Around the SEC: Meaningful games in the East and West
It was an up and down week two for the SEC as Auburn and Arkansas failed big non-conference tests while Georgia picked up a huge road win in South Bend. Everyone else took care of business on FCS Saturday and Mississippi State absolutely demolished Louisiana Tech on the road.
Now we enter a week three that includes everyone in action outside of Arkansas. On the schedule this week, we have three conference games and some very interesting non-conference contests.
Game of the Week: #7 LSU at Mississippi State
Ed Orgeron and LSU will face their first real test of the season when they make the trip to Starkville to take on Dan Mullen’s Bulldogs. Mississippi State has been a pleasant surprise to start the season as Nick Fitzgerald looks as good as advertised at quarterback. Meanwhile, it appears Mullen has solved some of State’s biggest problems as Aeris Williams looks to be a potential breakout performer at running back after averaging 7.6 yards per carry after two games and true freshman Kylin Hill appears ready to make an impact all season. Meanwhile, Mullen made a shrewd move in the offseason bring Todd Grantham back to the SEC to run his defense. Grantham’s unit is going to take a lot of risks to produce turnovers and negative plays . This has shown up in a big way early as the Dogs have forced six fumbles and recorded two interceptions.
LSU is off to a hot start under Ed Orgeron as the Tigers will enter their SEC opener after impressive wins over BYU and Chattanooga. The defense has been dominant early and this will week Dave Aranda’s group will get stud outside linebacker Arden Key back. New offensive coordinator Matt Canada will face his first big test at LSU as Grantham’s front seven is going to put a lot of pressure on quarterback Danny Etling who has only recorded 31 pass attempts on the season. Stud running back Derrius Guice has reached the 100-yard mark in each game and has already posted four touchdowns.
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LSU could be walking into a buzzsaw at Davis Wade Stadium as Mullen may have the best offense in the SEC and now has a fast, aggressive defense built on forcing turnovers. The first quarter is going to be huge for LSU as Mississippi State to come out swinging and try to get out to a big lead early. Grantham’s units have had success stopping the run, so the Tigers will need Canada to have a solid gameplan so Etling can have some easy reads early and often.
You Also Need to Watch: #23 Tennessee at #22 Florida
The SEC on CBS will be live from Gainesville as the Vols and the Gators meet once again. Tennessee looked strong last week against FCS Indiana State after a miraculous win against Georgia Tech. In his first two starts, Quinten Dormady has been solid behind center as he’s completed 60% of his passes in a game manager type role. John Kelly has a legit shot to lead the SEC in rushing this fall and he’s off to a fast start with 208 yards in two games. But the surprise on offense for the Vols is wide receiver Marquez Callaway who has five receptions and three touchdowns. But the rushing defense is still a huge question mark and the Vols will get challenge in a big way here at The Swamp.
Florida received an unexpected bye last week due to Hurricane Irma and now they’re facing a near must win scenario in week three. Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier are receiving all kinds of heat and if the offense looks like a dumpster fire this week don’t be surprised if some kind of change is made. It is expected that redshirt freshman Feliepe Franks will get the start in this one and there will be plays available against a Tennessee defense that has a lot of holes. Will McElwain stick with him if he makes a mistake? It is still not clear if the suspended Florida players will play and that’s a concern. They will need a strong effort from their defense, but that’s not new.
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Ever since Urban Meyer left Gainesville, this has just been a wacky series where most games are low scoring where the teams just beat the crap out of each other. We’re going to see that again on Saturday as both squads will be fielding very young quarterbacks. It’s a real tricky spot for McElwain’s as Florida would drop to 0-2 with a loss with a difficult road trip to Kentucky on deck and then a huge three game home stretch against Vanderbilt, LSU, and Texas A&M. A 2-3 or 1-4 start is a possibility if the Gators drop this one. Meanwhile, Butch Jones is kind of playing with house money as a loss probably wouldn’t bring much criticism and a win would have Tennessee in the top 15 when Georgia comes to Knoxville in two weeks.
