What we learned
No team is the same year to year and no team is the same even week to week in the SEC.
But Georgia’s defensive struggles now look like a given each week until some of the defenders start playing like SEC players. The survival test at Tennessee, a team the Bulldogs were heavily favored to roll, only serves to make Bulldog Nation more nervous about the coming weeks.
Next up: Undefeated Missouri, now ranked No. 25.
The Tigers are 5-0 and have scored at least 38 points in each of the victories. Only one of those, the 51-28 spanking of Vanderbilt on Saturday, came against an SEC team and Vandy is now 0-3 in the league. But with Georgia’s struggle to stop anyone, the Saturday noon matchup in Sanford Stadium now looks like it will be more of a challenge than it did two weeks ago. And all those UGA students who have a love-hate debate about whether Aaron Murray should have returned for his final season need to start showing the new SEC career passing yardage leader more love based on the past two weeks.
Games after Missouri, games that once looked like “name that score” moments, suddenly look like battles. At Vanderbilt? At Auburn? Kentucky at home? All should be winnable, but as Tennessee showed, there are no guarantees, especially on the road.
And the annual Jacksonville game against Florida awaits at month’s end and looks like the next SEC East elimination game. Both teams are fighting through injuries to key players, though Florida at the moment has the sturdiest SEC defense and an offense that does enough to get the job done.
This week’s visit to LSU finally will test the Gators’ defense and provide some comparison to start the jawing about Georgia-Florida weekend.
Sound bites
"Couple guys we turned loose got blind-side shots. We gotta get that corrected. We won't survive in the SEC playing like that. … Nobody's gonna give us a break obviously with the schedule coming up." — Arkansas coach Bret Bielema on the 30-10 loss to Florida.
"I knew we needed another stop, so I had to pin my ears back and go after the quarterback." — Auburn defensive end Carl Lawson (Milton High School) on his second sack which came late in the game. He had the first two sacks of his career in the 30-22 victory against Ole Miss.
"My view when I saw him dive, I thought he scored. I didn't know he even dropped the ball until everybody was over there saying he dropped it. I just thought he was out of bounds before he dove but after I saw it on the screen, I was overjoyed. Something in my heart just knew we were going to win this game when it got that close." — Georgia defense end Jordan Jenkins (Harris County High) on Tennessee's Pig Howard's overtime fumble that resulted in a touchback.
"I think you kind of have to move past it. … You've got to kind of put your head down and let it go and try not to dwell on the past. Take a peek back there and remind yourself of things you don't want to do." — UT Running back Rajion Neal (Sandy Creek High) on the collection of unfortunate losses during his career.
"I don't feel like anybody has to believe in curses. They just made a play when they needed to. It was a close game, we fought, the whole team fought as one Tennessee. Unfortunately, we didn't get the last break to get the win." — UT linebacker Dontavis Sapp, who gave the Vols a postgame locker room pep talk that teammates were buzzing about.
Poll chatter
Ole Miss, a loser at Auburn, fell out of the top 25, but the SEC kept seven teams in the AP poll when Missouri, a surprise blowout winner at Vanderbilt, moved in at No. 25.
Georgia fell one spot to No. 7 after struggling to beat Tennessee. South Carolina fell one spot to No. 14 after struggling in the second half to subdue Kentucky.
Alabama (No. 1), Texas A&M (No. 9) and LSU (No. 10) maintained their places. Florida moved ahead one spot to No. 17 after destroying Arkansas in the Swamp.
Clowney chatter
Remember when South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate?
Now, the question is whether he’s even a candidate to get through the season in good health, much less whether he’ll win any awards or become the NFL’s No. 1 pick in May.
Clowney decided not to play Saturday night for the Gamecocks against Kentucky, catching coach Steve Spurrier and Clowney’s teammates by surprise.
“He told me he couldn’t play. Ribs hurt, couldn’t run,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “I said, ‘That’s fine, you don’t have play. We’ll move on.’ … We’re not going to worry about it, I can assure you that. If he doesn’t want to play, he doesn’t have to. It’s as simple as that.”
Spurrier said Clowney told him just before the game. Clowney has bruised ribs and a lingering bone spur issue in his foot since high school. “He did not practice Thursday,” Spurrier said. “He said he couldn’t play. Who are we to question? He couldn’t play.”
“Usually, the doctor or the trainer comes and tells you a guy will be out,” he added. “That did not happen last night.”
When asked about Clowney’s commitment to the Gamecocks, Spurrier replied, “You’ll have to ask him that.”
The drama continues in Columbia.
By the numbers
12
Consecutive SEC opponents that Florida has held to 20 or fewer points.
56
Distance of Marshall Morgan’s first-quarter field goal at Tennessee. It tied Blair Walsh for longest in UGA history, was the longest in UGA history on the road, the longest ever in Neyland Stadium and the longest in the SEC this season.
3
Consecutive road games for South Carolina the next three weeks, including stops at Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri.
563
Yards gained by LSU vs. Mississippi State. Zach Mettenberger was 25-of-29 for 340 yards, Odell Beckham caught nine passes for 179 yards and Jeremy Hill rushed for 157 yards.
140
Nick Marshall’s rushing yardage as Auburn quarterback against Ole Miss. He had 148 rushing yards entering the game.
Twitterati
Aaron Murray @aaronmurray11 (with an instagram photo of his 57-yard run)
Had to show everyone I could still run a little bit
David Pollack @davidpollack47 (ESPN analyst is drawing fire for saying the new playoff committee shouldn't include women offered his "clarification.")
I want people on the committee that eat, sleep & breathe college football during the season. It has nothing to do with male or female
The SEC Logo @SEC_Logo
QB Rating: #SEC 1. Zach Mettenberger 190.1 2. Johnny Manziel 188.1 3. Aaron Murray 176.9 4. Connor Shaw 173.9 5. AJ McCarron 162.7
Conventional wisdom
Thumbs down: SEC defenses. Oklahoma's Bob Stoops joined the chorus last week with criticism of the league's ability to stop any offense and it certainly seems warranted. Except for Florida, there may not be a defense capable to maintain the league's streak of BCS national titles.
Thumbs up: UGA's J.J. Green. For all the freshman rising stars in the SEC — and there are many — the Georgia reserve running back from Camden County added some stature to his 5-foot-9 frame when gained 129 yards on 17 carries against Tennessee after Keith Marshall went down with a knee injury.
Saturday schedule
- No. 25 Missouri at No. 7 Georgia, noon, ESPN
- No. 14 South Carolina at Arkansas, 12:21 p.m., WPCH
- Western Carolina at Auburn, 2 p.m., Pay per view
- No. 17 Florida at No. 10 LSU, 3:30 p.m., CBS
- No. 1 Alabama at Kentucky, 7 p.m., ESPN2
- Bowling Green at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m., SportSouth
- No. 9 Texas A&M at Ole Miss, 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Compiled by Ray Cox
