SEC teams had a banner opening week to start the college football season, winning 12 of 13 games.
But the conference experienced the other end of the spectrum Saturday.
Though it avoided the embarrassment of having an FCS team beat one of its powers when Auburn rallied for a 27-20 overtime victory over Jacksonville State, it didn’t exactly cover itself in glory in some other outings.
Arkansas, newly moved into the Top 25 rankings after its opening win over UTEP, lost to a MAC team, Toledo, at the Razorbacks’ second home in Little Rock.
Missouri escaped Jonesboro, Ark., with a one-touchdown win over an Arkansas State team that had lost its opener at USC by 49 points.
Florida needed a late interception to secure its 31-24 victory over East Carolina.
And Tennessee, which has been getting some knowing nods as a sleeper contender in the East Division, blew an early 17-point lead and lost a two-touchdown advantage in the fourth quarter of its double overtime loss to Oklahoma.
It was almost like the 2014 bowl season when the conference had five losses for just the second time in the last 15 years.
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn seemed to accept his team’s performance somewhat calmly.
“We won and we didn’t play well. It’s easy to see that,” Malzahn said. “We didn’t play up to our standard and we have to figure out a way to do that. I will say this. We are 2-0 so our team morale is fine. We just need to play better.”
Not first-year Florida coach Jim McElwain. McElwain used words like embarrassing, horrible, unacceptable and ridiculous to describe his team’s play, several times actually with embarrassing.
“Our lack of playing with lack of discipline and how you play the game was embarrassing,” he said. “Penalties inside the red area. We’ve got a long ways to go, and it starts with understanding selfish acts hurt the team.
“It will be dealt with, and it’s not how it’s going to be around here anymore.”
Meanwhile, inside league play, Georgia, Kentucky, and LSU got a jump in the division races by winning conference openers over Vanderbilt, South Carolina, and Mississippi State.
ALABAMA (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Alabama 37, Middle Tennessee State 10. The Crimson Tide held the Blue Raiders to just 86 yards rushing and 275 yards in total offense, came up with four turnovers and blocked a punt in the routine win. QBs Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman combined to go 26-of-43 passing for 312 yards and two touchdowns, and RB Derrick Henry got into triple digits rushing for a second consecutive outing with 101 yards and three touchdowns.
Takeaway: The numbers for Coker (15-of-26, 214 yards) and Bateman (11-of-17 for 98) were decent but deceiving. A lot of the yardage came on screens and other short completions that those on the receiving end turned into bigger plays. Coach Nick Saban said both “really need” to improve. “Both interceptions that we threw were bad decisions by the quarterback,” Saban said. “The ball should not have been thrown. We obviously have to do a better job taking care of the ball and making good choices and decisions about that.”
Next: Vs. Ole Miss, Sept. 19.
ARKANSAS (1-1, 0-0)
Game: Toledo 16, Arkansas 12. The Razorbacks had an overwhelming advantage in total offense with 515 yards to the visitor’s 318, but penalties at crucial times and an end zone interception led to the four-point loss. QB Brandon Allen was 32-of-53 passing for 412 yards but missed on two throws into the end zone from Toledo’s 16-yard line on the game’s final two plays.
Takeaway: The running game simply disappeared for the Hogs. They rushed for only a net 103 yards against the underdog Toledo with junior RB Alex Collins, who is coming off consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, settling for 54 on 20 attempts with 21 yards of that coming on one play. With the Hogs facing fourth-and-one at Toledo’s 34-yard line in the second quarter, Collins was stuffed for no gain. Meanwhile, Allen’s 53 pass attempts were the second-most in a game in program history.
Next: Vs. Texas Tech, Sept. 19.
AUBURN (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Auburn 27, Jacksonville State 20. The Tigers trailed going into the final minute of regulation but QB Jeremy Johnson’s seven-yard pass to WR Melvin Ray finished a five-play, 31-yard drive and sent the game into overtime. The Tigers benefited from two key mistakes by the visitors late in the fourth quarter, first a personal foul penalty on a kickoff return that backed up the Gamecocks at their own seven-yard line followed by a shanked punt on the ensuing drive that set up the Tigers at JSU’s 31-yard line. Auburn scored the only touchdown in overtime on RB Peyton Barber’s four-yard rush up the middle.
