In Week 1, almost any shortcoming can be spun as “shaking off the rust.” In a sport that doesn’t have a true preseason, there were plenty of things that happened during the opening week of the season that probably could be dismissed because of that Week 1 context.
As in, why did LIU have 10 tackles for loss in the first half against a respected Florida offensive line? Why was Texas A&M playing meaningful mid-third quarter snaps against UTSA? And should we assume that Zach Calzada isn’t going to work out in his 3rd SEC home after Kentucky‘s new QB1 mustered just 3.7 yards per pass attempt against Toledo?
That could all prove to be relevant, or it could just be shaking the rust off. Ahead of Week 2, how much rust is still left?
Let’s dig into some early thoughts on each Week 2 game in the SEC:
San Jose State vs. Texas: Steve Sarkisian needs to manufacture a feel-good day for Arch Manning
The confidence that Manning was praised for during the offseason was nowhere to be found in a challenging road matchup at Ohio State. In a much more favorable matchup against San Jose State, Manning having big throwing windows and building his confidence back up is paramount. He needs to fix the delivery issues that plagued his Week 1 performance, and establishing a rapport with his new-look group of Texas pass catchers will also be a top priority. If Manning isn’t dominating San Jose State in a laugher, then we can sound the alarms.
Utah State vs. Texas A&M: The Week 1 plan for Le’Veon Moss was incredibly conservative … will that change in Week 2?
I get it. In his first game back from a torn ACL, Moss played just 14 snaps, 11 of which were on passing downs with 0 snaps in pass protection. He ran the ball 3 times for 19 yards in an aforementioned matchup that stayed a little too close for comfort. You could excuse that to a pass-heavy game plan because Rueben Owens only played 22 snaps, and he led A&M’s backfield with 5 carries (QB Marcel Reed also had 8 carries). Mike Elko said that Moss was going to be at full-go after last November’s ACL tear, but there was clearly a desire to ease him back into things. In another favorable home matchup vs. Utah State, will that change? Or will the All-SEC back have a quiet start to preserve him for the meat of the schedule? I’d bet on the latter with A&M’s backfield depth.
Austin Peay vs. Georgia: Should we expect more running like that from Gunner Stockton?
It’s been a minute since Georgia had a quarterback who had double-digit carries in a game. In fact, Stockton’s 10 carries marked the first time that a UGA quarterback had double-digit rushes in the Kirby Smart era (Hutson Mason was the last one to do so in 2014). That happened in a game against Marshall. Granted, 5 of those runs were by design and 5 were scrambles. It wasn’t totally the intention to have Stockton’s legs on display like that. In another lopsided matchup, will we see Stockton’s number called that often? Or will Mike Bobo perhaps lean on that less to make sure that UGA’s QB1 is at full strength for the start of SEC play? Either way, it appears that a Georgia run game that struggled at times last year will have a new element to it in 2025.
Ole Miss vs. Kentucky: I wonder if Mark Stoops figured something out with Lane Kiffin’s offense last year
It’s the only possible explanation that I can come up with for last year’s most bizarre upset of SEC play. By season’s end, it was even more bizarre than Vanderbilt knocking off No. 1 Alabama. If Kentucky did enough to confuse Jaxson Dart in Oxford — he was throwing jump balls to no one particular late in that game — should we assume that Stoops will be able to do the same against Austin Simmons in his first career road start? We don’t know the answer to that. We do know that Kentucky hasn’t beaten a Power Conference team in Lexington since Ray Davis ran all over Florida in Sept. 2023. If the Cats pull off an upset that feels similar to last year, you had better believe that everyone and their mother will be studying what sort of schematic advantage Stoops found.
