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Week 9 SEC QB Power Rankings: Premier passers coming off losses
By John Crist
Published:
It was another rough week at the game’s most important position in the SEC. Most of the premier passers are fresh off a loss.
There is a new face added to the rankings, though. Jake Bentley, who could still be a senior in high school right now, got his first start for South Carolina and did some good things in a 34-28 win over Massachusetts.
The same can’t be said for Austin Allen of Arkansas, Trevor Knight of Texas A&M or Chad Kelly of Ole Miss. Ranked second, third and fourth a week ago, respectively, they combined for only 3 touchdown passes — against 4 interceptions — losing to ranked competition on the road. All were within the division, too.
On the bright side, Alabama’s Jalen Hurts just kept rolling along with 2 more TDs passing and yet another rushing. The true freshman now gets a bye to dive even deeper into offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s playbook.
Here are my quarterback rankings entering Week 9. It’s getting more difficult to make big jumps up or down the list.
14. Kyle Shurmur
Last week: 14
Shurmur didn’t have to do much in a 35-17 victory over Tennessee State as Vanderbilt ran for 358 yards and had two 100-yard rushers.
His play was encouraging, though. Shurmur completed 15-of-23 passes for 143 yards with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, plus he was only sacked once. His TD-to-INT ratio for the season is now a positive 4-to-3.
However, he still can’t make plays consistently down the field. Shurmur had only one completion go for 20 yards or more.
13. Nick Fitzgerald
Last week: 11
While he connected on 13-of-21 passes, Fitzgerald compiled just 81 yards through the air in a 40-38 loss to Kentucky.
Far from a brick wall defensively, the Wildcats frustrated Fitzgerald and eliminated any chances he may have had for chunk plays downfield. Five of seven Mississippi State pass-catchers recorded 7 yards receiving or fewer.
Yes, Fitzgerald ran for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns, his third time over the century mark, but he’s making zero progress as a passer.
12. Stephen Johnson
Last week: 13
Getting the best of Fitzgerald and Co., Johnson orchestrated a last-minute drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal.
Topping 89 yards passing for the first time in three starts, he went 17-of-33 for 292. Despite not throwing a TD since Sept. 17 against New Mexico State, Johnson got the ball into the end zone with his right arm twice.
At least for one more week, Johnson keeps the starting job in Lexington while youngster Gunnar Hoak continues to redshirt.
11. Jake Bentley
Last week: unranked
Going back and forth between Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain got South Carolina nowhere. It was time to give Bentley a shot.
The true freshman got off to a strong start, although the Gamecocks were forced to hold on late at home facing a bad UMass team. Still, the final stats for Bentley were solid: 17-of-26 for 201 yards with 2 TDs and 0 INTs.
If Bentley can play well in Week 9 with Tennessee visiting Columbia, perhaps the Gamecocks finally have a quarterback.
10. Drew Lock
Last week: 9
Losing his third straight start, Lock couldn’t make enough plays in a 51-45 defeat at the hands of Middle Tennessee.
Outplayed by the Blue Raiders’ Brent Stockstill, who fired 4 TDs on the road, Lock was 20-of-40 for 281 yards with 2 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. While he wasn’t picked off, he did lose a fumble being careless with the ball.
In wins over Eastern Michigan and Delaware State, Lock threw 10 TD passes combined. But in Missouri’s five losses, he has just 6 total.
9. Luke Del Rio
Last week: 10
Even in a 40-14 victory over Missouri two Saturdays ago, Del Rio was rusty coming off a knee sprain and got picked three times.
Next is the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, or at least it used to be before the decision makers in charge of Florida-Georgia decided to be more politically correct. Gator QBs tend to throw the ball well in Jacksonville.
It’s been a long time since Del Rio was on the field looking sharp. Since the blowout of Kentucky in Week 2, he’s either been struggling or injured.
8. Jacob Eason
Last week: 9
Similar to Del Rio, Eason is coming off a bye and likely spent it watching extra film to prepare for a scary Florida defense.
