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College Football

Pass, fail, incomplete: Grading SEC QBs bowl performances

Chris Wright

By Chris Wright

Published:

He didn’t read it, but Alabama quarterback Jake Coker clearly accepted the challenge in the biggest game of his life.

Oft-maligned as a weak link in the Tide’s otherwise sturdy championship-caliber lineup, Coker played the game of his life in leading Alabama past Michigan State and into the national championship game against Clemson.

In doing so, he was an easy choice as the SEC bowl edition Valedictorian.

On to the grades:

Jake Coker, Alabama (25-30, 286 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs)

My take: Game manager, huh? He managed to flip that script with huge throws, timely throws and smart throws. You hate to build a scouting report around one throw, but he showed glimpses against Florida in the SEC title game, when he ripped a TD throw between two defenders.

Maybe he had to, maybe he wanted to, but either way, Lane Kiffin took off Coker’s training wheels against Michigan State, and in doing so gave Clemson yet another dimension to worry about.

Grade: A+

Dak Prescott, Mississippi State (25-42, 380 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT)

My take: N.C. State is not Michigan State, so Coker gets the decisive bonus point for acing an advanced class. Prescott merely wrapped a pretty maroon bow around his record-breaking career, throwing for a Bulldogs-bowl-record 4 TDs while moving into the SEC’s top 10 in single season passing yards (3,793).

Grade: A+

Chad Kelly, Ole Miss (21-33, 302 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT)

My take: The Sugar Bowl MVP became just the third QB in SEC history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season. He did so with his eighth 300-yard game of the season. He threw 4 TD passes for the second time this season, giving him 31 this season to match Eli Manning’s school record.

Grade: A

Brandon Allen, Arkansas (20-26, 315 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)

My take: The Liberty Bowl was the Alex Collins Show, but Allen was superb in a co-starring role. He overcame an early INT and topped 300 yards passing for the fifth time this season. He finished with 30 TD passes this season, jumping into the top 20 in SEC history. And he continued to shine in the subtle areas that coaches notice, the play-action fakes, the footwork, manipulating defenses with his eyes.

Doing his job helped Collins do his.

Grade: A-

Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee (14-25, 166 yards, O TDs, 0 INTs)

My take: The Vols were running in place — backward actually — before Dobbs hit seldom-used Alex Ellis on a key 42-yard strike to set up their first TD against Northwestern. From there, he mixed timely passes with physical runs (48 yards, 2 touchdowns) to join Peyton Manning as Vols QBs who won bowl games in consecutive seasons.

Grade: A-

Brandon Harris, LSU (13-22, 254 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT)

My take: Texas Tech’s defense is terrible. Now that that’s out of the way … let’s give Harris some credit. Harris topped 250 yards for the fourth time in his final six games. He added a TD run. He mixed in a screen pass to Leonard Fournette — a play call LSU began using more in the final three games but should have calling all along. It’s still fair to wonder whether Harris is the guy, he’s shown the ability to be a reliable complement to Fournette.

Grade: B+

Jake Hubanek, Texas A&M (28-48, 307 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)

My take: All things considered — namely, he was a third-stringer who had thrown just 27 passes all season — Hubanek stepped in under tough circumstances and delivered. He looked comfortable in what obviously is a QB-friendly system. Did he do enough to give the staff confidence moving forward? He’s not the dual-threat Kevin Sumlin prefers, but as first starts go, it was impressive.

Grade: B+

Greyson Lambert, Georgia (10-20, 115 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs)

My take: Lambert is who we thought he was. He didn’t win the TaxSlayer Bowl, but he didn’t lose it. He made a few plays — the most notable a pretty pass to Terry Godwin on a fade route in the corner of the end zone — but missed open receivers too. Can’t help but wonder how big Malcolm Mitchell’s numbers would have been this season with a better QB. Biggest play Mitchell made Saturday was a 44-yard TD catch from Terry Godwin out of Georgia’s “Wild Dawg” formation.

Grade: C

Treon Harris, Florida (8-21, 146 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT)

My take: There’s nothing new to say and no need to pile on. He’s not the answer, and everybody knows it. It’s up to Florida to find him a position. He’s athletic enough to handle the switch.

Grade: F.

Jeremy Johnson, Auburn (1-1, 11 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 TD rushing)

My take: It’s clear Gus Malzahn prefers Sean White. White started, despite playing through a leg injury, but threw 2 interceptions. He and Johnson split snaps on several series. The offense is different under Johnson — more running, more physical, more Auburn-like — but it was also more effective. Johnson ran it just 3 times but defenses must account for him, and that creates lanes for others that don’t exist with White.

Grade: Inc. This QB race this spring will be among the most interesting in the SEC to watch.

Chris Wright
Chris Wright

Managing Editor

A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.

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