SEC football links: Transition of power in the East?
SEC football links for Monday:
Was Florida’s win a transition of power? Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun writes, “There is going to be a lot of talk about the transition of power in the SEC East, but Florida has only taken the first step in trying to make that happen. The Gators still have to win the East, but certainly their performance Saturday will catch the eyes of recruits. Georgia, on the other hand, finds itself in a strange position.”
Georgia must evaluate its quarterbacks. Connor Riley of Dawg Nation writes, “Whatever you want to call the quarterback performance against Florida, it was not good. Stetson Bennett went 5-of-16 for 78 yards. He threw a touchdown early in the game to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. But on the play, Bennett got hit and ended up suffering a sprain to his AC joint. Bennett stayed in the game after heading into the locker room.”
Tennessee sinking without signs of a surge. Gentry Estes of the Tennessean writes, “Jeremy Pruitt says he’s not discouraged, but angry about Tennessee football right now. He should be both, frankly. His Vols have derailed, and if there are any buttons left to push to get them on the right track again, Tennessee’s coach hasn’t found them.”
Vols are getting killed in third quarter. David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the Vols have been outscored 61-7 after halftime in its past four games. All losses.
Alabama opens as a three-touchdown favorite over LSU. Michael Casagrande of AL.com reports “Twelve months after the Tigers ended an eight-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide, Alabama opened as a 22-point favorite to beat LSU this Saturday in Baton Rouge. The opening line at Circa Sports in Las Vegas was then bet up to 23 points later Sunday afternoon.”
Mac Jones leads Heisman race, according to Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News. “That doesn’t mean Jones is a lock by any means. Missing two games, especially when one is a nationally televised extravaganza, clearly does not help Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, but it may not hurt him, either.”
Mike Leach will adjust approach at Mississippi State. Tyler Horka of the Clarion-Ledger writes, “Leach said he is still in the ‘training wheels stage’ of implementing his system and style of coaching. But similar to the way many Mississippi State fans’ honeymoon phase with Leach crashed and burned when losses mounted in October, Leach said he is not going to be Mr. Nice Guy any longer.”
South Carolina opens up its quarterback job. Ben Breiner of The State reports, “South Carolina no longer has a starting quarterback. After the poor performance against Texas A&M, the job is wide open, Gamecocks Coach Will Muschamp announced Sunday night.”
Never a dull moment with Eli Drinkwitz at Missouri. Dave Matter of the St. Louis Post Dispatch writes, “At some point, Eli Drinkwitz will get to catch his breath. A pandemic nearly wiped out his first year on the job as Missouri’s football coach before it started, then forced not one, not two but three revisions of the team’s Southeastern Conference schedule.”
Arkansas back to playing Razorback football. Trey Biddy of 247Sports writes, “What Arkansas has become under Sam Pittman’s leadership in just a few months is nothing short of remarkable. There were some key offseason additions, mainly quarterback Feleipe Franks, but who doesn’t have those? Add Franks and recondition the mindset of everyone else, and just like that Arkansas is back to being a program to be reckoned with.”
SEC games Saturday, Nov. 14
- 12:00 - Georgia at Missouri (ESPN)
- 12:00 - Vanderbilt at Kentucky (SEC)
- 3:30 - Texas A&M at Tennessee (ESPN)
- 4:00 - Auburn at Mississippi State (SEC)
- 6:00 - Alabama at LSU (SEC)
- 7:00 - Arkansas at Florida (ESPN)
- 7:30 - South Carolina at Ole Miss (SEC)
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 7:46 AM.
