Looking ahead
Now that Alabama and Georgia have established themselves as the SEC West and East front-runners possibly destined to meet in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 7, we’re left with a host of questions over the coming weeks. Well, at least eight come to mind:
- Will Alabama's offensive line woes continue to keep the Crimson Tide from dominating teams in the fashion to which Alabama fans have become accustomed (the Tide on Saturday lost center Ryan Kelly for several weeks with a stretched medial collateral knee ligament)?
- Will Georgia's defensive woes lead to an embarrassing road loss in the league that no one can look around the corner and see coming (at Vanderbilt anyone)?
- Will Florida's offensive woes (yes, only 24 points at Kentucky counts in that regard) keep the Gators from being able to compete for the East title (not to mention having to face LSU, South Carolina and Missouri on the road and Georgia at a neutral site)?
- Will South Carolina simply hang around long enough to catch Georgia (see above about Bulldogs' unforeseen stumble)?
- Can Connor Shaw's sprained shoulder (he'll miss at least two, maybe three weeks) be a blessing that leads to the emergence of Dylan Thompson as the next great quarterback in the SEC?
- Can undefeated Missouri beat anyone in the SEC East and throw the race up in the air?
- Can Alabama possibly even come close to a stumble given that their only SEC road games remaining are at Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn?
- If Texas A&M wins at LSU and runs the table in the West, will the Aggies and Johnny Football be waiting for the SEC title game winner in the national championship game (they will if the ESPN/SEC cabal gets its way)?
Sound bites
"It was a good start for us. (Tyler) Murphy did a good job running the ship. It felt like we had the ball forever. I don't know how many minutes (it was) but it felt like we had it forever and that it was our job to keep the ball and keep the defense off the field and ready to go." — Florida wide receiver Trey Burton on opening the Kentucky victory with a touchdown drive.
"Pure domination. They had a few plays here and there, but three stops on fourth down, a safety and two turnovers. We played a great game." — Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley on the shutout of Ole Miss.
"We've grown up a lot this past month. I think everyone in the nation knows what Georgia football is about now. We're a tough group of guys. We're fighters." — Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray about playing three top-10 teams in the first month of the season with victories over South Carolina and LSU at home and a loss at Clemson.
"Scheduling and recruiting are the two biggest ways to turn a program around. You guys know how difficult the SEC is. It's a brutal conference. So being able to be competitive in your out-of-conference games builds confidence going into the SEC — it's very, very important." — Vanderbilt coach James Franklin after routing Alabama-Birmingham.
"Somebody on top is looking out for our team right now because our mental decisions that we were making, we easily could have lost." — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier on surviving at Central Florida.
Poll chatter
Seven SEC teams remained in the new AP top 25 poll. Alabama remained No. 1, with five voters selecting Oregon at the top of their polls. Georgia moved up to No. 6. LSU fell to No. 10, one spot behind Texas A&M. South Carolina fell a spot to No. 13. Florida moved up two spots to No. 18 and Ole Miss fell three to No. 24.
TV chatter
Several TV game times were announced Sunday. Georgia at Tennessee was selected as the 3:30 p.m. CBS game. Ole Miss at Auburn was picked up as a 7 p.m. start on ESPNU. Also set were LSU at Mississippi State at 7 p.m. on ESPN and Arkansas at Florida at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Saturday’s LSU at Georgia game earned a 4.9 rating and a 12 share, an increase of 75 percent over last year’s Tennessee at Georgia game. The rating and share peaked between 7-7:30 p.m. at 7.1/15.
By the numbers
8-1
Florida’s record vs. Arkansas, the Gators’ only loss in the series was in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl. The teams play Saturday night at the Swamp.
17
Undefeated and AP-ranked teams that Alabama has played since 2009 and the Tide has a 15-2 record in those matchups.
24
Consecutive games that Alabama has won in the month of September, with the last loss coming on Sept. 29, 2007 to No. 22 Florida State in Jacksonville, Fla.
3
Rushes of 50 or more yards for South Carolina’s Mike Davis (Stephenson High). He is 12th in the nation and No. 1 in the SEC in per game average (127).
476.8
Yards allowed by Texas A&M’s defense, last in the SEC, after allowing 483 to Arkansas.
Conventional wisdom
Thumbs down: Freshmen on the two-deep depth chart. To win at recruiting in the SEC, you almost have to promise physically ready freshmen a shot to play. But the defensive struggles by Texas A&M, LSU and Georgia, populated heavily by freshmen, show what physically ready but easily confused 18-year-olds can mean to the scoreboard, not to mention to the job security of defensive coordinators.
Thumbs up: Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. His offense is 41st nationally in rushing at 209 yards per game despite losing his best back to injuries in two games, ninth nationally in pass offense at 345 yards per game, seventh in total offense at 554 yards per game and No. 1 in the country for hometown fans calling for him to be fired. His best attributes are recruiting top receivers, preparing his quarterbacks, putting his unit in position to succeed and ignoring his critics.
Twitterati
Keith Marshall, Georgia running back
RT @jtheus71: S/o to @coachmarkfox for showing some extreme support yesterday and dressing up with @UGASPIKESQUAD
Cecil Hurt, Alabama beat writer for more than 30 years at the Tuscaloosa News
Alabama opens at -57 (point spread) against Georgia State.
Tony Barnhart, Mr. College Football
Speaking to Knoxville Quarterback Club on Monday. Wonder if Lane Kiffin’s name will come up?
Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss coach
Most of life is learning, growing. Falling down and getting back up, forgiving and forgetting, accepting and going on. #WINTHEDAY
Saturday’s games
12:21 p.m., Georgia State at No. 1 Alabama, WPCH
3:30 p.m., No. 6 Georgia at Tennessee, CBS
7 p.m., No. 24 Ole Miss at Auburn, ESPNU
7 p.m., Arkansas at No. 18 Florida, ESPN2
7 p.m., No. 10 LSU at Mississippi State, ESPN
7:30 p.m., Missouri at Vanderbilt, CSS
7:30 p.m., Kentucky at No. 13 South Carolina, FSSO
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