Week 1 SEC Letter Grades: Alabama Through Florida
By Tucker Harlin
Week 1 of the SEC football season was a solid introduction to a new era in both the SEC and in college football.
The competition wasn’t the steepest for the league as many SEC squads scored somewhere between 50 and 80 points against non power conference schools in their openers.
However, there was a handful of contests over the weekend that can raise a cause for concern for some SEC teams.
Keep in mind the order is alphabetized and not suggestive of the best to worst performances in the league.
Most of my letter grades will be friendly this week due to level of competition.
ALABAMA- A
Credit: University of Alabama Athletics
A 63-0 shutout of Western Kentucky is an ideal start to the Kalen DeBoer era.
Free safety Keon Sabb made an impact early in this game for the Tide, picking off two of T.J. Finley’s passes in as many possessions while racking up 87 return yards.
Running backs Jam Miller and Justice Haynes both broke out for long rush touchdowns in the first half, a good sign for a squad that lost its top two running backs from 2023.
Jalen Milroe played two possessions into the second half before getting pulled, finishing the day 7/9 with 200 pass yards and three touchdowns while running for 79 yards and two more touchdowns.
Maybe the most encouraging aspect of this game for Alabama was the play of freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams. He lost the entire Hilltopper secondary on his first touchdown catch and ran out of a would be tackle on his other score.
I know it’s Western Kentucky, but Ryan Williams may be the best receiver the Tide’s had since Jameson Williams in 2021. The position has been a weak point on offense for the Tide over the last two seasons.
ARKANSAS: A+
Credit: University of Arkansas Athletics
Again, I understand Pine Bluff is far and away the easiest part of the Razorbacks’ 2024 slate, but there’s something to be said for scoring 70 for the first time in 96 years and scoring a touchdown on all 10 possessions.
Taylen Green put on his dual threat capabilities for all to see on Thursday, and his backfield mate Ja’Quinden Jackson also had a nice night in his first game as a Razorback.
Bobby Petrino’s first game back on staff in 13 years was a success. Now we just need to see if Arkansas can carry that momentum to Stillwater.
AUBURN- A+
Credit: Auburn University Athletics
73 was the final tally for Auburn in its win over Alabama A&M.
Similar to Arkansas, the 77-0 win over Erskine 92 years ago was the last time the Tigers eclipsed the 70 mark.
We already knew Auburn had a nice rush attack, but it showed tremendous growth at the receiver spot as well.
Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith and freshmen Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson all had strong debuts for the Tigers on Saturday.
The question now is if Payton Thorne can replicate his performance against Alabama A&M against a tougher opponent, something we ought to know when Cal comes to town next weekend.
FLORIDA: F-
There’s a couple of very low points that Florida hit with its 41-17 home loss to Miami.
First, you have to go back to the 2015 Sunshine Bowl to find a worse margin of defeat (27-2) than what the Gators suffered Saturday.
Secondly, the 41 Miami scored is the highest number a team has ever scored on Florida in a home opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
It looked like the Gators were going to give the Hurricanes a game in the first half, but once Cam Ward settled in, it was over.
To make matters worse, quarterback Graham Mertz will be sidelined at least for the next couple of weeks with a concussion.
Florida fans believe D.J. Lagway is the future of the program, but he’s going to be thrown into the fire as that schedule really doesn’t allow for any free wins.
The question now is how long Billy Napier has left in Gainesville, and if he doesn’t beat either Texas A&M or UCF in the next couple of weeks, it could be a pretty quick end to his season.
