Kenny Hill leads the SEC in passing yards. (Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
The Southeastern Conference first month of the 2014 football season is in the books and we now have enough information to make some reasonable judgments.
In general, the SEC East is a mess. Conversely, the SEC West may not only be the toughest division in the country but the toughest league among the power conferences in the nation.
In the East, everybody knows what it is like to taste defeat in the first month of the season. Every team has lost a conference game, even the preseason favorites Georgia and South Carolina, and the Gamecocks have already lost twice. The only team that is still undefeated in conference play is Missouri, and even the Tigers have an embarrassing non-conference home loss to Indiana on their record.
“We just have got to focus on getting better and the confidence level that you gain for something like this is significant,” Gary Pinkel said after Missouri’s 21-20 comeback win at South Carolina. “We’ve got to be a lot better football team. We’ve got to use this to make us better, not use this to make us feel good.”
Nobody is technically out of the East race yet except Vanderbilt. Derek Mason’s team is 0-3 in the conference as he attempts to bring the Stanford way of playing football to Vanderbilt. It hasn’t worked yet, but that is not to say it won’t eventually.
“We just have to continue to work and learn and continue to grow up as well,” Mason said after the Kentucky game. “This team is a young team and the best thing we can do is do what we can do. That means capitalize on our opportunities and just go out there and get it done. In the end, I am just looking at our team and we’re getting better, we just have to continue to minimize the mistakes and maximize the opportunities.”
Georgia could still be the top team in the East since the Bulldogs will still play Missouri and Florida.
“I think we’re playing better,” said Mark Richt. “How good will we get — I don’t know this season, but I think we are improving steadily and that’s a good thing.”
Georgia’s Todd Gurley is leading the East in rushing while three of the top five quarterbacks in terms of yardage — South Carolina’s Dylan Thompson, Patrick Towles of Kentucky and Maty Mauk of Missouri — are in the East, which could be more of an indictment of the defenses in the division.
Four of the top tacklers in the league are in the East — Michael Scherer and Kentrell Brothers of Missouri, A. J. Johnson of Tennessee and Nigel Bowden of Vanderbilt.
The SEC West is the cutthroat half of the Southeastern Conference — five of the seven teams are still undefeated in league play and overall. The two teams with losses are LSU and Arkansas and both are still considered dangerous. The Tigers have young albeit talented athletes galore and the Razorbacks boast one of the best ground games in the country.
Alabama and Auburn are two of the favorites in the West and both have tough tests this weekend.
No. 3 Alabama goes to Oxford to face Bo Wallace — the third-most productive passer in the league — and the No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels.
“We are going to prepare for them like we do everybody else,” Ole Miss defensive back Cody Prewitt said. “They are coming into our house so we are not going to be intimidated. They are going to be the ones climbing up the hill.”
“It is SEC play and one of the big games that you have to win because it can make or break your season,” said Alabama defensive back Landon Collins after the Florida win. “Going into the off week, we have to get at all of our fundamentals, reading our keys, and getting better at what we are doing.”
The LSU-Auburn game is still a big one despite the No. 15 Bayou Bengals already having an L on their record. No. 5 Auburn is planning to return to the national championship game again this season but Gus Malzahn’s team has a tough stretch of games upcoming and it starts with Les Miles’ bunch at home. Despite scuffling a little on offense the last two games, the Tiger coaching staff believes that quarterback Nick Marshall is the man to take them where they need to go.
“I think he’s to the point where he plays within the system,” said offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee. “We can trust him. He makes good decisions.”
Another intriguing West matchup that features two teams in the top 12 in the nation is No. 6 Texas A&M at No. 12 Mississippi State.
This game will highlight the SEC’s top-rated statistical passing quarterback in Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill against a solid Mississippi State defense.
“I think what you saw Saturday were some guys, as physical as it was, begin to get more comfortable and begin to understand what was going on on the field,” Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin said of the comeback win over Arkansas. “Maybe we grew up a little on defense.”
Sumlin’s teams have always been able to dent the scoreboard, but if the Aggies, 6-0 already this season, can also put a steady defense on the field then they will continue to be a force.
Bulldog linebacker Bernardrick McKinney is ready to get back on the field following a bye week.
“I’m very excited,” he said. “We’re going to get in the workshop, and we’re going to study film and take it game-to-game.”
