Week 4 SEC Letter Grades: Arkansas Through Kentucky
By Tucker Harlin
This is the first group of my SEC letter grades for Week 4.
For those of you who have read along in the previous three weeks, you probably noticed this a bit of different grouping than what I normally put out. Alabama and Georgia are on bye so I will not be grading them this week.
ARKANSAS: B-
Credit: Auburn University Athletics
Arkansas slides into the B tier because it won on the road against a team it had lost eight of the last 10 against in a hostile environment.
The Razorbacks ran the ball effectively in their 24-14 win at Auburn, but the pass attack was suspect.
Taylen Green under threw his receivers on two occasions that led to interceptions, finishing the day with the 12/27 for 151 yards, a touchdown, and the aforementioned picks. The touchdown was a prayer on a 3rd and 12 that Isaiah Sategna had to go up and get.
The defense picked the Tigers off four times while doing its best to hold a solid rush attack in check. That was nice, but the Hogs weren’t able to reap the rewards because of how iffy the offense looked.
While the win is important, a similar performance against some of the better quarterbacks in the league could be trouble down the road.
AUBURN: F
Auburn’s performance in a nutshell:
“I can’t wait to dominate Arkansas,” said Auburn quarterback Hank Brown during the week, and he proceeded to throw three interceptions in the opening half.
Hugh Freeze decided it was best to bench Brown in favor of Payton Thorne, the same guy he benched for throwing four interceptions against Cal two weekends ago.
The sad reality is this program has what it needs everywhere on the field except for the quarterback position.
The defense absolutely played well enough to beat Arkansas, Jarquez Hunter is one of the best running backs in the SEC, and if KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s performance tells you anything, it’s that the Tiger QBs have the necessary weapons to throw the ball successfully.
If Saturday’s results suggest anything, it’s that the Tigers’ battle with Oklahoma may be a first to 20 affair.
FLORIDA: A-
Credit: University of Florida Athletics
Florida breaks into the A tier because some tests are easier than others and it desperately needed an SEC win.
Billy Napier stuck with his strategy of alternating D.J. Lagway and Graham Mertz with some preference to Mertz. The Gators finished the day with just two incompletions, Mertz throwing all three of their passing touchdowns in the first half.
Florida got the necessary push on the ground, mixing in both quarterback runs and multiple running backs to combine for 226 rush yards and three scores.
The reason I can’t give Florida anything higher than an A- is due to lackluster defensive play, something it can’t afford against a higher quality opponent.
Mississippi State had run for just 90 combined yards in its losses to Toledo and Arizona State in the previous two weeks. The Bulldogs had better push this time around, running for 240 yards against the Gators.
Florida also surrendered 240 in the air, but it didn’t have to deal with Blake Shapen for a lot of the fourth quarter after he left with an injury.
While a 45-28 SEC road win is nothing to complain about, the road ahead doesn’t feature teams in as bad of situations as Mississippi State.
KENTUCKY: A
Credit: University of Kentucky Athletics
41-6 victories are what SEC teams are supposed to do against MAC teams.
Kentucky had to punt on its first possession but scored on all but two of its remaining possessions. The Wildcats had their best offensive output of the season featuring 213 rush yards and 237 pass yards from Brock Vandagriff. If there’s any offensive concern, it’s the seven tackles for loss the Wildcats surrendered.
The added bonus of a Maxwell Hairston pick six in the third quarter was a cherry on top of Kentucky’s win over the Bobcats. Overall, there wasn’t much for the Wildcats to be concerned about on the defensive end.
Similar to Florida’s win over Mississippi State, this is a feel good win trapped in between a difficult SEC slate. It’s not quite as difficult as the road Florida has on the horizon, but Wildcats go to Ole Miss and Tennessee among other places in the near future.
