One week into the season and things are already heating up across the SEC. Let’s get right to it!

Gus Malzahn and Auburn were fortunate to pull out a victory over Oregon in Arlington on Saturday night. Freshman quarterback Bo Nix threw two interceptions in the first half as the offense struggled throughout the first half. The Tigers went into half trailing 14-6. Nix would get going in the second half as he led an Auburn rally, capped off by a twenty-six yard touchdown pass to Seth Williams with less than ten seconds remaining.

With the win, Malzahn can breathe easy for now. His team has tuneup games against Tulane and Kent State in the next two weeks before heading to College Station for a matchup with Texas A&M.

It was not a pretty start to the season for Matt Luke and Ole Miss. The Rebels had plenty of questions heading into the season, but their main problems lied with the offense, not the much maligned defense from a season ago. The Rebels were held to only 173 yards of offense on the day, and fell to Memphis by a score of 15-10.

Ole Miss was able to keep it close thanks to a fairly impressive defensive effort. In their first game under new defensive coordinator Mike MacIntyre, Ole Miss held Memphis to only 13 points, which is fewer points than they gave up in any game last season.

However, given the rivalry and proximity to Memphis, there are few silver linings in the loss. Losing to an American Athletic Conference team is unfortunate, and even more so when they are about an hour away.

With the loss, Ole Miss has now lost six straight games going back to last October. Can they change that this weekend when they host Arkansas?

It was a struggle, but Arkansas was able to get the win over Portland State, 20-13. It was just the third win for Chad Morris during his tenure with the Razorbacks. Arkansas quarterback Ben Hicks did not have the best day, completing 14 of 29 passes for 143 yards. However, running back Rakeem Boyd came up with a big day on the ground with 114 yards and a touchdown.

The Arkansas defense had an impressive day as they held Portland State to only 230 yards. The Razorbacks also had three interceptions and six sacks on the day. They will face Ole Miss this weekend who had offensive struggles of their own against Memphis.

There are losses, there are embarrassing losses, then there is Tennessee losing to Georgia State. Jeremy Pruitt was expected to take Tennessee to the next level in year two, but it might be time to pump the brakes on that completely. The Volunteers just lost to a team that came into existence into 2010. Even worse, a team that went 2-10 with losses to the likes of Coastal Carolina, Texas State, and UL-Lafayette.

This was no fluke, either. The Volunteers were simply outplayed. Georgia State ran for 213 yards, while holding Tennessee to only 93.

Former Tennessee receiver Jayson Swain shared this clip on Twitter the day after the loss:

Pruitt and the Volunteers have quite a few issues to figure out in order to rectify their season.

I did not expect to see Will Muschamp in this position, at least not this early in the season. South Carolina held a 20-9 lead early in the fourth quarter, only to fall 24-20 at the final whistle.

Muschamp has enjoyed moderate success at South Carolina, getting to a bowl game in each of his first three seasons. Keep in mind, he took over a year after South Carolina went 3-9 and Steve Spurrier resigned immediately following a loss to LSU.

However, there is now reason for concern at South Carolina. Muschamp has claimed that this is his best team. With praise like that, there is no reason to lose to North Carolina, who has only won five games in the previous two seasons.

Among the concerns for South Carolina is the lack of progression, especially at quarterback. Jake Bentley came in as a freshman in 2016 and led the Gamecocks to victories in four of their final six games. In 2017, he led them to nine wins. Now, as a senior, he appears to be regressing. He threw two fourth quarter interceptions, squandering any chance of a comeback.

It was later announced that Bentley suffered a foot injury and will miss significant time.

A rough start just got worse.

South Carolina has Charleston Southern this weekend, and they better enjoy it because the following week they get Alabama. Muschamp will face his former boss, Nick Saban, who is 16-0 against former assistants.

Another surprise here as Barry Odom makes an early appearance in 2019. Missouri got out to a 14-0 lead before committing costly mistakes. Missouri had two first half fumbles, one of which was run back for a touchdown. Wyoming led 27-17 at the half. Kelly Bryant also threw an interception in the first possession of the second half. The Cowboys would go on to score on the following drive to go up 34-17. Missouri would rally in the fourth quarter, but fell short by a score of 37-31.

Missouri piled up 423 yards passing, but their turnovers proved costly. The fumbles early in the game led to points for Wyoming points and Bryant’s second half interception cost Missouri points.

Wyoming had plenty of success on the ground, rushing for 297 yards. Wyoming quarterback led the way rushing for 120 yards and a touchdown.

This is a disappointing loss for Odom and Missouri. The Tigers were poised for a big year despite the looming NCAA sanctions. Perhaps this was a fluke due to the game being in Laramie, Wyoming; everyone knows weird things happen in Laramie. Now the Tigers play their next five games at home, and should be favored in all of them. Missouri now has an opportunity to bounce back before a road stretch that sees them going to Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

OUTTA HERE!