Every week the CFP Vibe Check tries to put its finger on where things stand in the College Football Playoff race without overreacting to what it just saw, but also probably overreacting to everything it just saw. Are you prepared for the SEC to be back? Are you ready to deal with the ramifications of what could happen after the SEC had to watch the Big Ten win three straight national titles?
Do you think you can mentally or physically withstand the amount of talk that will be coming from the Southeastern portion of the United States? You better be, because the SEC looks pretty damn back to me. I'll get to what this week's results mean to individual teams later, but I want to start with how the conference picture is shaking out, because it's remarkably lopsided so far.
The SEC played seven non-conference games against Power Four opponents this weekend, and it won five of them. Things did not start well on Saturday. Oklahoma, one of the league's playoff teams from last season, lost to the same Michigan team that needed a miracle to beat Western Michigan last week, and looked pretty abysmal doing so.
However, the SEC rebounded from there. Texas A&M traded punches with Arizona State for a while before finishing the Sun Devils emphatically in the fourth quarter to win 48-20. Mississippi State went north to Minnesota and looked nothing like the Mississippi State you're used to seeing.
The Bulldogs looked like a professional operation and delivered an efficient and precise dismantling of the Gophers, winning 38-13. In the evening, Tennessee took down Georgia Tech 45-24 in Atlanta, but the biggest win took place in Austin. That's where Texas came back from a 23-3 deficit in the fourth quarter to stun Ohio State 24-23.
It was the signature win that Steve Sarkisian was lacking with the Longhorns, at least since announcing them as "back" at Alabama in 2023. That means the SEC is not only 8-2 against the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten to start the year, but it's the only Power Four league with a winning record against the other Power Four leagues. So, yes, the SEC will be talking a lot of smack this week, and you're going to have to sit there and take it.
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