Yuck.

That’s the only way to describe a week for the SEC wherein it felt like it was lackluster showing after lackluster showing. Upset losses? Yep. Alabama and Texas A&M took care of that. Underwhelming performances against inferior foes? You bet. Kentucky and Mizzou took care of that.

That meant there was plenty to learn from Week 2.

Here’s 1 thing I learned about every SEC team:

Alabama — It turns out, it was fair to have all of that preseason Alabama skepticism

Many wondered if this was Alabama’s revenge tour after it was ranked outside of the top 3 in the preseason AP Poll for the first time since 2009. And of course, others wondered if this was the beginning of the end for Alabama. It certainly felt like more of the latter. A 10-point loss at home against Texas marked the first time the Tide fell in Tuscaloosa since 2019, which snapped the nation’s longest home winning streak. Shoot, that was Alabama’s first loss in nonconference play since 2007.

All of that skepticism about Alabama’s quarterback situation was confirmed by the struggles of Jalen Milroe, who could’ve had more help from his offensive line. Still, though. His 2 interceptions were costly, as were the 10 penalties for 90 yards. A lack of discipline, much like we saw throughout last year, was the difference. That included tackling miscues and breakdowns in coverage. AD Mitchell somehow still got loose even after what he did to Alabama in the national championship 2 years ago. Speaking of that, only 2 teams have ever made the Playoff after losing a September game. The only silver lining for the Tide after getting humbled by Texas is that the SEC West looks completely up for grabs.

Arkansas — The Rocket Sanders-less offense is ________.

“Underwhelming.”

It was a slow offensive day for the Hogs without their stud tailback. Sure, Arkansas still had a 172-26 rushing advantage on the day, but the Hogs struggled to string scoring drives together. Once again, the offensive line concerns that Sam Pittman expressed throughout the offseason were on display early before the ground game did the heavy lifting later on. Beaux Limmer and Brady Latham, who returned on Saturday after missing Week 1, are the anchors of this group.

On the bright side, KJ Jefferson is still as good as there is with improvising. As long as he’s healthy — Arkansas probably would’ve preferred a few less rushing attempts for the big fella — he’ll keep the Hogs competitive.

Auburn — Eugene Asante needs to be accounted for

Lord knows Cal didn’t account for the Auburn linebacker. On a night in which Auburn needed its defense to step up, Asante was everywhere. It felt like he lived in the Cal backfield with plays like this:

The former UNC transfer had 12 tackles, 9 of which were solo, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, 2 QB hits and 1 pass breakup. That game was begging for someone to take over, and Asante took that task on. He and Mississippi State linebacker Jett Johnson will have quite the case to be made for SEC Defensive Player of the Week. If Auburn’s defense is going to show up like that — it also helped Auburn that Cal running back Jadyn Ott suffered an injury — it’ll have a much better shot of handling this gauntlet start to SEC play.

Florida — Billy Napier didn’t forget about his best asset

That is, Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne. A week after that elite running back duo got just 10 carries for 31 yards in the loss to Utah, Napier made sure there wasn’t a repeat of that against McNeese. They combined for 203 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 carries. Getting them more involved and not having Graham Mertz throw the ball 44 times was obvious given the opponent, but it was important for Napier to get that new-look offensive line some confidence. Will that carry over against a veteran Tennessee defense? It seems like the Gators’ best shot at avoiding their first home loss to the Vols in 20 years.

Georgia — Dillon Bell at RB needs to be a thing

Much has been made about UGA’s atypical depth issues at running back. Injuries and perhaps a lack of a superstar at the position have many wondering who’ll emerge. So why not get a little outside help? Bell, a former high school running back turned receiver, might be that guy. After he lined up in the backfield 2 times in last week’s opener, he looked excellent getting his first career carries on Saturday. He picked up a first down on his first career carry, and he one-upped that with a highlight reel 21-yard scamper for 6.

Yeah, Georgia needs a little more of that in the backfield. So what if Bell was expected to be a deep threat? The Dawgs have perhaps their deepest receiver room ever, even with Ladd McConkey dealing with a back injury (Mekhi Mews is a thing).  Plus, imagine the possibilities of Bell running wheel routes. As Georgia seeks a replacement to the Kenny McIntosh element of the offense, why can’t Bell give the Dawgs a receiving threat as a pass-catcher out of the backfield?

Kentucky — This offense has to figure things out ASAP

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Liam Coen’s return to Lexington was met with great anticipation, but so far, slow starts plagued Kentucky’s offense. It was fortunate to get a touchdown late in the first half against an FCS foe. Devin Leary still looked uncomfortable for the majority of the day. Coen wanted to get him in a rhythm, which was why he had 25 (!) attempts in the first half. Tayvion Robinson saved the day after that sluggish start, but still. In Kentucky’s 2 most favorable matchups of the year, the offensive starters were out there to close the game. That’s not the way you draw it up. Drops, overthrows and a lack of urgency cannot continue of the Cats hope to keep their heads above water in SEC play.

LSU — Logan Diggs might be exactly what the backfield needs

The Notre Dame transfer was unavailable in the season-opening loss to Florida State, but he was plenty available on Saturday night against Grambling State. He racked up 115 rushing yards in his LSU debut. A week after LSU struggled to get much of anything out of its running backs against FSU, Diggs led the way for a 302-yard rushing day. Sure, it was a much different opponent, but LSU will take what it can get when it comes to establishing the non-Jayden Daniels element of the running game. There’s a reason why he was such a big post-spring addition. Diggs battled injuries throughout the offseason. He’s got potential to take RB1 duties and run with them.