Takeaway: Johnson threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns in completing 21 of 32 passes, but he also was picked off twice, giving him five interceptions in just two games. He passed for only 100 yards in the first half, which ended with Jacksonville State holding a shocking 10-6 lead. But coach Gus Malzahn liked the way the junior finished, completing four of his last five attempts on his final drive of regulation and in overtime. “At the end of the game when we needed him, he came through,” Malzahn said.
Next: At LSU, Sept. 19.
FLORIDA (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Florida 31, East Carolina 24. The Gators had to hold on at the end, sealing the win when junior DT Joey Ivie forced QB Blake Kemp to lose the football attempting to pass on second-and-10 at Florida’s 13-yard line and junior DT Alex McCalister recovered to deny the Pirates a tying touchdown on their final drive. The Gators held the visitors to minus-13 yards rushing and came up with three takeaways, but gave up 346 yards and three touchdown passes to East Carolina.
Takeaway: First-year coach Jim McElwain was succinct in summing up the Gators’ performance. “That was embarrassing,” he said. After being penalized just once in their opening victory, the Gators were penalized 12 times for 105 yards against East Carolina, including a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty against RB Kelvin Taylor after a touchdown that got him a tongue-lashing from his coach on the sideline. The throat-slitting gesture he made after scoring to make it a two-touchdown game gave the Pirates a short field to work with, and they scored a touchdown to get their deficit back to just one score with just over three minutes left and set up the frantic finish. “We won the game, but that’s unacceptable,” McElwain said.
Next: At Kentucky, Sept. 19.
GEORGIA (2-0, 1-0)
Game: Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 14. Thanks to 281 yards on the ground, the Bulldogs had 422 yards in total offense, but it was touchdowns on special teams and defense that made this one more comfortable. The Bulldogs got their first touchdown on sophomore WR Isaiah McKenzie’s 77-yard punt return and their last on sophomore S Dominick Sanders’ 88-yard return of an interception. Sophomore RB Nick Chubb went over the 100-yard mark rushing for the 10th consecutive game with 189 — 68 on one play.
Takeaway: Take away the big plays on special teams and defense and suddenly it’s a one-possession game, evidence of inconsistence on offense for the Bulldogs. Though the ‘Dogs rushed for 281 yards, QBs Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey were just a combined 13-of-25 passing for a meager 141 yards. “We just couldn’t find our rhythm, especially in the passing game,” Lambert said. “We didn’t get to go up-tempo as much as we would have liked, some of that was us and some of that was them, which kind of kept us out of our rhythm a little bit. When it comes to passing and rushing, that got going in the third quarter, which can’t happen again if we want to be successful.”
Next: Vs. South Carolina, Sept. 19.
KENTUCKY (2-0, 1-0)
Game: Kentucky 26, South Carolina 22. The Wildcats had a big first half with 307 yards of offense producing a 17-point cushion, but went into a funk in the second. They were three-and-out on their first four possessions after the break, but managed to hold onto their lead by forcing the Gamecocks into field goals on three trips inside Kentucky’s 20-yard line. The offense finally came alive on its final series, getting three first downs, one on sophomore RB Stanley Boom Williams’ 25-yard run, to kill the game’s final 4:24.
Takeaway: For a second straight week, the Wildcats built a 24-7 halftime lead only to fritter it away. A week after getting a late touchdown to break a tie in their win over Louisiana-Lafayette, the Wildcats got a big play on special teams when redshirt freshman Denzil Ware picked up a fumble on South Carolina’s two-point conversion try and returned it 98 yards for the last two points of the game. That put the game out of field goal range for the Gamecocks and may have forced a change in their strategy on their final series, which ended with true freshman Chris Westry’s interception. “Not only stopping them was critical,” coach Mark Stoops said, “but to gain that two was huge.”
Next: Vs. Florida, Sept. 19.
LSU (1-0, 1-0)
Game: LSU 21, Mississippi State 19. The Tigers lost a 15-point lead in the last quarter but held on when the Bulldogs failed to convert a two-point conversion after their final touchdown and then missed a 52-yard field goal on the final play. Sophomore RB Leonard Fournette rushed for a career-high 159 yards and three touchdowns as the Tigers built a 21-6 lead after three quarters before the Bulldogs’ offense woke up.
