The Hangover: Nuggets and tidbits from Week 4 in the SEC

With more conference matchups on the schedule in Week 4, contenders and pretenders alike began to show themselves in the SEC.

In the East, Tennessee finally slayed Florida for the first time in 12 tries. The Volunteers answered a 21-3 halftime deficit with a 35-0 run that very few people saw coming, including the Neyland Stadium faithful.

As for the West, Texas A&M managed to pull away Arkansas in the second half — both teams came into the matchup somewhat surprisingly undefeated — to announce itself as the primary competition for defending national champion Alabama. Unlike the Aggies of recent vintage, the 2016 version can really run the rock.

Perhaps proving that the West is still vastly superior to the East, a 1-2 Ole Miss team destroyed a 3-0 Georgia squad in Oxford. Despite their two losses already, the Rebels proved that they’re not dead and buried yet.

Program by program, here are some of the more memorable nuggets and tidbits that I scribbled into my Week 4 notebook.

#RollTide

Even if Alabama ran for 285 yards Saturday against lowly Kent State, the literal health of its ground game is a concern right now.

Damien Harris, who supplanted Bo Scarbrough as the primary ball carrier this season, exited the game with an injury and didn’t return. Shortly thereafter, Scarbrough departed due to health reasons.

The leading rusher in the Crimson Tide’s 48-0 victory was Joshua Jacobs, who ran 11 times for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns. That being said, he’s a true freshman and was only a three-star recruit coming out of high school. Regarded as more of an all-purpose back, he’s lacking in talent when compared to Harris and Scarbrough.

Neither injury appears to be serious, as Harris has a sprained ankle and Scarbrough was diagnosed with a thigh bruise. With Jacobs and B.J. Emmons (8 carries, 51 yards) running well, there was no reason for alarm.

The Tide have to be breathing a sigh of relief, though. Harris’ injury in particular looked much more severe on television.

#WoooPig

Facing 4th-and-goal from the shadow of the end zone, Arkansas ran an end-around to Keon Hatcher, who was stuffed for a 5-yard loss.

Texas A&M features maybe the most athletic defensive end combination in the country in Myles Garrett and Daeshon Hall. Running directly at gifted edge defenders is usually a better game plan than trying to go around them.

With the score tied at 17 at the time, it was arguably the most important play in the Aggies’ 45-24 win over the Razorbacks. Not only did the Hogs fail to put points on the board from the 1-yard line, but A&M answered with a 92-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Knight to Josh Reynolds two plays later to take the lead for good.

For a coach like Bret Bielema (above), who prides himself on playing smashmouth football, it was a finesse call that backfired badly.

#WarEagle

It’s a conundrum for Auburn coach Gus Malzahn. Sean White is his best passing quarterback, but he’s not a threat in the running game. John Franklin III is his best running quarterback, but he’s not a threat in the passing game.

With White getting almost all of the snaps in a 18-13 win over LSU, he was fairly efficient through the air with 19 completions on 26 attempts for 234 yards. But he lost 9 yards on 6 carries, which had a trickle-down effect on his backs.

With the LSU defense not having to worry about White on the ground, Kerryon Johnson didn’t have a run longer than 14 yards. Kamryn Pettway’s best effort was 9 yards. That partially explains Auburn’s inability to score a touchdown.

#GoGators

Antonio Callaway is Florida’s most dangerous weapon, both catching passes on offense and returning punts on special teams.

However, he made two egregious mistakes as a return man in a 38-28 loss to Tennessee. Not once but twice he fielded punts inside his own 10-yard line. The first one he fumbled — the Volunteers recovered at the Gators’ 2. The second one Callaway fair caught at his own 2. Letting the ball bounce would have almost certainly resulted in a touchback both times.

Players are taught at the Pop Warner level to never catch a punt inside their own 10, so Callaway has no valid excuse.

#UGA

Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason looked like a freshman at times, especially when compared to Chad Kelly of Ole Miss.

Nevertheless, it was evident throughout the Rebels’ 45-14 blowout victory that Kelly is throwing to as gifted a crop of receiving threats as there is in the country. Routinely, his pass catchers were winning one-on-one matchups.

