SEC REPORT - WEEK 3 & 4
by David Waters
September 24, 2009
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A look back at Week 3 and look ahead to week 4.
A look back…
Tennessee 13 at Florida 23
It wasn't the blowout everyone expected, but a win is a win. Tennessee's defense held tough against the Gators' offense, forcing Florida to go into conservation mode and put the game in Tim Tebow's hands. Florida's offense just seems to have trouble with the athleticism of Tennessee's defense, as this game looked a lot like last season's game.
There were several Gator players that either played injured or sick, and it showed that Meyer doesn't have the confidence in his receivers yet. Meyer put the game on Tebow's shoulders because it seemed the receivers, without Deonte Thompson, just could not get open.
The Florida defense played well, but not spectacular. There were too many missed tackles, but the touchdown scored was the first one of the season on the Gator defense. Volunteer quarterback Jonathan Crompton was just in Gainesville to hand the ball off and throw interceptions. Tennessee's receivers were nowhere to be found, as Kiffin didn't want to put the ball downfield and just keep the ball on the ground and keep the clock running.
North Texas 7 at Alabama 53
Alabama took an early lead and never looked back in this one. The running game continued to look strong behind Mark Ingram's eight carries for 91 yards. Quarterback Greg McElroy had time just to sit back and complete passes all day against North Texas.
Defense once again looked stout holding the Mean Green to just seven first downs.
Louisville 27 at Kentucky 31
The Wildcats needed some plays late to pull a win in out the rivalry against the Cardinals.
Playmaker Randall Cobb caught a 12-yard pass for a late touchdown, while the Kentucky defense forced an interception to seal a win. Mike Hartline managed the game with short throws picking apart the Louisville defense, but the Wildcats had a hard time stopping the same type of plays from Louisville, especially on third down. Special teams got in on the action with a kickoff return for a touchdown from running back Derrick Locke. Locke was impressive totaling 219 all-purpose yards.
Louisiana-Lafayette 3 at LSU 31
Tigers' quarterback Jordan Jefferson still hasn't seemed to find his groove in the offense yet. He didn't have to show much in this game though, as there were plenty of short passes to the receivers, and the receivers made plays after the catch. Charles Scott hasn't got the number of carries or the yardage many thought he would and only had 12 carries for 63 yards against ULL. That can be contributed to Les Miles wanting to get Jefferson more reps. The defense is starting to jell coming up with three turnovers and surrendering only 272 yards.
Mississippi St. 15 at Vanderbilt 3
Dan Mullen gets his first win in the SEC in a typical Mississippi St. slugfest. The Bullogs need more playmakers fro Mullen's spread offense, but if the defense continues to play like it did against Vandy, they could eek out another SEC win. A Ryan Fowler 20-yard field goal was all the Commodores could muster after it looked like the Vandy offense was maybe ready to turn the corner. After just 157 yards of total offense, it is apparent Vanderbilt is lacking offensive firepower as well. Mississippi St. held the ball for 38 minutes behind the running of Anthony Dixon, who had 123 yards on 21 carries.
Florida Atlantic 16 at South Carolina 38
In a game that was close at half time, the South Carolina's offense showed it can pile up some yardage. Stephen Garcia was 20-27 for 222 yards, and one touchdown, showing that he can be the quarterback Steve Spurrier can be confident in and leading the offense to 516 yards. The defense maybe in some trouble though as injures keep mounting up.
Southeastern Louisiana 6 Ole Miss 52
In one more tune up game, the defense forced five turnovers behind the great play of their defensive line. Quarterback Jevan Snead looked good, but not great. It took him way too long to get into rhythm with the receivers.
West Virginia 30 at Auburn 41
Auburn took a different approach to win against West Virginia than their first two games. After racking nearly 700 yards rushing in its first two games, it was the passing game behind Chris Todd that exploded for 300 yards and four touchdowns. West Virginia had the game in hand, but helped the Tigers by throwing five interceptions and having a total of six turnovers. The Tigers defense forced three of those interceptions in three straight drives.
Georgia 52 at Arkansas 41
Another shootout, another Georgia win. Joe Cox earned SEC Player of the Week honors by passing for 375 yards and five touchdowns. Two of those passes went to A.J Green for touchdowns and Richard Samuel added another after rushing for 104 yards on 16 carries. There was no defense in this game as Arkansas quarterback also had a spectacular day as he tossed for 408 yards and five touchdowns also. If either team is going to be a contender, the defenses must make some stops. A team cannot survive in the SEC if they can't stop another SEC foe. In the SEC a team must play defense.
A look ahead…
Ole Miss at South Carolina (Thursday)
Ole Miss finally gets a name worthy opponent as they travel to Columbia to take on the Gamecocks. South Carolina beat Ole Miss last season and have a good chance of doing it again because of the improvement of quarterback Stephen Garcia. We all know Spurrier's offense works when he has a quarterback that can pitch the ball around, and help balance with the running game. Garcia has thrown for 683 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, while leading the Gamecocks to about 27 points a game. The Ole Miss defense has had trouble getting to the quarterback with just three sacks in two games, and look for the return of Greg Hardy to help get in the backfield.
The South Carolina defense is injured but still is finding a way to make plays behind a great pass rush. The defense is fast enough to hang with Ole Miss, but the injuries maybe too much to overcome. The defense needs to play like it did against N.C. State, and not Georgia. It has taken a while in both games for Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead to get going. Snead can't wait until the third quarter to get going against South Carolina unless the defense is shutting down the Gamecocks. If Snead is having trouble, look for Dexter McCluster to have to make plays to keep the Rebels in the game.
