1 Improvement Every SEC Team Needs
"Talkin' season," as South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said, is over. Now there are actual games to analyze.
For every team, though, that also means there's clear room for improvement in certain areas of the roster.
Alabama and South Carolina have each displayed some issues in pass defense, LSU's quarterbacks have progressed on the fly, and Ole Miss is still sort of figuring itself out offensively.
So what's the most pressing issue for every SEC team?
Florida Gators: Stretch the Field
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Florida's stats from the season opener versus Eastern Michigan lie a little bit.
Sure, the Gators threw for 396 yards, but 148 were on two passes from backup Treon Harris during mop-up time. Starting quarterback Jeff Driskel was effective, completing 31 of 45 passes for 248 yards and a touchdown in the 65-0 win, for an average of 5.5 yards per attempt.
Florida's offense looked crisp, and as ESPN's Ed Aschoff noted.
"Jeff Driskel has gone through his progressions a couple of times today. He's struggled with that in the past. It's EMU but still #Gators
— Edward Aschoff (@AschoffESPN) September 6, 2014"
The one missing piece of the puzzle was the downfield passing threat, which was still absent.
Since the first season opener versus Idaho was cancelled, that's not the most shocking development in the world. Head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper wanted to build some confidence on offense before unleashing the rest of the playbook.
Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson might be the guy to do that.
"He's able to get the ball in a lot of different spots, and he's able to go get the ball and attack the ball," Muschamp said in emailed quotes from Florida. "He's got natural ability to do those things, he's a very explosive guy, so he's a very talented young man."
With Kentucky rolling to town this weekend, expect the Gators to try to open things up a bit—especially if they get up by a fair amount early. Muschamp and Roper need to know that Driskel can find those receivers downfield before heading to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in Week 4.
Georgia Bulldogs: Can QB Hutson Mason Be the Difference-Maker?
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When you have running back Todd Gurley at your disposal, you use him.
That's exactly what Georgia did in its season-opening win over Clemson, which relegated quarterback Hutson Mason to a game-manager role. That's not the worst thing in the world. When your defense holds a Chad Morris-coached offense to only 15 second-half yards, a conservative game plan is the path of least resistance.
But what if the game changes for Georgia?
Teams will undoubtedly stack the box against Gurley, and while Georgia's defense looked great in its first game, it was only one game.
At some point, Mason will have to be a gunslinger. I think he can be successful in that role as well, but he hasn't been thrown into that position yet in 2014.
Kentucky Wildcats: Red-Zone Touchdowns
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While teams like Texas A&M and Georgia have grabbed the early-season headlines, Kentucky's 2-0 start has been very impressive.
The Wildcats have become more balanced offensively, and the defense is generating pressure and creating plenty of confusion.
If there's one place they can improve, it's in the red zone. Sure, they've scored on six of eight trips inside the 20-yard line, but only four of those scores are touchdowns. The 50 percent mark ties the Wildcats for 10th in the SEC with Alabama (tied for 83rd nationally).
In a new-look SEC with creative play-callers and diverse systems, shootouts are more common. Seven points instead of three points will keep Kentucky in games longer and put them in position to benefit if they catch some breaks late in games.
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Missouri Tigers: Explosive Rushing Plays
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Admittedly, it's hard to find weaknesses in Missouri so far this season, which does surprise me a little bit. The Tigers offense hasn't missed a beat despite massive roster turnover, and the defense appears to be following the same blueprint as last season by generating all kinds of pressure with the front four.
One thing has been absent, though: explosive running plays.
Missouri has only two running plays of 20 or more yards this season, which is a far cry from last year, when they finished with 28—the third-best mark in the SEC.
Football is still a field-position game, and in tight games, explosive plays go a long way toward flipping the field. Russell Hansbrough has been solid as a full-time starter in place of Henry Josey, rushing for 210 yards and two touchdowns in two games. But Missouri needs to get more explosive on the ground before SEC play starts on Sept. 27 at South Carolina.
