SEC Extra Points: 'Lackluster' Week 2 Schedule Still Loaded with Intrigue
After the best opening weekend in college football history, Week 2 will hit you this weekend with a resounding "thud."
Four SEC teams play teams outside the FBS (as opposed to zero last weekend), the only two conference matchups feature Kentucky (vs. Florida), South Carolina and Mississippi State, and while TCU and Virginia Tech are solid out-of-conference opponents for Arkansas and Tennessee, respectively, Week 2 pales in comparison to the docket over Labor Day weekend.
Buy while it doesn't carry the marquee matchups, Week 2 is still loaded with intrigue after how SEC teams fared last weekend, primarily because of quarterback situations.
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Alabama head coach Nick Saban didn't reveal his plans at the position, even though true freshman Jalen Hurts threw for 118 yards and accounted for four touchdowns (two passing and two rushing) in the 52-6 win over USC.
"I know that a lot of people out there feel like they have the right to know, but I also know that some of the Southern Cal players said last week, 'it sure would be nice to know who's going to play quarterback for them,'" Saban said. "I think that's a benefit for our team."
Let's be honest, though. Hurts looked like the best of the bunch against the Trojans. Barring an unforeseen development, seeing him for a full (or mostly full) game against a pretty solid Group of Five Western Kentucky squad will essentially etch it in stone that Hurts is the starting quarterback for the Tide.
Saban probably won't reveal who his starting quarterback is ever again, but with a road trip to Ole Miss looming next week, it has to be settled on Saturday.
Over at Georgia, it's all about Jacob Eason. Nicholls State won't mount much of a challenge, but watching when the Bulldog true freshman gunslinger gets in and what the coaching staff asks him to do will reveal just how much they plan to use him moving forward.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said this week that Sean White will be his guy against Arkansas State, with dual-threat John Franklin III serving as the backup. Is he serious, though? He and the staff had all offseason to realize that a game of musical quarterbacks with no defined roles was a bad idea leading up to the Clemson game, and that light bulb never went on.
Will it against the Red Wolves? How will White look if he is given the ball for a full 60 minutes? Can that defense replicate last week's success?
Auburn knows all too well about the perils of FCS power Jacksonville State after last year's scare at Jordan-Hare, and those Gamecocks will visit LSU this week after head coach Les Miles' Tigers fell at Wisconsin last week.
What will LSU try differently on offense other than the standard power rushing attack behind Leonard Fournette?
It better try something, because quarterback Brandon Harris was clearly uncomfortable when the Badgers slowed Fournette down. Not only is Jacksonville State a good opponent that features quarterback Eli Jenkins and former Auburn running back Roc Thomas, the Gamecocks can put some points on the board and put pressure on Miles' struggling offense, which is something that will benefit LSU in the long run.
While Florida vs. Kentucky doesn't do much in terms of national appeal, it does have major significance in coaching circles. The Wildcats tossed away a 25-point, second-quarter lead in a loss to Southern Miss last week, and a good way for head coach Mark Stoops to get off that hot seat is to break Florida's 29-year winning streak over his program.
"The past 30 years has nothing to do with us and this team," Stoops said. "I'm really not concerned with it at all. We're really only worried about this week. We have enough to worry about with Kentucky."
This week matters.
It matters for coaches on the hot seat (Stoops, Malzahn and Miles). It matters for identities (Auburn, LSU and Florida). It matters for quarterbacks (Alabama and Auburn).
It just doesn't have the name-brand recognition of its predecessor.
The Missing Element
Lost in Tennessee's overtime escape from the jaws of Appalachian State on Thursday night was the fact that one big part of Tennessee's offense was missing in action.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs' legs.
The senior signal-caller for the Vols rushed just nine times (sacks included) for minus-4 yards against the Mountaineers after rushing for 671 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago. In 2015, two of his three single-digit rushing yardage games occurred vs. cupcakes Western Carolina and North Texas, with the third coming in the home loss to Arkansas.
