It was easy to look at this week’s schedule -- which featured five SEC teams playing cupcakes and a couple of others playing blah teams from the Big East -- and decide that it could end up being one of the least interesting weeks of the season. We can only hope so, given that this being a mediocre week would mean the SEC is in for one heck of a football season.
SEC Football Insider: South Carolina Takes A Shaky Lead In The SEC East; Auburn Tests Fans’ Cardiac Health
A closer look at Week 2 in SEC football, where South Carolina and Auburn won shootouts, while Alabama went to Penn State and took home a decisive victory.
A seesaw game for the lead in the SEC East featured seven lead changes. The temporary front-runner for the SEC West was also decided in a points-o-rama. Vanderbilt won the kind of squeaker that the Commodores are used to losing. And we should also probably mention the Tide’s trip to Happy Valley.
There are undoubtedly still some great football games ahead in the 10 weeks left in the season. But let’s take one last look back at the eventful week that was.
THE SEC EAST HAS A LEADER, IN THE LOOSEST SENSE OF THE WORD
South Carolina 45, Georgia 42
There was really only one thing a reasonable observer could think after seeing Georgia and South Carolina battle for the SEC East lead in Athens on Saturday: You know, maybe Florida and Tennessee have a pretty good chance of winning this thing after all. Because while Georgia and South Carolina had pretty much split the preseason consensus on who would win the division, neither team exactly looked like world-beaters when facing each other.
South Carolina, after all, got outgained by almost 50 yards, had eight fewer first downs than Georgia, saw Stephen Garcia once again fail to complete 50 percent of his passes (11-of-25) and needed a fake punt touchdown, two defensive touchdowns and a 49-yard field goal to pull out the win. And another one of their touchdowns was set up by a fumble, meaning all three of Georgia's turnovers came back to hurt the Bulldogs.
And speaking of Georgia. Two promising drives in the first quarter produced a total of six points, a brilliantly called onsides kick was squandered because one of the players was off-sides and Marcus Lattimore ran for fewer total yards but more than a yard and a half more per carry this year than last. (He finished this year's game with 27 carries for 176 yards.)
There were some bright spots. Isaiah Crowell ran for 118 yards on 16 carries, proving that he could very well be the contributor Georgia needs him to be if the Bulldogs are going to turn this around. And as noted above, South Carolina fans can take comfort in seeing Lattimore be the player he was last year. (Alshon Jeffery is off to a slow start for him, though another 85 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's game isn't exactly slacking.)
And even with 87 points scored in the game, one of the most interesting sequences might have happened when nothing happened. Down 6-0 early in the second quarter, Steve Spurrier decides to go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Gamecocks 29. No one questions this much, because it’s Steve Spurrier, and he does this. But the play clock starts to run down, so the Gamecocks call timeout.
Spurrier isn’t changing his mind -- the Gamecocks’ offense goes onto the field and starts to run the play. Georgia apparently doesn’t like something in the pre-snap motion, so the Bulldogs now call timeout.
Spurrier still isn’t changing his mind. The South Carolina offense once again takes the field -- only to be stopped when South Carolina calls the timeout. Spurrier then changes his mind and goes with the punt.
Setting aside that head-scratching turn of events, some South Carolina fans are just relieved to survive despite flipping a common script by winning a wild one against Georgia in which the breaks all went the Gamecocks’ way.
However, this is the first time in my lifetime South Carolina was the team with more high-end talent capable of manufacturing a victory on a day the team was being outplayed. If you are like me, it is the first win over Georgia that resulted not in exultation, but relief that we did not screw it up.
South Carolina just won in Athens with a C+ effort. There are plenty of things to work on before out next test, but we may just have a greater margin for error than expected this season.
Georgia fans, meanwhile, are in a position that’s become all too familiar for them over the last couple of seasons -- waxing philosophical -- while at the same time engaging in the kind of silver-lining thinking that is usually the mode of the other side of this rivalry.
In the end analysis, we made more bad mistakes at bad times than they did and that’s why we lost. I think I speak for the group when I say that sucks. But it’s correctable. Much more correctable than getting manhandled up front all day would have been.
