Random thoughts on yesterday’s SEC action

Most of it was the usual suspects – SEC teams taking on various mid-major teams and lower division squads with varying degrees of haplessness.  But there were a few items of note:

• Kentucky and Tennessee struggled on defense.  The Cats couldn’t stop the run.  The Vols gave up a ton of passing yards.  UK wasn’t very good on defense last season, so that’s not entirely surprising, but the Vols actually looked worse.
• Mississippi State looked like you’d expect.  MSU has a very underrated run defense and a porous secondary, just like last season.  Dak Prescott was somewhat sloppy, which comes with the territory of opening on the road, but got the job done.
• Auburn has a pass rush again.  Some of that’s due to Boom and some due to getting guys like Lawson back.
• So much for the Jeremy Johnson Heisman candidacy.  Yes, that’s what struggling looks like.  The three interceptions have to be really troubling for Gus.  I loved the suggestions after the game that he might have to dumb down the playbook.
• ‘Bama’s gonna ‘Bama.  Sure, Wisconsin’s offense was a perfect match for Saban’s defense, but the Tide pretty much had its way throughout.  And Alabama’s running game is more than stout.
• BREAKING:  John Chavis is not underpaid.  Last season, Texas A&M taught me not to jump to conclusions after one game, but if there was anything more impressive than the Aggies’ defense yesterday, I’d love to hear about it.  Nine freaking sacks.  I’m already regretting my preseason prediction for TAMU.  And I’m really wondering about how LSU’s defense is going to be without Chavis.

What did y’all see?

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“(Giving up back-to-back touchdowns) definitely sucks.”

I have little doubt that Jeremy Pruitt is going to be chewing some serious ass this week about the mid-game defensive lapse that led to much of ULM’s yardage and its two scores on the day, but it’s heartening to hear the players’ dissatisfaction with that as well.

“It was a step toward where we want to be in the future,” outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins, who had seven tackles, including one sack and one tackle for loss, said. “We need to look at the film over the next couple of days and focus on the mental errors.”

.“We did what we needed to do,” cornerback Aaron Davis, who recorded the second interception of his career, added. “We played sound defense, we held them to low yardage and they had a lot of missed pass attempts. The glaring things for us were the two times when we gave up points.”

“We need to come out after halftime with energy and not look at the scoreboard and play like we should play,” Jordan said.

“It was disappointing, but that’s what happens when you come out flat,” outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who along with safety Quincy Mauger led the Bulldogs with eight tackles, said. “We’re going to learn from that and make sure we come out playing better after halftime.”

Talk is cheap, I know.  But you can’t fix a problem if you don’t acknowledge it exists first.  And I’d rather hear that while there’s time to deal with it, not reflecting back on it during the next offseason.

I ain’t wastin’ time no more.

What do you get when you combine a heralded recruiting class, a talent base that needs replenishing in certain key areas, a cupcake opener and Jeremy Pruitt?  Well, you get this.

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Georgia true freshmen who played on Saturday: Rico McGraw, Juwuan Briscoe, Jonathan Ledbetter, Kirby Choates, Roquan Smith, Terry Godwin, Natrez Patrick, D’Andre Walker, Deandre Baker, Jarvis Wilson, Jonathan Abram, Rashad Roundtree, Juwan Taylor, Nick Moore (walk-on), Michael Chigbu, Trent Thompson, Jackson Harris, Chauncey Rivers, DeQuan Hawkins. (Junior college transfer Chuks Amaechi also played.)

Nineteen true freshmen?  I think that deserves a “wow”.

Remember when Richt thought it was a good idea to redshirt Knowshon Moreno?  Good times.

If Willie Martinez fell in the woods…

Tennessee’s secondary coach was suspended from yesterday’s game for a recruiting violation.  The Vol secondary gave up 424 yards passing, along with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Was that a better result than would have occurred if WM had been giving a two thumbs up on the sideline?  Worse?  About the same? Discuss.

“Greyson’s our starter right now.”

Judging from Brice Ramsey’s reaction, Richt and Schottenheimer have some managing to do.

Lambert’s mistake-free game was quite a change from his starting debut at Virginia, one year ago, when his two pick-sixes ruined his team’s chances to upset UCLA. He finished the year with more interceptions (11) than touchdowns (10), one of the main reasons it surprised plenty of people that he was able to beat out Ramsey.

Including perhaps Ramsey himself, who spoke to the media Saturday for the first time since the decision was made.

“They just saw more out of Greyson, evidently,” Ramsey said. “I mean honestly I don’t know. I’m just here trying to work hard, trying to do what I can. …

“It’s making me work harder, I guess. I feel like I had a pretty good camp. But at the end of the day we’re all teammates, we’re all on the same team, we all want the same things. So I just gotta do what I can to contribute.”

Ramsey only got in one series yesterday, but he sparkled in limited play.  So maybe the coaches’ nod in Lambert’s favor has made him focus more than he thought. In any event, it looks like the four of them, coaches and players alike, have a few balls they need to keep in the air.

James Franklin is deflated.

Hey, if my team gave up ten sacks in route to Penn State’s first loss to Temple in almost three quarters of a century, I’d be asking the refs to check football pressure, too.

The preseason ain’t just for football.

Hopefully, this isn’t an omen.  At least it wasn’t yesterday.

PAWWWLLL, how come Mother Nature don’ like the SEC?

Four+ decades of college football attendance, and yesterday was the first time I’ve been at a game that was called early due to inclement weather (not that we ever saw a single lightning bolt).  Tennessee suffered a similar delay, but at least got to finish.

Meanwhile, LSU’s game with McNeese State never even got off the ground.

We’ve been warned.