Eason, on the other hand, delivered his fair share of strikes that his receivers flat-out dropped. This is not a new problem for the Bulldogs, who were all thumbs at times at the wideout position in 2015, too. The 16-of-36 performance Eason put on display wasn’t nearly as bad as the box score suggests.

It was hard enough on Eason with Nick Chubb struggling to run the ball a third consecutive game. His supporting cast let him down in Week 4.

#BBN

Nothing could cure the Kentucky defense quite like the South Carolina offense, which was predictably inept both running and throwing.

The Wildcats, who came into this matchup dead last in the SEC in points allowed and total yards allowed, held the Gamecocks to 91 yards on the ground and 177 through the air in a 17-10 victory at Commonwealth Stadium.

USC averaged 2.6 yards per carry and 5.9 yards per pass. UK had been surrendering 4.5 yards per carry and an even 9 yards per pass this season.

#GeauxTigers

Even if LSU had managed to snap the ball on time for its game-winning TD pass that ultimately got reversed on replay, the play never should have happened in the first place. The officials got bailed out by the clock.

First of all, the Tigers failed to have all of their players set prior to the snap. A flag for illegal shift should have been thrown.

Additionally, in the trips formation to the left, two of the three receivers were both on the line of scrimmage. The moment the one closest to the ball started running his route, another penalty should have been called for illegal man downfield.

The zebras were fortunate that the clock went to all zeroes before the snap. Neither of the two missed penalties would have been reviewable.

#hottytoddy

Kelly might not have a genuine Alpha dog like Laquon Treadwell anymore, but he has a much deeper bunch of receivers in 2016.

First of all, Evan Engram is only a tight end because that’s what it says on the flip card in the press box. He’s essentially a wideout — rarely does he put his hand in the dirt — being moved around like a chess piece.

Beyond Engram, his most consistent target, Kelly has five receivers that present matchup problems for the enemy secondary. A.J. Brown, Quincy Adeboyejo, DaMarkus Lodge, Damore’ea Stringfellow and Van Jefferson (above) all caught multiple passes, and several were of the highlight-reel variety.

Eason’s weapons couldn’t even secure routine throws. Conversely, all Kelly had to do was let it fly once he identified single coverage.

#HailState

Mississippi State’s Nick Fitzgerald continues to do a Jekyll-and-Hyde impersonation at the game’s most important position.

In a Week 1 loss, he got benched after two series in favor of Damian Williams. In a Week 2 win, he set a school record for rushing yards by a quarterback (195). In a Week 3 defeat, he was again yanked to make way for Williams. Saturday, in a Week 4 triumph, he threw for 299 and ran for 110 in a 47-35 W at Massachusetts.

The Bulldogs have a bye in Week 5 before hosting Auburn in Week 6. If the pattern holds true, Fitzgerald will get the hook at some point.

#Mizzou

Up 30-0 already in the beginning stages of the second quarter against overmatched Delaware State, Missouri called for a fake punt on 4th-and-7.

While punter Corey Fatony completed his pass to Anthony Sherrils for 11 yards, the play was called back due to an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on the Tigers. Fatony did indeed punt the ball away on the ensuing snap.

The Hornets are an FCS program that would go on to lose 79-0. A fake punt from Mizzou in that situation was in poor taste, plain and simple.

#spursup

Brandon McIlwain, a true freshman quarterback who needs all the help he can get, doesn’t have much assistance around him.

Facing a Kentucky defense that only seven days prior had been shredded for 42 points by an awful New Mexico State program, no South Carolina ball carrier could muster a run longer than 12 yards. Aside from tight end Hayden Hurst, who flashed with 7 catches for 84 yards, no receiver caught more than two passes.

McIlwain himself was neutralized on the ground, where he tends to be most effective. The Gamecocks have no chance when he rushes 13 times for 11 yards.

#GBO

Seemingly absent for most of the season to date, Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett was unblockable in the second half.

Florida quarterback Austin Appleby, who was so effective in the first half building a 21-0 lead, never looked comfortable after intermission. Barnett was the root cause of that, recording two sacks and an additional tackle for loss.

Barnett’s big day couldn’t have come at a better time for the Volunteers. With linebackers Darrin Kirkland Jr. and Jalen Reeves-Maybin sidelined, not to mention cornerback Cameron Sutton, Barnett reminded everyone why he’s an all-conference selection.

