SEC Round-Up: League counting on its villain to restore order

An unpleasant week of Southeastern Conference football is followed by a nauseating notion this week.

After going 1-3 in marquee Week 1 matchups, the SEC is counting on… Texas…to defend its honor in a top-10 clash with defending national champion Michigan.

Go ahead and retch.

That shouldn’t be the case. The powerful SEC is college football’s bullies. Its teams typically terrorize opponents.

That was before Texas A&M fell to Notre Dame, Miami mauled Florida and USC upset LSU.

True, No. 1 Georgia’s predictable 34-3 beatdown of Clemson and Vanderbilt’s shocking upset of Virginia Tech — sorry, not a marquee matchup — saved face to some degree.

The SEC doesn’t save face. The SEC steps on faces with a hobnail boot and breaks noses.

Instead, the SEC looks toward a new member that has looked down on the SEC.

Recall, last May, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte suggested the Longhorns’ annual clash with Oklahoma is bigger than the “Iron Bowl” and “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”

© Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY

In Sherrone Moore's debut as head coach, then-No. 9 Michigan defeated Fresno State, 30-10, this past Saturday.

Then, in July, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers declared games against the Longhorns were everybody’s Super Bowl. Apparently, Ewers is unaware five different SEC teams have won national championships since Texas last won one.

But the fact remains that the SEC needs Texas to restore order on Saturday in Ann Arbor where Michigan has notched 23 consecutive victories.

“These (Michigan) guys know how to win,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “You can see it in their style of play. They play with a great deal of confidence. They believe in one another. So, it’s a heck of a challenge for our team.

“What I think Saturday will do for us is serve as a bit of a barometer of where we’re at as a football team this fall.

“We’re going to get challenged in all three phases. What do we need to work on, and where do we need to keep growing to get ourselves prepared for the Southeastern Conference?”

Even a trip to Ann Arbor may not fully prepare Texas for the grind of the SEC, where it “just means more” and hostile crowds are “just more mean.”

But on Saturday, the Southeastern Conference will be cheering on the Longhorns.

Well, the SEC office suits who allowed the Longhorns in will.

SEC fan bases in College Station, Fayetteville, Norman and probably Knoxville and Baton Rouge won’t. The very idea would be just too nauseating.

Around the SEC

This week’s games: McNeese at Texas A&M; No. 3 Texas at No. 10 Michigan; Arkansas at No. 16 Oklahoma State; Tennessee Tech at No. 1 Georgia; Cal at Auburn; South Carolina at Kentucky; Middle Tennessee at No. 6 Ole Miss; South Florida at No. 4 Alabama; Buffalo at No. 9 Missouri; Samford at Florida; Nicholls at No. 18 LSU; Alcorn State at Vanderbilt; Houston at No. 15 Oklahoma; Mississippi State at Arizona State

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Jaxson Dart started all 13 games in 2023 and led Ole Miss to its first-ever 11-win season. He ended the year 233-of-358 for 3,364 yards, 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

Who’s hot: Dating back to last season, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has thrown 12 touchdown passes and zero interceptions in the last four games. That’s 124 passes without an interception. Also, in that stretch, he’s completed .685 percent of his attempts for 1,203 yards.

Who’s not: Florida’s defense was bad — real bad — in a 41-17 loss to Miami. The Gators allowed 529 yards, which resulted in them being ranked 123rd in the nation in total defense. That was just a continuation of last year’s futility. The debacle against Miami marked the sixth time in seven games Florida has allowed at least 465 yards and at least 33 points in each of those six games. The one game in which the Gators did not allow at least 465 was in a 24-15 loss to Florida State, which was without injured starting quarterback Jordan Travis.

Keep an eye on: Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been hyped as a Heisman Trophy contender. Pump the breaks. Last week, he passed for 314 yards and three touchdowns against Chattanooga. In the final two games of last season, he passed for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a bowl victory over Iowa and 66 yards against Vanderbilt. Those aren’t Heisman-caliber numbers against Heisman-caliber opponents. Next he faces North Carolina State, which last week allowed 241 passing yards in Western Carolina. Though NC State’s pass defense may be vulnerable, Iamaleava needs a big game to validate his potential Heisman candidacy.

The pressure is on: Arkansas is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation in run defense after allowing just seven rushing yards to Arkansas-Pine Bluff. But A-PB is an FCS program which finished 2-9 last season. This week, the Razorbacks face Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon II, who led the nation in rushing last season. Gordon has exceeded 100 rushing yards in 10 of his last 12 games. The Razorbacks must contain him.

Best matchup: Texas returns four starters from last year’s offensive line, which was a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award. All-American tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. leads the group that paved the way for the Longhorns to rank No. 25 in rushing offense and allowed 28 sacks last year. They face a stellar Michigan defensive line led by All-American tackle Mason Graham and All-Big Ten tackle Kenneth Grant. The Wolverines, who were ranked No. 6 in the nation in rush defense last season, allowed six rushing yards in the opening win over Fresno State. Michigan also posted 39 sacks last season and had three last week.