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The home stretch is upon us as the division races heat up and bowl hopes are either upgraded or dashed. While the SEC West has plenty of well-known skill players, even as freshmen, the East seems to have a new kicker make a name for himself each week. In Week 10, it was a walk-on.
In some cases, there might be just one SEC game remaining on a team’s schedule.
Here are the overrated, underrated and properly rated from Week 10:
Overrated
Missouri’s bowl hopes: The Tigers sit at 2-7 and this week’s game against Vanderbilt is just the third since 2001 that they will play a game while being eliminated from bowl consideration at kickoff. The other two were 2004 at Iowa State and 2001 at Michigan State. So the latest test for Barry Odom will be keeping his players focused against Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Arkansas. The Tigers are the only SEC team without a conference win, and they have lost 11 consecutive SEC games.
LSU offensive changes: Despite the changes promised by Ed Orgeron, the LSU offense looked much the same against Alabama as when Les Miles was the coach. The task for Orgeron is to prevent a similar collapse as what happened last season in November, when LSU fell to Arkansas and Ole Miss, including an early 21-0 hole against the Razorbacks and a a 24-0 deficit against the Rebels.
Underrated
Rodrigo Blankenship: Georgia’s walk-on kicker who has become a sort of cult hero with his glasses and green tee used for kickoffs made another splash in the last-second win over Kentucky. He’s connected on nine consecutive field goal attempts after he set career highs with four in the Kentucky win. Blankenship was just 0-for-1 on field goal attempts in the first four games as he was slow to gain confidence from Kirby Smart.
Lewis Neal: Not even the most well-known player on the LSU defensive line, Neal had a career-high 11 tackles, including one for a loss and two quarterback hurries in the loss to Alabama. It was by far his best game of the season as his previous season-high was six tackles. Neal is the center of one of a series of plays Ed Orgeron pledged he’d send to the SEC office that were either questionable or non-calls.
Alabama’s dominance: The Crimson Tide’s stranglehold on the league — and country — is somewhat taken for granted until you see a stat like this: Alabama became the first team in college football to defeat a ranked opponent in four consecutive games since Auburn in 1983. The Tide remains one of five undefeated teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Properly rated
Rawleigh Williams III: The Arkansas running back bounced back from a sub-par outing against Auburn two weeks ago to rush for 148 yards and two touchdowns. It’s the fifth time this season Williams has rushed for at least 121 yards. Arkansas is 5-0 this season when Williams rushes for more than 100 yards. While Williams is second in the league in rushing, he is fourth in rushes for a first down with 44 after he had six against Florida.
JK Scott: Alabama’s punter reminded us again that he’s more than capable of making an impact in a game after he launched a 66-yard punt against LSU, and had four punts go at least 50 yards. Two nailed LSU inside the 15-yard line, including a third quarter punt that was downed at the LSU 3.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
