SEC Quarterback Power Rankings, Week 4: Still more bad than good

Experience matters at the game’s most important position. That’s one of the lessons we can take away from Week 4 in the SEC.

With three true freshman quarterbacks in the starting lineup, only Alabama’s Jalen Hurts ended up on the winning side. It certainly helped that he plays for the No. 1 team in the country and was facing lowly Kent State.

Conversely, Georgia’s Jacob Eason and South Carolina’s Brandon McIlwain weren’t so lucky. Eason didn’t have what it took to match fireworks with Chad Kelly of Ole Miss — even after outdueling Drew Lock of Missouri just seven days prior — while McIlwain struggled in his first start outside of the Palmetto State.

Austin Appleby looked like the better QB at halftime of Florida-Tennessee, but Joshua Dobbs refused to quit and orchestrated a comeback for the ages at Neyland Stadium. Meanwhile, Appleby turned into a three-and-out machine.

Here are my SEC quarterback rankings following Week 4. The bottom half dozen or so are proving to be somewhat interchangeable.

14. Kyle Shurmur

Last week: 14

Shurmur actually played pretty well in a 31-30 win over Western Kentucky, going 18-of-29 for 279 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

However, the most telling play of the game was the last one of regulation, when Vanderbilt ran it into the end zone with Ralph Webb from the 2-yard line to force overtime. The Commodores didn’t trust Shurmur to throw it.

But his previous high from a yardage perspective this season had been 149 yards, so Shurmur finally found some chunk plays.

13. Stephen Johnson

Last week: 12

Getting his first career start with Drew Barker shelved for a while, Johnson was 11-of-19 for 135 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT.

Johnson didn’t have to do much, as Kentucky ran the ball for 216 yards in a 17-10 victory over South Carolina. Additionally, the Gamecocks are so limited offensively that there was little reason for the Wildcats to take risks.

We’ll learn in the coming weeks if Johnson can play or not. Barker is injured and not scheduled to return any time soon.

12. Brandon McIlwain

Last week: 9

In a 17-10 loss to Kentucky, McIlwain completed 15 passes on 30 attempts for 177 yards without a touchdown or an interception.

McIlwain is one of the more difficult QBs in the conference to gauge. South Carolina is clearly rebuilding, plus he doesn’t have a lot of talent around him offensively. Tight end Hayden Hurst might be a player, though.

Despite being a better runner than thrower at this point, McIlwain was held to 11 yards on 13 carries by the Wildcats.

11. Danny Etling

Last week: 8

Not that Etling had anything to do with it, but Les Miles was fired following LSU’s 18-13 loss to Auburn in Week 4.

Making his second start for the Tigers since taking over for Brandon Harris, Etling was 15-of-27 passing but for only 118 yards and 1 TD. No, he wasn’t intercepted, but he did lose a fumble on a poor exchange with Leonard Fournette.

Etling’s paltry 4.4 yards per attempt was further evidence that Miles runs an archaic passing game that needs an overhaul.

10. Sean White

Last week: 13

Connecting on 19-of-26 passes for 234 yards without a touchdown or an interception, White upset LSU 18-13 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

He moved the ball between the 20s just fine, although he was less effective the closer he got to the end zone. Unable to cross the goal line, Daniel Carlson bailed out White with a 6-for-6 performance kicking field goals.

Even if White is a decent quarterback, everybody knows he’s in the wrong system. Auburn’s scheme doesn’t cater to his strengths.

9. Austin Appleby

Last week: 10

It was a tale of two halves in Knoxville. Appleby was awfully productive for Florida building a 21-3 lead over Tennessee at intermission.

However, he couldn’t move the Gators at all after halftime, which allowed the Volunteers to mount a furious comeback and win 38-28. Appleby finished 23-of-39 for 296 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT, but it was a lopsided effort.

With Luke Del Rio still sidelined for a while, Appleby hopes to rebound at Vanderbilt and perhaps lobby for the job full-time.

