Take it for what it is.

A week in which 5 of 12 SEC games involved 2 Power 5 teams is rather thin for Week 3, but the good news is that there were still plenty of takeaways. There’s still plenty we needed to figure out. Shoot, we even had a quarterback battle that needed to be decided (shoutout Ole Miss).

Having said that, with 7 SEC games involving pretty favorable matchups, it’s fair to say that we don’t want to look too deep into some of the things we saw in Week 3.

Here’s 1 thing I learned from every SEC team on Saturday:

Alabama — We get to add “pick 6” to Will Anderson’s Heisman Trophy resume

Of all the things Anderson had accomplished in his career, he had never picked off a pass or scored a touchdown. Well, Saturday, changed that:

In a game in which the result was never in doubt, it was a nice bounce-back game for the best defensive player in the sport a week after he had an atypically undisciplined game. At Texas, Anderson committed multiple neutral-zone infractions and had a strange late hit. Did that game wipe him out of the Heisman conversation? It shouldn’t have. Alabama defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry was asked about the pick-6, and he just responded, “Heisman.” I’m in board with that, even if Anderson doesn’t sniff his tackles for loss record from 2021.

Arkansas — The Hogs have major issues in the secondary

I thought against Missouri State, it would be a bounce-back game for an Arkansas secondary that entered Saturday ranked last in the Power 5 against the pass. Instead, we saw Bobby Petrino feast in his return to Fayetteville. For about 3.5 quarters, it looked like Missouri State’s passing game was going to be the difference in a stunning upset. The play-action call Petrino made on 4th and 1 in a tie game in the 3rd quarter resulted in a wide-open 47-yard touchdown catch.

Jason Shelley threw for 357 yards against a Jalen Catalon-less Arkansas secondary. Catalon is out for the year, which is troubling for an Arkansas defense that allowed 3 consecutive 300-yard games to kick off the season. The good news is that Myles Slusher should be back after missing the past 2 games. Still, though. Arkansas’ defense feels like it’s far too reliant on sacks to slow down the passing game. That has to improve, or else that top-10 ranking will be short-lived.

Auburn — Those preseason concerns were all legitimate

Bad quarterback play? An unreliable offensive line? Inexperienced play-calling? A lack of depth on the defensive line? Auburn had it all. Granted, I’d be lying if I said I thought Saturday’s loss to Penn State would be a 29-point defeat. Saturday was a reminder that going 2-0 against Mercer and San Jose State is just that. You can be minus-4 in turnover margin against them. You can’t do that against Penn State. But it wasn’t just the turnovers. Penn State’s offensive line took over that game.

Auburn isn’t suddenly going to flip the script if Robby Ashford gets the keys to the offense. He’s a work in progress. The issue is that the Tigers’ offensive inconsistency is going to put too much pressure on that defense. Auburn lacks depth and talent. That’s a daunting thought as SEC play is set to begin.

Florida — The Gators are still dealing with an identity crisis on offense

I thought USF would be a chance for Florida to move past last week’s dud against Kentucky with a comfortable win. Instead, the Gators needed to dig deep just to survive as a 24-point favorite. Yikes. Anthony Richardson still lacked touch, Billy Napier lacked a lot of those high-percentage throws in the game plan and the Gators were perhaps a clean field-goal hold from overtime. For the 2nd consecutive week, it felt like Napier couldn’t get Richardson in rhythm, and it came at a detriment to a running offense that had momentum.

I didn’t understand the goal-line fade decision. At all. Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson Jr. probably didn’t, either. I get the desire to have balance, but it felt like Florida needed to continue relying on the run and trust that it would open up some big throwing windows off play-action. That didn’t happen. Now an offense lacking an identity will be tasked with keeping pace with the high-octane Tennessee offense.