South Carolina Gamecocks: Pass Defense
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I wrote earlier this summer that South Carolina's defense would struggle mightily to fix its gaping holes along the defensive front and in the defensive backfield. Through two games, it has.
The Gamecocks are giving up an SEC-worst 416 yards per game through the air, have an SEC-worst one sack and an SEC-worst five tackles for loss this season. Aggies quarterback Kenny Hill lit up the defense in the opener with 511 yards, and while East Carolina's Shane Carden tossed two picks, he did throw for 321 in a loss to South Carolina.
This can't continue.
Look at who South Carolina has on the schedule. Georgia and Tennessee have loaded receiving corps. Auburn and Clemson have spread, uptempo offenses, that, while run-based (Auburn more than Clemson), gave Carolina fits over the first two weeks. Kentucky's whole system is predicated spreading the ball around to various receivers.
The pass defense has to pick it up in a hurry, because there are big challenges ahead through the air.
Tennessee Volunteers: Consistency on the Ground
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Tennessee has survived a tricky stretch of its schedule, beating Utah State and Arkansas State rather soundly before heading to this week's showdown with Oklahoma in Norman.
They've done it, for the most part, with efficient quarterback play from Justin Worley, great wide receivers and a defense that, suddenly, has the "SEC speed" for the first time in a long time.
On the ground, however, Tennessee needs to get better.
The Vols are 11th in the conference in rushing offense at 139 yards per game, despite being in two rather easy games where second-half rushing yards to ice the game away should skew the statistics more toward the ground game.
Freshman Jalen Hurd and senior Marlin Lane are the two primary backs, with Hurd running much lower to the ground in Game 2 than he did in Game 1. That's a nice start, but with potent offenses left on the schedule, a ball-control offense will go a long way toward keeping its defense fresh and keeping Tennessee in games longer against tougher competition.
Vanderbilt Commodores: Everything
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Derek Mason's first two games as Vanderbilt's head coach haven't gone according to plan.
In fact, they've been downright horrifying.
The 'Dores were blown out at home 37-7 by Temple and then lost 41-3 at LP Field in Nashville to Ole Miss on Saturday. During those games, nothing has gone right. Literally, nothing.
- Vanderbilt has eight turnovers, tied for the worst mark in the SEC and nation.
- Vanderbilt has completed 37.3 percent of its passes, the worst mark in the SEC and nation.
- Vanderbilt has only scored once (a field goal) in its four red-zone attempts, the worst mark in the SEC and nation.
- Vanderbilt is 7-of-27 on third down, the worst mark in the SEC.
- Vanderbilt is averaging 80.5 yards per game on the ground, the worst mark in the SEC
It's that bad in Nashville.
With the personnel turnover from last year's squad, this was going to be a rebuilding year for Vanderbilt even if James Franklin were still the head coach. But turnovers, an uncertain quarterback situation and a lack of playmakers outside has really hampered this team early.
Alabama Crimson Tide: Consistent Pass Defense
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Alabama's pass defense looked great against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, giving up just 88 yards to the Owls.
Was that because it was Florida Atlantic, or because Cyrus Jones figured it out and Eddie Jackson played in place of Bradley Sylve?
Probably a combination of the two.
"That's the Eddie that's going to come out and hit somebody and that's what he did today," safety Landon Collins told Andrew Gribble of AL.com. "He came to show everyone that he's ready to play and that he's back."
Alabama's pass defense problem was masked last year by an easy schedule, and Oklahoma (348 yards) and West Virginia (365 yards) exposed it quite a bit in the last game of the 2013 season and the first game of this season, respectively.
Whether the problem has been fixed or not still remains to be seen, and it will likely stay that way until the Crimson Tide faces a team that can pass consistently.
Arkansas Razorbacks: Passing Game
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Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen certainly looks like a better quarterback this year, one year after playing through a shoulder injury that nagged him for the better part of the season.
How good is he, though?
He completed 58.1 percent of his passes against Auburn (18 of 31) and then connected for touchdowns on all four of his completions against a clearly outmanned Nicholls State team.