That crossfield missile he threw to temporarily take the lead late against Tennessee in Week 5 didn’t create any momentum. Eason was dreadful in a 28-14 win over South Carolina seven days later. Then came the head-scratcher vs. Vanderbilt.
With a deep rotation of pass-rushers up front and lockdown defenders in the secondary, the Gators are equipped to handle Eason’s raw talent.
7. Danny Etling
Last week: 8
Etling is now 4-1 in five starts, although Saturday’s 38-21 win over Ole Miss was mostly due to a career day by running back Leonard Fournette.
Still, Etling was credited with 204 yards on 19-of-28 passing. His 40-yard touchdown strike to receiver D.J. Chark on a coverage breakdown gave LSU its first lead in the second quarter after trailing 10-0 early.
The Tigers are off for Halloween weekend before hosting Alabama on Nov. 5. Etling can’t afford to be Brandon Harris 2.0 that day.
6. Joshua Dobbs
Last week: 5
After a four-week stretch that produced wins over Florida and Georgia but losses to Texas A&M and Alabama, Dobbs finally got to breathe.
With the bye now in the rearview mirror, Tennessee has perhaps the easiest schedule left of any team in the SEC. The Volunteers finish with South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt in league play.
If Dobbs rights the ship, the Volunteers can still make the conference championship game. Step 1? Cut down on the turnovers.
5. Sean White
Last week: 6
White is still the top-rated passer in the SEC based on efficiency rating, even if he only threw 11 passes in a 56-3 thrashing of Arkansas.
He doesn’t make a lot of big plays, but he doesn’t make a lot of critical mistakes either. In losses earlier this season to Clemson and Texas A&M, White failed to throw a TD. But in his five wins, he’s only been intercepted once.
More surprising than White’s sterling passer rating is his average of 8.8 yards per attempt. That leads the conference, too.
4. Chad Kelly
Last week: 4
For unexplained reasons, Kelly isn’t the same QB in the second half that he is in the first. Ole Miss is 3-4 as a result.
During the aforementioned defeat to LSU, Kelly was 19-of-32 for 209 yards with just 1 touchdown and 2 more interceptions. In his last three games, which now includes back-to-back losses, he has only 3 TDs and 4 INTs.
Kelly might have too much faith in his big-and-bad receiving corps, throwing into coverage and simply hoping for completions.
3. Trevor Knight
Last week: 3
There is no shame in Knight’s 19-point loss to Alabama. The Crimson Tide is terrifying in every phase of the game.
On his last drive of the first half and his initial possession of the second, Knight put together consecutive touchdown marches to turn a 13-0 deficit into a 14-13 lead. Nevertheless, the highlights from that point on were scarce.
Overall, Knight was 14-of-31 for 164 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Aside from a 27-yard scamper, his legs were a non-factor.
2. Austin Allen
Last week: 2
Allen played his first genuinely bad game of the season in that humiliation at the hands of a resurgent Auburn team.
Despite throwing at least 2 touchdown passes in his first seven starts, even in defeat to Texas A&M and Alabama, Allen didn’t get his offense into the end zone once. His 6.2 yards per attempt were a season low, too.
Because Knight and Kelly both also lost this past weekend, Allen remains at No. 2 in the rankings. He now has a bye to get ready for Florida.
1. Jalen Hurts
Last week: 1
For the first time in 2016, Hurts threw multiple interceptions. However, the second was a harmless end-of-half Hail Mary.
The fabulous frosh was again a dual-threat weapon for Alabama, throwing for 164 yards, running for an additional 93 and accounting for 3 total TDs. Four times this year, Hurts has thrown and run for at least one score each.
Texas A&M’s two dynamic defensive ends, Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall, couldn’t sack Hurts and only pressured him twice combined.
John Crist is the senior writer for Saturday Down South, a member of the FWAA and a voter for the Heisman Trophy. Send him an e-mail, like him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.
John Crist is an award-winning contributor to Saturday Down South.