Sleeper Game: #18 Kansas State at Vanderbilt
For the second week in a row, we get a Big XII-SEC non-conference game occurring in the south. This time Bill Snyder and Kansas State head to Nashville to take on Derek Mason’s Commodores. K-State is a very trendy pick in the Big XII behind senior quarterback Jesse Ertz who is your traditional Snyder dual-threat quarterback who provides a power run element. Sophomore running back Alex Barnes appears to be a future star in Manhattan while Byron Pringle is one of the best big play receivers in the country. The defense should again be salty for K-State and this is a legit top 20 team.
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You could make the argument that Vanderbilt has been the most impressive SEC team in the first two weeks as the ‘Dores have flat out dominated their two opponents. The biggest reason for this is the play of junior quarterback Kyle Shurmur. Shurmur is completing 70% of his passes and has tossed seven touchdowns to go with zero interceptions. Wide receivers Kalija Lipscomb and Trent Sherfield are emerging as legit weapons and it appears Mason will finally have a capable offense in Nashville. It’s concerning that senior running back Ralph Webb hasn’t got it going yet as he is currently averaging 2.8 yards per carry. The defense has been dominant in its first two contests as Vandy has only given up one touchdown. Redshirt junior Charles Wright is emerging as a legit pass rush threat posting 4.5 tackles for loss and four sacks in the first two games. Vanderbilt could have the best secondary in the SEC with four senior starters.
This is a real intriguing game and Mason has a chance to pick up a huge top 25 win at home. The schedule gets really tough after this and Vandy could be looking at a 2-5 start if they can’t collect a victory on Saturday. Meanwhile, K-State draws both Oklahoma and TCU at home and it could be an awesome season in Manhattan. This one is going to be fun
The Rest of the League
There are a ton of good matchups on Saturday as two FCS games are joined by some very interesting non-conference contests. Oh, and we’ll get some Pac-12 after dark.
In College Station, things are pretty dark right now as the Aggies are sitting at 1-1 after a miraculous loss at UCLA and a very ugly home win against Nicholls State. Now the Aggies will host the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for a built in win. However, this Cajuns offense has a new offensive coordinator and they are putting up monster numbers. The Aggies defense will be tested, but this Louisiana defense has been one of the worst in the country and the Aggie rushing attack should have a big day. If true freshman quarterback Kellen Mond struggles, we could see a change before the huge game with Arkansas next week.
Auburn’s offense will look to get back on track after the ugly performance against Clemson last week. Gus Malzahn announced this week that offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey will move up to the box. Auburn will be looking for better quarterback play from Jarrett Stidham and more movement created by the offensive line. The defense will be looking to build off two dominant performances to start the season.
Barry Odom fired his defensive coordinator this week and it appears he’ll be taking full control of the defense in Columbia. This week the Tigers will face a tall challenge in Purdue who has one of the best play-callers in football in head coach Jeff Brohm. The Mizzou offense received a lot of hype this offseason but they have still yet to prove they can put up points against Power Five competition. They’ll need to score on Saturday.
Alabama dominated a bad Fresno State team and now they will host Colorado State. The Rams are one of the better Group of Five teams in 2017 and they have an explosive offense led by quarterback Nick Stevens and longtime SEC assistant Mike Bobo. Alabama may be challenged in the first half but the talent will take over late in the football game.
Georgia returns to Sanford Stadium after the big road win at Notre Dame. They will be hosting FCS Samford and look for offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to open up the playbook a bit to gain true freshman quarterback Jake Fromm some confidence heading into the SEC schedule. Dawgs roll to this one before the huge home game against Mississippi State.
The craziest game on the slate will happen out in Berkeley as Ole Miss and California will meet for a 10:30 pm ET kickoff. You all know about the Ole Miss offense, but Cal can put up points in bunches. The Bears have weapons at the skill positions and sophomore Ross Bowers has been very good in his first two starters. This one will be a shootout.
