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SEC Power Rankings following Week 1 of 2018 season

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: A detailed view of the helmets worn by the Tennessee Volunteers before their game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: A detailed view of the helmets worn by the Tennessee Volunteers before their game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images /

The Joe Moorhead era of the 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs season kicked off in amazing fashion. Yes, it was against an FCS team, similar to the Florida Gators, Texas A&M Aggies, Missouri Tigers and Arkansas Razorbacks. But it was so impressive that we had to point the dominance out here. MSU deserves some serious credit.

Sure, Stephen F. Austin was a losing FCS team. And that’s why we had to drop Mississippi State in our SEC Power Rankings. But their dominance was so impressive that we had to keep them in the middle of the pack at least.

What else can you say about a 63-6 win? These guys dominated on the ground in historic fashion. They scored at least two touchdowns a quarter and three in the first quarter. That’s the most amazing thing you could imagine for a team learning a new system.

By the way, this all came despite the suspension of Nick Fitzgerald. The Bulldogs needed Keytaon Thompson to lead the program at quarterback, and he had 364 yards and five touchdowns passing. Meanwhile, he had 10 carries for 109 yards and another two touchdowns.

So Thompson had a historically great day statistically, and he’s this team’s backup quarterback. With 618 total yards of offense overall, these guys are clearly the real deal. But they need to be able to prove it a little more.

This week gives the Bulldogs the chance to do just that. They face the Kansas State Wildcats on the road in a huge test. And they still have to face the Kentucky Wildcats and Florida Gators in this month. So there’s a lot about to come up for this team.

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