Midseason SEC title contenders and pretenders

Only one SEC team remains undefeated in what has been a wild and unexpected beginning to SEC play. That one team, Texas, was playing in a completely different conference last year.

We have already seen marquee matchups, blowouts, upsets and Vanderbilt sporting a better SEC record than preseason top 10 teams Ole Miss, Missouri and Vanderbilt.

All this has occurred in just three weeks of conference play, meaning there are still many twists and turns yet to come.

The SEC contenders' image has gotten clearer as elite teams begin to separate themselves from the pretenders.

Contenders

No. 1 Texas

The fact that the main issue for Texas so far has been determining which of their quarterbacks is more elite shows how good of a start the Longhorns have enjoyed.

Texas picked up an early marquee win after traveling to The Big House and making quick work of the Wolverines.

Junior starting quarterback Quinn Ewers got hurt the following week in a win over UTSA, allowing hyped-up redshirt freshman Arch Manning to get some playing time.

In a little over a half of play, Manning completed 75% of his passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns, while adding an un-Manning-like 67-yard touchdown run. The future of the Longhorns program is in good hands.

Manning started the next two games before Ewers returned for the Red River Rivalry last weekend, where they made light work of fellow SEC debutant Oklahoma.

With a roster stacked top-to-bottom with blue-chip recruits and talented transfers, Texas has quickly established itself as a favorite, if not THE favorite, to win the conference.

Texas will learn very quickly whether they can make a run at the SEC crown next week as they welcome No. 5 Georgia to Austin for their first matchup as conference opponents.

Speaking about Georgia…

No. 5 Georgia

The Bulldogs get the benefit of the doubt as an elite SEC team. Their 29-game winning streak got snapped in the SEC championship last year following back-to-back national championships.

However, the Georgia team we have seen for the most part in 2024 is not one that will make a championship run.

They looked absolutely dominant once again in a season-opening win over Clemson, and narrowly lost to Alabama in what was arguably the game of the year (decade?)

Georgia’s other games have not been nearly as impressive. They barely escaped with a one-point win over Kentucky and needed second-half explosions to put away Auburn and Mississippi State. Those three teams have a combined SEC record of 1-9.

The main reason they get the benefit of the doubt is… because this happens every year. They eked out narrow wins in games they were expected to dominate against Missouri in 2022, and both South Carolina and Auburn in 2023. They seem to sleepwalk through the first half of every season, not flipping the switch until mid-October.

The difference this year is they already have a loss, which diminishes the margin for error.

Head coach Kirby Smart will continuously field elite teams, but with an upcoming visit to Austin, Texas, now would be a pretty good time to flip that switch.

No. 8 LSU

LSU appeared poised for a disappointing year after a season-opening loss to USC.

Now, after five straight wins, including an epic overtime win over then-No. 9 Ole Miss last weekend, LSU is right back in the contender tier.

Junior quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw a game-tying touchdown pass with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation.

Nussmeier’s next pass was a 25-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver Kyren Lacy to win the game after LSU’s defense held Ole Miss to a field goal.

Nussmeier was issued a tall task in replacing Heisman-winner Jayden Daniels and has looked the part while throwing for 1,989 yards with 18 touchdowns and six picks.

The Tigers still have upcoming tests against No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 7 Alabama and will need to win one of the two to remain in the SEC race.

Pretenders

No. 7 Alabama

Perhaps this is an example of recency bias, but the Alabama we have seen the last two weeks will not compete with the top dogs (dawgs?) of the SEC.

They may not even be able to compete with the bottom tier.

Three weeks ago, freshman receiver Ryan Williams scored one of the most electric catch-and-run touchdowns we will ever see to give Alabama a lead they wouldn’t relinquish against then-No. 1 Georgia.

Alabama would leap to No. 1 following the epic win.

Two weeks ago, Vanderbilt defeated the Crimson Tide in an upset of monumental proportions. Alabama could not stop the running game of the Commodores, who controlled the ball for over 40 minutes to create one of the most surprising upsets in college football history.

Last weekend, Alabama needed a last-minute two-point conversion hold to survive South Carolina and prevent Tuscaloosa from descending into complete anarchy.

New head coach Kaleb Deboer was given the impossible job of replacing Nick Saban and continuing Alabama’s tradition of being nothing short of “the standard.”

They were dominant in their out-of-conference slate, which included a 42-10 win at Wisconsin.

However, they have looked like a shell of themselves following the win over Georgia, and appear to have lost all of their early-season mojo.

Alabama desperately needs to rediscover that mojo with their next three games against ranked opponents.

No. 14 Texas A&M

The only SEC team at this point to win three conference matchups without a loss? Mike Elko’s Texas A&M Aggies, putting them alone at the top of the conference.

Much like LSU, Texas A&M suffered a season-opening defeat against a ranked out-of-conference opponent in then-No. 7 Notre Dame before rattling off five straight wins.

The Aggies’ most recent win in the streak was a 41-10 annihilation of then-No. 9 Missouri which saw them jump 10 spots in the following AP poll.

However, included in that win streak were one-score games against Arkansas and Group of 5 opponent Bowling Green.

The offense of Texas A&M has lulled at times this season, potentially because former No. 1 QB prospect and incumbent starter Conner Weigman injured his shoulder in their season-opening loss.

Weigman returned for the Missouri game, which ended up being the best offensive showing of the season for the Aggies as well as Weigman’s best showing of his Aggie career.

Texas A&M has upcoming games against LSU and Texas and will need Weigman to remain in form if they have hopes of contending in the SEC.

Alex Perez is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.