Georgia — Brock Bowers told you where you can stick that “sophomore slump” narrative

No, I didn’t just learn that Bowers was a freak of a human being. I did, however, wonder if he was fully healthy and capable of one-upping his ridiculous true freshman season. Bowers had 5 catches for 95 yards in his first 2 games, both of which were blowouts in which he wasn’t needed in the 2nd half. On Saturday, Bowers looked every bit like his 2021 self. Dare I say, he looked even better. He had 3 touchdowns before he got an early rest. That came via a goal-line fade, a reverse run and a 78-yard score in which he made 2 defenders miss downfield.

Bowers is in Week 3 of his sophomore season, and he already has 17 career touchdowns (15 receiving and 2 rushing). Mind you, A.J. Green had 23 in his 3 seasons in Athens. Bowers is already halfway to UGA’s career touchdown catch record (30). If he plays like he did on Saturday, he could be looking at that by the end of the regular season.

Kentucky — Chris Rodriguez Jr.’s return date is set

We found out that the suspended Kentucky tailback will return for the Ole Miss game on Oct. 1. Rodriguez’s return date has been unknown throughout the offseason. Mark Stoops didn’t detail what the off-field issue was exactly, just that it wasn’t related to the DUI that Rodriguez was arrested for earlier in the offseason.

Whatever the case, Rodriguez’s return will be huge for a Kentucky team that has had inconsistent production in the ground game. Even in a blowout win against Youngstown State, the Cats were at less than 2 yards per carry midway through the 2nd quarter. That was a week removed from a slow start running the ball in the victory in The Swamp. Rodriguez and his remarkable ability to run through contact will be welcomed with open arms.

LSU — That offensive identity might’ve just come together in the 4th quarter

With LSU down 16-10 and set to punt, I was prepared to write something about why the Tigers’ only offense was hoping that Jayden Daniels could make something happen with his legs once the play broke down. But after MSU muffed that punt, it’s almost as if LSU find out who it was. After an 0-for-8 start on 3rd down, Daniels found something reliable with Malik Nabers with those out-routes. And when the Tigers needed the backfield to finally get rolling late, Armoni Goodwin did just that.

Brian Kelly said afterward that LSU has fighters. He’s right. As embarrassing as that FSU ending was, his team nearly pulled off a remarkable comeback on that night when it looked like the offense was left for dead. The Tigers might have their issues with teams who can pressure the quarterback without sending extra blitzers, but we saw a nice run-pass balance late that should translate well in SEC play.

Mizzou — There’s nothing we’ve seen that suggests the Tigers are ready for SEC play

With all due respect to Eli Drinkwitz, his team put together a pretty lackluster showing for the 2nd consecutive week. After getting waxed by Kansas State, the Mizzou offense again looked stagnant. Some of the late rushing efforts skewed those numbers. Against an FCS foe, the Tigers struggled to create those running lanes. The long touchdown to Dominic Lovett was one of the few offensive bright spots offensively. Luther Burden did get more touches, though his best came on a perfectly blocked punt return TD.

It’s hard to trust any 1 element of this Mizzou team. It’s not just Brady Cook, either. He actually played perfectly fine. But the scheme and the lack of dominant ground game showings suggest this team could have a tough time finding any sort of identity in SEC play, which begins next week with a game at Auburn.

MSU — There are offensive line issues after all

I know, I know. The special teams were horrendous, too. But I thought MSU’s tackles consistently getting beat was the biggest issue. BJ Ojulari lived in the backfield, and Will Rogers had no time to throw. Two new starting tackles got their tails whipped. We talked a lot about how it was promising that MSU allowed only 3 sacks through its first 2 games. But PFF had Kwatrivous Johnson as the SEC’s lowest-graded tackle in pass protection.

MSU was hopeful that replacing Charles Cross would be a relatively seamless transition. Saturday was perhaps an early indicator of what’ll happen to the Bulldogs against teams that can get pressure off the edge.

Ole Miss — Jaxson Dart is QB1 … but Lane Kiffin still doesn’t seem sold

Dart played every meaningful snap outside of 1 play in which he came to the sidelines. That told you a lot about the Ole Miss quarterback situation and where Luke Altmyer stands. Kiffin has been reluctant to name a starter, and if you watched the few passing situations Dart got in a lopsided win, you saw why there’s still some skepticism. Ole Miss threw the ball only 4 times on its first 30 plays, in large part because the ground game is still so dominant.