It's clear that Dobbs needs to be more of a factor on the ground, especially if he's going to continue to sail passes over the heads of his receivers like he did Thursday.
"A lot of time in our run game, the quarterback has three or four reads—giving the ball, running the ball or pass options," head coach Butch Jones said. "Some of it was the defensive front and the movement taking the quarterback away, and sometimes it was Josh being more aggressive in running the football in terms of the reads. We'll have more pre-called runs as well."
Let's be honest, though. It certainly seemed like Dobbs was trying to protect himself (either by design or on his own).
That clearly will change this week against the Hokies, which could infuse some much-needed confidence to an offensive line that got pushed around last week and give the Vols an offensive identity that they lacked.
A Familiar Face in a New Place
Two years ago, Kenny Hill lit up Arkansas with 386 yards and four touchdown passes for Texas A&M en route to a 35-28 win.
He has a chance to write the sequel on Saturday, albeit with a different jersey on.
After leaving Texas A&M for TCU and sitting out his transfer year in 2015, Hill will again take on the Razorbacks deep in the heart of Texas in Fort Worth.
"He's a much-improved player," head coach Bret Bielema said of Hill. "Not that he wasn't good to begin with. He was good enough to beat us. But in [head coach] Gary [Patterson's] system and offensively what they do."
Hill threw for 439 yards and two touchdowns in the 59-41 win over South Dakota State last week, rushed seven times for 45 yards and three touchdowns, and impressed the head coach of the Razorbacks in the process.
"He does three things well," Bielema said. "He throws the ball better than he did, he's running the football with efficiency when he's asked to. He's very elusive in the pocket, which allows him to create plays behind the line of scrimmage and down the field. And bigger than anything, he's got a maturity to him."
Arkansas gave up 212 passing yards last week to Louisiana Tech. If Hill and the Horned Frogs have another field day through the air, can the Razorbacks keep up?
Based on the rather pedestrian 297 total yards they gained last week, probably not.
Controversial Debut?
Mississippi State defensive end Jeffery Simmons was one of the most controversial sports figures of the offseason, after he was admitted to Mississippi State and suspended for one game after video surfaced of him punching a woman.
He could make his debut on Saturday, as the Bulldogs will open SEC play at home against South Carolina after falling in Starkville to South Alabama in the opener.
"We’ll see what happens Saturday," head coach Dan Mullen said on Tuesday's teleconference. "We'll see how the week of practice goes and we’ll make a decision come game time."
So basically, Mississippi State is willing to let a controversy left over from the summer simmer for a couple of more days—which just so happens to be a down week by SEC standards in terms of intrigue on the field.
Why?
Why would Mississippi State let it linger? Just come out and say he's going to play (or not play).
By letting it simmer, it's going to be a talking point during pregame radio and television shows, mentioned off the top of a broadcast as a mystery and have a big deal made of Simmons' first snap as a Bulldog—assuming he plays.
I guess it should come as no surprise, based on how this whole thing has gone down, that it isn't being handled well.
A Welcomed Star
Lost in Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn playing musical quarterbacks on Saturday night vs. Clemson was the play of Auburn's defense, particularly linebacker Deshaun Davis.
The 5'11", 239-pound sophomore had five tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, broke up a first-quarter pass on third down and hurried quarterback Deshaun Watson twice in Auburn's 19-13 loss.
It didn't come as a surprise to the staff.
"He had an excellent spring," Malzahn said. "I said after spring that he might have been our defensive MVP. He's really got good instincts, and is starting to become a leader. He carried it over to fall camp. So it didn't surprise me at all, the way he played. He plays with an edge, he's very instinctive, very physical. I'm very proud of Deshaun and the position he's in right now."
That was the one question mark coming into the season for Auburn.
The defensive line was known to be one of the deepest and most versatile in the conference, the secondary was loaded with talent and experience, and the linebacking corps needed to come of age to bring everything together for new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
If Auburn's defense can keep it up, it'll have a chance in every game this season.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Odds provided by Odds Shark.
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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