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Week 5 in the SEC might have given us the most eye-opening slate of games so far this season.
The picture of contenders and pretenders seems to be painted most clearly this week. Alabama, Auburn and Georgia are quite evidently the SEC’s top three teams, each with a nationally-esteemed, Top 10 defense.
Week 5 also confirmed what many of us already thought to be true — traditional powers LSU and Tennessee are bad football teams. Meanwhile, teams like Florida and Texas A&M seem to be getting marginally better.
There was no shortage of awe-inspiring showcases in Week 5. From individual players, to teams, to coaches, here are the most impressive performances of the week:
10. Levi Wallace
Week to week, Alabama has plenty of performers on defense worth mentioning. Wallace was the Crimson Tide’s most exceptional defender in the secondary during Saturday’s 63-point win over Ole Miss. Wallace intercepted two passes — one of which he returned for a 35-yard touchdown. Wallace returned his other interception 31 yards.
9. Florida/Texas A&M
These teams are being grouped together because the Gators and Aggies have both been getting better, sort of quietly. Since beginning the season with a 33-17 loss to Michigan, Florida has reeled off three straight wins over SEC East foes Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. It hasn’t been pretty at times, but the wins are looking better. Same with the Aggies. Since blowing a 44-10 lead against UCLA in Week 1, Texas A&M has won four games in a row and is 2-0 against the SEC.
8. Christian LaCouture
LaCouture is tied for the LSU team lead with two quarterback hurries.
LSU didn’t have a lot of positives to take away from Saturday’s 24-21 loss to Troy, but LaCouture played an outstanding game on the defensive line. He paced the Tigers with 12 total tackles and two sacks. LaCouture has 29 tackles this season, third most on the team. His presence on the field Saturday at least helped keep LSU in the game against Troy.
7. D.J. Chark
Again, it hasn’t been a pretty season for LSU. Offensively, though, Chark has still been the star of the show. Against the Trojans, Chark had four catches for 105 yards. He has been the bright spot of LSU’s offense with 338 receiving yards. Chark had a 48-yard reception against Troy, the longest pass play of the game, to give LSU a bit of momentum in the third quarter. It’s too bad he doesn’t have many playmakers around him.
6. Malik Davis
The Gators have been moving the sticks on offense and putting points on the board. Davis, a true freshman, carried the football 17 times against the Commodores in Saturday’s 38-24 win and amassed 124 rushing yards. He also punched in two touchdowns. Davis has been the Gators’ leading rusher with 43 carries for 319 yards on the season.
5. Texas A&M pass rush
For the second week in a row, Texas A&M’s pass rush was outstanding. The Aggies recorded seven sacks against South Carolina on Saturday. The week before against Arkansas, A&M notched six sacks. For consecutive weeks, the Aggies’ front seven has been nearly unblockable. Texas A&M has 20 sacks on the season, which leads the SEC easily. The next-closest team, LSU, has 15 sacks.
4. Auburn/Chip Lindsey
The Tigers’ offense continues to be incredibly balanced. Under offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey that has often been the case, other than in a historically bad performance against a Clemson team which might be the best in the country. Auburn had 264 passing yards from quarterback Jarrett Stidham on Saturday against Mississippi State, while running backs gained 244 yards on the ground. Kerryon Johnson has been a touchdown machine this season. He rushed for another three scores in the 49-10 win over the Bulldogs.
3. Jalen Hurts
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts had the most impressive individual performance in Week 5. Hurts passed for 197 yards with two touchdowns and finished with a solid 96.5 quarterback rating. Additionally, Hurts led the Crimson Tide in rushing with 101 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He was the definition of an effective dual-threat QB on Saturday, and Ole Miss had no answer for him. Hurts is the reason this Alabama offense continues to run so smoothly.
2. Georgia defense
Georgia is third in the nation in total defense at 244 yards per game, trailing only Michigan and UTSA.
You often see similar teams at the top of this list each week, but there’s a reason. The same teams continue to impress. Georgia is beginning to look elite. The Bulldogs went to Knoxville on Saturday and shut out Tennessee 41-0. It was the worst loss ever handed to the Volunteers in Neyland Stadium — and also the first time they had been shut out at all since 1994. In addition to the zero points allowed, Georgia held Tennessee to 142 total yards and forced four turnovers. Georgia currently possesses the nation’s No. 2 scoring defense.
1. Nick Saban
Can you guess which defense has allowed fewer points than Georgia? Of course, it’s Alabama and Nick Saban. Some combination of Alabama, the Tide defense and Saban has held this top spot a couple of times already this season. But when you look around the SEC, it’s hard to find anything more impressive than what the Crimson Tide is doing to opponents. Alabama handed Ole Miss, which has supposedly had its number, a personal 66-3 shellacking on Saturday. Alabama is clicking on all cylinders already. It is allowing just 8.6 points per game. For the second week in a row, it didn’t allow a touchdown.
Cody McClure is an SEC Football Writer for Saturday Down South. He lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, where he also co-hosts a midday sports radio show for FOX Sports. Cody previously worked for Athlon Sports.
