Arkansas play with the same passion and crispness they played with in the first half, the Hogs are going to go bowling. But it’s maintaining that style through four quarters. A halftime and rain delay later, Arkansas’ offense shut down. Arkansas was outscored 24-0 in the second half. Staying balanced is the key, even though coming back out after a rain delay is just brutal on the players. The trio of Alex Collins, Jonathan Williams and Korliss Marshall can be balanced, as long as Brandon Allen plays well. Linebacker Brooks Ellis is an All-SEC player.

Beat-down: How much do we know about Mississippi State? Not much after romping Southern Miss. But let me say the defense is legit. The offense had some issues in the red zone running the football, and Dak Prescott had a bad INT in the end zone, but MSU is going to win a few games they aren’t supposed to this season. Prescott accounted for four touchdowns, and how about wide receiver De’Runnya Wilson? He caught four passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns and looked like an NFL receiver while doing it. I love the momentum of the Mississippi State program right now, and the Egg Bowl rivalry is one of the most intriguing storylines this season.

Still waiting: Unfortunately, due to the rain, Florida’s game was terminated, and we’ll have to wait another week to see the Gators’ new offense.