SEC rankings: Ole Miss moves up

In all our infinite wisdom, those that cover SEC football had a hard time picking between Alabama and Auburn as the favorite in the Western Conference during the preseason.

One-quarter of the way through the regular season, however, Ole Miss has established itself as the best in the SEC West ... and also best in the entire conference.

The Rebels' victory at Alabama made a statement. They were good enough to go up 43-24 midway through the fourth quarter and resilient enough to hold off a late Crimson Tide rally and finish the victory.

As for Auburn, the Tigers have issues at quarterback and with a defense that is not playing up to expectations with Will Muschamp now directing that unit. One week after managing to escape an upset bid by Jacksonville State, the Tigers were no match for LSU.

The balance of power in the SEC remains in the West. But that division has been shuffled.

No. 14

Vanderbilt (1-2, 0-1)

Commodores quarterback Johnny McCrary put up big numbers and probably gained some confidence in a strong performance against Austin Peay, but things will change this week with a trip to Ole Miss.

Only five of McCrary's 33 passes fell incomplete against Austin Peay's overmatched defense. His 84.8 completion percentage is the fourth-best by an SEC quarterback with at least 30 attempts. Florida's Tim Tebow holds the record at 88.6.

In addition to 368 passing yards (seventh-best in school history), McCrary also ran for 41 yards and another touchdown. More importantly, he avoided mistakes and turnovers in the red zone that plagued the Vanderbilt offense in two losses.

Of course, the level of competition changes dramatically this week when the Commodores make their first road trip of the season to Ole Miss, which is coming off a huge win at Alabama.

Next up: Ole Miss, at Oxford

No. 13

South Carolina (1-2, 0-2)

These are tough days for the artist formerly known as the Head Ball Coach.

When Georgia blitzed South Carolina last Saturday, it marked the first time the Gamecocks lost their first two SEC games since 2008. And it wasn't even close.

"We got clobbered," Spurrier said.

Yes, they did.

Former walk-on Perry Orth started his first college game after Connor Mitch suffered a sprained shoulder a week earlier against Kentucky. Orth scored on a bootleg late in the first half to give South Carolina a 17-10 lead but things faded afterward.

Orth finished just 6-of-17 passing for 66 yards. Freshman Lorenzo Nunez played quite a bit at quarterback and was used largely as a runner.

Right now, none of the Gamecocks' options at quarterback look very appealing.

Next up: Central Florida, at Columbia

No. 12

Kentucky (2-1, 0-1)

After breaking a 22-game road losing streak with a victory at South Carolina the previous Saturday, the Wildcats wanted to make a statement by snapping a longer losing streak against Florida.

But that streak continued.

Kentucky's offense never got untracked against Florida's fast, physical defense. Junior quarterback Patrick Towles was sacked six times and intercepted twice. He completed just 8 of 24 passes for 126 yards.

Towles had been sacked only twice in two previous games this season.

"Patrick has done some very good things," said Kentucky coach Mark Stoops. "I'm not going to throw Patrick under the bus. ... Florida was very disruptive defensively. There were some issues. We knew that going into the game."

Credit Kentucky's defense for holding up its end of the bargain.

Next up: Missouri, at Lexington

No. 11

Arkansas (1-2, 0-0)

Since arriving as Razorbacks coach, Bret Bielema has tried to bring some confidence and swagger to the program by saying what's on his mind.

Sometimes it works. Sometimes his words come back to haunt him.

Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury took offense to comments made by Bielema during a summer convention in front of Texas high school coaches. At the convention, Bielema suggested that high school programs not run so much of the spread offense.

Kingsbury is a big believer in the fast-paced, spread offense, and used it to his advantage in Texas Tech's 35-24 win at Arkansas.

"Unfortunately, we lost to a good football team," Bielema said.

With the Razorbacks hitting conference play this week, they're about to compare notes with some other good football teams.

Next up: Texas A&M, at Arlington, Texas

No. 10

Tennessee (2-1, 0-0)

A week after the Vols' passing offense struggled in a double-overtime loss to Oklahoma, Josh Dobbs worked out the kinks by completing 12 of his first 13 passes as Tennessee mauled outmanned Western Carolina.

UT went into the game with the mindset of getting Dobbs and the receivers off to a fast start. It worked.

"We wanted to get him going early," said Vols coach Butch Jones. "I thought Josh did a good job of managing the game and making good decisions with the football."

UT threw on four of its first five plays against Western Carolina, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Preston Williams.

The Vols also found out a new way to get the ball into the hands of Alvin Kamara, who had a punt return for a touchdown. A week earlier, Kamara did not get the expected number of touches in the Oklahoma game.

Next up: Florida, at Gainesville.

No. 9

Florida (3-0, 1-0)

Jim McElwain didn't inherit a great deal of offensive talent when he took over as Florida's head coach.

Where defensive talent is concerned, it's a different matter.

The Gators registered six quarterback sacks and two interceptions in a 14-9 win at Kentucky, extending their winning streak over the Wildcats to 29 games, the longest active winning streak over an opponent in the nation.

"The defense obviously stepped up and played really good," McElwain said. "... These guys were into this game and played their hearts out. I'm awfully proud of them."

Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who missed the East Carolina game a week earlier with a leg injury, had an interception and 53-yard return that set up quarterback Will Grier's 1-yard touchdown keeper.

Next up: Tennessee, at Gainesville

No. 8

Missouri (3-0, 0-0)

It's becoming clearer by the game that the Tigers are going to have to win ugly.

Through three games, they've done exactly that. Their 9-6 squeaker over UConn was more survival than victory.

Missouri sealed the win when Anthony Sherrils intercepted a pass on a fake field goal — a bad fake field goal — with under a minute left.

UConn telegraphed the fake and Sherrils was there to pick off a pass intended for a tight end that had released off the line at the snap of the ball.

