SEC Football Q&A: Is LSU or Auburn the Bigger Threat to Alabama?
It didn't seem like it in September when LSU went 2-2, but the LSU-Alabama rivalry means something.
Alabama is sitting pretty atop both major polls, while LSU has crept back into the Top 15 under interim head coach Ed Orgeron.
The two SEC West powers will square off in Baton Rouge this weekend. But is LSU the biggest test remaining on Alabama's schedule?
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
That question and more are answered in this week's edition of SEC Q&A:
Without a doubt, it's Auburn.
I pointed out in Extra Points last week how Auburn's rushing progression from month to month is almost identical to that of 2013, when the Tigers got hot in October and November, won the SEC title in December and nearly won the national title in January 2014.
That didn't change in Auburn's win over Ole Miss, when running back Kamryn Pettway went off for 236 yards and a touchdown.
When Auburn settled on an offensive identity in the win over LSU on Sept. 24 with play-caller Rhett Lashlee, it gave the offensive line—a problem during the first three games of the season—a clear view of what it's expected to do. Because of that, as Pro Football Focus noted, Auburn is averaging a whopping 3.02 rushing yards before contact.
That rushing attack, coupled with the most efficient passer in the nation in Sean White (159.00) and a defense that's giving up 358.3 yards per game and 5.06 yards per play, has transformed Auburn into a complete football team.
What's more, it has another month to refine and build on its work and be even better when it rolls into Tuscaloosa on Nov. 26.
LSU clearly doesn't have that luxury built in the schedule. Plus, I'm not sure how much of LSU's offensive renaissance is on improvements the Tigers have made and how much is on the competition they've faced.
Sure, Orgeron set out to be less predictable on obvious running downs and mix up formations. But for the most part, LSU's turnaround is more due to execution.
"This is a very challenging team based on the balance that they create and what they do, and they probably play a little more two-tights and two-wides, which is a good thing for them because it features the players that they have," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said last week. "We see some subtle differences in what they're doing. I think the thing about it is, their execution has been really good. That's usually what makes the difference."
That execution has come against Missouri, Southern Mississippi and Ole Miss—which are ranked 83rd, 86th and 96th nationally in yards per play, respectively.
The only time LSU was stressed in those three games was against Ole Miss. But it seemed like any time those instances popped up against the Rebels, running back Leonard Fournette quickly relieved that stress with a long run or catch-and-run.
LSU and Auburn have both improved and are legitimate threats to Alabama. But Auburn has proved to be a more complete team right now and has another month to prep.
"@BarrettSallee @ChaddScott Barrett...What do you believe a reasonable window of success is for Kirby? I still believe he was a good choice!
— Greg Townsend (@ga_dawg5000) October 31, 2016"
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is owed a mulligan year, and this is it. Next year, he should contend for the SEC East title—which is something I believe he will do.
He's a first-time head coach with a true freshman quarterback in Jacob Eason, young playmakers outside, a lack of impact players along the offensive line, one upperclassman on the defensive line's two-deep and only one senior on the linebacker two-deep.
If you expected immediate success for Georgia given those ingredients, you were flat-out kidding yourself.
Is the loss to Vanderbilt a bad look? Of course. Did getting pummeled by Florida hurt? It always does. The specifics of the season—particularly the inconsistency in various units in various games for no specific reason—is certainly frustrating.
Back in the summer when we shot our SEC previews, I said it was a "24-month" season for Smart and that there will be inexplicable highs and lows. There have been more of the latter through two months. But the talent level at Georgia isn't as high as some make it out to be due to the inability of the former staff to develop players from a scheme-specific and strength and conditioning standpoint.
Because of that, Georgia fans need to relax, take a deep breath and let Smart learn on the job.
He is the right choice for the Bulldogs and will figure it out.
The honeymoon isn't over after Saturday's loss to Florida. But the groom got a little sloppy at the bar and embarrassed the bride for the fourth time on the trip.
No, Art Briles is too much of a campus liability to be allowed to coach on a college campus right now.
As if all of the other Baylor stories from the last eight months weren't enough, the Wall Street Journal article by Brad Reagan that was published last week included regents speaking about the Pepper Hamilton report that reportedly detailed 17 reported domestic or sexual assaults involving 19 former players in Briles' program—including four gang rapes—since 2011.
The report from Reagan was another glimpse into the specifics of the Hamilton report, with each revelation serving as an even bigger hurdle for Briles to clear if he wants to get back into coaching.
There's no doubt Briles is a great coach. He turned Baylor—a wasteland of football incompetence—into a national power with an offensive scheme that spread the field side-to-side, stretched it deep and ran with power north-south.
Athletic directors know he can get the job done on the field.
But not only is Briles a risk for simple campus safety, any AD who hires him would be doing so without knowing what else could come out from Briles' time at Baylor.
There isn't an AD on the planet who would take that risk.
No, I don't think Barry Odom will or should be fired if Missouri goes 2-10—which is a legitimate possibility with South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Arkansas left on the schedule.
But he would be on thin ice heading into the 2017 season.
Odom made wholesale changes to the defense when he got the job, changed up terminology and implemented more multiple principles. That didn't make sense then, and it doesn't now.
Missouri earned the moniker of "D-Line Zou" over the last decade thanks to the seemingly never-ending pipeline that sent stars to the NFL. Missouri currently ranks next-to-last in the SEC in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (37) and is 12th in yards per play allowed (5.88).
That's unacceptable, especially considering Odom is not only is a defensive-minded head coach but played for and coached at Missouri when that reputation was being earned.
Missouri has a new athletic director in Jim Sterk, and new ADs typically want to put their own stamp on a program.
But a first-time head coach in the SEC deserves a bit more time than one season—even if that one season is a total failure.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is courtesy of Scout. 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.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
