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Inside the SEC West: Ugliness persists on field and off at A&M

Clint Lamb

By Clint Lamb

Published:

College football is a special sport that gives people a chance to tie their fandom to a certain school. It creates a competitive atmosphere for all to enjoy. Some people take that competitiveness way too far, however.

That was apparent when a disgruntled Texas A&M fan sent coach Kevin Sumlin’s wife a racist, threatening letter following the Aggies’ loss to UCLA.

This type of behavior is completely unacceptable, and there is absolutely no place for it in today’s society. One can only hope that the person responsible for this threat is identified.

As far as the rest of the SEC West, the division finished Week 2 with a 5-2 record, now bringing its total to 11-3 on the year. Here’s what happened this week in the West.

Alabama

Following a hard-fought win against Florida State in Week 1, Alabama had its home opener against Fresno State on Saturday. The Crimson Tide were impressive, finishing with a 41-10 victory.

QB Jalen Hurts bounced back statistically. After putting up only 151 total yards (96 passing, 55 rushing) and one touchdown against the Seminoles, the sophomore almost doubled his offensive production with 282 total yards (128 passing, 154 rushing) and three touchdowns on Saturday.

The other big story line was the number of true freshmen who saw action. Tagovailoa, Harris, Jeudy, Ruggs III, Smith, Wills, Allen and Moses all saw reps with the first team, which will only continue to boost the experience of depth on the roster.

Arkansas

After bursting onto the scene in last week’s victory over Florida A&M, true freshman RB Chase Hayden only saw a couple of carries for a total of 1 yard rushing in the 28-7 loss against TCU.

The offense struggled as QB Austin Allen threw for 138 yards and one touchdown — completing only 39.1 percent of his passes. On the season, he is only averaging 136.5 yards through the air.

Arkansas’ offensive line hasn’t done a good job of protecting Allen, however. It gave up three sacks to the Horned Frogs after allowing two the week before against Florida A&M.

The Razorbacks’ offense hasn’t been very productive in either game they’ve played so far, so the worry is that the struggles are becoming a theme.

Auburn

Clemson proved to be the better Tigers, for at least one night, after coming away with a 14-6 victory over Auburn. It was the SEC’s first loss to an ACC opponent this season (3-1 overall), and it left Auburn’s offense searching for answers.

Auburn started off the game strong. The offense did an excellent job moving the football but couldn’t capitalize with touchdowns. Settling for two early field goals is what ultimately led to Auburn’s defeat.

Transfer QB Jarrett Stidham really struggled — finishing with only 79 yards passing. The blame doesn’t fall solely on his shoulders, however. The run game was held to under 4 yards per carry, and Stidham was sacked 11 times.

LSU

For the second week in a row, the Tigers showed that they’ll be much more balanced on offense with the arrival of new coordinator Matt Canada.

The offense managed to put up 454 total yards, 232 of that coming through the air and 222 of it coming on the ground. Derrius Guice finished with his second consecutive 100-yard game, rushing for 102 yards and two touchdowns against the Mocs.

The other standout performer was true freshman K’Lavon Chaisson. After making waves throughout the offseason, the 6-4, 240-pound edge rusher has managed 7 tackles and 2 sacks in the first two weeks of the season.

With fellow pass rusher Arden Key expected to return this week, it’s only a matter of time before LSU is fielding one of the top pass-rushing duos in college football.

Mississippi State

Nick Fitzgerald continued to show why he is considered one of the top quarterbacks in the country after leading State to a 57-21 victory against Louisiana Tech. The redshirt junior finished with 124 yards passing — completing 66.7 percent of his passes — and 3 touchdowns. He also added 111 yards on the ground with 2 touchdowns.

In two games this season, Fitzgerald is averaging 257.5 total yards per game and 4 touchdowns. It’ll be interesting to see how the Heisman Trophy candidate fares with the LSU Tigers coming to town this week.

Ole Miss

The Rebels didn’t expect a tough test this week, but that’s exactly what they got. The team didn’t take the lead from UT-Martin until 24 seconds left in the first half, but then outscored the Skyhawks 28-7 in the second half.

It hasn’t been the most impressive 2-0 start for Ole Miss, but they are undefeated nonetheless. Sophomore quarterback Shea Patterson has been a bright spot, too. He’s thrown for 918 yards and 9 touchdowns so far this season — completing 77 percent of his passes.

The Rebels get the California Golden Bears this week before having to travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the top-ranked Crimson Tide.

Texas A&M

The Kevin Sumlin era in College Station could be coming to an end soon. After blowing a 34-point lead to UCLA in their opening game last Sunday, the Aggies continued their struggles against Nicholls State on Saturday.

The team came away with a victory, but beating a team like Nicholls State 24-14 isn’t going to get it done.

Tweet of the week

Quote of the week

Alabama outside linebacker Jamey Mosley on his first career start:

“If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”

Clint Lamb

Clint helps cover the SEC West for Saturday Down South. His work can also be found on USA TODAY Sports, The 'Bama Beat podcast and The Bullpen with TonyMac and The Lamb. Previous stops include SEC Country, 247Sports and Touchdown Alabama Magazine.

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