All he needs to be is efficient, and touchdowns on four of five completions is certainly efficient. But I want to see that against good competition.
If Allen can complete around 65 percent of his passes and keep those chains moving against SEC foes, rumors of Arkansas' demise may prove to be greatly exaggerated.
Auburn Tigers: First-Half Defense
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Auburn's defense wasn't great last season, but in the second half, it buckled down more times than not, giving up just 11.2 points per game over the final 30 minutes.
Sure, there were some exceptions, with Florida State and Georgia being the most obvious ones. But the Tigers made it work en route to the SEC title and a BCS National Championship Game appearance.
Head coach Gus Malzahn would rather not live that way.
The Tigers have given up 31 of their 34 points in the first half this season. While successfully implementing adjustments at halftime is a desirable trait for any team, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson almost routinely runs the risk of digging his offense a hole that it can't dig itself out of.
That's going to cost the Tigers at some point, just as it did at LSU in 2013—the Tigers' only regular-season loss.
If Auburn figures out how to buckle down early on defense, that team's going to be impossible to beat.
LSU Tigers: Settle on a QB
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Anthony Jennings has shown a knack for connecting on big passes through two games, and he will likely maintain the role as the "starter" despite being bracketed with true freshman Brandon Harris on the depth chart.
Harris had 62 passing yards and broke loose on a 46-yard touchdown run against Sam Houston State last week, making his case for more playing time.
Is this a battle? Is this a two-quarterback system? Does it matter?
LSU's quarterback situation is still sort of a work in progress, although it does seem like Jennings has made a stronger case for being "the guy" thus far.
Will that continue though?
He's only completed 47.1 percent of his passes (16 of 34). Big plays and touchdowns are nice, but that percentage is going to have to improve if LSU wants to contend for the SEC West title.
Mississippi State Bulldogs: Defensive Consistency
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Will the real Mississippi State defense please stand up?
The Bulldogs, who returned 19 of 22 defensive starters on their defensive two-deep entering the season, have been sort of Jekyll and Hyde this season. They gave up just 283 yards and shut out Southern Miss in the opener and followed it up by giving up 548 yards and 34 points in a shootout win last weekend over UAB.
Last week had better be the anomaly and not part of a trend, because that kind of inconsistency will get Mississippi State beat in SEC play—even by average opponents.
Gut feeling? Last weekend was the exception, not the rule. But until the Bulldogs prove it, it's hard to have a ton of faith in a defense that gave up that many yards to UAB.
Ole Miss Rebels: Offensive Line
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There's no two ways around it, Ole Miss' offensive line had been bad.
Actually, that might be sugarcoating it. It's been horrendous.
The Rebels have given up an SEC-worst 19 tackles for loss (124th nationally) and are tied for the worst mark in the SEC in sacks allowed (five).
Quarterback Bo Wallace has been running for his life and has been forced to make quick decisions, which is a big reason why he's been inconsistent through the air. The running game has struggled because of it too, gaining an average of just 125.5 yards per game on the ground.
It all starts up front, and Ole Miss needs to fix its issues along the offensive line; otherwise, it won't take that step forward in the SEC West in 2014.
Texas A&M Aggies: Limit Big Plays
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It's hard to find fault with anything Texas A&M has done through two games, but one thing that has stood out is the defense giving up big plays.
The Aggies have given up nine plays of 20 or more yards this season, which is the fifth-worst mark in the SEC. Seven of those came in the season-opening romp over South Carolina, and cutting them out was a goal for the defense against Lamar last week.
“We wanted to limit the big plays," defensive back Deshazor Everett said in quotes emailed by Texas A&M. "Last week against South Carolina we let a couple of balls go over our heads for easy points. That’s something we wanted to eliminate tonight. We wanted to make them earn every point.”
They succeeded, albeit against a lesser opponent. Do that in SEC games, and Texas A&M will become a contender in the SEC West.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report and co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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