Front Porch Football5 Biggest Question Marks Going into Week 1
by John Covington Lamm
College Football is finally back, which means we no longer have to wait and wonder how our favorite teams will look this season. With that being said, there are still several questions that have been on many SEC fans minds over the last seven months since Clemson knocked off Alabama for the National Championship. Here are 5 the Biggest Question Marks Going into Week 1
Question 5 – Which Jake Bentley will show up?
When it comes to quarterbacks in college football, Jake Bentley’s play is very tough to predict. The rising senior has been a very solid quarterback for the Gamecocks for the most part. He went on the road to Clemson (the eventual national champion) and threw for 510 yards and five touchdowns; he also had big games against Ole Miss and Chattanooga last year, throwing for over 330 yards and six combined touchdowns in those games. However, he also had some true stinkers. Against Kentucky, a team the Gamecocks have now lost five straight games to, he threw three intercepts and gained only 148 yards on a 46.4% completion percentage. He also finished the year in the Belk Bowl in a 28-0 blowout loss against Virginia in which he threw two picks and only completed 43.6% of his passes.
South Carolina comes into the 2019 season with the toughest schedule in the country, which includes games against Alabama, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, and Clemson. The Gamecocks start the year against the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that has not been very good the past two seasons but has a promising freshman quarterback, Sam Howell, hoping to shock South Carolina. For South Carolina to have 8-10 wins or more this season, Bentley is going to have to play to his full potential and perform the way he did against Clemson last year. If he has too many games like the ones against Kentucky and Virginia this year, the Gamecocks could have a difficult season against this schedule.
Question 4 – Was that the Real Florida We Saw in Week 0?
Florida entered this season as the 8th ranked team in the country, and in their first game of the year against Miami, they looked awful. To their defense, they played a week before everyone else and had one less week to prepare for their first game, which may have led to the poor execution and penalty-filled game; nonetheless, they had some very poor plays and made dumb decisions. They gave up big plays on defense, largely due to easy missed tackles. Also, they had several big penalties, including a pass interference on a 4th and 27 when Miami would not have gotten a first down regardless of a reception. Finally, their quarterback Feleipe Franks seemed cocky and arrogant throughout the game, leading him to taunt Miami fans on more than one occasion, which seems shocking to me because he did not play overly well. He threw two interceptions, including a very bad throw late in the fourth quarter that looked as if it made Steve Spurrier question whether he ever wanted to watch football again or not. Florida has great talent and high expectations this year, but they are going to have to play more disciplined for Dan Mullen this year if they are going to compete with Auburn, LSU, and Georgia this season.
Question 3 – Is this the End for Gus Malzahn at Auburn?
I personally have no idea why this is even a question. Gus Malzahn has been a very good coach for the Tigers that has included a 53-27 record since taking over a team that had gone 3-9 the year before he got there. He has been to two SEC championship games, won one of them, and took his team to the national championship in 2013 in one of the most exciting and bizarre seasons I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately for Malzahn, Auburn and their fans have a massive rivalry with a team in the same state that has won five national championships since 2009. Because Malzahn has not had that same level of success and has only had two years of 10 wins or more since arriving in Auburn, he is on the hot seat almost every year. He enters this season with a highly touted true freshman at quarterback, Bo Nix, and while he will be a very good quarterback one day, it is uncertain yet if that will be this season or not.
Auburn enters the season ranked 16th in the country and opens the season in Arlington, Texas, against number 11 Oregon. While they are a lower ranked team, Auburn is favored entering the game by 3.5 points (in case y’all want to gamble). The fan reaction to keeping Malzahn will start from the get go. If they lose to the Oregon Ducks, that seat will get much hotter right away. Malzahn and Auburn will have to face Texas A&M, Florida, LSU, and Alabama later on in this season, and for Malzahn to keep his job, Auburn will probably need to win at least two of those games.
Question 2 – How will Alabama Bounce Back?
There is no question that Alabama will have a great year and probably make the Playoff yet again, but just how well will they do once and if they get there. Nick Saban comes off his worst loss since arriving in Tuscaloosa, after Clemson beat them 44-16 in the National Championship game. The toughest thing for Nick Saban appears to be that his team was not prepared to play that game. This is a loss he will not let his team forget as the year goes on. Many people think that the Alabama dynasty has ended and the Clemson dynasty has begun, but Alabama will look to remind people how great they are. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is eyeing both a Heisman and another national championship this season, with talented skill position players everywhere on the field, including junior running back Najee Harris and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who has the potential to be the number one pick in the 2020 draft. Alabama will be on a mission all season to right the wrongs of last season, and if they do end up in a “Part 5” clash against Clemson, they will be prepared and ready this time.
Question 1 – Will Georgia Finally Beat Alabama?
Georgia has seen the fate of the past two seasons end at the hands of Alabama. In the 2017 season, they lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Alabama after leading by double digits in the second half, in the national championship on a 2nd and 26 touchdown from Tua to Devonta Smith. In the 2018 SEC Championship Game, Georgia blew yet another double digit 2nd half lead, in a game in which Tua was injured and Jalen Hurts came in to lead the Tide to a 35-28 comeback win, keeping Georgia from making the college football playoff. Georgia has shown the past two seasons that they belong on the same field as Alabama; they have just failed to finish strong. Head coach Kirby Smart, the former defensive coordinator at Alabama, looks to finally defeat Alabama this season if they do meet again in the SEC Championship or the College Football Playoff. Junior quarterback Jake Fromm looks to boost his NFL draft stock as well as finally get Georgia over the hump. On the other side of the ball, senior safety J.R. Reed turned down the NFL for one more chance at a national title.
John Lamm is a recent graduate of Wofford College. He is an avid college football fan, and one of the only people that can stump Chris Paschal when it comes to pointless college football trivia. He also is one of the leading historians on the Winston Era of Florida State Football. Recent publications include, “I Guess We Strong Then” and “We Didn’t Come Here For A Reason,” which is a three part series that dives into the 2013 Florida State Seminoles. It’s over 3,000 pages long.
