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There’s one word to describe the SEC’s performance in Week 1: disappointing.
With five teams in the preseason AP Poll, expectations were high. Aside from Alabama’s dominance, Nick Chubb’s outstanding return form injury and Texas A&M finding its way into the Week 2 Top 25, the conference failed to live up to the hype.
The SEC went 6-6 in non-conference games, which included Mississippi State’s loss to South Alabama and Kentucky’s collapse against Southern Miss.
Coincidentally, several of the league’s top players also had disappointing individual performances. Here’s a look at the SEC stars with the most to prove in Week 2.
Joshua Dobbs, QB, Tennessee: In preseason, Dobbs was pegged by many as the second-best quarterback in the SEC. This was, however, in spite of his biggest weakness: a lack of consistency on deep passes.
In fairness, it’s hard to do much when you play in an offensive scheme that consists of mostly read option runs and screen passes. But perhaps that’s just Tennessee’s coaches limiting Dobbs because of his flaws.
Either way, the Vols need to throw more deep passes. Thursday’s overtime win against Appalachian State would have never happened had they not attempted the fourth quarter deep route to Josh Malone to tie the score. Malone has the potential to be one of the conference’s best receivers.
But not only did Dobbs fail to shed doubt of his deep passing flaws, he also didn’t play to his strengths. The senior quarterback recorded -4 yards rushing on nine attempts.
That’s not going to be enough to lead Tennessee to an SEC East division title after an offseason of hype and lofty expectations.
Brandon Harris, QB, LSU: Speaking of hype, few teams received more of it this offseason than LSU. But it was cautious hype.
Many who picked the Tigers as a College Football Playoff team did so in spite of Harris’ past inconsistencies. Harris was the “big if” in whether LSU could get over the hump.
After an abysmal performance against Wisconsin, there’s not much to be optimistic about anymore. Harris threw for 131 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He had a 57.1 completion percentage and averaged 6.2 yards per passing attempt.
Fortunately, Harris will face Jacksonville State on Saturday, which should help him get into a good rhythm again before LSU faces its first SEC opponent, Mississippi State, the following week.
Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss: Kelly had his ups and downs during Monday’s loss to FSU. He threw for 313 yards and tied a career-high with four touchdown passes, but also tossed three interceptions and posted a 53.8 completion percentage — 11.3 points lower than 2015.
Ole Miss needs all of the good Kelly provided and fewer mistakes. Expect that to be the case Saturday against Wofford.
Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama: Sure, Alabama was nearly flawless in its win against USC. But standout wide receiver Calvin Ridley was relatively quiet.
Ridley caught two passes for nine yards. That’s after leading the SEC with 89 receptions for 1,045 yards — second in the conference — and seven touchdowns as a true freshman.
Many expect Ridley to be even better in his second year. Instead, it was ArDarius Stewart who had a big receiving performance with 113 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.
Perhaps the Tide just wanted to see what else it had and didn’t need to rely on Ridley. But fans shouldn’t expect him to stay quiet for much longer, especially after he develops more chemistry with Alabama’s new quarterbacks — or really just Jalen Hurts.
Jason covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
