SEC Football: 5 Takeaways from Week 5 of 2023 season

We saw a little of everything in what was an epic Week 5 of the SEC football session. Here are five things I took away from Saturday:

5 takeaways from Week 5 of 2023 SEC football season

5. This Georgia team is very beatable. Eventually, these slow starts are going to catch up with this Bulldogs team. I know they have a plethora of injuries and winning in Jordan-Hare may be the toughest venue to get a road win in the SEC, but let’s be honest this isn’t a very good Auburn team. The best thing going for Georgia is they get Kentucky and Mizzou in Athens and still have over a month before the biggest road game of the season in Knoxville. If there is a coach that can get things right, it is Kirby Smart but as of right now, I am not confident this team is going to run the table in the SEC football regular season.

4. There are a lot of issues on the defensive side of the ball in Baton Rouge. We saw it week one against Florida State, we saw it last week against Arkansas, and we saw it again Saturday in Oxford. What makes things worse for LSU is the week prior Ole Miss only scored 10 points against Alabama and Saturday the Razorbacks offense looked very pedestrian against Texas A&M. There is a lot of season left for this defense to improve but it doesn’t get any easier for them as they travel to Columbia to face Brady Cook and Luther Burden III. You know they are licking their chops after seeing the numbers Ole Miss put up on Saturday.

3. Kentucky is the second-best team in the SEC East. After a convincing win over the Florida Gators in which Ray Davis ran for 280 yards and four touchdowns, the Wildcats seem head and shoulders above everyone not named Georgia. Their offensive line issues of a year ago seem remedied and this team seems to have the same identity of the 10-win Kentucky team from 2021. Even if the Wildcats aren’t able to pull off the upset on Saturday in Athens, they are still in very good shape as Missouri, Tennessee, and Alabama have to come to Lexington.

2. Texas A&M’s defense is really starting to look very Wrecking Crew like. After a terrible showing against Miami, this unit has really started to gel. They have 14 sacks in the last two weeks and held Arkansas to less than 180 yards of offense in Jerry World. This unit should be able to find success at home against an Alabama team that still has some glaring issues on the offensive side of the ball. It will be a raucous scene in College Station.

1. An angry Nick Saban led Alabama team should have the rest of the SEC on notice. After a few early mistakes against Mississippi State we saw a Nick Saban we haven’t seen in awhile. He was in peoples faces, was fiery, and showed in game emotion for the first time all season. The team seemed to respond well to this and rolled over the Bulldogs in Starkville. The Crimson Tide seem to finally be finding their offensive identity, may have the best defense in the SEC, and if they can get the win on the road in College Station the sky is the limit for this team.