Yes, it’s the same conference, but by no means are the Southeastern Conference’s East and West divisions similar. Ever since Urban Meyer resigned from the head coaching job at Florida in 2010, the West Division has been exponentially better than the East, and it doesn’t look like that is changing this year. Led by Alabama, the SEC West has shown great promise up to this point in the season, in large part to the quarterback play.
We all knew that Alabama would be the dominant team they have been for years, but teams such as Arkansas and Texas A&M have played great football, especially with the pressure that both Kevin Sumlin and Brett Bielema were under prior to the season. Both teams are led by their quarterbacks as Trevor Knight has been a huge boost for the Aggie offense, and Austin Allen has done everything Bielema has asked of him to do in the smash mouth downhill offense that Arkansas runs. Of course the Alabama defense is awesome; when was the last time they weren’t? But how about redshirt freshman Jalen Hurts? Hurts might be the most impressive quarterback we have seen thus far in the conference: He has led the Tide to three victories, including last week’s revenge game against Ole Miss.
While the Rebels are 1-2, they have showed great promise and great demise, as Hugh Freeze has blown two 20+ point leads to Ole Miss and Florida State. Going forward into conference play, many people, including myself, are still confident in the Rebels because of Chad Kelly. Kelly is single handedly good enough to win a game for the Rebels. He almost did that for Alabama, throwing for over 400 yards and three touchdowns versus the stout Crimson Tide defense.
While quarterbacks have looked great for the West, the East is a little shakier. Drew Lock (Missouri) and Jacob Eason (Georgia) have both played well for their respective teams, but they are young quarterbacks, and young quarterbacks make mistakes, just as they both did Saturday night when Lock threw for three interceptions and Eason threw for one. I think both quarterbacks will continue to improve over time; it just might take a few games. On the other hand, time is running out for Tennessee senior quarterback Josh Dobbs. Dobbs is still having a tough time throwing the football down the field. Nobody has ever questioned his ability to run, but given what we have seen up to this point, defensive coordinators across the SEC will continue to question his ability to throw.
Regardless, it will be interesting to see how SEC quarterback play pans out. Although defense has and will likely always reign supreme down south, much of the future of the conference lies in those slinging the football on Saturdays.
**Power rankings: Mosky’s Top 10**
1. Alabama: Anyone surprised? The Tide responded to a 21-point deficit on the road against Ole Miss last week, something that we all had to have seen coming. Alabama will likely not be challenged again until Oct. 8 when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas.
2. Texas A&M: Winning on the road in the SEC is extremely difficult, and the Aggies did so Saturday night when they took down Auburn in Jordan Hare Stadium. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays on considering A&M has started out hot the last few years, then declined as the seasons progressed.
3. Florida: The Gators have looked good versus mediocre competition, but that is about to change as the Gators travel to Neyland Stadium to take on Tennessee on Saturday. We know the defense is great, but the offense is still a bit of a mystery, especially now that starting quarterback Luke Del Rio will be out a few weeks with a knee injury.
4. Mississippi: Yes, the Rebels are 1-2, but they could easily be 3-0. If Ole Miss doesn’t blow two 20+ point leads, the Rebels are likely the No. 1 team in the nation.
5. Arkansas: Bielema had arguably his biggest win yet as the Razorback coach by knocking off Texas Christian two weeks ago in Fort Worth. The game on Saturday versus Texas A&M will tell us a lot about both teams going forward into conference play.
6. Louisiana State: The Tigers have looked disappointing up to this point, but there is too much talent on the team to keep playing like they have been. Neither Leonard Fourentte nor the Tiger defense is not the problem, but LSU needs to find the right quarterback quickly, as SEC play begins to toughen up for the Tigers.
7. Tennessee: While we heard how good the Vols were all summer, they have yet to show it. This could all change on Saturday when they take on Florida in Knoxville, a game that Butch Jones desperately needs if he wants to keep the criticism away from the Vols.
8. Georgia: The Dawgs might be 3-0, but they could easily be 0-3. With a mediocre offensive line and no depth on the defensive side of the ball, Georgia fans might be in for a long season, but the future looks bright in Athens. Eason looks like he could very well be the stud QB that the experts raved about in high school, and Kirby Smart continues to recruit at an extremely high level.
9. Auburn: It looks like the Gus bus has run out of steam as head coach Gus Malzahn and the Tigers simply have no offense. Do you know who the quarterback is? Neither do I, and neither does Malzahn or offensive coordinator Rhett Lashelee. The Auburn defense will have to continue to carry Malzahn and the Tigers, or else this will likely be the last year we see him on the sideline.
10. Missouri: There is finally reason for optimism in Columbia. Drew Lock and the Tiger offense look much better than they did last season as the Tigers look like they can play with anyone in the SEC East. The next step Missouri must figure out is how to close out games, after the Tigers choked away what would have been a monumental win against Georgia last Saturday night at Faurot Field.
