Boom or bust: 3 SEC players who will shine and 3 who will flop in Week 7

If the action on the field in Week 7 of the SEC is anything like the past seven days the conference had off the gridiron (Spurrier retired, Grier suspended, etc.), then we’re in for one heck of a week. As always, when one player is the hero, another one is the goat.

Here are some of the players who have the right matchups to boom in Week 7 and a few that might have a hard time filling the stat sheet.

Boom

1. QB Chad Kelly: Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly has thrown for 300-plus yards in four of his six games this season, including a career-high 384 yards last week against New Mexico State. The good news for the junior and the Rebels is that their Week 7 opponent Memphis, despite being 5-0, gives up more yards through the air (306.8 ypg) than the Aggies (294.8 ypg). The Tigers are among the hottest teams in the country, having won 12-straight games and losing only once since falling 24-3 last September in Oxford. Bo Wallace threw for 248 yards in that game, a number Kelly should be able to surpass against this year’s Tigers.
2. DL Jonathan Allen: Texas A&M does a lot of things well. But protecting the quarterback isn’t one of their stronger suits. Getting after signal callers is one of Jonathan Allen’s best attributes on the gridiron. Alabama’s sack leader should have a big day when the Crimson Tide travel to College Station to face the Aggies in Week 7. The junior defensive lineman from Leesburg, Va., could use a big day to erase his recent sack drought. Allen registered two of his sacks in Week 1 against Wisconsin, but hasn’t taken down a quarterback since Week 3 against Ole Miss. Fortunately, the Bama defensive front (16 sacks on the year) goes up against a Texas A&M offensive line that has yielded a dozen sacks in five games, second-to-last in the SEC in front of Kentucky. That’s a favorable matchup for Allen, who enters the game with 10 tackles on the year and 3 passes batted down.
3. RB Ashton Shumpert: Mississippi State has received very little in the way of support from its running backs in 2015 — especially when you consider the team’s top-two scorers on the ground this year are quarterback Dak Prescott and his back-up Nick Fitzgerald, with 3 touchdowns apiece. By all accounts, a Week 7 matchup against Louisiana Tech isn’t exactly a cure-all for an ailing rush attack. Tech boasts the second-best defense in Conference USA, holding opponents to 362.5 ypg. Where the La. Tech’s Bulldogs are vulnerable, is in the red zone, where their defensive rank drops from No. 46 in the nation in total defense to No. 78 when inside the 20-yard line. The Mississippi State Bulldogs’ red zone offense ranks third in the SEC, behind only Kentucky and Missouri, and 29th nationally. Prescott’s squad doesn’t just score in the red zone, they score touchdowns, converting on 17 of their 19 trips, including 14 touchdowns (9 rushing, 5 receiving). Tailbacks Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway have failed to earn the rushing job outright. Shumpert has out-rushed his backfield peer 159 yards to 146 on the year and has the only touchdown between the two. But despite the running struggles head coach Dan Mullen is running the ball more frequently. Last week’s 33 rushing attempts as a team were the most in a single game this season. Look for one, if not both Shumpert and Holloway, to get into the end zone this week against Louisiana Tech.

Busts

1. RB Russell Hansbrough: Missouri head coach Gary Pinkel proclaimed this week that Russell Hansbrough’s bum ankle should be at 100 percent when the Tigers travel to Athens in Week 7 to face Georgia. And while that sounds good on paper (or in tweet form), it might not automatically spell big yardage for Mizzou’s incumbent leading rusher. Missouri enters the game with the worst-rushing offense (117.2 ypg) in the SEC. The Bulldogs, conversely, relent a mere 137.5 yards per game. Georgia has held opponent’s leading rushers to an average of 87.0 ypg this season. Which, actually would be a boon for Hansbrough who earned 74 of his 166 yards on the season last week against Florida. Otherwise, he’s averaged around 23.0 yards a game in limited action. Georgia held a healthy Hansbrough to 30 yards last season, and should respond in kind in 2015, as well.
2. QB Treon Harris: Florida quarterback Treon Harris gets welcomed back to the Gators’ starting role with a matchup against an LSU secondary that ranks among the best in the SEC in yards allowed this season. Harris has started seven games during his career, including the 2015 season opener, accruing a 5-2 record. But the sophomore lost his job to Will Grier early in the season. Florida went 5-0 with Grier under center before the NCAA suspended the freshman for a year on alleged PED charges. Harris threw for a career-high 215 yards in the Gators’ Week 1 win over New Mexico State, but only 54 yards against East Carolina in the only other game this year in which he’s thrown a pass. LSU’s defensive backs hold opponents to 191.8 ypg. Harris should be pressured all game as LSU’s run defense is even better than its defensive back corps. Florida finds ways to win without gaudy numbers, so an LSU victory is by no means a certainty, despite the staunch defense.
3. RB Brandon Wilds: Shawn Elliott, The Interim Ball Coach, spent his first week in charge at South Carolina by talking up Brandon Wilds, the Gamecocks’ maligned veteran running back who’s missed plenty of action this season with cracked ribs. Wilds has 181 yards on the season, but hasn’t seen the field since his Week 3 injury against Georgia. Elliott claims the senior is back at full strength, after Wilds pulled himself from last week’s lineup, despite given the medical green light. Wilds’ return, however, coincides with South Carolina’s Week 7 matchup against the second-best rush defense in the SEC East: Vanderbilt. The Commodores on the season … wait, really Vandy? … give up a little more than 100 yards per game on the ground and have allowed opposing ball carrier to rush for just five touchdowns against them. A healthy Wilds failed to find the end zone in the Gamecocks’ first three games. Unfortunately, the scoreless streak continues against Vanderbilt.

Chris Wuensch

Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.