Week 2 was “nobody is safe Saturday.”

Defending champs? Not safe. Four-touchdown favorites? Not safe. Veteran starting quarterbacks? Not safe.

It was a strange, but eventful Saturday, especially in the SEC.

Here were the biggest SEC takeaways from Week 2:

Yes, Texas is absolutely in the national championship conversation

Some wondered if Texas could go into the Big House and impose its will. Somewhere between Quinn Ewers converting seemingly every 3rd down and Michigan kicking a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter to make a 3-possession game a 3-possession game (that’s really what happened), that question should’ve been answered.

Texas is a national title contender and last year’s title-winner is not.

Both things can be true. If Texas had barely escaped, it would’ve been a different story. Instead, the Longhorns went up 3 scores at halftime and never gave Michigan any reason to believe in the second half. It wasn’t just that Ewers looked every bit like a Heisman Trophy candidate with a new-look group of pass-catchers (it’s worth noting that veteran tight end Gunnar Helm was the go-to guy), or even that the Texas offensive line held up well against the Mason Graham-led Michigan defensive front.

It was the new-look Texas defensive line completely dominating a 1-dimensional Michigan offense. The Wolverines’ 2-quarterback system was held without a touchdown for the first 58 minutes and Michigan didn’t have a run longer than 12 yards all day. Credit Alfred Collins and Co. for winning that battle up front. Any notion that Texas would regress significantly without T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy was put on hold.

The only negative of Texas’ day came when Jaydon Blue hobbled to the sideline with an apparent leg injury in the first half, which would’ve been a brutal development for a team that lost 2 scholarship running backs to season-ending injuries in fall camp. Not only did Blue return to action, but he also caught a swing past and beat Michigan’s defense to the pylon.

Disaster averted, indeed. Michigan wasn’t so fortunate.

Alabama should never schedule USF

Don’t let the final score fool you. In the middle of the 4th quarter, USF decided to settle for a field goal instead of going for it on 4th-and-goal to potentially pull within 21-19 with a 2-point conversion attempt pending. That was all she wrote for the Bulls’ upset bid. Ryan Williams scored the dagger touchdown for Alabama on the subsequent drive and Alabama fans breathed a sigh of relief on Nick Saban Night.

Speaking of Saban, yes, he struggled at USF last year. Yes, the offensive line was terrible in that one. It was also a sloppy game in which the Tide experimented with non-Jalen Milroe quarterback options.

This year, you could argue that Alabama’s offensive line was equally troubling. I’m not sure you can say that Kadyn Proctor’s presence would’ve changed that. The Tide leader, Tyler Booker, attempted to fill in at left tackle. That didn’t go particularly well, which was the story for the vast majority of Alabama’s offensive night.

The Tide had 57 rushing yards entering the 4th quarter. There was zero offensive rhythm for the Tide. Jalen Milroe fumbled a snap under center on the goal line instead of a 14-13 game in the 4th quarter. On a day in which No. 5 Notre Dame lost as a 28-point favorite at home to Northern Illinois, the notion of the Tide losing as a 30-point favorite felt all too real in that moment.

That didn’t happen, but Alabama has a ways to go offensively. Otherwise, that schedule will be even less kind than USF in the last 2 years.

DJ Lagway did everything he could with his opportunity, but …

Do I expect Billy Napier to roll with Lagway if Graham Mertz is healthy? No, I don’t. Maybe I’ll eat my words on that, but all indications are that Napier believes in Mertz and while Lagway will be involved, he isn’t going to supplant the veteran as long as he’s healthy.

The good news for Lagway is that a 456-yard performance was everything Florida fans could’ve hoped for. He showed the upside that everyone has been clamoring about since he committed to Billy Napier. That throw he made to Aidan Mizell while facing pressure was every bit of the 5-star ability on display.

FCS opponent or not, it’s hard not to be enamored with Lagway. You can bet that if Mertz falters at any point, the basements in rural Central Florida (which don’t exist) will be heard loud and clear.

Yeah, Nico Iamaleava is the real deal, but Tennessee’s defense looks the part

Iamaleava was the star of the show on Saturday night in Charlotte, and with good reason. It doesn’t seem fair that someone so talented is executing Josh Heupel’s offense. While his Week 2 showing was mostly positive, he still had a pair of turnovers that were teachable moments in a blowout win. He’s going to continue to dominate the conversation.

But how can you not be impressed with the Tennessee defense? Tim Banks’ unit didn’t allow a touchdown — the lone score was a pick-6 on one of those aforementioned Iamaleava mistakes — for the second consecutive week. The experienced Grayson McCall couldn’t find any sort of offensive rhythm with that Tennessee defensive line setting the table. Go figure that Will Brooks had a pick-6. As in, Tennessee walk-on Will Brooks.

In other words, Tennessee defensive walk-ons have more touchdowns scored than opposing offenses against the Vols. Not too shabby.

Ain’t no (offensive identity) in Oklahoma

Yikes. Lost in the shuffle of Notre Dame’s meltdown and Alabama’s near-meltdown was the fact that Oklahoma was more than a 4-touchdown favorite against Houston and it held on for dear life late. A 16-point effort against a Houston squad that allowed 27 vs. UNLV wasn’t exactly what the Sooners were hoping for after last week’s third-down issues.

