Now we’re getting somewhere.

Week 3 is in the books. For some SEC teams, it has been 3 weeks of pure domination. For others, it has been a bit of a mixed bag. Maybe 2 solid showings, 1 not-so-solid showing. Perhaps it’s 2 not-so-solid showings and 1 solid showing.

Shoot, maybe 1 solid showing, 1 not-so-solid showing and 1 mediocre showing.

So what do we take from that?

Let’s dig into it with 1 thing I learned from every SEC team in Week 3:

Alabama — Winning in the trenches? Apparently, that doesn’t matter in 2021

What if I told you that Alabama would go on the road and lose the rushing advantage 245-91? Would you assume that hell was freezing over? At the very least, I’d think you’d assume that the Tide had a forgettable, rare losing day. Not Saturday. Even though the Tide struggled for most of the day to get off the field — I thought Will Anderson’s presence was felt against the run — it didn’t ultimately cost the Tide the game. Why? Bryce Young threw 3 touchdowns in the first quarter and didn’t make any back-breaking mistakes.

Was it an atypical game for Alabama? Absolutely. Think about this.

Alabama had to grind out a win. Yet with that ground game disparity, it looked different than any pre-Lane Kiffin offense games.

Arkansas — Treylon Burks is back … and maybe, so is Arkansas’ passing game

I know that Burks hasn’t been at 100 percent yet, which perhaps explained why he didn’t have a chunk play in his first 2 games. But on Saturday, we finally got to see Burks get out into the open field. He took a little swing pass 91 yards to the house. What a welcome sight that was heading into the Texas A&M matchup. You need the SEC’s best receiver to look the part if you’re going to hang tough in the SEC West.

It’s great to have the ground game, yes, but Arkansas is only beating that loaded A&M defensive line if it can get a game-breaking play or 2 in the passing game. KJ Jefferson needs that. He had an extremely prolific day, but he’s never going to be a 24-for-30, 300 yards guy. He needs those chunk plays, and getting 4 of 40-plus yards in the passing game was huge.

Auburn — Bo Nix didn’t win, but he doesn’t look nearly as lost as he used to

I don’t want to turn this into an anti-Gus Malzahn thing, but Nix felt like he at least had a chance to run Auburn’s offense on the road in a second-to-none atmosphere. His final line would’ve looked much different had Brandon Smith held onto that pass that would’ve been a pick-6, but I thought Nix did a lot of things well. He didn’t drift in the pocket nearly as much as we’ve seen him do in the past, he used his legs successfully, and above all else, he gave Auburn a chance. He’s still limited in what he can do, and Auburn really doesn’t have those guys who can consistently get separation (Nix threw one over the head of Demetris Robertson, who had a step but lost it in the light).

I’m not saying Nix is suddenly an elite quarterback and Auburn is going 10-2 with a top-20 offense. But I thought he handled pressure much better than he has in past road games, and if I’d been bracing for the worst (I was), Nix’s performance made me think he might hold onto his job after all.

Florida — There’s an identity in Gainesville

And it’s gritty. I’ll say this: I never thought we’d see Florida truly control the line of scrimmage against Alabama like that. At least after the first quarter. It wasn’t just that Florida turned to the ground game down 21-3. It was that it got scoring drives when it needed them. And as much as people are going to criticize that 2-point conversion call, Florida was dominating that battle up front. Gaining 2 yards on the ground was a given for most of the day.

Here’s the other thing. Let’s give a round of applause for Emory Jones. What a response that was after that interception. He heard the boo birds and didn’t turn the ball over after that. With all the Anthony Richardson buzz — he wasn’t going to play unless Jones got hurt — the Florida starter did his best Nick Fitzgerald imitation. He stayed within himself, and he nearly helped Florida deliver Alabama’s largest blown lead since the 2010 Iron Bowl. Saturday wasn’t a win, but that was a foundation game for Dan Mullen’s offense.

Georgia — Kirby Smart is still trying to get too cute with his quarterbacks

Look. I get that there’s a sense of loyalty to Stetson Bennett IV. The guy played really well last week in place of the injured JT Daniels. But why on Earth Smart would start Daniels, only to then put Bennett in after a Daniels touchdown pass, was beyond me. The fact that Bennett entered and instantly threw an interception only magnified that head-scratching decision. It was just so … unnecessary, especially after Daniels looked lights-out stretching the field. And then at the end of the game, I’m not sure why Bennett got those reps. Why not Carson Beck, or even Brock Vandagriff? What a weird decision that was, especially with Arch Manning in the house.

What are the odds that Smart would play Bennett ahead of Manning? I’m kidding. Kind of.

Kentucky — This offense is far from a finished product

As fun and exciting as it is, we saw some tough moments from Liam Coen’s group. We saw poor reads from Will Levis. We saw a lack of push up front to create running lanes. We saw a lack of flow that really prevented Kentucky from getting any sort of breathing room until a late pick-6 put it on ice. Against an FCS foe, it was strange to see how much the Cats struggled to get the running game going. Coen admitted afterward that he “got greedy,” and he didn’t scheme well enough in the ground game because he wanted to rely on the pass after a physical game with Mizzou. It was a reminder that with a summer enrollee quarterback and a new offense, Kentucky has a ton to clean up on both sides of the ball, really.

A 3-0 start is great, but Saturday was a “pump the brakes” type of game on the chatter about being underrated.

