Front Porch FootballWeek 2 Grades in the SEC East
by Brendan Paschal
Week 2 was always a dangerous time for my grades. Classes settled in, homework started to pile up, all the while I began to develop bad habits. Cramming in 75 pages of reading thirty minutes before class quickly turned into skipping it altogether; my class participation grade drastically dropped; and I somehow managed to use at least one unexcused absence in week 2. However, the one semester I managed to maintain a quality routine was coincidentally the one semester I managed to make the Dean’s List. Much like my performance in the classroom Week 2 in the SEC reveals a lot about how the rest of the season should go.
Week 2 Grades in the SEC East
Florida: A
Final Score: UT Martin 0, Florida 45
After a sloppy win in Week 0 the Gators seemed to have settled down. They were mechanically sound and controlled everything possible – i.e. tempo and line of scrimmage. Congrats you beat up an FCS school.
Georgia: A
Final Score: Murray State 17, Georgia 63
Read Above.
Kentucky: B+
Final Score: Eastern Michigan 17, Kentucky 38
This Wildcat team gives me headaches. They are definitely not bad like many critics predicted, but it’s hard to see this team win 10 games again. Unlike last season, the Cats are starting games with a bang, but they made many mental errors that will cripple any offense during conference play. It doesn’t help that Terry Wilson is now out for the season, but transfer Sawyer Smith came in with composure and played well.
Missouri: A
Final Score: West Virginia 7, Missouri 38
Where was this in week 1?? Kelly Bryant performed to the level expected of him. The defense forced three interceptions – two of which came from Nick Bolton. They held West Virginia to 32 rushing yards, which almost if not all FCS schools beat this week. And they ran for a combined 232 yards. This is the Missouri we expected in week 1.
South Carolina: A
Final Score: Charleston Southern 10, South Carolina 72
Ryan. Hilinski. The true freshman quarterback took the starting job after the Gamecocks announced Jake Bentley will be out for a considerable amount of time with an injury. The highly touted freshman did not disappoint. Going 24/30 for 282 yards two touchdowns and an interception Hilinski gained some valuable – and encouraging – playing time against CSU.
Furthermore, the running game imposed their will. Both Kevin Harris and Mon Denson rushed for over 100 yards while Rico Dowdle added another 87. Harris scored three touchdowns while Harris added one and Dowdle brought in two as well. I’m not saying they’re going to beat Bama, or even hang with them for that matter, but it’s an encouraging performance by a lot of young talent to show that Will Muschamp is recruiting well and fans need to stick with him.
Tennessee: F
Final Score: BYU 29, Tennessee 26
I’ve never seen a team try to lose a game more than Tennessee. For two weeks now this team has contributed numerous fundamental mistakes. Losing to Georgia State was bad, but many believed that Pruitt could easily fix those. It doesn’t look that way. My latest conspiracy theory is that Phil Fulmer is secretly sabotaging Pruitt so he can fire him and announce declare himself the head coach.
Vanderbilt: D-
Final Score: Purdue 42 Vanderbilt 24
Unlike Tennessee, you half expect Vandy to perform like this. Purdue’s QB, Elijah Sindelar, put up over 500 passing yards and five touchdowns. 220 of his 509 passing yards went to one receiver. One. Receiver. Rondale Moore averaged 16.9 yards per reception and added a touchdown to his career day. There’s no excuse for that. The D- is because I know you struggle and I can see the effort. So the effort grade boosts that 59% up to a 60%. Congratulations.
