Week 3 shook up the SEC in a hurry, and the latest 247Sports poll reflects it.
Ole Miss came out of the week with the headline win, beating LSU at home in the first Lane Kiffin Bowl. Kiffin returned to Oxford, Mississippi, and the Rebels sent him away with a loss after his departure amid a College Football Playoff run last season.
Kentucky also landed a major result, beating a top 10 Texas A&M team on the road at Kyle Field in Will Stein’s first year. Vanderbilt added the wildest finish of the weekend, stunning NC State on the final second with an unlikely defensive touchdown.
Florida, meanwhile, handled its rivalry game at Auburn and left Jordan-Hare Stadium with the win.
Not every SEC team had a week worth remembering. Texas A&M took the biggest hit, while South Carolina and Arkansas are already in rough shape.
Oklahoma also drew concern after grinding out a 14-6 win over New Mexico. The Sooners’ defense kept rolling, but the offense looked disjointed and ineffective, a troubling sign as they move toward SEC play.
That mix of results created movement near the top and throughout the poll. Texas and Georgia remained Nos. 1 and 2, splitting the first-place votes with eight going to the Longhorns and seven to the Bulldogs.
Ole Miss jumped to No. 3 after the LSU win, and Alabama moved up to No. 4 following its victory over FSU. LSU slid to No.
Florida and Kentucky were the week’s biggest risers, each climbing three spots. The Gators landed at No. 7 after the road win at Auburn, while Kentucky moved to No. 12 after taking down Texas A&M.
The Aggies suffered the biggest drop, falling three spots to No. 8.
LSU, Oklahoma and South Carolina each fell two places, with Oklahoma dropping from ninth to 11th and South Carolina sliding from 13th to 15th.
Each week during the season, reporters from the SEC’s 247Sports network rank the league’s teams from 1 through 16 as everyone chases a spot in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta in December and, of course, a shot at the 12-team College Football Playoff.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Just Put Oklahomas Brent Venables Defense In The Spotlight
Ahead of a matchup that already carries plenty of weight, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made sure to put Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables in the conversation for all the right reasons. Smart pointed to Venables reputation as a top-tier defensive mind and the history between the two coaches from Venables Clemson days, a reminder that this meeting is as much about elite game-planning as it is about the records each team brings in.
For Oklahoma, that kind of public praise only adds to the spotlight on Venables unit, which will be tested by one of the sports most familiar and demanding opponents. The Sooners have a chance to show that their defense can travel against a Georgia program that expects to dictate terms, and the buildup only sharpens the significance of whats coming next. [Read more 🡒]
John Mateer Heard The Boos With Georgia Up Next
John Mateer didnt need anyone to explain the frustration inside the stadium Saturday. Oklahomas quarterback said he heard the boos after two early interceptions against New Mexico, and while the Sooners still came away with a 14-6 win, the first-year signal-caller clearly knows the margin for error shrinks fast when the competition gets better. He settled in enough to finish with a 76% completion rate, 238 yards and two touchdowns, but the early mistakes were impossible to ignore.
Now the attention turns quickly to a much bigger test with No. 2 Georgia coming to town. For Oklahoma, the win over New Mexico was enough to survive, not enough to feel comfortable, and Mateers ability to clean up the giveaways will loom large against a defense that wont be nearly as forgiving. The Sooners got the result they needed, but the next one is where the conversation gets serious. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Defense Is Carrying A Problem Sooners Fans Cant Ignore
Brent Venables has done exactly what Oklahoma hired him to do on the defensive side, turning that group into a far more reliable unit and pushing the Sooners up the national rankings in points allowed. It has given Oklahoma a sturdier identity and a chance to stay in games even when things get messy, which is a major shift from the recent past.
The problem is the other side of the ball has not kept pace. Since offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby and quarterback Dillon Gabriel moved on, the Sooners have had trouble finding the same rhythm, and the imbalance is becoming harder to overlook. For a program built to contend, the question now is whether a defense this good can keep carrying the load while the offense searches for answers. [Read more 🡒]