The SEC has been a mess over the last few weeks. We’ve seen some unbelievable upsets, a few very close calls, and a handful of unexpected performances from teams we all thought were done for the season.
In Week 7, the Alabama Crimson Tide failed to bounce back, the Georgia Bulldogs were unable to pull away from the worst team in the league and the Texas Longhorns affirmed their dominance in all of college football.
Here’s the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the SEC following Week 7 of the 2024 college football season.
The Good
The Red River Rivalry was played as an in-conference SEC matchup for the first time. While there was plenty of excitement leading up to the matchup between two ranked teams, the actual game was a wash.
The Texas Longhorns were on a mission to not just bury the Oklahoma Sooners, but to prove to the rest of the nation that they are worthy of being the top-ranked team. Being the only undefeated SEC team means the Longhorns will have a massive target on their back, but it seems to be welcomed.
The Bad
After taking down Georgia in one of the most exciting regular season games, the Crimson Tide lost to Vanderbilt on the road. In Week 7, many believed a matchup at home against the South Carolina Gamecocks would be a “get right game,” allowing Kalen DeBoer and his team to regroup and get back on track. Unfortunately, that was not the case.
South Carolina held a lead for most of the second half and some ugly play in all facets of the game (offense, defense and special teams) resulted in this game coming down to the wire. Ultimately, Alabama earned a narrow two-point win, but the rest of the season could be very difficult for the Crimson Tide.
The Ugly
The Tennessee Volunteers were expected to roll at home against the Florida Gators, but that was not the case. The top-10 Volunteers struggled to maintain a lead against the Gators and Josh Heupel couldn’t win it in regulation.
Though Tennessee ultimately earned the win, it wasn’t pretty. Surely, they’ll learn from this and move on.