The Hangover: Nuggets and tidbits from Week 7 in the SEC

If there was one lesson to be learned this weekend in the SEC, it’s that the West is still vastly superior to the East.

Alabama and Tennessee, preseason favorites to win the conference’s two divisions and atop the standings accordingly, met Saturday in Knoxville. The Crimson Tide totally destroyed the Volunteers from start to finish.

Two more West rivals, Ole Miss and Arkansas, played a thrilling game in Fayetteville that ultimately went to the Hogs. But the two intra-East showdowns — Vanderbilt at Georgia, Missouri at Florida — didn’t exactly make for must-see-TV. Even when pulling an upset, the Commodores in particular are borderline unwatchable.

It might be time to think about breaking up the divisions differently. My suggestion? ‘Bama in one, then the remaining 13 teams in the other. Perhaps more than ever, the Tide are simply playing at a level unmatched by their peers.

Program by program, here are some of the more memorable nuggets and tidbits that I scribbled into my Week 7 notebook.

#RollTide

In addition to a dangerous offense and a suffocating defense, Alabama can also be dominant in the third phase of the game: special teams.

Eddie Jackson returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in a 49-10 beatdown of Tennessee, his second of the season. Of the seven punt-return TDs recorded in the SEC this year, the Crimson Tide are responsible for three of them.

‘Bama also has one of the conference’s premier punters. JK Scott came into the contest against the Volunteers No. 3 in the league with an average of 46.5 yards per attempt and averaged an even 50 on four tries at Neyland Stadium. To be fair, kicker Adam Griffith is now only 8-of-12 on field goals after an 0-for-1 effort in Knoxville.

While the coverage units were a tad uneven, allowing a 38-yarder on a kickoff and a 32-yarder on a punt, the Vols are especially strong in the return game. Still, the Tide are yet to fall asleep at the wheel and give up a special-teams score.

All Alabama really has to do is push when it comes to hidden yardage every week. Its superior offense and defense will handle the rest.

#WoooPig

The offensive line for Arkansas grew up in a 34-30 win over Ole Miss at home. It had been a much-maligned unit for most of 2016.

As a team, the Razorbacks rushed a season-high 51 times for 200 yards on the nose. However, if you look inside the numbers, they were even more impressive. That figure includes 70 yards worth of sacks, kneel-downs and faulty snaps.

Tailback Rawleigh Williams III (above) — one of the feel-good stories in the SEC this season — ran for 180 yards on 27 carries, and many were of the explosive variety. Reserve ball carrier Devwah Whaley added another 65 yards on 11 attempts off the bench. As a result, the Hogs dominated time of possession 40:38 to 19:22.

Quarterback Austin Allen, who has been forced to carry too much of the burden offensively this year, only needed to throw 32 passes in the 34-30 triumph. With three more in Week 7, he now leads the conference with 18 touchdown tosses.

While the Rebels did sack Allen three times, they weren’t able to hold the point of attack up front and got gashed repeatedly.

#gogators

Quarterback Luke Del Rio returned to the starting lineup for Florida. However, he had little to do with a 40-14 thrashing of Missouri.

First of all, the 40 points scored are deceptive. Cornerbacks Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson both picked off passes in the second quarter — neither team dented the scoreboard in the first — and returned them for touchdowns. Then late in the fourth, Antonio Callaway took back a Tigers onside kick 44 yards for a TD.

Had Mizzou been able to do anything offensively, it could have capitalized on Del Rio’s poor outing. The two-time transfer completed just 18-of-38 throws for 236 yards with a lone score against 3 INTs. His 20-yard touchdown pass was a gift, too. Missouri didn’t have a defender within 10 yards of receiver Tyrie Cleveland.

Del Rio might be an upgrade over Austin Appleby, who didn’t do much with his chance, but there are still QB issues in Gainesville.

#uga

Georgia has to find a way to get tight end Isaac Nauta more involved in the offense after a 17-16 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday.

