The Hangover: Nuggets and tidbits from Week 5 in the SEC

Every time we think we’ve seen it all, the game of college football manages to serve up a fresh dose of crazy.

In the East, Tennessee remained unbeated thanks to a Hail Mary on the final play of regulation. Only seconds earlier, Georgia thought it had won the game with a miracle touchdown pass of its own. The Volunteers are on a mission, though.

Over in the West, an LSU offense that couldn’t get out of its own way under Les Miles went up and down the field from start to finish playing for local boy Ed Orgeron. The Tigers ran for more than 400 yards against Missouri and also threw for over 200. The Mad Hatter only dreamed of such balance with this personnel.

With Louisville, Stanford and Wisconsin losing over the course of the weekend, SEC unbeatens Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M will all be comfortably in the Top 10. As a result, Vols-Aggies next week takes on added significance.

Program by program, here are some of the more memorable nuggets and tidbits that I scribbled into my Week 5 notebook.

#RollTide

Alabama linebacker Tim Williams, arrested only two days earlier for a misdemeanor gun charge, was “suspended” for the first half against Kentucky.

Just a few months ago, Crimson Tide offensive tackle Cam Robinson and defensive back Hootie Jones were arrested on felony charges involving narcotics and a stolen firearm. The charges were ultimately dropped, though.

‘Bama coach Nick Saban (below) took a lot of heat in the media for failing to suspend Robinson or Jones for their actions, highlighted by a public feud with ESPN host Paul Finebaum at SEC Media Days. Just because the long arm of the law decided against prosecuting the case, that doesn’t mean the two players did nothing wrong.

If there was a lesson for members of the Tide to be taught following the ordeal with Robinson and Jones, clearly Williams didn’t learn it. Suspending him for half of a 34-6 laugher over Kentucky doesn’t sound like much punishment, either.

The optics of the situation are bad, plain and simple. But Saban will continue to win and bully his way through criticism, as usual.

#WoooPig

Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams III continued his comeback story, rushing for 126 yards on 13 carries in a 52-10 stomping of Alcorn State.

However, the most explosive ball carrier in the rotation for the Razorbacks was freshman Devwah Whaley, whose 75-yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty. He finished with 135 yards against the Braves on just 9 carries.

While Hogs quarterback Austin Allen has proven to be quite a passer thus far, his ground assault came into this week only 11th in the SEC at an even 158 yards per game. Those numbers will improve after Saturday’s 358-yard outing, but it might be time to get Whaley — a coveted four-star recruit — more touches in the backfield.

#WarEagle

Auburn quarterback John Franklin III put a couple of eye-opening plays on tape in a 58-7 beatdown of ULM on The Plains.

With the Tigers already up 42-7 in the third quarter, Franklin — taking over for Sean White, who was sharp — put some serious speed on display with an 80-yard touchdown run. Only 4:01 later, he threw a pretty 39-yard TD bomb.

Don’t be fooled, though. Franklin is a change-up at best and limits the passing game significantly. White remains this offense’s best option.

#GoGators

Once again, Florida rotated so many running backs in the first half that none of them could get into any sort of rhythm.

Gators coach Jim McElwain has shuttled Jordan Cronkrite, Lamical Perine, Jordan Scarlett and Mark Thompson in and out of the huddle all season long, hoping for one of them to get hot and then ride him in the second half.

However, there is a such thing as too deep of a rotation. At the tailback position in particular, the good ones tend to get better as the game goes on, but that only comes from seeing regular touches — working up a lather, as they say. That’s hard to do with only a few carries each spread out over the first 30 minutes.

Scarlett appears to be the best of the bunch. Make him the starter and then choose a lone change-of-pace guy once and for all.

#UGA

Maurice Smith, a graduate transfer from Alabama, is having a nice year so far at defensive back for Georgia.

He was one of the biggest stories of the offseason, as Saban blocked Smith’s request to play for the Bulldogs — intra-conference transfers are typically frowned upon — before eventually caving and granting him a full release.

