SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Auburn's Shocking Quarterback Dilemma
Pick a Quarterback, Auburn
Could the quarterback merry-go-round be spinning again in Auburn?
Well, perhaps.
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Head coach Gus Malzahn has opened up all positions on the roster during the bye week, and that includes quarterback, where redshirt freshman Sean White replaced ineffective junior Jeremy Johnson after Game 3.
"We are going to let everybody compete," Malzahn said. "We are really happy with the way Sean played his first two games and feel like he has a lot of potential. He's still taking the first reps in practice, but we are letting our guys compete at all positions."
Johnson threw six interceptions and five touchdowns during the first two games of the year, and looked incredibly lost in his first full season as Auburn's starting quarterback.
"We know he's talented, but it's just a matter of getting out there and practicing and getting that edge back and doing the things that he knows that he can do," Malzahn said.
Potential is great, and Johnson certainly has it. But the staff already gave him the quick hook because of ineffectiveness. While White hasn't been a superstar, he did complete 20 of 28 passes and made the proper decisions in the loss to Mississippi State.
He didn't get the win in what will likely turn out to be a critical game in Auburn's quest to make the postseason, but at least he looked somewhat comfortable out there, and did so again last week in the win over San Jose State.
Johnson looked rattled from the moment he stepped on the field this season. Is that suddenly going to change next Thursday on the road at Kentucky on national television?
Unlikely.
White should be the man for Auburn. After all, a young player with so much inexperience will benefit tremendously from this bye week.
Rocky Bottom
Is this rock bottom for the Tennessee Volunteers?
Head coach Butch Jones better hope so.
The Vols are 2-3, just lost a home game to Arkansas—Bret Bielema's first road conference win in three seasons as Arkansas' head coach—can't trust the passing game, can't trust the defense, just dismissed wide receiver Alton "Pig" Howard, have had to deal with allegations of inappropriate conduct between Jones and a player and are facing games against Georgia and Alabama in the coming weeks.
Other than that, things are fine on Rocky Top.
I wrote earlier this week that this is a must-win game for Jones and the Vols.
"We never talk about our backs being against the wall," Jones said. "We always view every game as a 'must-win,' particularly in this conference. Every game you go into is a must-win type of situation."
But this one is really a must-win situation.
As frustrating as the season has been for the Vols (2-3, 0-2 SEC), they still only have two conference losses, and handing a second conference loss to Georgia and holding that tiebreaker is imperative if Tennessee wants to get back into the mix for the SEC East.
Now, sure, the Bulldogs would likely have to run the table and get help from teams playing Florida to do that, and that's about as likely as Lloyd Christmas finding love in Dumb and Dumber. But there's at least an outside chance.
Was the loss to Arkansas "rock bottom," or will the struggles continue for the rest of the month? We'll find out on Saturday afternoon in Neyland Stadium when the Vols host the Bulldogs.
Back-to-Back Challenges
Those poor members of the Arkansas front seven have quite the challenge to start the month.
The Hogs had 6'4", 240-pound monster Jalen Hurd coming downhill at them last week in their 24-20 win over Tennessee, and they now have the unenviable challenge of stopping Derrick Henry and the 4-1 Alabama Crimson Tide.
"He's obviously a really good back," Bielema said. "He's listed at 6'3", 242, and I believe every penny of that. A guy who has bought into the team concept. They use him in a variety of ways, and he makes a few plays on his own, A very good player. I don't know anything about how pretty his stride is or all that jazz, but he's a really good player."
Arkansas is third in the SEC in rush defense so far in 2015 (101.60 yards per game) and only gave up 133 to the decidedly run-heavy Vols last week—including 4.74 yards per carry to Hurd.
They're going to have to tighten up even more against Alabama, because as we saw last week, Alabama's offense clicks when Henry establishes the run, brings the safeties up and allows quarterback Jake Coker to take advantage deep off play action.
A Necessary Move
First and foremost, thoughts and prayers go out to the people of the state of South Carolina for having to deal with the flooding that's gone on statewide over the last week.
As a result of that flooding, South Carolina's home game against LSU has been moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET.
"On behalf of the South Carolina football team we want to do the right thing and do what is best for all concerned," said Gamecock football coach Steve Spurrier in a statement emailed by the school. "It appears the best thing is to travel to LSU. We look forward to the challenge and competing against the Tigers in Baton Rouge on Saturday."
This had to be done.
Williams-Brice Stadium is fine, but asking 80,000 people or more to travel to and into a disaster area is a risk not worth taking.
Why Baton Rouge? It's certainly not an ideal situation, and LSU will benefit from having a fifth conference home game this season while South Carolina will suffer from only having three.
It's only football, though. And keeping people safe takes precedence over minor issues such as fairness. Fairness left the conversation as soon as the weather issues started.
Could other sites have been used? According to USA Today's Dan Wolken, Jacksonville and Charlotte were considered. But moving a game on short notice is a logistical nightmare, and dealing with SEC teams who know what's needed for a conference game is the path of least resistance.
Homecoming Motivation
Missouri has pegged a division game as its homecoming game every year since joining the SEC (Kentucky in 2012, South Carolina in 2013 and Vanderbilt in 2014).
Homecoming is this weekend in Columbia, and its opponent is—gulp—5-0 Florida.
That fact didn't slip by first-year Gators head coach Jim McElwain.
"Based on history, I'm sure they have pretty good confidence that they'll put it on the Gators," he said. "It's one of those deals where, based on history, I'm sure they felt pretty good about us being their homecoming."
This isn't like the previous two seasons, though, when Missouri has toppled the Gators.
The Missouri offense will give true freshman quarterback Drew Lock his second career start in place of suspended junior Maty Mauk. While Lock was solid last week against South Carolina with 136 passing yards and two touchdowns, it's a lot to ask of him to be even better against the likes of Florida's Vernon Hargreaves, Quincy Wilson and the talented Gators secondary.
Florida is not walking into a trap. The combination of Florida's momentum and Missouri's inexperience at quarterback and wide receiver will make for a long Saturday night in Columbia.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics are courtesy of CFBStats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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