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SEC Power Rankings after Week 1 of 2019: Yes, Vols are tanking

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: The Tennessee Volunteers warm up before the season opener against the Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: The Tennessee Volunteers warm up before the season opener against the Georgia State Panthers at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images /

You could make an argument that the Missouri Tigers’ loss to the Wyoming Cowboys is worse than the South Carolina Gamecocks’ loss, which was a closer game, to the North Carolina Tar Heels. At least UNC is a Power Five program. Kelly Bryant had a horrible debut with Mizzou against a Group of Five program!

But Wyoming, in its sixth year under Craig Bohl and coming off a 6-6 season, is actually better right now as a program than North Carolina. Also, Missouri played them on the road, while the Gamecocks faced UNC at a neutral site. As a result, we have Mizzou ahead of S.C. in our SEC Power Rankings for now.

At least Bryant showed some potential. He threw for over 400 yards in Derek Dooley’s offense. The problem was two costly turnovers. Mizzou had three overall while Wyoming had none. You could see the Tigers fixing this situation going forward, including this week when they face a very beatable West Virginia Mountaineers team.

Should they win that, Southeast Missouri comes to town before they host South Carolina. And that game could be the one to determine which team should have been higher this week. For now, though, Barry Odom’s program is clearly ahead of Will Muschamp’s. A tough road loss with a new quarterback to a very solid Group of Five team is not worth panicking over.

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