Around the SEC West: Week 2

#1 Alabama 1-0 (0-0)
The Crimson Tide just got a week off to prepare for a trip to College Station to take on Johnny Manziel and the Aggies for one of the most anticipated rematches of the 2013 college football season, is all. Cue to "there's a conspiracy afoot in Birmingham" responses.

Arkansas 2-0 (0-0)
The Hogs surprised a lot of folks with the nature of their opening week win over Louisiana Lafayette. Then, this past weekend, the Hogs needed a fourth quarter comeback to beat the Samford Bulldogs. Scoring 14 unanswered in the game's final frame, they were able to put Samford away 31-21. The Hogs had 333 yards on the ground, led by freshman Alex Collins (learn that name - you'll hear it a lot) and sophomore Jonathan Williams. The Razorbacks are still clearly rebuilding, but early reports indicate that they do have the makings of the powerful running attack that Bret Bielema earned a reputation for at Wisconsin.

Auburn 2-0 (0-0)
Gus Malzhan had the chance to beat his old employer, Arkansas State, 38-9. Nick Marshall seemed more polished this time than he did in his debut, going 10-of-17 for 147 yards and two scores. Tre Mason and Cameron Artis-Payne ("Art is Pain" sounds like something Gregxxz would get tattooed on his forearm) rushed together for 201 yards and two touchdowns, pacing Auburn's balanced hurry up offense.

#8 LSU 2-0 (0-0)
Realizing fully that it was indeed UAB that the Tigers faced this past weekend, one still cannot help but be surprisingly impressed by Zach Mettenberger's performance. The LSU quarterback 16-of-19 for 282 yards. He also threw five touchdowns, all of which went to the powerful duo of Odell Beckham Junior and Jarvis Landry. The LSU pass defense also performed very well, holding Blazer quarterback Austin Brown to a meager 9-of-24 passing for 134 yards and a score.

Mississippi State 1-1 (0-0)
State dominated Alcorn State in pretty much every single facet of the game. The Bulldogs offense racked up 556 yards in a very balanced attack (279 passing yards to 277 rushing), while the defense held Alcorn to just 163 total yards, including a meager 28 yards rushing on 25 attempts. With Tyler Russell out for this week, Dak Prescott earned the start at quarterback, where he went 12-of-19 for 174 yards and two scores. Behind him was freshman Damian Williams, who was 8-of-13 for 105 yards and a pick.

#6 Texas A&M 2-0 (0-0)
Continuing their "let's beat the piss out of smaller schools in Texas to, you know, prove a point or something," the Aggies clobbered Sam Houston State 65-28 this past weekend, amassing an eye-popping 714 total yards of offense. They did, however, allow one Tim Flanders of SHSU to rush for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. In fact, the entire Sam Houston State offense averaged nearly six yards per carry against the Aggies defense. Oh, and Texas A&M plays Alabama this weekend. I'm sure you knew that.