SEC Football Power Rankings, Week 1: Can anyone catch Alabama?

Week 1 is in the books, and it was an up and down opening weekend for SEC football. How does the league shake out after the opening slate?

It was a fantastic opening weekend in college football that spanned the full range of emotions, from euphoria on the plains to dejection on Rocky Top. Here’s how the conference looks after Week 1.

Without a doubt, the most embarrassing loss of the opening weekend came in Knoxville. A Volunteer program that was supposed to be in the productive second year of a rebuild instead opened on the wrong foot, losing to Georgia State. Shawn Elliott’s Panther team was 2-10 and 1-7 in the Sun Belt a year ago.

For Jeremy Pruitt, things changed instantly on Saturday. Most of good will he built up has now evaporated. To compound that, Saturday’s loss is the kind of loss that can derail a program.

It’s tough to get a read on a team when they open against one of the juggernauts of the sport. Vanderbilt was handled by Georgia, by a score of 30-6 on Saturday. Riley Neal struggled, and for the Commodores to be successful, it will have to come on the legs of Ke’Shawn Vaughn.

Next week, Derek Mason’s team will travel to Purdue. It’s not one of Week 2’s marquee matchups, but it’s a very intriguing one.