And we’re off.

One week is in the books. Well, sort of.

Ole Miss is still going to play on Labor Day on Monday night, and in case you missed it, it’ll be without Lane Kiffin. He tested positive for COVID-19. That was the first thing we learned on Saturday.

But we learned actual onfield things in the SEC as well. Like, more than just “having fans back is totally awesome.” We already knew that.

This is what we learned from every SEC team in the first real college football weekend of 2021:

Alabama: Don’t worry about Bill O’Brien

Context is important here. That was O’Brien’s first game as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. He was facing one of the better defensive minds in the sport in Manny Diaz, who had 9 returning starters on defense. O’Brien’s offense lost 2 receivers in the first half of the first round of the NFL Draft, and it replaced 3 starters on the offensive line.

And Bryce Young set the Alabama record for touchdown passes (4) in his first career start. That was in the bag halfway through the third quarter. Goodness. It was everything Alabama fans could’ve hoped for. Receivers ran open downfield, the tight ends were involved and Young didn’t look overwhelmed. At all. A play after he nearly got called for a safety because of an incomplete pass he attempted in the end zone, this happened:

Note how John Metchie III was used as the decoy on that. Brilliant. O’Brien looked every bit as savvy as Steve Sarkisian. That’s a scary thought for the college football world.

Arkansas: KJ Jefferson the passer? Meh. KJ Jefferson the competitor? Yeah.

I’ll be honest. I thought Jefferson’s first start of 2021 left a lot to be desired. The inefficiency in the passing game was evident all day, especially in the first half, when the offense couldn’t move the chains. His interception was a decision that you cannot make against SEC competition. Drops didn’t help, but Jefferson’s margin for error was slim. With the Razorbacks down 17-7 in the third quarter, I thought Jefferson was a drive away from getting benched.

Instead, he and the Arkansas ground game took over. That fueled 31 unanswered points. The offensive line did the dirty work, but Jefferson stayed composed and ran the Kendal Briles offense with tempo. Jefferson had a second long touchdown run that was taken off the board because of a holding penalty. He struggled, but he responded how you’d hope after a brutal start.

Oh, and yes, Arkansas loses that game with Chad Morris as its head coach.

Auburn: Against inferior competition, it didn’t need to be all Tank Bigsby

Good. It shouldn’t be. Akron is bad. Real bad. Like, the program is now 1-18 dating back to the start of 2019. That was not the game that you should’ve needed Bigsby to get 25 carries just to squeeze out a win. Instead, Bo Nix completed 20 of 22 passes in his first game in Mike Bobo’s offense, Jarquez Hunter hit the century mark filling in for Bigsby late and Derek Mason’s defense was lights out.

Oh, don’t get it twisted. Bigsby still couldn’t really be tackled in a casual 119-yard, 2 touchdown day on the ground. But it was nice to see Shaun Shivers running wide open and making the most of his touches. You knew the Auburn defense was going to have a big day. But you had to see non-Bigsby pieces contribute. In an extremely favorable matchup, that happened.

Florida: Emory Jones isn’t exactly Kyle Trask going through his progressions

It just looked like Jones was a step late on too many reads. He had a bad interception in the red zone, and he telegraphed another pass late working back to the right, which resulted in his second pick of the night. Against FAU, no, that wasn’t great. It also wasn’t great for Jones that Anthony Richardson stepped in and did his best Dak Prescott imitation. We knew it was going to be difficult to replace someone like Trask, but it was evident how different Jones was.

Of course, Jones was still plenty effective with his legs, and Florida really played well up front. Running backs Malik Davis and Dameon Pierce were both excellent. Combine that with Jones, and it was clear that the Gators had an identity with the running game. But efficient, Jones was not. In Year 4, the hope was that he wasn’t going to struggle going through his progressions. I’d say if there were questions about that going into his first career start, those only multiplied on Saturday night.

Georgia: Mercy, that pass rush is championship level

If you don’t believe that, perhaps you missed DJ Uiagalelei getting swallowed whole by that Georgia front 7. It was relentless. Seven times he went down. Whether it was Nakobe Dean shooting through the gap or Adam Anderson coming off the edge or Jordan Davis bull-rushing his way into the backfield, UGA completely dominated Clemson up front.

Two rushing yards allowed was pretty solid, too.

Here’s the thing. Should we expect Georgia to dominate up front and play like its hair is on fire every week? Probably not. But answer this. What offensive line left on that regular-season schedule is going to be able to stop that front 7? If that group stays healthy, it’s going to be a problem. That was reminiscent of the 2017 group, though I’d argue that runner-up team never delivered a single-game performance as impressive as that one. Clemson had the longest active streak in America of avoiding scoreless first halves. That ended Saturday.

And so begins Georgia’s (very realistic) road to end the 1980 jokes.

Kentucky: Yes, the passing game is totally different with Liam Coen

Offseason confirmation bias confirmed. I know, I know. It was Lousiana-Monroe. But Penn State transfer Will Levis had more passing yards in the first half (246) than Kentucky had in any individual game last year. Levis had Kentucky’s first 300-yard game since 2016. That came after he threw an interception on his first throw in a Kentucky uniform, which was a drop from Josh Ali.

Need not worry, though. Ali bounced back with a long touchdown score, as did Wan’Dale Robinson, who took a monster lick on a slant to hit pay dirt. Levis can sling it. That much is clear. Can Kentucky find passing game options outside of Robinson and Ali, who became the first UK duo with 100 receiving yards in the same game since 2011? To be determined. That was exactly the start Kentucky fans were hoping to see from the passing game, but it would’ve been nice to see a 400-yard game from Levis so that Mark Stoops would have to eat a banana with the peel, just as his new quarterback famously did.

LSU: So … wasn’t this supposed to be a new defense?

