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If Week 1 of the SEC West season told us that teams in the division have issues at quarterback, perhaps Week 2 is the week where they started finding resolution to those issues.
Alabama, Auburn and Mississippi State seemed to settle on quarterbacks. LSU appeared to find a new one. Arkansas’ new starter has proven he knows how to win games. Add it together and the division had a 7-0 week, and a lot of teams are feeling better about themselves.
Funny how that seems to happen when quarterback play is better.
Alabama: It’s looking like there won’t be a quarterback controversy between Jalen Hurts and Blake Barnett. In a 38-10 rout of Western Kentucky on Saturday, both quarterbacks got early chances and Hurts was better and got the bulk of the playing time as the game went on. Hurts passed for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns in a solid start, and he got help from his defense, which held a high-powered Western Kentucky offense to 239 yards.
Arkansas: Austin Allen may be the “little brother” of departed star Brandon Allen, but now the new Razorbacks starting quarterback already has plenty of experience leading his team to wins in close games. In a 41-38 double-overtime win at No. 15 TCU on Saturday, he bulled his way into the end zone for a game-winning 5-yard touchdown run in overtime after passing for 223 yards and 3 touchdowns to help the Razorbacks get there. Arkansas is 2-0 with both games being decided by a field goal or less. In terms of winning close games and delivering in the clutch, the younger Allen is already a grizzled veteran.
Auburn: The Tigers looked like a different offensive team in a 51-14 rout of Arkansas State. Gus Malzahn seems to have settled on Sean White at quarterback the week after alternating three players at the position, and he delivered with a 244-yard, 3-touchdown performance. But the passing game was just part of the dominant performance as the Tigers put together 462 rushing yards and had 706 yards of offense. Coming off a near-upset of Clemson, the Tigers looked more like a team that could contend in the SEC West.
LSU: Lost in the talk of Danny Etling’s performance off the bench at quarterback (touchdowns in his first three possessions) in LSU’s 34-13 win over FCS power Jacksonville State was the fact that the Tigers’ defense was solid against an explosive offense. Take away one 75-yard Eli Jenkins touchdown pass where two Tigers both tried to jump the rout, and missed, allowing the receiver an easy touchdown run after the catch, and LSU would have kept an explosive offense out of the end zone. As it is, Dave Aranda’s defense has allowed just two touchdowns in two games and is looking to be potentially as dominant as his Wisconsin defense that led the nation in scoring defense last year.
Ole Miss: The Rebels may have some interesting decisions to make in the post-Chad Kelly era at quarterback. Kelly’s backup, Jason Pellerin, threw for a touchdown and ran for another in the second half of a 38-13 rout of FCS member Wofford in a game where the Rebels rolled despite a short week following Monday’s loss to Florida State. Pellerin will compete with true freshman Shea Patterson, the nation’s top-rated, pro-style quarterback in the 2016 class, to replace Kelly next year. Kelly continued to look solid, completing 20-of-27 passes for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs seem to have settled on a quarterback, and why not? Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 195 yards and passed for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns as MSU rebounded from a season-opening upset loss to South Alabama by beating South Carolina, 27-14. But lost in his big performance was a rebound week for MSU’s defense, which bounced back after giving up 285 passing yards to South Alabama by allowing just 243 total yards.
Texas A&M: In a 67-0 rout of nearby SWAC neighbor Prairie View A&M, the biggest takeaway for the Aggies was more reps for a new quarterback in a new offense. And Trevor Knight showed he was more than just a passer. Yes, he did throw for 344 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he also rushed for 78 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
