The SEC spent the 2025 postseason taking hits from the rest of the Power Four. That story has flipped fast.
Through two weeks of the new season, the SEC is the only Power Four league with a winning record against other Power Four opponents, sitting at 8-2. It’s a sharp turnaround from the winter, when SEC teams went 21-8 in postseason games against Power Four, non-SEC opponents but still drew plenty of ridicule after a rough stretch that had Alabama fans and plenty of others ready to move on.
Now the league is stacking results. LSU blew out Clemson 51-10, Auburn slipped past Baylor 17-16, Ole Miss outlasted Louisville 41-38, Missouri beat Kansas 38-21, Texas edged Ohio State 24-23, Texas A&M handled Arizona State 48-20, Tennessee beat Georgia Tech 45-24, and Mississippi State rolled Minnesota 38-13. Missouri, Tennessee, and Mississippi State all got those wins on the road.
The SEC’s two losses have been just as notable. Michigan went into Oklahoma and won 17-10, and Utah beat Arkansas 43-10 at home.
The ACC is chasing the SEC at 5-6 against non-ACC Power Four opponents. Georgia Tech has taken two losses, first 14-13 to Colorado and then the Week 2 defeat to Tennessee.
Boston College lost to Cincinnati, Cal fell to UCLA, and Louisville was beaten by Ole Miss in Nashville. LSU’s demolition of Clemson stands out as one of the league’s loudest statements so far.
The Big 12 is sitting at 4-6 against non-Big 12 Power Four teams. Oklahoma State delivered one of the league’s biggest wins with an upset of Oregon, but the Cowboys also lost to Group of Six Tulsa. The Big 12’s losses also include North Carolina over TCU, Auburn over Baylor, Missouri over Kansas, Texas A&M over Arizona State, Iowa over Iowa State, and Pittsburgh over UCF.
For now, though, the Big Ten is the one taking the biggest beating. The conference is just 3-7 against non-B1G Power Four teams.
Oregon’s loss to Oklahoma State landed as a surprise, and Rutgers dropping a Week 1 game to UMass only made the early numbers look worse. Wisconsin’s loss to Notre Dame drew little reaction, but Week 2 brought more damage: Rutgers lost again to Boston College, Purdue fell to Wake Forest, Illinois lost to Duke, and Minnesota got handled by Mississippi State.
Then came the biggest swing of all, as Texas erased Ohio State in Austin to cap another rough weekend for the Big Ten.
In Other News...
Alabama Survived Its Own Mess But One Concern Still Lingers
Alabamas day against Kentucky had a little more sloppiness than the scoreboard suggested, but the Crimson Tide still found a way to turn it into a comfortable 45-17 win. Early turnovers and penalties gave the game a messier feel than anyone in Tuscaloosa wanted, yet Kalen DeBoers group settled in and played cleaner as the afternoon went on, enough to open SEC play with a victory and move to 2-0.
DeBoer pointed to the second-half execution as the difference, and it was the kind of response Alabama needed after its own mistakes kept the game from ever feeling fully under control. Still, the uneven start leaves one familiar concern hanging around even after the win, because this team has already shown it can survive a rough stretch, but it has not quite shown it can avoid one. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama's SEC Opener Exposed A Debate Fans Can't Ignore
Alabama opened SEC play with a 45-17 win at Kentucky, keeping its early-season momentum rolling and extending a run that has become part of the programs familiar September script. The offense did enough to leave Kroger Field with a comfortable result, but the larger story inside the game was how the Tide steadied itself when the attack was uneven early and leaned on the other phases to take control.
Keelon Russell had a rough first half, which only sharpened the conversation around how Alabama wants this team to look when conference play tightens up. The defense answered with game-changing moments from Luke Metz and Devan Thompkins, while Conor Talty added three field goals and the special teams unit came through on a fake-punt look with a crucial fourth-down stop, a reminder that this team has enough pieces to win even when one side is still sorting itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Jireh Edwards Just Gave Alabama Fans A Reason To Watch Him Closely
Nineteen days after surgery for a broken arm, freshman safety Jireh Edwards was back on the field for Alabama and part of the mix in a 45-17 win over Kentucky. For a player who arrived as a five-star recruit, the debut offered an early glimpse of why the staff has been eager to get him involved, even in a crowded safety room.
The bigger takeaway for Alabama is what Edwards showed beyond just making it back so quickly. Kalen DeBoer and teammates praised his toughness and the way he handled the moment, and that kind of response can matter as much as any snap count for a young defender trying to carve out a role. It is a reminder that Edwards may not stay buried in the depth chart for long. [Read more 🡒]