If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve said that Bo Pelini was still on that LSU sideline. That’s how bad it was for the Tigers in the Rose Bowl. Granted, Eli Ricks had a ridiculous interception, and Derek Stingley had an impressive tackle in the backfield on third down. But man, what has happened to this LSU defense? It still had receivers running open, there were missed tackles, and when it needed to make a stop, there wasn’t any answer. Daronte Jones was supposed to be the difference. Instead, it looked like the Tigers were getting beat up front and still couldn’t tackle in space.

That’s not to take away anything from UCLA. The Bruins look legit in Year 4 of the Chip Kelly era. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is suddenly an intriguing Heisman Trophy candidate, and he has LSU partially to thank for that. LSU couldn’t prevent the chunk plays. The Tigers still seem far too turnover-dependent.

Could things improve? Yeah, but anyone assuming this is still a legitimate Playoff contender has his blinders on.

Mizzou: Blaze Alldredge looks the part

We heard a lot about the Rice transfer this offseason. All he was asked to do was step in for Nick Bolton. You know, as one does. Credit Alldredge for showing up ready to roll in his new, um, role. He had 3.5 sacks, 1 when he shot through the gap untouched and dropped the hammer on Central Michigan quarterback Jacob Sirmon.

Alldredge was a TFL machine at Rice. Steve Wilks needs him to be that guy in this defense, especially behind a Mizzou defensive line that has some questions. Mizzou’s path to having relevance in the East includes Alldredge turning into an All-SEC player. So far, so good.

Also, Tyler Badie getting the majority of the carries and going off like that was awfully important in the post-Larry Rountree era.

MSU: It was 2020 all over again … until it wasn’t

No, I didn’t expect MSU to fall behind Louisiana Tech by 20 points in the 4th quarter. No, I didn’t expect MSU to pull off its biggest comeback in program history, either. Through 3 quarters, it felt very 2020-like with the turnovers and the lack of chunk plays. It’s probably not a good sign that MSU allowed 3 sacks in the first half against Louisiana Tech. Like, a Louisiana Tech team that ranked No. 93 in the nation in sacks in 2020. Yikes. It didn’t matter what kind of front Skip Holtz’s squad had. Just like in 2020, they got home against the Bulldogs while sending only 3. That’s a terrible sign for what awaits on that schedule.

But I’ll say this. I thought MSU’s offensive line blocked well, and a pair of Pac-12 receiver transfers in Jamire Calvin and Makai Polk really made the difference for Will Rogers late. That’s perhaps the difference between last year’s team and this year’s. There is a rhythm that MSU can establish in Year 2 of the Mike Leach era.

South Carolina: Hey, the Zeb Noland situation wasn’t a disaster after all!

I want Shane Beamer to do an infomercial wherein he says, “You too can start a grad transfer at quarterback and win!”

And then there will be super fine print at the bottom of the screen that says “as long as you play a bad FCS team.” Let’s not take anything away from Noland. The guy threw 4 touchdown passes while leading a Power 5 program. Who cares if the former North Dakota State/Iowa State quarterback came into fall camp as a grad assistant? He left it as a capable quarterback who executed some high-percentage throws and helped South Carolina avoid what could’ve been an embarrassing way to start off the Beamer era. No Luke Doty? No Kevin Harris? No worries. Noland did exactly what Beamer could’ve hoped for. And so did the defense and special teams. Beamer Ball indeed.

Tennessee: Joe Milton still has a ton to prove

I say this knowing that Milton played his first game in a new offense. That was as a summer enrollee. And yes, I know that Josh Heupel probably wasn’t about to empty the bag against a Bowling Green team that had the second-worst defense in FBS last year. Having said that, Milton’s first night was telling. He struggled with accuracy after those first few scripted drives. He completed only 1 pass in the entire second half, and it was essentially a 50-50 Hail Mary.

Milton’s got a cannon, and he’s mobile, but I still question the precision and processing skills. After a promising start, it was an underwhelming finish to start No. 1. He has a lot to prove next week against Pitt.

Texas A&M: A&M might have to win ugly for a bit

I say that as a Haynes King believer. I get that it was a 41-10 final score, too. But like with Emory Jones in his debut as a starter, King wasn’t exactly precise with his reads. Against Kent State, which should be a solid Group of 5 team, he didn’t have a lot of drives where he did the heavy lifting with his arm. He made a Johnny Manziel-like scramble to pick up a first down. Chill on the Manziel comps? OK, fair enough. King was fortunate to get some breathing room via the Leon O’Neal Jr. pick-6 to put the game away after it was 13-3 midway through the third quarter. Oh, and Devon Achane is still extremely fast.

What does this mean for A&M? Well, it could be a similar story to 2020 for a bit. The offensive line still looked the part, as did Achane and Isaiah Spiller. The Aggies are good enough — and comfortable enough — to grind away at teams. Something tells me that’ll be a valuable formula in the first month, especially as King becomes more comfortable in Jimbo Fisher’s offense.

Vanderbilt: This could be another winless season

Man, I hate saying that. I really do. I hope Year 1 of the Clark Lea era provides Vandy fans with at least some positive moments. But East Tennessee State is an FCS squad that Vandy beat 39-0 in 2019. That was also the Commodores’ last win. But man, it was ugly offensively on Saturday.

And that was Ken Seals, who was considered one of the saving graces of a winless 2020. New system or not, you can’t get held without a touchdown against an FCS team. Mike Wright came in and wasn’t much better, either. He averaged less than 5 yards per passing attempt, and he didn’t hit 3 yards per carry, either. That was the first time an SEC lost to an FCS team since 2015. Call me crazy, but 0-12 is now seeming all too realistic with nothing but FBS foes left on the schedule.