Takeaway: The Tigers were playing their first game because the threat of lightning had wiped out their game with McNeese State the previous week, and though it didn’t slow them at the start, coach Les Miles thought some “first-game things” showed up. “Felt like our quarterback played pretty well,” Miles said. “He managed the game and threw well. He scrambled when he was supposed to. He made some plays with his feet and made good reads.” Sophomore QB Brandon Harris was 9-of-14 passing for 71 yards and rushed five times for 48 yards. He was sacked only once.
Next: Vs. Auburn, Sept. 19.
MISSISSIPPI (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Mississippi 73, Fresno State 21. The Rebels topped the 70-point mark for a second straight week, becoming first SEC team to do so in consecutive games since Florida whipped New Mexico State 70-21 and Kentucky 73-7 in 1994. They won their opener 76-3 over Tennessee-Martin. Their combined 149 points are the most in a two-game span in school history, and they had over 600 yards (607) in total offense for a second straight game.
Takeaway: QB Chad Kelly seems to have settled in quite nicely since winning the starting job in fall camp following his transfer from East Mississippi CC. He was 20-of-25 passing for 346 yards and four touchdowns, making him 29-of-40 for 557 yards and six scores in his first two games. “There were some things that I thought we could have done better,” Kelly said. “I could have had better moves on the field. I think we definitely did well.” Coach Huge Freeze conceded that the starting job is Kelly’s to lose. “Chad has certainly done nothing to put himself out of the job, so he is the starter,” Freeze said. “I expect that to continue.”
Next: At Alabama, Sept. 19.
MISSISSIPPI STATE (1-1, 0-1)
Game: LSU 21, Mississippi State 19. The Bulldogs trailed 21-6 entering the final quarter but capped a 14-play scoring drive on QB Dak Prescott’s one-yard rush on the second play of the period, and later Prescott threw a five-yard touchdown pass to WR De’Runnya Wilson with just four minutes left in the game, but the two-point conversion failed. The Bulldogs got the ball back with 1:32 left and managed to get to LSU’s 29-yard line, but a penalty for delay of game backed them up, and PK Devon Bell was wide right on a 53-yard field goal try on the game’s final play.
Takeaway: Just a bit too little, and definitely too late. That sums up the Bulldogs’ performance against LSU, when they finally put some offense together and the defense began slowing the Tigers’ attack. The visitors never scored after RB Leonard Fournette’s scored his third touchdown of the night midway through the third quarter, and the Bulldogs passed for 161 yards in the third quarter. Success came because the Bulldogs were able to get into a rhythm. “I think we finally did that for the first time all season,” coach Dan Mullen said. “We were in a rhythm for the second half.”
Next: Vs. Northwestern State, Sept. 19.
MISSOURI (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Missouri 27, Arkansas State 20. QB Maty Mauk threw three touchdown passes as the Tigers extended their road winning streak to 11 in a row dating back to early 2013. Mauk was only 16-of-36 passing for 148 yards but made them count. His third TD pass came with 44 seconds left in the third quarter and gave the Tigers a 24-17 lead, which stood up when the two teams exchanged field goals for the only scoring in the fourth quarter.
Takeaway: Senior LB Kentrell Brothers had another huge game, matching his career high in tackles for the second consecutive outing with 16 stops, 10 of them solo. Going back to last year, he has 62 tackles over his last five games. He also came up with two interceptions, both in the fourth quarter and the second thwarting Arkansas State’s last chance to mount a drive. Brothers now has five picks in his career. Sophomore DE Charles Harris also stepped up with two sacks among his six tackles. “There’s a lot of things we can improve on, but there were also a lot of outstanding efforts,” coach Gary Pinkel said. “We worked well with the defense, but the offense executed better in the second half. We utilized field position well.”
Next: Vs. Connecticut, Sept. 19.
SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1, 0-1)
Game: Kentucky 26, South Carolina 22. Down 17 points at the half, the Gamecocks rallied and were within a two-point conversion of tying the game early in the fourth quarter, but Kentucky returned WR Pharoh Cooper’s fumble on the two-point conversion try 98 yards for two points the other way, and QB Perry Orth was intercepted on his final drive. The defense could not come up with a stop over the last four minutes to get the ball back.