East Tennessee State vs. Tennessee: All signs point to an extremely conservative pre-Georgia game plan
As in, let the offensive line build on some Week 1 momentum and utilize that 3-headed rushing attack that took off in Week 1. While there could be another early emphasis for Tennessee to get Joey Aguilar some chances to develop a rapport with his new-look receiver room, I’d still bank on Josh Heupel wanting to keep this game plan mild ahead of Georgia. It’s rare that Tennessee can actually use the art of surprise in that matchup, but now that it’s happening in September for the first time since 2018, Heupel can use that to his advantage with a new starting quarterback in his system.
Kansas vs. Mizzou: Does the Sam Horn injury change how Beau Pribula is used?
It was a brutal development to watch Horn suffer a leg injury in his first snap of 2025. For someone who missed an entire season with Tommy John surgery, the 2-sport quarterback was hoping to at least get some meaningful reps in Mizzou‘s extended QB battle. That’s gone with him reportedly sidelined indefinitely. That means the job is Pribula’s alone, but the question is how it’ll impact the offense. Pribula displayed the wheels that made him a coveted transfer in Week 1. He also looked like the guy who hadn’t quite figured out how to protect himself yet. After all, he was the spark plug backup QB at Penn State. Now that he’s the starter and Mizzou’s backup is true freshman Matt Zollers, it’ll be interesting to see if Kirby Moore and Eli Drinkwitz try to curb Pribula’s running at all. In a rivalry game like Kansas, who has a mobile quarterback of its own in Jalon Daniels, maybe the long-term outlook of Pribula’s rushing will be on the back burner. If nothing else, expect Pribula to do a better job of protecting himself.
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South Florida vs. Florida: We’re gonna get to see what Florida is made of earlier than originally expected
With all due respect to the emerging Alex Golesh, the offseason discussion surrounding Florida’s schedule was that Games 1-2 would be tuneups and Games 3-6 would be a gauntlet. Then all Golesh’s South Florida squad did was drop the hammer on 2024 Playoff participant Boise State, who was a popular Group of 5 pick to return to the field even after losing Ashton Jeanty. Take note of that. USF completely dominated an experienced Boise State offensive line. I already mentioned how bizarre it was that LIU got in Florida’s backfield as often as it did. This will be a true test for a Florida passing game that didn’t have an ideal offseason with injuries. Will it look in sync? Or will this be a 60-minute battle in which South Florida establishes itself as an early-season giant killer? The best version of DJ Lagway will need to show up in Week 2.
Arkansas State vs. Arkansas: Welcome back to the SEC, Butch Jones
For the first time since he was fired at Tennessee in 2017, Butch Jones will take on an SEC foe as a head coach. Cheers to that. Brick by brick, he turned Arkansas State into a respectable Sun Belt program. On the heels of an 8-win season, this will be a somewhat tricky matchup for the Arkansas pass defense, especially in the likely event that Jones wants to swing for the fences in his SEC return. Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor is a 3rd-year starter with 737 career pass attempts at the FBS level. Will the back end of Travis Williams’ defense hold up? It would be a troubling development for a challenging upcoming schedule if this was a game in which Arkansas struggled to get stops. On the bright side, this should be another game in which Taylen Green dominates inferior competition and the result isn’t in doubt late.
South Carolina State vs. South Carolina: Let’s see some Air Noland, please
South Carolina got a nice season-opening victory against Virginia Tech, wherein LaNorris Sellers had some brilliant moments that were similar to what we saw last year. On short rest, one would think he’ll be in for a short day in a favorable matchup against an FCS foe. With all due respect to Luke Doty, who could add depth at quarterback even though he’s spent most of the previous 2 seasons at receiver, I’d rather see Noland get some run. He was a big-time addition in the transfer portal after Ohio State recruited over him to get Alabama enrollee Julian Sayin when Nick Saban retired. Even if Noland isn’t locked in as QB2, this would feel like a valuable time to get him some much-needed experience to see what he’s capable of at this early stage of his career.
Louisiana Tech vs. LSU: Does Blake Baker take his foot off the gas at all?
