The SEC had a strong start to the 2021 season, as 12 of the 14 teams opened with a win last week. The only schools that started 0-1 were LSU and Vanderbilt.
Most of the Week 2 action will be more non-conference matchups, so it will be an opportunity for the SEC to again showcase its dominance. And there are likely to be some lopsided wins on the slate.
ESPN’s Bill Connelly shared his SP+ projections for Week 2 on Wednesday, which should give us an idea of what to potentially expect. The SP+ model is an “opponent- and tempo-adjusted look at the most sustainable and predictive aspects of college football” that is “intended to be predictive and forward-facing,” per Connelly.
Here are the SP+ projections for the scores of this week’s SEC contests:
Auburn 63, Alabama State 0
Pittsburgh 25, Tennessee 24
South Carolina 31, East Carolina 26
Florida 42, USF 13
Texas A&M 35, Colorado 17
Georgia 33, UAB 12
Alabama 67, Mercer 0
NC State 28, Mississippi State 23
Texas 32, Arkansas 24
Ole Miss 50, Austin Peay 15
Kentucky 30, Missouri 22
LSU 46, McNeese State 13
Colorado State 27, Vanderbilt 22
Based on these projections, Kentucky will become the first SEC team this season to notch a conference victory. However, it appears the host Wildcats may end up playing a close game against Missouri in a battle of SEC East rivals.
If these predictions are accurate, then there would be 8 SEC teams that start the season 2-0.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
