Whiskey Wednesday and I have decided to start a new segment with a totally original and unique name called "Around the SEC." In this segment, as you may have guessed, we will be discussing one player at each other SEC team who played excellent football the previous weekend and helped his team.
We figured this would be a great way to keep you faithful Cup fans informed as to the league's goings on, rising stars, and intriguing storylines. It will also be a great way for us to keep tabs on our opponents outside of their respective hate weeks.
Whiskey may or may not be doing an SEC East post today. If he doesn't, next time I see him, I will punch him in the face.
SEC West teams follow after the jump.
ALABAMA
I never thought that Mark Ingram could step in so well to Glen Coffee's shoes. If his game against the stingy defense of Virginia Tech is any indicator, Ingram will be a force in the SEC this year. Marky Mark racked up 195 yards of total offense and two touchdowns. Ingram was Alabama's offense. Sure, Greg McElroy was able to pass it well when needed, but Saban is relying on Ingram, and rightfully so.
ARKANSAS
Some of you may not be aware that Arkansas ran a two-headed monster at QB in their first game. It wasn't just Ryan Mallet for the first half and Tyler Wilson for the second. Wilson actually threw a touchdown before Mallet. Both were very efficient, and Arkansas has a lot to be excited about at quarterback. Broderick Green was not impressive, carrying the ball nine times for 21 yards and once for ten. Still, the razorbacks were obviously spreading the ball around since they realized that the opposition had no chance whatsoever.
AUBURN
So apparently Kodi Burns is Gus Malzahn's next wildcat specialist. I haven't seen the game or even clips from it, but judging by the box score, where Burns threw the ball once and had eight rushes, I'm guessing that's the case. Burns' numbers aren't very impressive, especially against a team like Louisiana Tech. I assume that Burns is just a stop-gap until Chizik and Co. are able to bring in an athlete capable of making explosive plays. In other news, true freshman and former Hargrave sensation Onterio McCaleb was nuts in the game, ruishing for 148 yards. I want to see what the Rebels could do if they gave Bolden the ball 22 times.
LSU
Drake Nevis had a standout game for the Tigers, clogging the line, recording a ten yard sack, and batting down a pass. The one-time Ole Miss commitment has been playing well for the Tigers since his arrival, and he looks to anchor a solid LSU defensive line. On the other hand, Washington proved that the same schemes that helped five SEC teams beat the Tigers last year are still useful this year. By stacking the box, they held Charles Scott to 52 yards and dared LSU to beat them through the air. Jefferson didn't surpass the 200 yards mark even with two plays from Terrence Tolliver in which Tolliver caugh the ball 5 yards past the LOS and went 40+ yards for the score.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State beat Jackson State, largely with the help of Chris Relf, who really showed out in the game. The quarterback carried the ball twelve times for 82 yards and was a competent paser, completing 7/10 of his passes for seventy five yards and three touchdowns. It appears that Relf is the redzone weapon at quarterback, but I think that Tyson Lee will still be called upon in several situations.