With the Tigers entering a stretch of six straight SEC games, they need to find some offense in a hurry. Quarterback Maty Mauk completed 14 of 22 passes for 145 yards with an interception.

"We can't come out sluggish," he said. "You can drive all you want and put up yards but if you're not scoring points, that's what it comes down to."

Next up: Kentucky, at Lexington

No. 7

Mississippi State (2-1, 0-1)

The numbers just keep piling up for Dak Prescott.

In the Bulldogs 62-13 squashing of outmanned Northwestern State, Prescott became the school's all-time leader in passing yardage. He now has 6,382 yards, moving ahead of Wayne Madkin's previous mark of 6,336.

"It's all cool," Prescott said. "I really don't think about the records I've broken or what it really means. We've still got a long year to go."

While he was throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns, Prescott also ran for 54 yards, including a 42-yarder before halftime that set up a touchdown.

"He's a program-changing player," said State coach Dan Mullen. "And I say that not just in what he does on the field, but also off the field. ... We have a player that is a national household name."

Next up: Auburn, at Auburn.

No. 6

Auburn (2-1, 0-1)

At the outset of the season, many proclaimed Jeremy Johnson as one of the rising stars even though he lacked experience as Auburn's quarterback.

After three games, including the Tigers' 45-21 disaster at LSU, Johnson's starting status has been called into question. His performance at Tiger Stadium produced just 100 passing yards and 141 yards in total offense.

With coach Gus Malzahn saying the staff "is going to evaluate everything," Johnson is certainly under the microscope.

Although Malzahn insists he is able to adapt his offense to fit a talented quarterback's skill set, it is clear that Johnson's unwillingness to run is holding the Tigers back. Malzahn is at his best as a play-caller when the quarterback is a significant running threat.

Interestingly, one of the highlights for Auburn was Johnson's 65-yard touchdown bolt early in the second half.

Next up: Mississippi State, at Auburn

No. 5

Alabama (2-1, 0-1)

Yes, the Crimson Tide has been in this position before.

But it remains to be seen if this Alabama team will respond with the same resolve as last year's edition.

After a to Ole Miss in 2014, the Tide went on a roll and eventually earned the top seed in the four-team College Football Playoff field. This team certainly has the talent and experience but the second straight loss to the Rebels exposed some shortcomings.

The Tide defense gave up too many big plays. The offense, while productive at times, has been guilty of gaffes and mistakes.

"We've been in this situation before and it's going to be up to us how we respond to it," said Tide cornerback Cyrus Jones. "... The season's not over. This is one game. It doesn't define our season."

Or it could.

Next up: Louisiana-Monroe, at Tuscaloosa

No. 4

Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0)

So much for the idea that Kyle Allen’s status as the Aggies' go-to quarterback is unclear.

In a 44-27 win over Nevada, Allen accounted for five touchdowns — four passing and one running. Beyond that, it marked the first time this season he has played the entire first half without giving way to freshman Kyler Murray.

That seems to be an indication the A&M coaching staff has confidence in Allen, moving forward.

Meanwhile, the Aggies' defense was a bit spotty. Nevada scored back-to-back touchdowns late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to edge within 41-27 and then recovered an onside kick.

But that's when sophomore defensive end Myles Garrett made back-to-back sacks on second and third down, taking Nevada out of field goal range and forcing a punt.

Next up: Arkansas, at Arlington, Texas

No. 3

Georgia (3-0, 2-0)

Just when concerns began to surface about the Bulldogs' quarterback play, Greyson Lambert threw only one incompletion in 25 pass attempts in a 52-20 rout of South Carolina.

For the record, the only incompletion came when Lambert overthrew a pass in the back of the end zone late in the first quarter. Otherwise, he was right on target and the Dawgs were in total control.

Lambert completed his final 20 passes, breaking the school record of 19 straight by Mike Bobo in the 1998 Outback Bowl.

"It feels good for our team to come out here and have a performance like that," Lambert said.

The passing attack took some of the pressure off star tailback Nick Chubb, who still ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

Next up: Southern, at Athens

No. 2

LSU (2-0, 1-0)

With a 228-yard, three-touchdown performance in LSU's assault of Auburn, Leonard Fournette has vaulted to the head of the Heisman Trophy class in everybody's mind — except his own.

"At the end of the day it's not about the Heisman. It's not about me. It's about us," he said. "It's not just me every day busing my tail, going 100. They do it with me so I would like to share a championship with them."

In two games, Fournette has run 46 times for 386 yards (an 8.4-yard average) and six touchdowns.

It also helps that quarterback Brandon Harris showed he can loosen up defenses with a decent passing game. Harris also ran for 66 yards and two touchdowns against Auburn.

Fournette's statistics likely would be even more gaudy if he had played a third game. However, LSU's opener against McNeese State was canceled due to weather. That game lasted less than five minutes before storms gathered. All the stats from that game were erased.

Next up: Syracuse, at Syracuse

No. 1

Ole Miss (3-0, 1-0)

A lot of people were surprised that Ole Miss could go to Bryant-Denny Stadium and beat Alabama.

From what Rebels coach Hugh Freeze said, none of those disbelievers were in the Ole Miss locker room.

"We certainly think we're at a point now where it's not a shock," Freeze said. "I still say it would be an upset in most people's eyes to do it here. I don't think it surprises the people in our locker room."

Freeze's pregame message to his team: "You're good enough to win."

The Rebels certainly benefitted from Alabama's five turnovers but credit Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly rebounding from an ineffective first half to deliver a number of big plays after intermission.

All told, 305 of Kelly's 341 passing yards came in the second half.

Next up: Vanderbilt, at Oxford

Reach David Climer at 615-259-8020 and on Twitter @DavidClimer.