Our list of the SEC’s best and worst in Week 5:
STUDS
1. Leonard Fournette: The SEC has been home to some of college football’s greatest running backs. Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Darren McFadden, et. al. Yet Saturday, Fournette did something no SEC player in history can claim: rush for 200 yards in three consecutive games. What the sophomore is doing right now is beyond remarkable, it is — objectively speaking — historic. With 864 yards on 99 carries through four games this season, he’s leading the nation in rushing, despite having played one fewer game than every other back in the top 14. On a per-game basis, nobody is within 56 yards of Fournette’s 216 average.
2. Will Grier: Entering the weekend, there were questions about whether Florida’s flu-stricken freshman quarterback would even be able to see the field. Not only did Grier start, he led the Gators to a dominant win over No. 3 Ole Miss with the best game of his young career. He completed nine of his first 12 passes and never slowed down, finishing 24 of 29 for 271 yards and four touchdowns as Florida cruised, 38-10.
3. Derrick Henry: The Alabama junior has been overshadowed at times this season by the glories of Fournette and Nick Chubb, but the 242-pounder showed Saturday why he remains one of the most dangerous backs in the country. He ran 26 times for 148 yards against Georgia, leading the Tide to a statement-making 38-10 victory. Weather dictated a run-heavy scheme on Saturday, but after Henry’s performance in Athens, it will be interesting to see if the Alabama staff chooses to build its game plans around him going forward.
DUDS
1. Ole Miss offensive line: The Rebels offense, which came in leading the SEC in points and yards per game, was humbled Saturday night in The Swamp. And as it often does, the trouble started up front. Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly was never able to get comfortable, dodging oncoming rushers while being sacked four times and hurried four more. Kelly was also the team’s leading rusher (15 carries, 40 yards), as the Rebels finished with just 69 rushing yards on 33 carries.
2. Greyson Lambert: Georgia’s junior quarterback came into Saturday’s game as one of the hottest players in the conference, having completed 44 of his last 49 passes in a remarkable display of accuracy. By halftime against Alabama, he’d been benched. Though he eventually returned under center after back-up Brice Ramsey fared no better, Lambert’s performance is a cause for concern. Certainly, some of Georgia’s issues in the passing game can be explained away by the sloppy weather, but as Mark Richt said afterward, Saturday’s performance leaves the Bulldogs questioning everything about who they thought they were.
3. Tennessee’s second half: The Volunteers scored touchdowns on the opening kickoff and their first offensive possession, but never saw the end zone the rest of the day, as a 14-0 lead slowly, painfully, turned into a 24-20 loss. As is becoming familiar, Tennessee’s biggest problems came in the second half, when Arkansas controlled possession for nearly 24 of the final 30 minutes. For that, there’s plenty of blame to be shared; the defense couldn’t get the Hogs off the field, and the offense couldn’t convert when it needed to. What resulted was just 90 yards of total offense in the second half as Tennessee lost for the third time this year.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
