The Southeastern Conference has stumbled out of the gates to start the 2023 college football campaign as the heralded league has one just a third of its games against Power Five opponents so far. While the sample size is no doubt small, it does appear that America’s Conference might be weaker than usual this fall.
Currently, only two SEC teams are featured in the top 10 of US LBM Coaches Poll, with the two-time defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs, in the top spot followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 10. The AP Poll has three conference representatives, with UGA once again at No. 1 and the Tennessee Volunteers coming in at No. 9, while ‘Bama takes up the tenth spot.
With two games now in the books, Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde wrote a scathing review of the conference’s performance to date, including the Florida Gators. Here is what he had to offer on one of the many woes the SEC is dealing with this season.
The Gators’ problems were more on the other side of the ball against Utah, scoring 11 points and netting 13 rushing yards. Even against McNeese State, they displayed no big-play pop in the running game and only a little when throwing the ball. No SEC team has fewer 30-yard scrimmage plays to date than Florida’s three.
Last year, Billy Napier had a pretty good offense after inheriting a quarterback who would go on to be the No. 4 pick in the draft and a Day 1 starter in the NFL. Predictably, results have dwindled under transfer Graham Mertz.
The Mertz Experience has continued on the same track it took at Wisconsin. His pass-efficiency rating tends to be spectacular against weaker teams (like the 197 he had in routing McNeese) and pedestrian against the stronger opponents (137 against Utah, which actually isn’t bad for Mertz).
Next up for Florida are the Volunteers who come to Gainesville on Saturday, Sept. 16, for the SEC schedule opener between two historic rivals. The opening kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and the game can be watched on ESPN.
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