Takeaway: The Gamecocks lost QB Connor Mitch likely for the season when he injured his shoulder diving for a loose ball late in the second quarter. Junior college transfer Perry Orth, however, gave the offense some spark in the second half, but the Gamecocks had to settled for field goals on three trips into the red zone and then Orth was intercepted on his final series to end the threat. Orth finished 13-of-20 passing for 179 yards and a touchdown with all but one completion and 19 yards coming over the final two quarters. “Perry made some beautiful throws,” coach Steve Spurrier said.
Next: At Georgia, Sept. 19.
TENNESSEE (1-1, 0-0)
Game: Oklahoma 31, Tennessee 24 (2 OT). The Volunteers led 17-0 just 18 minutes into the game, but seven of their next 10 possessions ended with punts, a missed field goal, or the end of the half and regulation. From the 12:14 mark of the second quarter, when QB Josh Dobbs scored on a four-yard run, to the end of regulation the Vols managed only six first downs and 77 yards in total offense. The visiting Sooners scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to tie and then added one in each overtime possession before stopping the Vols with an interception.
Takeaway: Two many negative plays stalled the Vols on offense, who also were penalized 10 times. The Sooners got to the Vols for eight tackles-for-loss, including three sacks that resulted in 57 yards of losses. “Obviously, in a game like this, you have to take advantage of your field position,” coach Butch Jones said. “It’s all about negative plays. You can’t have pre-snap penalties, and you can’t have negative plays. Too many times we were second-and-15, first-and-15. That’s really, really hard to overcome versus a talented defense, which they have.” The Vols were without suspended DT Danny O’Brien and lost DE Curtis Maggitt in the second quarter to a leg injury. Junior LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin had a career-high 21 tackles, a third of his total for all of 2014.
Next: Vs. Western Carolina, Sept. 19.
TEXAS A&M (2-0, 0-0)
Game: Texas A&M 56, Ball State 23. The Aggies made quick work of the team from the MAC, jumping out to a 28-3 lead after just one quarter and a 49-3 cushion at the half. The Aggies amassed 503 yards in total offense and gave up 361 to the visitors, but 148 of the Cardinals’ 252 rushing yards came in the second half after the issue had already been decided.
Takeaway: The Aggies dedicated their recently renovated Kyle Field home with a vengeance. They scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and seven of their first eight drives to keep most of the crowd of 104,213 heppy. “What a great atmosphere,” coach Kevin Sumlin said. “Like I said, it’s hard to make Kyle Field better, but we did the impossible. It’s a great experience, a great fan experience being closer to the field. The noise is awesome. And it’s a great players’ experience.” The game itself, Sumlin said, was a tale of two halves. “Our ones, in the first half, played very, very well,” he said. “We were up to around 50-some plays the first half alone. We moved the ball.” But while the first unit functioned smoothly, those who came in later were not as efficient, the coach noted. “The message is — and we talked after the game — that the guys who were in the game in the second half have got to play better,” Sumlin said.
Next: Vs. Nevada, Sept. 19.
VANDERBILT (0-2, 0-1)
Game: Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 14. The Bulldogs led only 14-6 at the half with the first of their two touchdowns coming via a punt return. But the Commodores couldn’t muster any more points until less than five minutes remained in the game when WR Latevius Rayford scored on a seven-yard touchdown reception to close to 24-14, but Georgia sealed it on S Dominick Sanders’ 88-yard interception return.
Takeaway: Though Vandy gave up 281 yards on the ground to the Bulldogs, its defense actually gave the Commodores a chance to win. The Commodores held the visitors to 422 yards in total offense while gaining 400 themselves, but the big difference came on the two touchdowns the Bulldogs got from their special teams and defense. The Commodores also got only seven points on four trips inside Georgia’s 20-yard line and were a meager 7-of-21 on third-down conversions. “If we can fix our red zone problems, it will be good for us,” coach Derek Mason said. “We’re racking up yards, but not points.” Sophomore QB Johnny McCrary shouldered responsibility for the failures at the goal line. “I think it’s just immaturity,” he said.
Next: Vs. Austin Peay.
NOTES, QUOTES
–Tennessee coach Butch Jones opened himself up to some second-guessing in the Vols’ 31-24 double-overtime loss to Oklahoma when he passed on trying for the touchdown on fourth-and-goal from inside the Sooners’ one-yard line on Tennessee’s first possession.
