It was a light weekend of action within the SEC, with seven of the league's 16 teams on bye, but that didn't hold us back from some exciting results. While we all already know the Aggies cruised their way to a 22-point victory over Mississippi State, let's catch up on all the other action from conference play.
Florida finds life in 29-22 victory over Texas
Billy Napier's Florida Gators found themselves with their backs against the wall for the second year in a row and, just as they did in 2024 against LSU, responded with a big in-conference win — this time over Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns.
This was a much-needed result for Florida, who fell to 1-3 on the early season while still having to face all of Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Florida State between now and the end of the regular season. They played complementary football for the first time since their Week 1 victory over Long Island — posting 457 yards of total offense on seven yards per play, while the defense held the Longhorns to just 52 yards on the ground and a 27 percent conversion rate on third down.
DJ Lagway played his best game of the 2025 season, completing 75 percent of his passes for nearly 300 yards and two scores, and they got a 136-yard effort on the ground from star tailback Jadan Baugh. While it's hard to know if this is the same turning point that led the Gators to their 5-2 record down the stretch of last season, it's a result that shows there's still some fight in this team despite things looking grim through the first month of play.
On the flip side, this is a very startling loss for the Longhorns. Texas is now 0-2 against Power Four competition, and their offense has looked horrendous in each of those games. Arch Manning was off-target yet again, throwing two interceptions to the Gator defense, and they got no production on the ground despite the return of star running back Quintrevion Wisner. This looks nothing like a team that was tagged as the preseason favorite to win the SEC, and could continue its downward trend with another loss to Oklahoma this weekend.
Alabama makes amends for 2024 blemish in 30-14 win versus Vanderbilt
Kalen DeBoer made amends for what was the most shocking result of the 2024 regular season with a win over Vanderbilt this past Saturday by a final score of 30-14. While this game was closer than the box score indicates, with the Crimson Tide tacking on a touchdown with 17 seconds left, they never squandered the lead beyond the first half and held the Commodore offense scoreless over the final 31 minutes of play.
Quarterback Ty Simpson was fantastic yet again, completing 74 percent of his passes for 340 yards and two scores. Alabama also got its first 100-yard rushing game from a tailback in the DeBoer era, with Jam Miller carrying the ball 22 times for 136 yards and a score. While the defense showed some cracks in the first half, they tightened up as the game went on and forced two red-zone turnovers.
This looks like a far more improved team than what we saw in Week 1 against Florida State, and it heads into a tough stretch of football with games against Missouri, Tennessee, and South Carolina over the next three weekends.
As for Clark Lea's group, this was still a really strong showing against what's just a more talented football team. Vanderbilt doesn't have the element of surprise that led them to some massive upsets last season, but they still play a very gritty brand of football that will keep them competitive in most conference games.
Georgia starts a new home game win streak with victory over Kentucky
Kirby Smart's teams always respond well after a loss and did so again this week, dragging Kentucky to a sizable victory by a final score of 35-14. This game was won in the trenches, with Georgia's offense gaining 180 yards on the ground while holding Kentucky's rushing attack to just 45 yards on barely two yards per carry. Georgia was great on third down, converting nine of their 12 attempts, and held the Wildcats to just three for 11 on theirs.
It's hard to not feel like this is another lost season in Lexington, Kentucky, as the Wildcats have kicked off conference play with three losses by a combined 50 points. Mark Stoops' team will hit their bye this weekend with a chance to find some new footing, but still have Texas, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida and Vanderbilt on the conference slate — and should be the overwhelming underdog in each of those matchups.
In other news ...
- Oklahoma came back from its bye week and had no issue moving past Kent State, winning by a final score of 44-0. Michael Hawkins got his first start of the season, replacing John Mateer after he underwent thumb surgery on his throwing hand, and did more than enough for the Sooners — completing 14 of his 24 passes for 162 yards and three scores.
- Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Tennessee were on bye.