In Saturday’s 34-31 loss to Tennessee, Smith (above) was credited with 7 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception. The play he made on the fumble was particularly impressive, ripping the ball away from Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara and then pouncing on it. The INT was a crucial play late in the game.

‘Bama is so loaded in the secondary that Smith isn’t missed in Tuscaloosa, but it’s pleasing to see him doing this well in Athens.

#BBN

Kentucky drew the short straw from a scheduling perspective. An intra-division road date at Alabama was an impossible assignment.

Still without quarterback Drew Barker, who will miss significant time with a back injury, reserve Stephen Johnson couldn’t get anything going against the premier defense in the league. The Wildcats didn’t top the century mark running or passing.

UK averaged 2 yards per attempt running and 4 yards per attempt passing. Don’t even watch the film. Just get ready for Vandy next week.

#GeauxTigers

We heard so much about receivers Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural dying on the vine in LSU’s limited passing game under Miles.

Finally, a third option seems to have bubbled to the surface on the bayou. Wideout D.J. Chark is beginning to find a role for himself, catching 3 passes for 58 yards and running twice for 28 more in a 42-7 pounding of Missouri.

The Tigers racked up 634 yards of total offense, their most ever in an SEC game, and yet Dupre and Dural only combined for 8 receptions and 71 yards. This isn’t a bad thing, though. Quarterback Danny Etling spread the ball around effectively, even locating his backs and tight ends to help diversify the aerial attack.

With Leonard Fournette in street clothes, the Bayou Bengals still manhandled Mizzou on the ground with 418 yards rushing. Orgeron promised a more wide-open playbook as his first order of business, and so far he’s delivered.

Orgeron warned during the week that the scheme couldn’t be tranformed overnight, but this was a quality first step.

#hottytoddy

With 44 rushing attempts against 44 passing attempts, Ole Miss was genuinely balanced on offense for the first time all season.

In a 48-28 revenge defeat of Memphis, which upset the Rebels a year ago, quarterback Chad Kelly was of course prolific with 361 yards through the sky. Six targets were credited with at least three catches.

But Kelly actually got adequate support on the ground. Unheard of for this iteration of Mississippi’s offense, two running backs — starter Akeem Judd and reserve Eugene Brazley — both topped the 100-yard plateau on a total of 28 carries. The team’s 44 rushes were 10 more than the Rebs have had in any game this year.

Judd is very quietly averaging 5.5 yards per carry and should be getting more of a look on all those RPO (run/pass option) play calls.

#Mizzou

Missouri was supposed to feature one of the nation’s elite defensive lines in 2016, but somebody forgot to tell LSU.

Obviously motivated to save their season with Orgeron taking over for Miles, the Bayou Bengals weren’t going to be stopped at Death Valley. Nevertheless, Mizzou shouldn’t be allowing 400-plus yards rushing to anyone.

Defensive end Charles Harris (above) was decent with 6 tackles and half a sack. Defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. added 5 tackles, although none was behind the line of scrimmage. Remember that Walter Brady and Harold Brantley were kicked off the team before fall camp, so the lack of depth up front is noticeable.

#spursup

If there has been a bright spot offensively for South Carolina thus far, it’s the emergence of tight end Hayden Hurst.

A one-time minor-league baseball player who came to Columbia as a walk-on, Hurst inherited the starting gig from Jerell Adams — currently with the New York Giants — and has flourished. He’s the No. 1 option right now for the Gamecocks.

Not only did he catch 5 passes for 90 yards, but the former pitcher showed off his arm with a 9-yard completion.

#GBO

Somewhat lost in the elation of the storybook finish in Athens, Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd got benched by coach Butch Jones.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder never really got untracked on the ground, gaining 42 yards on just 10 carries. He did add 50 yards and a touchdown on 3 receptions, but we didn’t see him again after he scored said TD in the third quarter.

Earlier in the game, he caught a flare out of the backfield from quarterback Joshua Dobbs that should have resulted in six points. Taking his foot off the gas as he neared the goal line, Hurd never saw Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker coming. Baker drilled Hurd at the 2, forcing a fumble and erasing an easy score.

