7 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 2 in the SEC (and college football)
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The wait is over.
It took until the fourth quarter of his second game in his third season, but Arch Manning finally lived up to the hype on Saturday night.
Never mind that the hype wasn’t fair, a burden of bearing the greatest last name in the history of the most important position in sports.
All the missteps and mistakes, all the musing that the 5-star rating had more to do with being a Manning than anything Arch put on grainy film at Isidore Newman back home in New Orleans, all the speculation about whether Arch’s star turn at Texas had become more of an “if” than a “when,” all that copy went up in burnt orange smoke on Saturday night in Austin.
The Texas-sized rally Manning led over then-No. 1 Ohio State put all of it to bed. Arch has arrived, and his fourth quarter performance, leading a 21-point outburst to guide the Longhorns to a field-storming 24-23 win, was the improbable announcement. The final numbers — 23-for-37, 196 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception — don’t wow you, but the constant pinpoint passes to Emmet Mosely V on the game-winning drive sure did. The resolve to hang in the pocket on a night when his offensive line took a half off showed mettle. The celebration—Arch running around, hands in a hook ’em sign in the air, looking for anyone to hug—may just be the beginning of his legend at Texas.
From an epic comeback to a special story brewing in Starkville, Mississippi, here are 7 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 2 in the SEC (and beyond). Plus, a quick review of my Week 1 takes, because accountability matters in my world, where it’s easy to overreact and dish out freshly crafted artisanal hot takes but often hard to accept or admit when you get it wrong.
Sarkisian finally gets a signature win: can we ignore the first 3 quarters?
Texas pulled off the largest comeback victory over a No. 1 team since 1998, rallying from 20 points down in the fourth quarter to defeat mighty Ohio State.
The final 3 drives for Texas each stretched at least 72 yards and 12 plays, with the Longhorns piling up 236 yards on 40 plays to score 3 touchdowns on one of America’s most talented defenses.
Had Texas gone meekly into the night, as it looked like they would for 3 quarters, the list of those with their feet to the fire would have started with Steve Sarkisian, who finally, at long last, won a massive game against a fellow national title contender. But make no mistake, Will Muschamp’s decision to play off Ohio State’s wide receivers in the first half kept the Buckeyes in front of them (mostly), but allowed Julian Sayin to get too comfortable. By the time Muschamp adjusted, moving his corners closer to the line of scrimmage and bringing additional pressure, it was almost too late. Almost.
“Almost” is the buzz word for Arch, too, except that after mustering just 1 field goal on 8 drives, the Longhorns kept the Ohio State defense on the field on a hot Austin night for the bulk of the fourth quarter and by the time the final drive arrived, Ohio State was dead tired. Hollywood Smothers, Mosely, and Manning did the rest.
With a schedule chock full of ranked opponents on deck, the question in the Lone Star State isn’t whether the Longhorns are championship good. They are.
The question is whether they can consistently play like it.
Mississippi State has a special thing brewing in Kamario Taylor
Jeff Lebby found one in Kamario Taylor.
The sophomore Mississippi State quarterback produced 313 total yards and 3 touchdowns in State’s 38-13 road romp at Minnesota on Saturday.
We knew his arm strength was different. Anthony Richardson-level live arm talent.
What we didn’t know was how great a decision-maker he would be so early in his career. Big-arm talents like Richardson sometimes believe they can throw their way through anything. Taylor, who has produced 8 touchdowns this season without a turnover, plays the game through Jeff Lebby’s eyes.
“Those are the things that you love to see. Him playing the position from the pocket, being able to manipulate the pocket, keeping his eyes on his progression and giving us a chance to create chunk plays. The way he played in the first half was about as good as you can possibly play,” Lebby said after the Bulldogs’ win. “I’m proud of his command and leadership.”
State has won just 1 of 16 SEC games in Lebby’s tenure, and there are 5 ranked opponents in the next 6 games on the schedule, which means tougher tests are ahead. But with Taylor, Mississippi State suddenly looks like an energized program. Another road test, this time against a South Carolina team that’s looked almost as good in the first 2 weeks of the season, feels like appointment television.