South Carolina’s next game is a historically perilous battle against Navy. For those who don’t know the back story, let me get you ready for the inevitable ESPN intro to the game. In 1984, South Carolina was 9-0 and had a legitimate shot of playing for the national title. The Gamecocks traveled to unranked Navy -- and lost, though a win against Clemson the next week clinched what remains the program’s only 10-win season. Georgia’s looming showdown with Coastal Carolina has no historical significance.
’WE’RE GOING TO NEED MORE NITROGLYCERIN’
Auburn 41, Missisippi State 34
You never quite know what you’re going to get when Auburn and Mississippi State play. A few years ago, we got 3-2. Whatever you want to say about Saturday’s contest between these two teams, it was not 3-2.
In fact, by the time it was over, Auburn and Mississippi State had combined for 52 first downs and 912 yards of total offense, on top of the 75 points that were scored. Auburn ran 59 offensive snaps, which really isn’t that unusual, but Mississippi State snapped the ball 97 times, which is. Even if you don’t count the kickers, eight different player scored at least once.
Oh, and it all came down to Auburn stopping Mississippi State at the goal line on the last play of the game, a run when State had more than enough time (10 seconds) to try a pass and then another play. (Dan Mullen would probably like me to remind you here that Chris Relf is his quarterback -- but, still.)
Here’s the counterintuitive thing about this slugfest: Auburn won despite being outgained to the tune of 150 yards and having a zero turnover margin. (Each team turned it over once.) But they got the win, and the eagle who is not a second mascot even though he’s at all the games survived a collision with the stadium, so everything’s looking up for the Tigers.
Next up on the docket for Auburn is a trip to Clemson for an interconference Tiger tussle. Mississippi State goes back home to face LSU, which should really go well for them at this rate.
IS A.J. McCARRON THE GUY?
Alabama 27, Penn State 11
It would be easy to look at the stat line -- 19-of-31, 163 yards and a touchdown -- and say that A.J. McCarron has righted the Alabama quarterback ship and has locked down the position. Then again, if you saw even highlights of McCarron's throws, you know the hole in that logic -- the better results were at least partially the product of McCarron being luckier, not better. McCarron still has a tendency for throwing into double- and triple-coverage, and there's only so many times you can do that without preparing to run wind sprints in the other direction to catch up with the defensive back who just picked you again.
But here is your obligatory paragraph about the Bama defense. They shut down the quarterbacks for Penn State -- Matthew McGloin was 1-of-10 for 0 yards -- and held the running game to 3.6 yards per carry. The Tide did not give up a touchdown for the first 58 minutes of gametime. Oh, and Trent Richardson is doing just fine in the running game (26 carries, 111 yards, 2 TDs) -- but thanks for asking.
Then again, maybe we should ask. Not necessarily about Trent Richardson, but about the guys who are supposed to be blocking for him, according to Alabama blog Roll Bama Roll.
Most of Trent Richardson’s yards were after contact (several runs were almost all due to his efforts alone), and while Penn State had no sacks, McCarron was under duress many times and several passes were batted down at the line of scrimmage. Moving forward, if ‘Bama wants to get to New Orleans, the offensive line simply has to play better, and if these struggles continue personnel changes up front are imminent.
We're sure this will prove to be an insurmountable obstacle when the North Texas Mean Green roll into Tuscaloosa this weekend.
TYLER BRAY ISN’T PEYTON MANNING. AT LEAST NOT YET.
Tennessee 45, Cincinnati 23
At some point, we have to take Tennessee seriously if they keep playing like this. Sure, the win against Montana was eager to explain away, seeing as how it was against Montana. But the win against Cincinnati is a bit harder to write off, seeing as Cincinnati is a BCS team (even if there are indications that it might be a very good one.) The Vols pulverized the Bearcats' offense, piling up 531 yards as Tyler Bray threw for a jaw-dropping 405.
But that's also part of the problem. The Vols only managed 126 yards rushing in game in which they held the lead for the last 43 minutes. Tauren Poole had a solid day with 101 yards on 21 carries, but he didn't get a heck of a lot of help from anyone else who carried the ball for Tennessee. (No one else averaged more than 3.3 yards per carry.)
Tennessee’s offense might indeed be on the upswing. But they need much more than the arm of an admittedly talented sophomore quarterback if they’re going to survive in the SEC. Tennessee fans are optimistic now, though, and who can blame them after the last three years?
