Weekend Reflections: Texas is No. 1, but Georgia looks best among contenders

It makes sense that Texas leapfrogged No. 2 Georgia in the latest AP football poll. The Longhorns beat previous No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday night, while the Bulldogs have yet to be tested.

But the 20-point rally in the fourth quarter didn’t make me forget how bad the Longhorns looked before then. They owe Ohio State coach Ryan Day for giving them an opening with his conservative approach. That included punting on fourth-and-4 from the Texas 39 yard line when the Longhorns had done next to nothing offensively.

So, all due respect to Texas, but the Bulldogs are the best team in the nation in my eyes. It was good to see some numbers backing up what I’ve seen.

Georgia moved up from No. 2 to No. 1 in ESPN analyst Bill Connelly’s SP+ efficiency rankings. Ohio State fell from No. 1 to No. 2. Texas dropped two spots to No. 6 despite beating the Buckeyes, because they got lucky to win considering the imbalances in efficiency and explosive plays.

SP+ is an opponent-adjusted metric. That makes it a good gauge early in the season when the top teams are playing schedules with wildly diverging degrees of difficulty.

It’s been very easy for the Bulldogs through two weeks. They beat FCS Tennessee State and Western Kentucky by a combined score of 133-23.

I doubt Arkansas will give Georgia much trouble next weekend after surrendering 442 yards in a 43-10 loss at Utah.

No. 24 Oklahoma comes to Sanford Stadium on Sept. 26. The Sooners will leave with a loss unless they can quickly solve the offensive issues that leaked over from last season into a 17-10 loss at Michigan on Saturday.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, No. 10 Alabama will be the only big test for Georgia. The Bulldogs are set to play at Tuscaloosa on Oct. 10.

Kentucky put up a fight against Bama on Saturday in Lexington. Then the Crimson Tide scored 32 unanswered points after halftime for a 45-17 victory. Alabama’s defense smothered the Wildcats, and quarterback Keelon Russell was fantastic after a rough start.

The Bulldogs also have games remaining against No. 9 Ole Miss on the road and No. 20 Missouri at home.

The Rebels showed some major defensive vulnerabilities during the season-opening 41-38 victory over No. 23 Louisville in Nashville. Mizzou is pretty good, which isn’t nearly good enough to win in Athens.

We’ll see how the Bulldogs respond when they are tested. They’re the best team I’ve seen so far.

Georgia Tech’s defense can’t back up Brent Key’s talk

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key’s preseason bragging about his defensive front looks worse by the week. His decision to hire Jason Semore for his first defensive coordinator job at a Power 4 school deserves scrutiny, too.

Colorado eventually figured out it needed only to run the ball right at Georgia Tech’s soft defense in Week 1. That provided the blueprint Tennessee used from the start Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

DeSean Bishop ran for 33 yards on UT’s first play to start another bonanza of rushing yards against the Yellow Jackets. The Vols finished with 300 yards rushing on 44 attempts (sack yardage excluded) in the 45-24 victory.

It appeared the Yellow Jackets didn’t have a clue how to solve Tennessee’s rushing attack. It also sounded that way postgame.

“I just feel like (the Vols) made good adjustments from the sideline,” Tech linebacker E.J. Lightsey said. “When we got what we wanted from them, it was a good play for us, a negative play and stopping the run. But when they went to the sideline, they made good adjustments.

“We’ve just got to adjust faster and just be more efficient with it.”

The tough schedule doesn’t absolve Tech for its weak run defense.

The Yellow Jackets are among nine teams to face Power 4 opponents in their first two games. Tech ranks seventh in rushing yards allowed per attempt (5.13), ahead of Cal and Washington State. ACC media picked Cal to finish 12th in the league, and Washington State is lost in the wilderness of the reconfigured Pac-12.

The Jackets should be able to figure some things out with their run defense against Mercer next weekend. Then again, the Bears are averaging 6.2 yards per attempt against FCS opponents, so maybe it won’t be so easy for Tech.

My Weekend Predictions were 7-4

I hit on Georgia (-40½) and Tennessee (-12½) but missed badly on Kennesaw State (-9½) vs. Georgia State. I picked the Falcons when they were 3½-point underdogs, before Tua Tagovailoa was scratched with an oblique injury.