Alabama shows mettle in second half rally
Down 17-13 after a half, Alabama went 3-and-out to begin the second half at Kroger Field in Lexington. That’s a tough spot, especially for a team with a quarterback making his first start on the road in the SEC.
Alabama didn’t blink. The Crimson Tide scored the game’s final 32 points, riding a salty, opportunistic defense and just enough explosiveness in the run game to run away from a Kentucky team that, playing its first SEC game under new head coach Will Stein, came out with some juice.
Does Alabama need to start better? Yes. Are there going to be some Keelon Russell mistakes, like the early pick-6 Saturday, that make you shake your head in disgust? Yes.
Will a defense that produces turnovers and wins third down (Kentucky was a woeful 3-for-18 on third and fourth down, and didn’t convert one in the second half) be enough to keep Alabama in the College Football Playoff hunt while Russell and the offense figure things out?
A forgiving early schedule will help. By October 10, when Georgia comes calling, we’ll know much more. I liked the guts and grit Alabama showed Saturday, though. It’s hard to win by 4 touchdowns on the road in the SEC. It’s even tougher to do it when you don’t play your best. Alabama managed both.
Oklahoma lays a Big House egg—and proves it has fixed nothing
A week after losing at home to Western Michigan (yes, I’m aware of what happened with the clock, the added second, the Hail Mary, and Michigan fans rushing the field after “winning” the game), Michigan punked Oklahoma, riding a 2-0 turnover edge to a 17-10 win in Ann Arbor.
John Mateer, who I saw Danny Kanell compared to Tim Tebow in the pregame (an outrageous, insulting comparison to arguably the greatest college football player ever that should result in a television analysis suspension), was terrible, averaging just 5.7 yards per attempt and 3.5 yards per rush on the afternoon.
That was worse than Bryce Underwood (197 total yards, a touchdown), who has a host of problems but was the better quarterback Saturday in the Big House.
Worse, when Oklahoma had to throw after falling behind, Mateer averaged less than 10 yards per depth of target and under 5 yards per drop back, taking 3 sacks and throwing a back-breaking interception late.
Oklahoma wanted to be the more physical team and preached it all offseason. In their first physical test of the season, the Sooners wilted.
A bad sign for a team with Playoff aspirations.
Does any of this matter? After all, Miami is going to win the national championship
I don’t care if Miami played Florida A&M on a Thursday night or paid them three-quarters of a million dollars to come to Miami Gardens and lose by 70 points. I’m also not going to wax poetic about the Canes tying a school record for points against a HBCU, though they did manage that Thursday evening.
What I’ll point out instead is that Miami was one drive away from winning a national championship last season without an ideal fit at quarterback, and this year, with Darian Mensah looking like a Heisman candidate, Mark Fletcher a top 5 running back in the sport, Malachi Toney looking like the best not-Jeremiah Smith weapon in college football, and a newly constructed offensive line that Mario Cristobal said “can still get better” after they piled up 430 yards rushing on 44 attempts this week—this team has a ceiling that’s the roof.
I still think the key to this team is Corey Hetherman’s rebuilt defense, which has an anchor in Ahmad Moten Sr. inside but at some point, figures to reckon with the loss of first round NFL talents Rueben Bain Jr. and Ahkeem Mesidor. But there’s an argument Armondo Blount will be the best edge setter the U has had in over a decade and obviously Mizzou transfer Damon Wilson II is a frightening pass rusher.
We won’t see this group seriously tested until potentially November.
No one else gets that long to fine tune the question marks, and there aren’t many question marks.
If the Canes win at Notre Dame, is a perfect regular season inevitable? If yes, is national championship No. 6 next? I think it’s the best bet in the sport right now.
If the Hurricanes don’t win the national title, Georgia will?
