10 takeaways from SEC football after Week 3

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SEC football is a strange and volatile world after Week 3. Here are 10 central observations on the weekend we just witnessed:

1 – Trinidad Chambliss is the best QB in the SEC if not the country

Trinidad Chambliss is a special player. His top running back, Kewan Lacy, is hurt, but Chambliss has still engineered victories over Louisville (a team which just beat SMU to move upward in the ACC) and LSU. Ole Miss arguably should be ranked No. 1 in the country based on its body of work. Trinidad Chambliss is powering the Rebels to big wins over good teams even without a fully healthy backfield and supporting cast. He's an elite baller.

2 – Sam Leavitt is too inconsistent for LSU to feel comfortable

Sam Leavitt is good. He got Arizona State to the College Football Playoff for a reason. He is not a bust… but he isn't Trinidad Chambliss, and he isn't a top-5 quarterback in the country. Top-10, probably, but not the very, very best. He is just way too inconsistent. His games and his film are roller-coasters. There is too much variance between one play and the next. He has to find a way to be more stable over a full game. LSU is going to lose at least one more game, possibly two, because of this inconsistency… unless Leavitt can figure out how to weed it out of his system.

3 – Alabama will get roughed up by the SEC

Alabama is, like Sam Leavitt, volatile and inconsistent. Nothing we are seeing from the Crimson Tide suggests they will have a smooth 10-2 or 11-1 season. This looks like a three-loss team unless Kalen DeBoer can make substantial fixes across the board. A bad Florida State team shouldn't be pushing the Tide in Tuscaloosa.

4 – Oklahoma power outage

John Mateer just isn't it. He had a full off-season to improve and develop, but we're seeing zero evolution in his game.

5 – Marcel Reed mess

Texas A&M trusted Marcel Reed. Oops. The Aggies are, like Oklahoma, in real trouble.

6 – Will Stein is for real

So is Kentucky. This program is going to get better. The Wildcats made a great hire.

7 – Jon Sumrall shows signs of being The Guy in Gainesville

Winning on the road at Auburn is huge for Jon Sumrall and Florida. This program seems to be growing up, and it crucially seems to have the right head coach and staff in place. Gator analysts love what Buster Faulkner is doing as offensive coordinator. This operation is moving in the right direction.

8 – Shane Beamer might be done

South Carolina has to insist on something better at this point.

9 – Mississippi State might make a bowl game

The Bulldogs put themselves in the hunt for a bowl game with their win at South Carolina.

10 – Vanderbilt got lucky

That NC State ending just might be the most ridiculous and inexcusable way to lose a game we've ever seen.

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