Dart’s interception late in the 1st half had Kiffin noticeably frustrated. He didn’t like the decision, and Kiffin told ESPN’s Tom Luginbill that he “did the talking.” Dart is the more talented quarterback, but his decision-making remains an issue, even in a small sample size. The good news? Kiffin’s ground game is phenomenal, and after losing co-defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin to Texas A&M, that group has been rock solid so far. But Kiffin’s body language and the play-calling suggest he’s not satisfied with his new QB1.

South Carolina — The Gamecocks are still light years away from winning the East

That’s the harsh reality of watching Georgia come into your building and do that. You would’ve thought that maybe a Bulldogs team with 8 new defensive starters would perhaps be ripe for the picking, especially in the 1st true road game of the season. Yeah, about that. It wasn’t any 1 thing. Yeah, Spencer Rattler forced too many throws, and the lone offensive highlights of the day (while it was close) were Rattler’s dime to con the left sideline and Kai Kroeger’s fake punt toss. Yikes.

Yes, South Carolina was without 5 defensive starters heading into the day, and things didn’t get any better once Nick Emmanwori left with an injury. Like, they instantly got worse. Bowers promptly ripped off a 78-yard touchdown with a safety out of position. It was that kind of day for Shane Beamer’s program. It couldn’t even get the students out of the end zone. The ultimate good vibes program this offseason is now faced with a pivotal juncture after a pair of humbling losses.

Tennessee — Hangover/sleeper games aren’t a thing for the Vols (at least not yet)

Hey, don’t take wins for granted. Ask Florida, Arkansas and A&M about that. Victories aren’t easy to come by for everyone. With Tennessee’s offense, though, it sure looks like it. After a physical overtime victory on the road against Pitt, there wasn’t any hangover, nor was there any looking ahead to Florida next week. There wasn’t a lack of urgency, and that Hendon Hooker-Jalin Hyatt connection is continuing to improve (he has already matched his 2021 catch total). And defensively, the Vols got after DJ Irons and prevented any sort of ground attack from developing.

That was a positive development for Josh Heupel, who led a Tennessee team with its highest AP Top 25 ranking (No. 15) since everything fell apart in the 2nd half of that Georgia game in 2020. Nothing looks like it’s falling apart for this Tennessee team.

Texas A&M — Bounce-back win? Sure, but A&M’s offensive woes are still there

Credit the Aggies’ defense for playing bend-don’t-break and standing tall in the red zone with a short-handed group. Beating Miami and avoiding a 1-2 start was the only priority. Having said that, Max Johnson’s presence didn’t exactly turn around the Aggies’ offensive mojo. It was still stagnant for most of the night against Kevin Steele’s defense. Johnson took what the defense was giving to him, but he didn’t necessarily open up new things.

The Aggies are going to continue to be dependent almost exclusively on Ainias Smith to move the chains and Devon Achane to hit home-run plays. It’s as simple as that. Johnson won’t have Haynes King’s mobility, but he is at least a bit more decisive. Failing to record 300 yards of offense again doesn’t suggest SEC play will be a picnic, but the good news? A&M is about to face an Arkansas defense that allowed 300-yard passing games to all 3 quarterbacks it has faced so far.

Vanderbilt — AJ Swann is now QB1

After Swann came in for Mike Wright after an ineffective start against Northern Illinois, it was by no means considered a permanent move. Wright was excellent in Vandy’s first 2 games, and on top of that, he’s a captain. Yet Clark Lea made the surprising decision to roll with a true freshman starter against Northern Illinois. Even crazier? Vandy showed up and looked the part in a road game against last year’s MAC champions. It helped that NIU starter Rocky Lombardi went down in this one, but Swann was phenomenal all day.

It has been a minute since we’ve seen a Vandy quarterback do something like that. It looks like Lea has his guy.

Oh! And everything from this point is gravy because Vandy hit the over on 2.5 regular-season wins.