Kirby Smart was furious his reserve defense allowed 20 Western Kentucky points in the second half of the Dawgs’ 70-20 victory this Saturday.
That type of anger from Smart in a 50-point win is a good sign the 2-time national champion head coach knows he has something in Athens after a 2 year College Football Playoff semifinal drought.
The competition doesn’t really tick up until Oklahoma visits in 2 weeks, and as we saw in Ann Arbor, the Sooners are offensively challenged.
Like Nick Saban fatigue before it, I think Georgia fatigue is real. The level of consistent excellence Georgia has shown under Smart over the past decade is boring and because the Dawgs have had “early” College Football Playoff exists the last 2 seasons, it’s easy to forget that this program is the winningest in the sport this decade.
What this group has that the last 2 teams haven’t is ruthless balance. Fourteen Dawgs scored a touchdown in the first 2 weeks and Gunner Stockton, much maligned in his first full year as a starter in 2025, looks dominant, with an 88% completion rate through 2 games and an SEC-high 8 touchdowns.
Georgia’s the reigning SEC champion—something too many people also forget—and it looks better than a year ago, when it seized the crown.
Extra Point: Florida at Auburn is the “Honeymoon’s Over” Bowl
I’m in “hold” mode on both Auburn’s Alex Golesh and Florida’s Jon Sumrall after 2 games at their new gigs.
Both the Gators, who have scored an eyebrow raising 118 points in 2 wins, and the Tigers, who gutted out a win over Baylor and showed massive offensive improvement in flattening Southern Miss 43-8 Saturday night on the Plains, have flashed reason for optimism.
Both head coaches see flaws and weaknesses and things to fix.
Golesh said he “wanted to throw up” about Auburn’s execution after the 5 touchdown victory over a quality Southern Miss program.
Sumrall said his team faces a “rude awakening” if they make the types of mistakes they made defensively in the wins over Florida Atlantic (66-21) and Campbell (52-3).
How can you not love the energy? How do you not enjoy a pair of young coaches refusing to take a ride down Rat Poison Lane?
It’s great seeing the energy back at two of the SEC’s proudest programs.
That energy is about to become urgency when the Gators and Tigers face off next Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The winner will feel like a genuine College Football Playoff dark horse.
The loser will face adversity for the first time in their new tenures.
Welcome to the unforgiving world of the SEC.
Jon Sumrall said at SEC Media Days he’d never feel sorry for himself for facing the pressure cooker that comes with being an SEC head coach.
We’re about to find out if he meant it. Honeymoon’s over for Sumrall and Golesh. The SEC season starts on Saturday.
Grading Last Week’s Overreactions:
Hot Take I’m Proud of: Buying Georgia’s embarrassment of riches offensively
Georgia’s 14 different players scoring touchdowns is more than half the SEC teams had score all season last year. The Dawgs have managed that accomplishment in just 2 games. Mike Bobo with options is the best Mike Bobo.
“Lukewarm” Lane Kiffin has me “holding” on LSU
LSU won 45-14 on Saturday night but Sam Leavitt played awfully and the Tigers really struggled to get a consistent push in the run game. Couple that with the fact that Clemson is awful (a field-goal-heavy, error-plagued 22-7 win over Georgia Southern did Dabo Swinney no favors) and it’s clear LSU has plenty of questions, even if the ceiling is a national championship run.
Lane Kiffin can coach. He’ll need to do it exceptionally well to leave Oxford with a win next Saturday night.
Freezing Cold Take: Oklahoma’s defensive line will eat Michigan alive
The Sooners defense was good, surrendering just 10 offensive points to the Wolverines in defeat. But it was Michigan’s defensive front, not Oklahoma’s, that was game-altering, producing 15 pressures, 8 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks in the upset. The Sooners have all the pieces to be an exceptional defense—but a lineman failed to produce a sack on Saturday afternoon and only David Stone had both multiple hurries and pressures on the defensive line. Not my best work. I’ll do better next week (or hold myself accountable again).
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Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