A true freshman, Nauta was a five-star signee from this past recruiting cycle — the Bulldogs flipped the Buford native from Florida State. At 6-foot-4 and 246 pounds, he’s the big target that quarterback Jacob Eason clearly needs. He was credited with 5 receptions for 74 yards and a score against the Commodores.

The two top wide receivers for UGA, Isaiah McKenzie and Terry Godwin, are small to say the least. McKenzie is 5-foot-8 and 175 pounds. Godwin? Just 5-11, 185. While Michael Chigbu, Reggie Davis, Riley Ridley and Javon Wims are all somewhere between 6-foot and 6-4, none gets open enough or catches the ball consistently.

It can be tough to find McKenzie and Godwin in the red zone due to their smallish stature. Nauta is a better option.

#geauxtigers

After a sluggish first half that saw LSU tied with Southern Mississippi, the Tigers finished with a 35-0 run in the second to win 45-10.

We hear so much about the aerial struggles for the Bayou Bengals and their inability to get the ball into the hands of receivers Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural, but a third weapon has finally emerged.

D.J. Chark scored twice, the first on a 19-yard run — he’s become a weapon in the running game, too — and the second on an 80-yard reception. With Dupre and Dural averaging just 13.1 and 9.9 yards per catch so far this season, respectively, Chark is up to 17.2. He’s also now tied for the team lead with 2 TD grabs.

Danny Etling is still finding his way, but Chark helped his QB’s yards-per-attempt average spike up to 15.3 in this one.

#hottytoddy

Evan Engram of Ole Miss is listed as a tight end, but there’s nothing tight end-like about his game.

The 6-foot-3, 227-pounder is essentially the same size as all those big receivers the Rebels have — just a little thicker built. He’s also rarely asked to put his hand in the dirt and move defenders around on running plays.

Engram (above) was a menace in Mississippi’s 34-30 loss to Arkansas, reeling in 7 passes for 111 yards and his fifth touchdown in six games this season. While two players have more receptions than he does, his 590 yards receiving are most in the SEC. He also averages more yards per catch than any of the Rebs’ wideouts.

Although not a traditional tight end, Engram can create tight end-esque mismatches. Hogs linebacker Brooks Ellis had no chance in coverage.

#hailstate

Even in defeat, it was refreshing to see Mississippi State not put the burden of every offensive snap on quarterback Nick Fitzgerald.

Running back Aeris Williams, who hadn’t been given more than 5 carries in any game this season, ran the ball 21 times for a hard-earned 82 yards — his longest went for 12 — in a 28-21 loss to BYU on Friday. Brandon Holloway, previously the top tailback for the Bulldogs, is just too small to be effective between the tackles.

Williams is more suited to be a down-to-down runner at 6-foot-1 and 217 pounds, so the sophomore should continue to be used.

#mizzou

Laying a second straight egg on the road against a quality opponent, Missouri quarterback Drew Lock still has a long way to go.

He put up some huge numbers against a pair of small programs in 2016, breaking the 400-yard plateau twice — and throwing for 5 TDs both times — against Eastern Michigan and Delaware State. But facing the talented secondaries of LSU and Florida, he’s a combined 21-of-55 with 0 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

At least Lock had more completions than INTs against the Gators. Kentucky’s Drew Barker wasn’t able to do so back in Week 2.

#GBO

Defensive end Derek Barnett may have been the lone bright spot for Tennessee in a 49-10 embarrassment to Alabama.

The All-SEC selection recorded a trio of tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception, doing the majority of his damage against fellow all-conference pick Cam Robinson, who is the No. 1 left tackle in the league.

It’s a shame that Barnett doesn’t have any help left on his side of the ball in Knoxville. The Volunteers’ two best linebackers, Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Jalen Reeves-Maybin, didn’t play due to injury yet again. Standout cornerback Cameron Sutton remains on the mend and missed his fourth consecutive game.

Even if Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett gets most of the publicity, Barnett can make a case as the top pass rusher in the SEC. After a slow start to the season — no sacks the first three games — he’s been sensational for a month.