PK Aaron Medley came in to kick a 19-yard field goal. Instead of a possible touchdown, the Vols were left with just a 3-0 lead on their way to a 17-0 cushion. Medley later missed a 48-yard field goal.
Those missing points (though there is no guarantee the Vols would have gotten the touchdown, of course) came up big when Oklahoma tied the game with a touchdown with just 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Jones said he didn’t even consider going for the touchdown on the earlier play.
“No,” he said. “We’re looking for points. We knew it was going to be this type of game.
“Football’s a game of momentum and you create your own momentum. You don’t want all-or-nothing plays at the beginning of the game. We just felt we needed to get on the board, get some confidence, and get some points.”
–After leading Auburn in rushing with 115 yards in the opening win over Louisville, junior RB Peyton Barber got his first collegiate start against Jacksonville State and came up in a big way in the Tigers’ 27-20 overtime squeaker over the FCS team.
Barber rushed for 125 yards on 23 carries, one covering four yards for the decisive touchdown, and had one reception, a crucial nine-yard gain on third-and-nine in OT to set up the Tigers at JSU’s four-yard line.
He avoided three tackles on the play. Had he been short, Auburn might have been forced to go for a field goal on their OT possession.
“He’s had two back-to-back weeks, and it’s all about production,” coach Gus Malzahn said. “He’s protecting the ball. A lot of those were hard yards at the end.
“You saw him on the flair pass, and then we gave it to him the next time when they were all bunched up. He just projected himself in the end zone. He’s in a good spot.”
–Georgia LB Jordan Jenkins decided to return for his senior season rather than put his name in the NFL draft, and coach Mark Richt is certainly glad he did.
“He felt like he just had to get better, there were some things he thought he could improve on,” Richt said. “That’s what I like about him. He’s not a guy who thinks he hung the moon by any stretch, but he came back, he worked his tail off, and he’s been playing excellent ball.”
Half of Jenkins’ 11 tackles in the 31-14 win over Vandy were for losses, including two sacks.
He thought he should have done more.
“That’s what is going to fuel me into that next week, those two or three sacks that I didn’t get when I made contact with the quarterback, but I didn’t take him down,” Jenkins said. “I just have to keep working and get those sacks added on.”
–Kentucky snapped a 22-game losing streak on the road with its 26-22 win at South Carolina. The Wildcats’ hadn’t won in an opponent’s stadium since beating Louisville in 2010.
The last SEC win on the road for the Wildcats was a 34-27 victory at Georgia on Nov. 21, 2009, and their last win in a conference opener was in 2007 against Arkansas.
“It feels good,” coach Mark Stoops said. “Again, you know if you want to grow as a program, you’ve got to take these steps.”
–Ole Miss DT Robert Nkemdiche scored a touchdown on offense for the second straight game, going up the middle from a yard out in the 73-21 rout of Fresno State.
He had a touchdown reception against Tennessee-Martin a week earlier.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I wish we could have made one more stop to see what might have happened, but it didn’t work out that way.” — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, after his Gamecocks couldn’t stop Kentucky in the final four minutes of its 26-22 victory.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
FIVE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM WEEK 2 IN THE SEC:
1. Having 10 teams ranked the Top 25 was short-lived. Arkansas, Mississippi State and Tennessee all dropped out after losses, and Auburn and Missouri looked shaky after close calls against overmatched opponents but remained in at Nos. 18 and 22, respectively.
2. Georgia RB Nick Chubb continues his Heisman campaign. The sophomore rushed for 189 yards on just nine carries against Vanderbilt, giving him 309 yards on 35 carries, an 8.8 average, in two games.
3. The dual-quarterback system seems to be working for Texas A&M. Sophomore Kyle Allen, who starts, and freshman Kyler Murray combined to go 19-of-27 passing for 191 yards and four touchdowns in the rout of Ball State.
4. Missouri senior LB Kentrell Brothers is making an early bid for SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Brothers has 32 tackles and two interceptions in two games and could become the second Tiger in the last three seasons to be so honored, joining DE Michael Sam, who shared the award in 2013.
5. LSU coach Les Miles, known for munching grass from the playing field and some bad clock management in the past, still tends to outsmart himself. He waited until the last moment to call his final timeout with Mississippi State lined up for a potentially tying field goal, and PK Devon White was able to go through with the try. It was wide left, but given a second chance, White was wide right on his second attempt and LSU hung on.