8. Nick Fitzgerald

Last week: 11

Mississippi State unexpectedly had to rally to beat UMass on the road 47-35, but Fitzgerald put up quite the stat line.

The dual-threat option threw for 299 yards and ran for another 110. With his arm, Fitzgerald completed 65.8 percent of his passes and averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. As a runner, he averaged 7.3 yards per carry.

Fitzgerald needs to play well in back-to-back weeks, though. In four starts so far this season, he’s been pulled twice.

7. Jacob Eason

Last week: 4

It certainly wasn’t all his fault, but Eason was only good on 16-of-36 throws for 137 yards in a 45-14 blowout loss at Ole Miss.

The Georgia wide receivers and tight ends were terrible, repeatedly letting well-thrown passes slip through their fingers. That being said, Eason made some mistakes, too. He was especially erratic against the blitz and also threw a pick six.

In four games, Eason’s passer efficiency rating has dropped from 185.9 to 147.2 to 114.1 to 70.9. Time for that trend to reverse.

6. Drew Lock

Last week: 7

In a 79-0 laugher over Delaware State, Lock found his target on 26-of-36 throws for 402 yards with 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.

The statistics are great, no question about it. Lock has no fear when it comes to stretching defenses vertically if he find a one-on-one matchup downfield. The competition was atrocious, though. These are empty numbers.

As a matter of fact, it was disappointing to see Missouri continue to throw bombs with the result already well in hand.

5. Austin Allen

Last week: 6

He may have lost to Texas A&M 45-24, but every Aggies defender left AT&T Stadium with a new level of respect for Allen.

Not only did he throw for 371 yards and 2 TDs on 28-of-42 passing, but he did so in the face of relentless pressure from start to finish. Myles Garrett and Co. punished Allen early and often, yet he kept coming back for more.

Had Allen found a way to win that game, he’d be even higher on this list. He’s already moved up every week to date.

4. Joshua Dobbs

Last week: 5

Shaking off an awful first half and an egregious pick to begin the second half, Dobbs made a statement in Saturday’s 38-28 win over Florida.

While the 16-of-32 won’t blow anyone away, his 319 yards and 4 touchdown passes were both career highs. His receivers, who dropped a handful of catchable balls early, torched a loaded Gators secondary time and again late.

Always difficult to stop as a runner, Dobbs added 80 yards and a fifth score on the ground. This was his breakthrough moment.

3. Jalen Hurts

Last week: 3

Somewhat sleepwalking his way through a 48-0 shutout of overmatched Kent State, Hurts was 16-of-24 for 164 yards.

The true freshman accounted for 2 TDs, one through the air and another on the ground. With both of his top tailbacks, Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough, leaving due to injury, Hurts chipped in with 54 yards on 7 carries.

Hurts should handle Kentucky at home just fine in Week 5, but in Weeks 6-7 he’ll have to do it on the road against Arkansas and Tennessee.

2. Chad Kelly

Last week: 2

Matched up with Eason, Kelly completely outplayed the youngster by completing 18 of his 24 passes for 282 yards in a 45-14 beatdown.

Unlike Eason, who didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers, Kelly let his wideouts take advantage of their size-and-speed advantage. He also showed his wheels with a 41-yard touchdown run right up the gut.

When Kelly doesn’t sloppily turn the ball over, he’s very tough to defend with all of the weapons he has at his disposal.

1. Trevor Knight

Last week: 1

If there was a big play to be made in Texas A&M’s 45-24 win over Arkansas in neutral-site Arlington, Knight made it.

He had a pair of TD runs, one from 42 yards out and the other from 48. He threw a 92-yard scoring strike to Josh Reynolds and connected on another pass for 47 yards to Ricky Seals-Jones. Knight even had a 62-yard scamper in the final minute.

His 12-of-22 performance in the passing game might have been mediocre, but Knight made his completions count.

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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.