Week 1 SEC Letter Grades: Georgia Through Miss State
By Tucker Harlin
This is the second part of my SEC football letter grades for Week 1.
Again, most of these are going to be fairly positive reviews since the level of competition in Week 1 isn’t what it will be in say three weeks.
GEORGIA: A-
Kirby Smart would probably tell you it was a C+ type performance from the Bulldogs, but a 34-3 win over what could be one of the best teams in the ACC is nothing to hang your head about.
Sure the offense didn’t have the fastest of starts in the punt fest that was the first half, but the Bulldogs defense never game Clemson a chance.
Carson Beck got into a rhythm over the course of the second half, finishing the day with 278 pass yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Clemson is far from the biggest test for the Georgia defense all season, but it’s not a bad place to start.
KENTUCKY: B+
This kind of like not finishing a project and the teacher telling you they’ll grade what you have done.
For those who didn’t watch, Kentucky’s game against Southern Miss was delayed for hours due to thunderstorms in Lexington.
Kickoff wasn’t till around 10 PM eastern, and the teams were only given 10 minutes as opposed to the normal 20 minutes at halftime because of the delay.
They played the third quarter but called the game at its conclusion because of more storms.
Brock Vandagriff threw a pick on his first possession as a Wildcat, but the Golden Eagles followed with two more interception.
The Wildcats led 24-0 at half and 31-0 at the end of the third quarter. Vandagriff finished with 169 pass yards and three touchdown passes, two to star receiver Barion Brown.
This game probably ends a lot better for Kentucky if it isn’t for external factors, so I don’t think this performance will hold much weight as it opens conference play against South Carolina next week.
LSU: C
Credit: USC Athletics
Scott Woodward has got to stop scheduling Sunday neutral site games.
I thought the Tigers absolutely played well enough to win over USC. Garrett Nussmeier looked comfortable all game at quarterback and Blake Baker’s defense is significantly better than what it was in 2023.
But as a very angry, fist pounding Brian Kelly shouted in his press conference, LSU was in a position to win the game and gave it away.
"I'm not doing a good enough job as a coach ... it's unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game."
— ESPN (@espn) September 2, 2024
Brian Kelly says he's "angry" with his team after the loss to USC. pic.twitter.com/vloYGyKDh2
Miller Moss took command of the LSU secondary late in the game, albeit with some help from Kyron Hudson on highlight reel catches.
The double whammy of Hudson’s catch on the final drive and the targeting on Jardin Gilbert allowed the Trojans to go for seven instead of three.
I definitely think LSU has better days ahead, but this is the Tigers’ fifth consecutive opening weekend loss, four of which are now in standalone Sunday games.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: A+
Credit: 247 Sports
The 56 Mississippi State scored on Eastern Kentucky is the most it has scored since its win over East Tennessee State in 2022.
The Bulldogs are in need of some exciting football after an ugly 2023 season, and Saturday’s win over the Colonels helped that cause.
You had long pass touchdowns to receivers from quarterback Blake Shapen, a reverse to receiver Creed Whittemore for a long touchdown, and a pick six to put the cherry on top from defensive back Elijah Cannon.
We’ll know more about what this team is capable of when it goes to Arizona State next week, but Jeff Lebby should bring a more exciting feel to this program.
