The goings on of the rest of the SEC are somewhat difficult to truly follow. Because of the number of times that Juco and I have seen uninformed fans make sweeping judgments of opposing teams based solely on their quarterback and halfback, we decided to start a segment where, though we will talk about halfbacks and quarterbacks, we'll also talk about the other players on teams that are succeeding or failing.
Florida 5-0 (3-0 SEC)
Go Gata! Corch Irvin Meyers had his boys ready for the night game in Death Valley. All in all, I thought it was a pretty boring game, but I was also dealing with my annoying older brother who is an Alabama fan (and college dropout like the rest of them). Anyway, Tim Tebow yada yada yada yada. In other Florida news, Brandon Spikes won defensive player of the week by recording 11 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 fumble recovery. Also noteworthy are Jeff Demp's 86 yards on 16 carries against LSU. This week the Gatas will host the Razorbacks at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Georgia 3-3 (2-2 SEC)
Wow, Georgia, you're really bad. It's hard to imagine any sort of bright spot following the 45-19 thrashing by Tennessee. The media is already having fits and claiming the Georgia "has lost its edge." I think it may be a bit too early to call for Richt's head (though he is the Bianco of SEC football). One player who did pretty well on Saturday was CB Brandon Boykin who returned a punt for 100 yards and had three tackles. The bad news: Georgia's defense allowed 472 yards to TENNESSEE. The good news: Georgia takes on a hapless Vanderbilt team this Saturday in Nashville at 11:21 a.m. on the SEC Network.
Kentucky 2-3 (0-3 SEC)
The loss was tough for the Cats as they fell 28-26 to the Cocks of South Carolina. Some of their players stepped up big in the close game as Randall Cobb had 229 all-purpose yards and two td's. Another star was Corey Peters who was named SEC defensive lineman of the week. He had 7 tackles, three of those for a loss, and 2.5 sacks. However, there was some very bad news for Kentucky as Mike Hartline was injured and is out indefinitely. Rich Brooks is mum on who will start at qb on Saturday, but I have my money on Randall Cobb (I have no basis for that). If they plan on making and winning their fourth consecutive bowl, things must turn around quickly in the bluegrass state. They head to the Plains for an ESPNU game at 6:30 p.m.
South Carolina 5-1 (2-1 SEC)
SC won a close one last week over Kentucky. Several players stepped up to make this happen. QB Stephen Garcia had a good day as he went 16 of 23 for 233 yards and 3 td's with only 1 int. SEC Freshman of the Week Alshon Jeffery caught seven passes for 138 yards and 3 td's. Is this SC team for real or will they just collapse again down the stretch? We'll find out a little more when they travel to Tuscaloosa. That game will be televised on ESPN at 6:45 p.m.
Tennessee 3-3 (1-2 SEC)
OMG Jonathan Crompton is the best!!! Seriously though, Crompton is the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He earned the title by completing 20 passes in 27 attempts for 310 yards for 4 td's and 1 int. Those numbers are sure to make Jevan Snead green with envy. Another notable performance was that of DT Dan Williams who had 5 tackles, including one for a loss. Can Tennessee keep the momentum? Well, they have an off week to prepare for their showdown in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 24.
Vanderbilt 2-4 (0-3 SEC)
Vanderbilt's season is going into the tank. After a series of injuries, its lack of depth has shown as they lost to Army 16-13 in overtime last week. There was apparently a bad call that I'm too lazy to look up that may have lost the game for Vandy. FS Joel Caldwell was their only notable performer as he had 11 tackles and a pass deflection. Where do they go from here? Well, they host the other cellar dweller in the SEC when Georgia comes to Nashvegas on Saturday. They'll face off at 11:21 a.m. on SEC Network.