SEC Hot and Cold: Quarterbacks take center stage, for better and worse
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Quarterbacks dominated the headlines of SEC action, for better or worse, as the deepest collegiate football league in the country began sorting itself out.
Two of the SEC’s relatively unknown quarterbacks — at least, on the national landscape — left positive lasting impressions in Georgia’s 44-41 overtime victory over Tennessee.
Gunner Stockton, kept under wraps in previous games this season, showed off the progress he has made in an offense designed around his skills in winning the first road start of his career.
Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar, meanwhile, showed he’s more than a flash-in-the-pan transfer on his fifth school by default, setting his team up to win had a 43-yard field goal in regulation gone through the uprights.
It’s hard for a game to have happy endings for both quarterbacks, but that’s what happened in Knoxville, as Aguilar and the Vols scored a classic moral victory.
Moral victories hold more value than ever in the college game, especially when there’s so much season ahead and a College Football Playoff system that allows for teams to lose multiple games and still make the 12-team field.
Here’s a look at an SEC Hot and Cold report peppered with quarterback storylines.
HOTTEST
Oklahoma, John Mateer
The transfer QB from Washington State was the Heisman Trophy betting favorite at the start of the week, and there’s no reason to believe that will change after Mateer passed for 282 yards and a touchdown and broke off a highlight-friendly 51-yard rushing touchdown.
The Sooners moved up to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 with the 42-3 road win over Temple in Philadelphia, with No. 22 Auburn on deck in Norman next Saturday.
HOT
Vanderbilt, Diego Pavia
Pavia led the Commodores to their first win over South Carolina in 17 years, and on the road with the Gamecocks ranked No. 11, at that.
Pavia was 18-of-25 passing for 177 yards and rushed for 24 yards in a victory that gave Vanderbilt its first 3-0 start since 2017 and gave the Commodores their earliest AP Top 25 ranking (at No. 20) in school history.
COLD
South Carolina, LaNorris Sellers
The Heisman Trophy hopes of the Gamecocks’ second-year quarterback have cooled considerably after back-to-back subpar performances, this one involving LaNorris Sellers leaving the 31-7 home loss to Vanderbilt.
Sellers was 6-of-7 passing for 94 yards and had an 8-yard run, but before getting knocked out of the game on a helmet-to-helmet hit, he threw a costly red zone interception with the game tied 7-7.
HOT
Alabama, Ty Simpson
Simpson has settled in and the Crimson Tide are rolling, entering the off week leading into a showdown at Georgia on the heels of a dominant 38-14 win over Wisconsin that saw the Alabama quarterback pass for 382 yards and four touchdowns.
Simpson was 24-of-29 passing with two of the incompletions drops and five of the completions to SEC star Ryan Williams for 165 yards and two touchdowns
COLD
Texas, Arch Manning
It’s hard to call a Top 10 team “cold,” but the fact that Utah State put up more points on UTEP (28-16) than Texas did in its 27-10 win Saturday is almost as confounding as Arch Manning connecting on just 11 of 25 passes for 114 yards with a touchdown and interception.
The saving grace for Manning and Texas — at the moment — is a favorable schedule that features a home game with Conference USA member Sam Houston on Saturday before a bye week and then a trip to face a struggling Florida program.
HOT
Georgia, Gunner Stockton
Stockton, finally given the chance (forced?) to show off his dual-threat skills, passed for a career-high 304 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, also rushing for 38 yards on 13 carries, including a 6-yard touchdown run.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart called out “naysayers” after the 44-41 overtime win, which featured Stockton making an oil painting-moment throw — a perfectly delivered, 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth down late in the fourth quarter.
HOT
Tennessee, Joey Aguilar
Yes, the Vols so-called “Joey Football” is a Cinderella story worth watching after he opened the game against Georgia’s vaunted defense 14-of-14 passing for 213 yards and two touchdowns before Smart and his staff adjusted.
Aguilar showed a quick release, great toughness and the fearlessness to launch the deep ball to 6-foot-5 target Chris Brazzell ll, who finished with six receptions for 177 yards and three touchdowns.
COLDEST
Florida, DJ Lagway
The gifted Lagway, appearing less than 100% after an offseason working back from injury, threw five interceptions in the Gators’ 20-10 road loss to LSU.
Lagway completed 33-of-49 passes for 287 yards and ran nine times for 19 yards in Florida’s effort to avoid losing back-to-back games after an 18-16 home loss to South Florida the Saturday before.
Other SEC scores and starting QB performances
Texas A&M 41, Notre Dame 40
Marcel Reed, 17-of-37 passing, 360 yards, 2 TDs, interception; 7 carries, 37 yards.
Auburn 31, South Alabama 15
Jackson Arnold, 13-of-24 passing, 142 yards, 1 TD; 10 carries, 50 yards, 2 TDs.
Ole Miss 41, Arkansas 35
Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss), 21-of-29 passing, 353 yards, TD; 15 carries, 62 yards, 2 TDs.
Taylen Green (Arkansas), 22-of-35 passing, 305 yards, 1 TD; 14 carries 115 yards, 1 TD.
Kentucky 48, Eastern Michigan 23
Cutter Boley, 12-of-21 passing, 240 yards, 2 TDs; 5 carries, 24 yards.
Mississippi State 63, Alcorn State 0
Blake Shapen, 10-of-14 passing, 173 yards, 2 TDs, interception; 3 carries, 12 yards, 1 TD.
Missouri 52, Louisiana 10
Beau Pribula, 15-of-22 passing, 174 yards, 2 TD, interception; 6 carries, 5 yards, TD.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