Barnett hadn’t been credited with even half a sack in any of UT’s first three games. Premier pass rushers tend to get them in bunches, though.

#GigEm

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin talked all week about how he’s still getting to know Knight, just like Knight is still getting to know him.

Once again he was a fairly low-percentage passer, connecting on only 12-of-22 throws against Arkansas. However, when there were big plays to be made, either with his arm or his legs, Knight made them throughout the game.

Both of the Aggies’ touchdowns in the first half came on Knight runs right up the middle. As the seas of the Razorbacks defense parted, the Oklahoma transfer sprinted vertically 42 yards for the first score and then 48 more for the second. In addition to his 92-yard TD pass to Reynolds, he also hit Ricky Seals-Jones for 47.

A&M travels to rebuilding South Carolina in Week 5. There’s no reason not to be 5-0 when East favorite Tennessee comes to College Station in Week 6. Following a bye, Knight and Co. then travel to West bully Alabama in Week 8.

By the time Texas A&M lines up against those two heavyweights, Sumlin and Knight will know each other that much better.

#anchordown

Ralph Webb, the leading rusher in the SEC, scored three touchdowns Saturday in a 31-30 overtime win at Western Kentucky.

None of them was more important for Vanderbilt than the third one. Down seven points on the final play of regulation, Webb (below) took the handoff and dove Herschel Walker-style over a mass of Hilltopper defenders into the end zone. The Commodores tied the game with the PAT and eventually prevailed in the extra frame.

Webb has run for more yards than Chubb, scored more TDs than Leonard Fournette and sports a better yards-per-carry average than Jalen Hurd.

Sweet Tweet

Dubbed the Hot Seat Bowl, both Malzahn and Les Miles needed a win to keep their detractors at bay — if only for one week. One minute, it looked like LSU had pulled off a miracle comeback in typical Mad Hatter fashion. The next minute, Malzahn and Co. went from all frowns to all smiles along the Auburn sideline.

Les Miles and Gus Malzahn both got to celebrate wins tonight. That seems fitting.

— Jon Solomon (@JonSolomonCBS) September 25, 2016

It was just as exciting to watch as it was infuriating to decipher. Nobody should have expected anything less from Tigers vs. Tigers under the lights.

Sweet Stat

Statistically, Eason was the best quarterback in the league facing the blitz three weeks into the season. In the face of extra rushers, the five-star phenom had been 15-of-22 with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception.

But facing Ole Miss, Eason was 0-of-8 with an INT. The Rebels are loaded up front, so even a four-man rush probably felt like a blitz to the freshman.

Sweet Quote

“The duck is pulling the truck tonight, baby.”

— Tennessee coach Butch Jones to CBS’s Allie LaForce

Pick Six

• Alabama has now scored six non-offensive touchdowns in four games, this time getting a 75-yard TD on a punt return from Xavian Marks against Kent State. That makes two punt returns, two interception returns and two fumble returns. As if the offense wasn’t explosive enough.
• Even in defeat, it was impossible not to gain a whole new level of respect for Arkansas quarterback Austin Allen. The Texas A&M front seven drilled him throughout this game, yet he got up every time and kept coming back for more. His 371 yards passing in the face of all that heat was pretty impressive, too.
• Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson tied a school record with six field goals against LSU. He split the uprights from 51, 29, 29, 31, 37 and 29 yards — without a miss, by the way — and was responsible for every point the Tigers scored.
• Appleby pushed the ball down the field in the first half. Callaway, the offense’s big-play artist, racked up 134 yards on 4 receptions before intermission. But the Gators went conservative and took their most potent player out of the game as a result. The borderline-uncoverable Callaway didn’t catch a pass in the second half.
• While LSU’s Danny Etling isn’t make the same silly mistakes in the passing that Brandon Harris did, he hasn’t proven to be much of a distributor either. The change at QB is little more than cosmetic at this point. The Bayou Bengals put together just one passing play longer than 16 yards, which perhaps speaks more to scheme and coaching than personnel.
• Despite his productivity as a passer, NFL scouts won’t necessarily like what they saw from Kelly on the Georgia tape. More often than not, he’s completely flat-footed after taking the shotgun snap. Also, too many of his big plays were little more than jump balls that were snatched out of the sky by his bigger-and-badder receivers.

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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.