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Players with whom coaches worked or recruited for years made splashes in Week 11, while a troubling trend continued for one SEC West team. And as injuries persist in the Baton Rouge backfield, might there be a question for which running back puts up bigger numbers for LSU?
Here’s this week’s version of overrated, underrated and properly rated in the SEC:
Overrated
Visors: First Steve Spurrier retired, and the most recognizable visor-wearing coach was off the sidelines. Then Auburn’s Gus Malzahn led the Tigers to a six-game winning streak after ditching his visor for a hat. And finally, Georgia’s Kirby Smart moved to 3-0 without a visor in the Auburn win.
Aggies’ hot starts: This year’s 6-0 start for Texas A&M has proven to be another example of a disturbing trend for Kevin Sumlin and Co. The Aggies promptly lost three of their next four. This is the third consecutive year the Aggies have started at least 5-0 but then lost three quickly. They haven’t been 8-2 since 2013.
Underrated
Gary Wunderlich: Plenty of SEC kickers have hogged the spotlight in recent weeks, from Georgia cult hero Rodrigo Blankenship, to South Carolina’s Elliott Fry and Kentucky’s Austin MacGinnis. But Ole Miss’ Wunderlich leads them all and the SEC in field goals with 19 field goals on 20 attempts.
In the upset win over Texas A&M, Wunderlich hit three field goals, including the game-winning kick with 37 seconds left. He also had a 40.5 yard punting average on four attempts.
Derrius Guice: Perhaps he’s only underrated because he’s behind Leonard Fournette on the depth chart. But Guice continues to play every week like he has something to prove. Yet at fourth in the SEC in rushing, he’s running out of accolades. Guice rushed for a career-high 252 yards and two TDs in the win over Arkansas. That game total is the second highest in LSU history to Fournette’s 284 this season against Ole Miss.
Guice leads the Tigers with in rushing yards (881) and rushing touchdowns (9).
Properly rated
Maurice Smith: Well, that’s what all the summer fuss was about. Kirby Smart had an idea the Alabama transfer could make an impact like he did at safety in the third-quarter interception turned touchdown for Georgia in the turning point in the victory over Auburn. Smith is sixth on the team with 38 tackles and has two interceptions.
Charles Harris: For much of the season, some wondered whether the Missouri defensive line pipeline had run dry. Harris was a long way from last year’s 18.5 tackles for a loss and seven sacks. Then he sacked Jake Bentley twice two weeks ago, and had 2.5 sacks, and 3.5 tackles for loss in the Vanderbilt win. He now has eight sacks, which is fourth in the SEC.
Shea Patterson: So that’s why Hugh Freeze recruited Patterson since he was a freshman in high school. Drawing comparisons to Johnny Manziel, Patterson threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and set up Wunderlich’s field goal, all after Ole Miss trailed by 15. Patterson set school freshman records for passing yards (338) and total yards (402) in one game.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