We almost witnessed an all-time blunder from the Sooners’ offense in the final minute. Jackson Arnold attempted to kneel out the final seconds, but he had to run off a few extra seconds. While that happened, Houston’s defense got a hit on the Oklahoma quarterback, which set off center Josh Bates. He took his helmet off as he was being separated by his teammates, and he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. That stopped the clock and gave the ball back to Houston with 29 seconds left instead of potentially running out the clock. Oklahoma survived, but it felt indicative of the confusing night that the Sooners had.

Nic Anderson was out once again, but the home-run hitting pass-catcher’s return won’t clear up all of Oklahoma’s issues. Arnold is still learning the ropes as a first-time starter and he’s doing so behind an inexperienced offensive line that can’t establish the interior run game. That’s a problem.

If Sam Pittman’s time at Arkansas ends in 2024, remember that Oklahoma State loss

Man, that was a golden opportunity blown for the Hogs coach. Brutal. As a double-digit underdog at No. 16 Oklahoma State, Pittman watched his team self-combust down the stretch. Ball security issues plagued the Hogs, as did a defense that was remarkable in shutting down Doak Walker Award winner Ollie Gordon, who didn’t have a run longer than 5 yards in the first 3 quarters.

But instead of getting a signature win to cool his hot seat, Pittman cranked up the heat with how his team folded.

It overshadowed not only the impressive day from the Arkansas run defense, but the Hogs ground attack, which held a 233-59 advantage by day’s end. It was exactly what Bobby Petrino and that offensive staff drew up. Ja’Quinden Jackson was brilliant with a 3-touchdown performance, but he dealt with cramps throughout the day.

Pittman’s decision to go for it on 4th-and-4 instead of kicking a 40-yard field goal in a tie game didn’t work out, though it didn’t help that Kyle Ramsey missed a 41-yarder earlier in the 4th quarter.

Either way, Arkansas let a winnable game slip away. Pittman’s future was going to depend on him beating teams that Arkansas wasn’t supposed to beat. That opportunity came and went in a wild, drunken game in Stillwater.

South Carolina’s defense exposed Kentucky’s offense, and it might just expose others

I knew that true freshman Dylan Stewart and the South Carolina defense showed a ton of promise against Old Dominion. That defensive line won a too-close-for-comfort opener. Whether that would continue against Kentucky’s offensive line was a fair question to ask.

By day’s end, nothing was fair about that matchup.

South Carolina had 11 (!) tackles for loss (Kentucky had 12 but that was largely overshadowed by the day that was). It wasn’t just Stewart, though he did work through a triple team to hurry Brock Vandagriff. Debo Williams lived in the backfield, Tonka Hemingway continued to be the anchor of that defensive line and Jalon Kilgore did it all from the defensive backfield.

The Kentucky offensive line looked like an FCS team playing against a vintage Alabama defensive line. Vandagriff didn’t have any time, and when he did get time, he looked so rattled that he couldn’t go through his progressions. It’s the second consecutive week that South Carolina did that to an opposing quarterback. That’s unlike anything we’ve seen from the Gamecocks in a while. We certainly haven’t seen that in the Shane Beamer era.

So now Beamer, who improved to 3-0 against Mark Stoops, will unleash that loaded defensive line against the heralded LSU offensive line next week with College GameDay in Columbia. That’s suddenly one of the more intriguing strength-on-strength matchups of SEC play.

The Gamecocks finally have a defensive front that’s not only SEC-ready, but capable of being a weekly nightmare in conference play.

So about Auburn’s Year 2 offense … woof.

I said a lot of things about Auburn entering Saturday’s matchup vs. Cal. Take a guess which thing I was on the record saying:

  • A) Payton Thorne would show his year-to-year transformation vs. Cal
  • B) Payton Thorne would be the SEC’s most improved player
  • C) Auburn would beat Cal 35-7
  • D) Auburn would go 8-4
  • E) All the above

It’s “E.” It’s always “E.”

That’s an early contender for my worst preseason take. As great as Thorne looked against an FCS team in Week 1, he was equally awful in Week 2 against a “Core 4” team. Yeah, Auburn couldn’t block a soul and the injury at right tackle hurt. Still, though. Thorne was so rattled that the only guarantee by day’s end was that the game would end with him throwing a game-sealing interception.

Hugh Freeze doubled down on Thorne by not ponying up for a portal quarterback. He surrounded Thorne with more weapons and vowed to have more control over the offense after that passing game was a disaster in Year 1.

Yeah … about that. Thorne threw 4 interceptions, and it felt like more. He was lost all day after that opening drive. Thorne was so lost that on his third interception, he didn’t realize that true freshman Cam Coleman was banged up and signaled to come out. It was that kind of day.

It could be that kind of year for Freeze if he doesn’t find some answers because the ground game wasn’t much help (Jarquez Hunter had an atypical fumble while fighting for yardage). Maybe Hank Brown can be that spark for that Auburn offense. Whatever the case, it’s hard to imagine Thorne turning things around after a day that bad in Year 2 of the system.

Luther Burden III left the game, but thankfully, he was just sick

Let’s close with some good news that initially looked like bad news. Burden left the game in the first half after bulldozing his way into the end zone on a rushing score. A Mizzou spokesperson said that Burden was dealing with an illness.

While that’s not ideal, that still feels significantly better than any sort of lower-body injury for the All-American receiver. Mizzou needs their star to be at 100% for the meat of that SEC schedule.

Fingers crossed that Burden is at full go next week.