Mississippi State — So this really isn’t the Mike Leach Air Raid

Jordan Rodgers said on the broadcast that Will Rogers probably had his fewest passing attempts (17) in a game since Pop Warner football. Here’s something: Under Mike Leach, Rogers started 32 games and he attempted at least 30 passes in every one of them. In 2 games with the Kevin Barbay offense, Rogers attempted 29 and 17 passes. That’s … different. Rogers said on the SEC Network broadcast afterward that he “politely” asked Barbay to put the ball in his hands in overtime. That led to a well-designed screen to Jeffery Pittman, who hauled in the go-ahead score. It’s wild that Mississippi State is now running an offense in which it attempted 3 times as many running plays (39) as it had completed passes.

Welcome to the new age.

Mizzou — This offense has Luther Burden and not much else

A 23-point showing against Middle Tennessee wasn’t exactly a sign that Mizzou has turned the page offensively under Kirby Moore. Brady Cook doesn’t look like someone who has taken the next step. He looks like he lacks confidence, whether he’s deep in his own territory trying to escape pressure or whether he’s targeting Burden (he under-threw him twice downfield and overthrew him once on a quick-hitter). There’s so little confidence in Cook that Mizzou punted the ball on 4th-and-1 from the Middle Tennessee 44-yard line. Mizzou was fortunate that Nathaniel Peat was completely uncovered on a 49-yard score, and it avoided disaster thanks in part to a questionable defensive pass interference call that allowed Mizzou to run out the clock. But it’s perfectly fair to be worried about this offense against Power 5 defenses.

Ole Miss — Jaxson Dart grew up in a big way

I know. It wasn’t a perfect game. He had a receiver fall down on an interception. Ideally, Ole Miss wouldn’t have been in a dog fight late against a Group of 5 team (a darn good one) that was starting a backup quarterback with Michael Pratt out. But on 4th-and-4, clinging to a 3-point lead, Lane Kiffin trusted his quarterback to make a play, and boy did Dart deliver. He escaped a free rusher off the edge and instead of just turning to his legs like he’s often done in that spot, he kept his eyes up and found former USC teammate Michael Trigg.

I made a big deal this offseason about Dart’s splits for unranked foes vs. ranked foes. Given how bottled up Quinshon Judkins was most of the night, to me, that was the most impressed I’ve been with Dart in his career as a starter.

South Carolina — The offensive line (mostly) responded as one would’ve hoped

A week after allowing a whopping 9 sacks against UNC, South Carolina’s offensive line had 1 obvious task in a favorable matchup against Furman — keep Spencer Rattler clean. It did that. He didn’t get sacked. As a result, he diced up the Furman defense. He completed 25-of-27 passes for 345 yards and 3 TDs, and he looked much more comfortable than he did last week. Good. He should. If South Carolina couldn’t block against an FCS foe, Rattler’s long-term health would’ve been an even bigger question mark.

That was the good news. The bad news? South Carolina ran for 2.8 yards per carry and it didn’t have a run longer than 16 yards. The ground game looks like it’ll be a liability all year. It certainly looks like it’ll be a liability next week at Georgia.

Tennessee — Those explosive passing plays still aren’t there

Remember last year when the Vols led the nation with 27 passing plays of 40 yards? Well, this year’s squad doesn’t have that gear. At least not yet. Last week, Ramel Keyton hauled on the lone long passing play of the day, though that came after he dropped Joe Milton’s best throw of the night. Milton had a 43-yard touchdown pass on Saturday against Austin Peay, but it was a dump-off to McCallan Castles, who did the rest of the work. Drops didn’t help Milton, but it’s clear that this passing game isn’t clicking on all cylinders yet. An underwhelming showing ahead of Florida should’ve served as a reminder that the Vols have a long ways to go to live up to last year’s explosive group.

Texas A&M — A&M is a lifetime removed from having the nation’s top pass defense

It was awful. You had coverage busts, miscommunication, penalties and just about every other negative thing that a secondary can do. Miami threw the ball all over the yard, and A&M’s secondary was a liability all night. The No. 1 pass defense in America certainly looked like it missed Jaylon Jones and Antonio Johnson. If A&M doesn’t get pressure with that talented defensive line, those corners are going to be exposed. Period. That’s a major issue. The Aggies looked completely unprepared, and a veteran quarterback like Tyler Van Dyke took advantage. It’s too bad because that performance overshadowed an impressive day from Conner Weigman. A&M might find itself in plenty of shootouts in 2023.

Vanderbilt — This run defense is a problem

In Vandy’s first matchup against a Power 5 foe, it was gashed in the ground game. Badly. Surrendering 288 rushing yards to Wake Forest and its new-look offense wasn’t what Clark Lea had in mind. Sure, it was a weird start with the weather delay, but Vandy couldn’t get off the field. Wake Forest converted 10-of-15 on third down, and honestly, that final score could’ve been more lopsided if not for a fumble on the goal line that took a touchdown off the board. Hawaii and Alabama A&M were never really going to test this group up front. Perhaps part of those struggles could be attributed to the amount of help that Vandy needs in the secondary and Wake Forest took advantage of some favorable fronts. Still, though. That looks like it’ll be an issue in SEC play.