Against Clemson, it felt like LSU sent blitzes on virtually every play. Cade Klubnik felt the heat, and ultimately, he was ineffective for the majority of the evening. Against Louisiana Tech, who had 2 offensive touchdowns in a 24-0 season-opening win vs. FCS Southeast Louisiana, I can’t imagine that LSU will have to be nearly as aggressive. Then again, that’s what Baker’s defense hung its hat on when he led Mizzou’s 2023 defense. The beauty of LSU’s blitz-heavy ways in the opener was that it didn’t look too risky because of the improvement shown in the secondary, which has been a massive issue in Baton Rouge in the 2020s. Baker might not take his foot off the gas until LSU has put the game away.
Arizona State vs. Mississippi State: The Bulldogs will get torched if they can’t find an answer for Jordyn Tyson
In a post-Cam Skattebo world, Tyson is plenty capable of leading Arizona State’s offense to great things. To be fair, Tyson was a star last year before suffering a late-season injury. In his return in Week 1, he had 12 catches for 141 yards. He’s arguably a top-3 receiver in the sport who would love to capitalize on an unproven Mississippi State defense, which struggled to generate any pressure on the quarterback last year. An inability to that against Sam Leavitt would be problematic, and it would make last year’s 60-minute game between these squads feel like a distant memory.
Michigan vs. Oklahoma: Why is that spread Oklahoma -6? It’s Brent Venables vs. a true freshman QB in his first road start
That sounds disrespectful to Bryce Underwood. It’s not. Also, I don’t make the lines. I do, however, feel like that’s playing a big part in the Sooners being nearly touchdown favorites (via BetMGM). That building will be rocking in Sherrone Moore’s return to his alma mater. Similar to last year when Heupel made his well-documented return to Norman, Michigan will have a freshman quarterback in his first true road start. Unlike Heupel’s return, which proved to be successful, Oklahoma should have more offensive help than when Jackson Arnold was benched before halftime against Tennessee. Time will tell if John Mateer is infinitely better. In the meantime, the safest bet in this one is that Brent Venables and his loaded Oklahoma defense will do plenty of things to confuse a talented, but young, quarterback like Underwood.
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Ball State vs. Auburn: Jackson Arnold isn’t the one who needs his confidence back in the home opener … it’s the Auburn defense
There were some troubling moments at Baylor from a defense with big-time expectations. Granted, that was against a veteran quarterback on the road. Auburn’s early red-zone stand was its most important play of the night, but getting gashed for 419 passing yards does feel like something that needs to be corrected. Fortunately, Auburn will have a chance to do that against a Ball State team that was shut out by lowly Purdue, who held the Cardinals to just 203 yards of total offense. If DJ Durkin’s unit struggles to get stops in the passing game, then it might be a major issue in SEC play.
Vanderbilt vs. Virginia Tech: Facing Diego Pavia on short rest after facing LaNorris Sellers isn’t going to be fun
To be clear, I’m referring to Brent Pry’s defense. They’re the ones who’ll be tasked with containing their second exceptionably mobile SEC quarterback in consecutive weeks. It wasn’t that the Hokies were completely dominated by Sellers, but he still had 61 sack-adjusted rushing yards on 9 carries. His mobility was a problem at different points, just as Pavia’s was last year in the opener in Nashville. That day, Pavia had a season-high 26 (!) rushing attempts for 104 yards in a Vanderbilt upset victory. This could be another empty-the-tank game for Pavia in the likely event that Tim Beck opts to test the stamina of Virginia Tech after the Sunday tilt against Sellers.
Louisiana Monroe vs. Alabama: Lord have mercy if the 2007 reminders are anything more than just an early-game graphic
You thought that Kalen DeBoer losing his 4th game to an unranked foe was bad? Try playing in a dog fight against Louisiana-Monroe, who was infamously Nick Saban’s last loss to an unranked team (in 2007) until 2021 at Texas A&M. If the Tide don’t show up with some bad intentions, DeBoer’s scrutiny will somehow increase after the Week 1 dud at Florida State. Anything other than a loud bounce-back showing would be a troublesome sign for a fading program.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
