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The SEC is a wild place, with teams’ chances at a division crown or playoff berth, or a coach’s job security, can vary widely week to week. Whose stock is rising and whose is dropping this week in the SEC East? SDS takes a look.
RISING
- Georgia’s running game. The Bulldogs have been bulldozing teams all season, and opposing defense are in for even more trouble down the stretch. Nick Chubb has established himself as perhaps the best freshman running back in the country, and fellow freshman Sony Michel is finally healthy after an ankle injury early in the season. Don’t look now, but Todd Gurley is returning from suspension this weekend just in time for the Auburn game. Behind the best offensive line in the conference, the Bulldogs have a stable of tailbacks capable of competing with anyone. If they get the help they need to reach the SEC Championship, they have the talent to disrupt the playoff picture.
- Florida’s offense. The Gators seem to have simplified things for freshman starter Treon Harris, and it’s working. In the last two games with Harris as starter, Florida has averaged 36 points per game and has topped 440 yards of total offense in both contests, a mark they hadn’t hit since a triple-OT win over Kentucky in the second game of the season. Will Muschamp and Kurt Roper haven’t completely handed Harris the keys to the offense — he’s thrown just 28 passes in his two starts — but the offense has shown promise nonetheless.
- Ralph Webb. There haven’t been many positives in Vanderbilt’s miserable season, which will likely end without an SEC win after several years of prosperity under James Franklin. While the quarterback position has been a headache, Derek Mason doesn’t have much to worry about when it comes to handing off the ball. Webb just broke the Vanderbilt freshman rushing record and looks like a good bet to top 1,000 yards for the year. His performance is made more impressive by virtue of Vandy’s struggles; he’s been able to put up solid rushing totals despite his team often trailing by large margins.
FALLING
- Mark Stoops. Following a 2-win campaign in 2013, it looked like Stoops had completely turned the program as recently as a month ago, when he had the Wildcats sitting at 5-1. Four straight losses have the team at .500, and the chances of Kentucky making a bowl game look slimmer by the week. The defense, Stoops’ specialty, has been struggling for weeks, while the special teams unit is an absolute train wreck. The luster of the early season success has worn off and fans are starting to sound restless. Stoops’ job isn’t at risk this year, but he’ll have to show some sustained improvement next year or it might be.
- South Carolina’s bowl bid. Unbelievable as it may seem, this preseason top-10 team is likely going to miss a bowl game. If the Gamecocks don’t reach 6 wins (which they will be hard-pressed to do if they can’t get past Florida in the Swamp on Saturday), it will be the first time since 2007 that South Carolina doesn’t make it to the postseason. While Steve Spurrier is making it sound as if he’s not going anywhere, it’s hard to see Carolina turning it around without wholesale changes and an influx of talent on the defensive side of the ball.
- Maty Mauk. At the outset of the season, the talk was that Mauk might be the best quarterback in the SEC. While he’s certainly not as bad as his numbers indicate, it’s clear that the sophomore still has a long way to go before he’s considered among the passing elite. Going back to Missouri’s win over South Carolina, a 4-1 stretch for the Tigers, Mauk is averaging 110.8 yards per game, completing 43.4 percent of his passes and has tossed 4 TD and 5 INT. Missouri is still in position to win the East if they can win out, but that may be tough if they can’t muster some kind of passing game.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
