LSU, Texas A&M Battle for Worst Opening Weekend

Week 1 for the Southeastern Conference was wilder than most believed it would be. While the two favorites to compete for the SEC championship (Florida and Alabama) both had big victories this past weekend, it was two other matchups that left fans in shock and confusion.

1. Mississippi State defeats No. 6 LSU: The Mike Leach era of Mississippi State football is off and running, and oh what a start for the Bulldogs with a 44-34 upset over defending national champion LSU on the road. Coach Leach may have also had the best post-game comment of the day when asked if it was a great day for him.

"It's better than average," Leach said. "We played LSU because the New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, and Kansas City Chiefs had someone scheduled."

LSU allowed an SEC record 623 passing yards from senior quarterback K.J. Costello. It is hard to justify a loss, but LSU did lose 17 starters to the NFL Draft this past off-season. LSU made the game interesting by tying the game with 9 minutes to go at 34-34. However, it was not enough to stop the offensive attack of Mississippi State.

LSU will have some serious work to do if they want to be a contender in the SEC West and will have an opportunity to bounce back this week against Vanderbilt on the road. Mississippi State will take on Arkansas at home.

2. No. 10 Texas A&M defeated Vanderbilt 17-13: it may be surprising to add a team to this list that won their game. Texas A&M for the last few years has been the team that "can't win the big one." Saturday, Vanderbilt seemed to give A&M everything they could handle and more.

A&M quarterback Kellon Mond finished with only one touchdown pass and 189 yards passing. The most interesting stat from this game was in the time of possession. Vanderbilt held the ball for 33 minutes while A&M only had 26 minutes of possession. Vanderbilt isn't exactly an elite team in the SEC, so Texas A&M will have to figure out their troubles in quick fashion as they travel to take on Alabama this weekend.