Addressing the media postgame, Butch Jones said Hurd was dealing with an injury. It’s also possible that Jones just liked what he saw later from Kamara, who was credited with 64 yards on 16 attempts and 26 more — a TD, too — on 3 catches.

Despite a 5-0 start for the Vols, Hurd has only topped 100 yards rushing once and barely averages 4 yard per try.

#GigEm

Even without the services of Myles Garrett, who was held out due to injury, Texas A&M shut down the Gamecocks’ feeble offense in a 24-13 victory.

Most important, the Aggies’ pass rush was still productive with the nation’s most feared sack artist unavailable. They took down South Carolina QBs three times, including a pair from Garrett’s fellow defensive end, Daeshon Hall.

Garrett needs to heal up in a hurry, though. Unbeaten Tennessee and the ultra-mobile Dobbs visit College Station in Week 6.

#anchordown

Vanderbilt needs to find some way to get the ball more to freshman receiver Kalija Lipscomb, who flashed in a loss to Florida.

A 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from New Orleans, Lipscomb had 3 catches for 43 yards. Unfortunately, those totals topped the Commodores, who continue to be an abject failure in the passing game and threw for just 112 yards.

Kyle Shurmur and Wade Freebeck (above) combined to complete only 12-of-32 passes. Each was intercepted once, and neither was a threat vertically. Vandy’s longest gain of the day through the air was an 18-yarder to Lipscomb.

Running back Ralph Webb deserves another tip of the cap, naturally. The Gainesville product posted 110 yards facing his hometown Gators.

Sweet Tweet

For the most part, nobody gives Orgeron a realistic chance to remove the “interim” tag and win the job for good in Baton Rouge. That being said, Louisiana’s native son couldn’t have been more proud to lead the Bayou Bengals to victory under the lights at Death Valley. No question, his players knew how much this win meant to him.

Tre White just presented to Coach O on behalf of team. The place went wild! #LSU @LSUfootball pic.twitter.com/zZahAxIXlu

— Walking With Tigers (@LSUTigersBook) October 2, 2016

Orgeron’s résumé suggests that he’s more sergeant than general, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Still, it would be fun to see these Tigers go on a run.

Sweet Stat

Through five weeks, Tennessee has been outscored by opponents in the first quarter 41-10. But in the fourth quarter, the Volunteers have blown the doors off their enemies 69-21. Pretty impressive for a squad that supposedly couldn’t close.

Now if the Vols could ever play the beginning stages of each game as well as they do in crunch time, then they might be a legit threat for the College Football Playoff.

Sweet Quote

“There’s no such thing as an ugly win. Every time you get a win, it’s a big-time deal. We still have a zero after that dash.”

— Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight

Pick Six

• Allen gives no impression whatsoever that he’s a first-year starter for Arkansas. Most apparent is his fearlessness in the pocket. He continually steps into throws knowing that he’s about to get rocked, never flinching in the process.
• Florida needs to get Luke Del Rio back under center in a hurry. Austin Appleby had his chance to take the job and run with it, but he’s played maybe one good half in two starts. His inaccuracy was on display throughout a sleepy win at Vanderbilt.
• Freshman tight end Isaac Nauta led Georgia pass catchers in both receptions (5) and receiving yards (83) against Tennessee, plus his 50-yard catch-and-run TD was all kinds of explosive. Junior Jeb Blazevich is a quality target but not nearly the same level of athlete.
• After a slow start to the campaign, Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett is beginning to look like the All-SEC player that he is. He recorded two sacks for the second consecutive game and forced the fumble of Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason that resulted in a Volunteers touchdown.
• Vanderbilt defensive tackle Adam Butler registered two sacks in the same series against Florida, tearing his way through the guts of the offensive line with relative ease.
• With Blake Barnett unexpectedly announcing his intentions to transfer four weeks into the season, Cooper Bateman is now Alabama’s primary backup quarterback behind starter Jalen Hurts. Bateman was 5-for-5 for 53 yards in mop-up duty against Kentucky.

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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.