SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Blake Sims' Big Test vs. Florida
Time to Shine
Over the first three weeks of the season, one thing became abundantly clear in Tuscaloosa—Blake Sims is Alabama's starting quarterback.
This isn't a case of Sims being No. 1 and Florida State transfer Jake Coker being "1A," and it hasn't been from the moment toe met leather in the Georgia Dome in the season opener vs. West Virginia.
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Sims is the man—regardless of what is said in press conferences—and is going to have to be "the man" this week with the vaunted Florida defense rolling into T-Town.
Sims has developed a chemistry with star wide receiver Amari Cooper over the first three games, helping Cooper vault to head of the pack with a nation's-best 33 catches for 454 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, though, lining up opposite Cooper will be third-team All-American cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III. Florida head coach Will Muschamp commented on Hargreaves' ability on Wednesday.
"He's got great instincts," Muschamp said. "He's very quick. He's got good long speed. He has natural ability to play with his back to the ball, which a lot of players really struggle with. The guy really has a lot of poise with his back to the football, and the way we play, we end up in those situations quite a bit."
Hargreaves might not win all the one-on-one battles with Cooper, but he'll win some.
That means Sims is going to have to look to spread the ball around more to his other receivers—something that he hasn't done enough of over the last three games.
Don't be fooled by the 369 passing yards Florida gave up last week in a triple-overtime win over Kentucky. The Wildcats run an air raid attack, and if all of quarterback Patrick Towles' weapons stay healthy, Kentucky is going to do that to a lot of teams—even those with top-notch defenses.
Sims has been solid thus far, but the inability to stretch the field and spread the love around to his other targets have been the only remaining points of contention.
Solve one or both against the Gators, and Sims will suddenly look more like a difference-maker than just a game manager.
Double Standard
When is a flaw not a flaw? When one team belongs to a traditional SEC power and the other belongs to a traditional SEC doormat.
That's exactly what's going on ahead of the LSU-Mississippi State game, where perception doesn't seem to equal reality.
The reality is this: LSU has struggled with consistency in the passing game—quarterback Anthony Jennings is completing just 51.9 percent of his passes—while Mississippi State has struggled in pass defense, giving up 311.7 yards per game through the air.
One unit (LSU's passing offense) seems to be considered the exception because Jennings has shown a knack for hitting the deep pass, while the other (Mississippi State's pass defense) seems to be considered the rule despite the fact that the numbers are more due to one bad game (UAB rolled up 435 passing yards against the Bulldogs in Week 2).
Look beyond that.
Led by cornerbacks Jamerson Love and Taveze Calhoun, Mississippi State's pass defense has only allowed opponents to complete 48.9 percent of their passes on the season. The Bulldogs have also forced five interceptions on the season, which is tied for the second-best mark in the SEC.
Mississippi State's "awful" pass defense is as much—if not more—of an anomaly as LSU's inconsistency in the passing game.
With a stellar front seven that will not only stop the run, but force Jennings to make quick decisions—something he has struggled with in the past—this could be the breakout game for Mississippi State's defense.
West Is Best
There's a recurring theme in this week's AP Top 25 poll, as five of the top 10 teams in the country reside in the SEC West.
That's right, 71.4 percent of the division is in the top 10, with No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 8 LSU and No. 10 Ole Miss.
Fair? Appropriate? Absolutely.
The last team in that group may shock you. After all, Ole Miss looked sloppy in its season opener against Boise State and then beat up on two cupcakes in Weeks 2 and 3.
Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze assessed the situation during a press conference:
"If you look in our half alone all seven teams should be ranked in the top 25. The SEC West is that strong. I just want to be sure our kids and everyone hears the message that it is great and awesome, and we’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, but let’s not lose sight of enjoying the journey and keeping our eyes focused on the process and not so much the results.
"
There have to be 10 teams in a top 10, so if you take out Ole Miss, who slides in?
The Rebels boast a top-20 defense (296 YPG), a top-20 offense (44 points per game) and a quarterback in Bo Wallace who leads the nation in completion percentage (75.5 percent).
Does Wallace's success shock you? It shocks me. I was very critical of his performance against the Broncos in Week 1, and whether his gaudy completion percentage is a result of Dr. Bo becoming "Captain Checkdown" or not, it's still impressive.
The Rebels are undefeated, statistically impressive and boast one of the most fearsome defenses in the nation. What more do you want?
South Carolina Back?
South Carolina's performance against Georgia on Saturday night in what was a must-win game was nothing short of impressive, but there's still work to be done.
The Gamecocks are back in the SEC East discussion, but don't tell head coach Steve Spurrier that.
"We're not talking about division championships or anything around here," he said. "I can assure you of that. I don't know, and none of us know what kind of a team we have yet. If we can show improvement and play the game a little smarter at times, maybe we will have a chance at a big season."
After the blowout loss in Week 1 to Texas A&M, that's all South Carolina wanted. A chance.
With Auburn and Florida both on the road and Missouri coming to Williams-Brice Stadium next week, it's still a rocky road for the Head Ball Coach and the Gamecocks.
He may not want to talk about it, but he can at least think about it now—which is progress from where the program was seven days ago.
Quick Outs
- No, Arkansas won't struggle with NIU. The Hogs' offensive line will control the line of scrimmage, help produce another big day for the running backs and lead to a Hogs runaway. Arkansas imposed its will on the road at Texas Tech, and doing the same at home against a Middle Atlantic Conference team shouldn't be much of an issue.
- What's that sound? It's Kenny Hill lighting up the stat sheet vs. SMU.
- Tennessee is off this week, and it's the perfect time for it. The Vols played Oklahoma tough before being worn out by grown men on both lines of scrimmage. Despite that, the defense forced five straight three-and-outs in the game and only allowed 75 yards following the first drive of the second half. Moral victory? Yes, which is important for a team as young as Tennessee.
- Missouri announced a home-and-home series with UConn. No, Missouri, SEC teams aren't supposed to go to UConn. Ever.
- Yep, Kenny Hill just torched SMU again.
- Vanderbilt is going to start Patton Robinette at quarterback this week. At least for a play. Then, who knows?
- Kenny Hill may toss "eleventy" billion touchdown passes against SMU. No, that's not a real number. Hill's about to make it real—or "trill"—though. I'll show myself out.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a 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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