Winner: Ole Miss
Florida at Kentucky
The number one Gators travel to Lexington in their first road game of the season. The Gators have beaten Kentucky 22 straight times, dating back to 1986. Florida comes in needing to find consistent playmakers at wide receiver. David Nelson and Riley Cooper were the only wide receivers to catch passes in the win last week against Tennessee. If Tennessee supplied to the blue print for Florida's offense, the Florida offensive line needs to see if they can give Tebow more time to throw. Kentucky needs to do a better job of getting off the field on third downs. The Florida receivers can look to get passes thrown their way as Kentucky has also had trouble stopping short to intermediate routes that the Gators love to run.
Will this finally be the game where Carlos Dunlap and the rest of the Florida defensive line get in the backfield? Through three games the Gators only have four sacks, and that will probably continue as Kentucky uses a quick, short throw offense. Randall Cobb will be used heavily as he is the only player on Kentucky's offense that can match-up play after play with the speed of Florida's defense.
Winner: Florida
LSU at Mississippi St.
The LSU offense still hasn't taken off behind quarterback Jordan Jefferson, but running back Charles Scott hasn't exactly helped out much either. Jefferson does enough to be a great game manager as he has only thrown one interception this season, but the Mississippi St. defense will be the best he has faced this season and will force him to make some plays. If Scott continues to struggle look for Keiland Williams to continue to get more carries and add to his two touchdowns. Mississippi St. struggled against the run against Auburn two weeks ago, but stepped it up against Vandy last week, but that was an one-dimensional offense, and LSU will pose more of a threat to throw the ball.
The Bulldogs offense must be better if they want to get another SEC win. Chris Relf, Anthony Dixon, and Tyson Lee will move around a lot to give LSU's defense some trouble early on, but the Tigers' defense will put the clamps down later in the game and force the Bulldogs to put the ball in the air. LSU hasn't allowed an offensive touchdown in six straight quarters, and Les Miles has never lost to Mississippi St. (4-0)
Winner: LSU
Arkansas at Alabama
Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy has been impressive so far, leading the Tide to a 3-0 start. When the Crimson Tide running game gets going, McElroy is at his best bootlegging and using the play action pass to march down field. The Crimson Tide offense may not need to march down field against Arkansas, after the Razorbacks gave up 375 yards and five touchdowns to Georgia. The nation knows Alabama can run the ball, but look for them to put the ball in the air against the Razorbacks.
This will be the best offense Alabama has faced this season against Arkansas. Ryan Mallet had a field day last week against Georgia and if the Crimson Tide can't get to Mallet, he will have success even with the talented secondary on the other side of the ball. This Arkansas offense can keep them in every game this season.
Winner: Alabama
Ball St. at Auburn
This is the fourth straight home game for the Tigers as they look to go 4-0. Auburn quarterback Chris Todd threw for a career high 284 yards against West Virginia, but look for Auburn to get back to running the ball with Ben Tate and Onterio McCalebb against Ball St. The Cardinals won't pose much of a threat against the Tigers, so it will be another opportunity to get more game time experience with the new offense. The defense has forced a ton of turnovers and that will continue against Ball St.
Winner: Auburn
Arizona St. at Georgia
It is hard to get a read on both teams. Arizona St. has faced no one and the Georgia defense is giving up a ton of yardage and points. Danny Sullivan is the quarterback the Sun Devils are bringing into Athens, oh and by the way it's his first road start of his career. Georgia always destroys teams that come out of conference and out of state into Athens. This game should be no problem for the Dawgs and they need to work on some things that will go a long way into having a successful season. Stop the opponent's passing attack by covering receivers and getting pressure on the opposing quarterback. One more thing, cut down on the penalties. Georgia leads the SEC in penalties.
Georgia quarterback Joe Cox has progressively gotten better every game this season. The next step for him is to see if he can keep it up. The Georgia running game will get plenty of action behind Caleb King and Richard Samuel, unless this game also turns into another shootout.
Ohio at Tennessee
Will the Tennessee still be conservative against an over-matched opponent? Quarterback Jonathan Crompton and the receivers need to get their confidence back after a disappointing last two weeks. The freshmen receivers Marsalis Teague and Nu'Keese Richardson need to get more work, but will the offense open up more for them to get a chance to shine? If the playbook does open up, can Crompton get them the ball? Against Ohio he should be able to gain some confidence heading into hosting Auburn.
Plain and simple the Volunteer's defense is going to be way too much for the Bobcats to handle. The running game for Ohio is only averaging 2.9 yards per carry. Ohio played UCONN pretty tough earlier this season in a loss, but the Vols defense will prove to be too much.
Vanderbilt at Rice
This will be a very competitive game for Vanderbilt, but will be a good test to see if they get their offense going against a similar opponent. Vanderbilt was only able to produce a field goal that was basically given to them when they started a drive at the Mississippi St. six yard line. Vanderbilt will need to establish the run to keep the Rice offense off the field. Rice uses a rotating quarterback system that produced 301 yards against Oklahoma St. last week, a game that was a game in the fourth quarter. Vanderbilt needs to get it's running game going, but if it can't find a way to get the ball downfield via the passing game, the Commodores will have a hard time duplicating the results of last season, starting with this game.
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