We haven’t done ANYTHING yet. Tyler Bray has ten years, an SEC Championship and a Super Bowl ring to get before he’s Manning. Marlin Lane had eight carries for sixteen yards. Again, this isn’t about getting back, and it’s not about how quickly we can compare these guys to our all-time greats. We haven’t done anything yet.
But in seven days, you’d better believe we can.
What’s in seven days? The annual SEC opener with a team from Gainesville you might have heard of.
VANDERBILT BEAT A BCS TEAM! DON’T READ THE FINE PRINT!
Vanderbilt 24, Connecticut 21
It would be easy to write off winning against Connecticut as winning against Connecticut. But consider that Vanderbilt had not beaten a non-conference SEC foe in the regular season since trumping Duke in 2006. (They did best Boston College in the Music City Bowl after the magical 2008 season.) That’s a seven-game losing streak. The Commodores haven’t beaten a BCS foe of any kind -- period -- since early last year, when they defeated an Ole Miss team that had lost to Jacksonville State two weeks earlier.
All of which is not to say that James Franklin has arrived as coach of Vanderbilt. But he's certainly making things look solid for the Commodores early. It's not utterly laughable at this point to see Vanderbilt starting out 3-0, which would be the best opening to a season since 2008 and only the third time the Commodores have pulled it off since 1984.
Vanderbilt did actually win the box score in this game -- though nobody really wins a total offense battle when it’s a 259-193. So is the victory going to Vanderbilt fans’ heads? No, not exactly.
The game was a showcase of inept offense and points off turnovers as the ‘Dores dominated play but only came away with a three-point win thanks to Vandy’s stout defensive play. Vanderbilt overcame a blocked punt and fumble return touchdown to pull out the victory.
Franklin looks to stay undefeated as Vanderbilt’s coach this weekend against Ole Miss.
CUPCAKE WARS
LSU 49, Northwestern State 3: This was really not even fair. The Bayou Bengals offense held Northwestern State's running game to minus-5 yards -- the entire game. Northwestern State didn't break 100 yards of offense on the game. Jarrett Lee went 9-of-10 -- you will never read those words again -- for 133 yards and a toiuchdown, the Tigers got a look at Zach Mettenberger in game situations, and all indications are that the check cleared. So the game served its purpose in those regards. Next up is a Thursday night game against reeling Mississippi State.
Florida 39, UAB 0: Could it be that Charlie Weis is returning Florida’s offense to -- competence? The Gators rolled up 512 yards of total offense, didn’t surrender a turnover, and put up double-digit points in each of the first three quarters Saturday. In fact, it’s hard to find any nits to pick with Florida’s offensive performance the first two games. Or its defense, for that matter. Then again, they face a real football team for the first team during this week’s SEC opener against Tennessee. Let’s wait until then to make any decisions.
Arkansas 52, New Mexico 3: Fun fact: New Mexico outgained Arkansas by 38 yards. If you just consider Arkansas’ rushing numbers when compared to New Mexico’s total offense, that is. Arkansas is one of several SEC teams that has yet to play a team with what you could even charitably consider to be a pulse. Whether this weeks’ game with Troy really changes that is a matter of opinion, I suppose.
Ole Miss 42, Southern Illinois 24: It would be easy to make fun of Ole Miss’ decision to schedule the mighty Salukis, but let’s keep in mind that scheduling FCS teams has backfired on the Rebel Black Bears in recent years. This time, Ole Miss jumped out to a 21-0 lead and coasted to an easy win. There’s one caveat. Ole Miss got outgained by more than 100 yards by the Salukis, who committed four turnovers in the game. The Rebels also got outgained on the ground, which isn’t exactly comforting when you look at the run-heavy offenses Ole Miss is likely to face this season. The immediate focus is on this weekend’s match-up with Vanderbilt.
Kentucky 27, Central Michigan 13: Even Kentucky fans have to admit that there was a point in this game where they thought the Wildcats might lose. The 'Cats didn't take the lead until there were 23 seconds left in the third quarter. Morgan Newton still looked uneven. The running numbers were pretty solid, but you expect that when an SEC team faces a MAC squad. The next match-up is against Louisville, which is still technically a BCS team despite its best efforts to get relegated by losing to FIU.
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