LSU — Corey Kiner might be the ground game answer

I have no idea if LSU is going to block anyone this year. But I do know that the Tigers need more of this:

Sheesh. Kiner is getting reps as a true freshman with John Emery Jr. out for academic issues. And on a night when Tyrion Davis-Price again struggled to do much of anything, Kiner did his best Clyde Edwards-Helaire imitation and turned on the jets late. It’s troubling that LSU was sitting at -2 rushing yards by the time it hit 21 points. Max Johnson can’t be asked to do that much heavy lifting week in, week out. But maybe Kiner, who ran well against McNeese, is exactly what the Tigers need in the ground game.

MSU — Apparently you can lose with 2 blown calls on 1 bizarre play

If you missed it, buddy, let me tell you. What Memphis did on a punt return was straight bananas.

First of all, how was that ball not dead? It appeared down, yet it was almost as if officials were afraid to blow it dead, even though it was clearly waved dead. So that was strange in itself. But then, what about the fact that Memphis had multiple No. 4s on the field at the same time? That’s cheating. Yet somehow, the officials missed that, too. And how was that not reviewed?

I’m not a “let’s blame the officials” guy, and it’s fair that to say that MSU’s offense going dormant for the third quarter hurt, too. And hey, if MSU avoids that early sloppy exchange that led to a scoop and score, it’s a different game. Still, though. That was a horrendous bit of officiating that made a major impact on the result of that game … and the SEC admitted it was the wrong call(s).

Mizzou — Connor Bazelak is just fine after that Kentucky beating he took

He said after Saturday’s lopsided win that he was fine following last week’s physical game against Kentucky, where he was forced to the sideline on the final series after taking a shot. Bazelak admitted it took a toll on him, but on Saturday, he had no issues whatsoever. Whatever he wanted, he got. He was 21-for-30 for 346 yards (11.5 yards/attempt) and 3 scores in a game that was over by the end of the first quarter. Good. Yeah, it was SE Missouri.

It was also good to see that ahead of a road matchup against one of the sport’s better defensive minds in Jeff Hafley.

Ole Miss — What’s the ‘It’s time to pull Matt Corral’ line?

Hey, this is all about what I learned. We found out Saturday that 61-21 is the line to pull Corral. Against Louisville, Jeff Lebby was out there trying to get a 50-burger, and Corral was still out there slinging it in a blowout. How fitting that with Ole Miss up 54-21, Corral unloaded a deep shot to an open Braylon Sanders for a 45-yard score. That was Corral’s 7th touchdown of the night. Why was that significant? Well, Tulane faced Oklahoma in the opener and gave Spencer Rattler problems. Who is in that Heisman Trophy conversation with Corral? Rattler.

So naturally, Ole Miss was still throwing bombs up 61-21. Of course. That’s the offense. It isn’t built to slow down and run out the clock. It’s built to break records.

South Carolina — That offensive line is going to be a liability

It wasn’t particularly good against ECU until late, so perhaps we should’ve assumed it would be a long night against Georgia’s loaded front. It was, but not just physically. The communication up front was awful. Blitzes went un-accounted for, and South Carolina didn’t actually rise to the occasion to protect Luke Doty in his first reps of 2021. Zeb Noland got the start and then got his hand stepped on by Jalen Carter, which couldn’t have been fun. But some of Doty’s dropbacks were just brutal. On 10 of South Carolina’s first 16 dropbacks, UGA got a pressure.

You can see why there was perhaps some hesitancy to put Doty out there to start. That’s a brutal way to come off an injury and earn your first reps of the season. Even worse was the fact that UGA is lights-out against the run, so turning to that deep South Carolina backfield didn’t matter. I’m not entirely sure Kevin Harris, MarShawn Lloyd and Co. are going to see many favorable running lanes with offensive line play so poor.

Tennessee — Hendon Hooker is physically capable of connecting on deep throws

Be honest. How many rows into the stands does Joe Milton throw this?

Jokes aside, Hooker should’ve answered any question about whether he should be the guy moving forward. He had a couple of overthrows and drops on deep balls, and he was far from perfect. But still, it’s clear that the offense moves better with him in there compared to Joe Milton, who was sidelined with a leg injury. Had Hooker laid an egg against a vastly inferior Tennessee Tech team, sure, it would’ve been fair to wonder if Hooker was the best option. But combined with Hooker’s Pitt performance, Josh Heupel should have his guy.

Texas A&M — The defense is special, but keep those expectations relatively low for the offense

I thought Zach Calzada’s start was reminiscent of Bennett’s last week vs. UAB. He had receivers running free downfield, he had time to throw, and overall, he looked more comfortable than he did when he was thrown into the fire against Colorado. It was good to see Demond Demas get that long touchdown in his first career start, and until he was sidelined on that nearly ridiculous punt return, Ainias Smith reminded everyone why he’s a prime candidate for the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in America.

But Calzada struggled to sense pressure when out of the pocket, and the offensive line couldn’t get a push for the majority of the day. There are some moving pieces up front. All-American Kenyon Green started at right guard, and you had a first-time starter in Blake Trainor at right tackle. That group just doesn’t look like the 2020 Maroon Goons yet, even against inferior New Mexico. A 46-yard run from Isaiah Spiller — it was good to see him get going again — skewed those final numbers. But with Barry Odom, Zach Arnett and Nick Saban coming in the next 3 matchups, I’m skeptical of the Aggies’ offense.

Vanderbilt — There was no such thing as ‘Colorado State momentum’

You know. In case you wondering.

Vandy is going to continue to have moments of relevance because Ken Seals can absolutely make some next-level throws. But on Saturday against Stanford, he didn’t have much of a chance. That offensive line isn’t exactly doing him any favors. Add that to the fact that he’s not the best decision-maker to begin with, his starting running back was injured (Rocko Griffin did step in nicely) and his defense struggled to get off the field. That’s a bad formula for SEC play, which is starting next week … against No. 2 Georgia. Yikes.