He might lack a few of Garrett’s once-in-a-decade physical gifts, but Barnett is relentless snap after snap.

#anchordown

No question about it, Vanderbilt is tough to watch offensively. The passing game in particular is a genuine eyesore.

That being said, coach Derek Mason (below) can really make magic happen defensively. Continuing to call the signals himself, he orchestrated a beautiful defensive effort Saturday in a 17-16 upset of Georgia between the hedges.

The star of the show was linebacker Zach Cunningham. He flew all over the field with 19 tackles, including 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage. Rushing the passer, shutting down running lanes, contributing in coverage — there’s nothing the 6-foot-4, 230-pounder can’t do. He’s arguably the SEC’s premier defensive player.

Facing 4th-and-1 on a potential game-winning drive in the final minute, the Bulldogs ran the speedy McKenzie out wide. Cunningham secured a Vandy victory with the surest of tackles short of the line to gain.

Mason, winning his first SEC road game in 10 tries over the course of three seasons, won’t have to hear any hot-seat talk this week.

Sweet Tweet

Nobody enjoyed Alabama’s annihilation of Tennessee more than Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who infamously fled Knoxville to take the USC job after one season as coach of the Volunteers. Walking back to the locker room following a 594-yard outing, Kiffin tossed his visor into the Neyland Stadium crowd.

Lane Kiffin with the "visor flip." #BAMAvsTENN #RollTide pic.twitter.com/NQDftTZhxR

— Brandon Kamerman (@B_Kamerman) October 15, 2016

Kiffin, perhaps the sneakiest Twitter troll in the coaching ranks, sadly kept his personal account inactive in the aftermath of the contest. Nevertheless, expect another round of orange-tinted death threats headed his way.

Sweet Stat

The aforementioned Kiffin is 2-0 against his former employers in 2016, as ‘Bama has defeated USC and Tennessee by an aggregate score of 101-16. He deserves as much credit as anyone for modernizing the Tide’s scheme.

Kiffin and Co. racked up a total of 1,059 yards in those two games, while the Trojans and Volunteers combined for a paltry 357.

Sweet Quote

“The offensive line kind of stretched, the defense jumped to the outside, I stuck my foot in the ground and the hole opened up like the Red Sea.”

— Arkansas WR Jared Cornelius on his game-winning 6-yard TD run

Pick Six

• Georgia needs to spend a lot of time on special teams during its upcoming bye week. The Bulldogs’ return game was especially bad. McKenzie kept letting punts hit the ground and bounce Vandy’s way. Davis fielded a kickoff and promptly stepped out of bounds at his 3-yard line.
• Vanderbilt’s Darrius Sims showed why he’s the SEC’s leading kick returner. Despite getting caught inside the 5, his 95-yard return of the opening kickoff set up Ralph Webb’s 1-yard TD run. Considering how anemic the ‘Dores are offensively, it was one of the game’s key plays.
• Alabama has now scored 11 non-offensive touchdowns in seven games. In addition to Jackson’s punt-return TD mentioned above, Ronnie Harrison returned an INT for a score. By comparison, South Carolina has recorded a total of 9 offensive touchdowns in six games.
• Joshua Dobbs averaged an atrocious 3.4 yards per pass attempt for Tennessee. But it wasn’t due to a low completion percentage, as he was 16-of-27. Time after time, the senior fired balls short of the yardage marker on third down. ‘Bama tackles too well to get away with that.
• Florida got pick-sixes on back-to-back possessions against Missouri from Tabor and Wilson. The last time the Gators had more than two touchdowns on interceptions returns for an entire season was 2010. Tabor and Wilson form arguably the best corner combo in the SEC.
• LSU running back Derrius Guice has started in place of the injured Leonard Fournette three times this season. His stat lines have been, well, Fournette-ish. He’s run for 155, 163 and 162 yards as the primary call carrier and scored six touchdowns. He’s a home-run threat, too.

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John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.