SEC power rankings, Week 2: Alabama shines, Texas A&M collapses
By John Buhler
It was not a pretty game for the Kentucky Wildcats, but they did come out on top in Hattiesburg over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Keep in mind this is the same Southern Miss team Mark Stoops’ bunch dropped its Week 1 game to last year. Despite winning 24-27, Kentucky does get dinged a tad for its inconsistent performance.
Quarterback Stephen Johnson was hit or miss as a passer and running back Benny Snell Jr. was contained to some degree by the Southern Miss defense. However, Stoops should be proud of his team’s ability to force turnovers and win a revenge game on the road in which it struggled. It was an ugly, character-building win for Big Blue Nation. This should be a bowl team again in Lexington this year.
It’s been several years since the Vanderbilt Commodores were able to win their first game of the season. While it was against metro area rival Middle Tennessee, it was a dominating effort for Derek Mason’s ‘Dores down in Murfreesboro.
The defense looked great as usual. Running back Ralph Webb did his thing as the best tailback in school history. However, the most pleasant surprise was the play of junior quarterback Kyle Shurmur. He moved the sticks for the Vanderbilt offense, as the Commodores cruised to a 28-6 Week 1 victory. It remains to be seen if Vanderbilt will make a bowl game, but you have to be impressed with how confident the team looked in Week 1.