Week 2 SEC Letter Grades: Missouri Through South Carolina
By Tucker Harlin
MISSOURI: A-
Credit: University of Missouri Athletics
The reason Mizzou doesn’t get a straight A this week is due to slow starts in each half.
The Tigers didn’t find the end zone until nearly three minutes into the second quarter, and Brady Cook threw a pick on their first possession in the second half.
Theo Wease was a PPR monster with his 13 catches for 149 yards and the Tigers ran for 255 yards and all five of their touchdowns on the ground.
We’re still going to have to wait another week to really get a feel for what this Missouri team is like.
OKLAHOMA: D
Credit: University of Oklahoma Athletics
Oklahoma doesn’t get an F because it won the game, but this version of Houston is not one that you can brag about narrowly escaping.
Willie Fritz’s bunch is in a pretty steep rebuild and projecting near the bottom of the Big 12 standings in 2024. It lost by 20 to UNLV last week for a reason.
Houston’s offense didn’t really challenge the Sooners defense, but the offense had no excuse to play that poorly.
Jackson Arnold threw for 174 yards, two touchdowns, and a pick, and the offensive line didn’t get a desirable push in the run game as it only yielded 78 yards.
The Sooners face a respectable Tulane team next week before they open SEC play.
Not exactly the ideal get right game.
OLE MISS: A
Credit: Ole Miss Athletics
A 52-3 win over Middle Tennessee is exactly what Ole Miss was supposed to do, but it should be noted that Lane Kiffin let Jaxson Dart stat pad into the middle of the fourth quarter.
Dart’s first incompletion wasn’t thrown until just under 10 minutes left to go in the game. He finished 25/27 with 377 pass yards and both a pass and rush touchdown.
Henry Parrish had a nice outing in the second game of his second stint playing for the Rebels, running for 165 yards and four scores.
It’s going to be a while before we actually know how good this Ole Miss team is.
SOUTH CAROLINA: B
Credit: University of South Carolina Athletics
My main reason for giving South Carolina a B is because it won decisively against an SEC team. For a blowout, this win was riddled with mistakes by the Gamecocks.
LaNorris Sellers in particular is the reason I’m not putting much stock into the thorough blasting the Gamecocks delivered late in the third quarter.
Sellers threw a pick near the end of the first half and put the ball on the ground on consecutive plays in the third quarter.
The offensive line still surrendered 12 tackles for loss, so that’s absolutely an area of concern.
I do think the Gamecocks are better on defense than a lot of people are willing to admit.
It finished with five sacks and scored the touchdown that put the game out of reach for the Wildcats.
Ultimately, I still don’t think the Gamecocks will go bowling if they don’t see Sellers up his game at the quarterback position.
