Best and Worst SEC Football Performances: Week 2

Week 2 of the 2015 Southeastern Conference football season was definitely less successful than week 1. The biggest takeaway from week 2 for the SEC is that the stars of SEC football have burst onto the scene and are definitely ready for conference opponents in week three.

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I’ll look into the three best and worst performances from week 2 in the SEC.

Best:

Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU

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– Fournette led the Tigers to a 21-19 victory over Mississippi State on the strength of a 159 yard day that resulted in three touchdowns on a career-high 28 carries.

Fournette was the Tigers’ workhorse in this SEC game and he showed that he is a Heisman contender. Fournette averaged 5.7 yards per carry and 99 of his 159 yards came when it mattered the most — in the second half.

He put the team on his back and proved they could pull out a tough victory on the road, something that will be very important later on in during the season. Look for Fournette to pop off again in week three for over 100 yards and a score against Auburn’s stout defense.

Kyle Allen, QB, Texas A&M

– Simply put, Kyle Allen dominated the first half of Texas A&M’s week 2 game against Ball State. Allen threw for 126 yards and three touchdowns in just the first half.

Allen was then benched by head coach Kevin Sumlin and replaced by freshman Kyler Murray, who then finished leading the Aggies to a 56-23 victory.

Before the season, I had little faith in Allen and thought that Murray would soon take his place in the starting lineup. But against week opponents during the first two weeks he has proved he has what it takes to lead his team into battle against top SEC teams.

Allen won’t be challenged again this week when the Aggies take on Nevada. Look for him to pad the stat sheet and take a breather again late in this game after the Aggies take another huge lead.

Maty Mauk, QB, Missouri

– 223 passing yards, 75 rushing yards, three touchdowns and a second half comeback? All of that can be attributed to quarterback Maty Mauk in week 2. Mauk led the Missouri Tigers to a comeback victory over Arkansas State, winning 27-20.

The Tigers’ backfield has been struggling with some injuries early on this season and Mauk had to dominate in this game in order for the Tigers to win.

Sep 12, 2015; Jonesboro, AR, USA; Missouri Tigers quarterback Maty Mauk (7) looks to pass in the first half against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at ASU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Mauk threw for 2,648 yards and 25 touchdowns. So far in 2015, he has 329 yards and five touchdowns. Mauk’s play this season will determine if Missouri makes it to SEC Championship game or not. Missouri will beat their week 3 opponent, UCONN by a at least three touchdowns on Saturday.

Worst:

The Auburn Tigers

– The Tigers needed overtime to get past a possible upset against Jacksonville State on Saturday. At the half, Auburn trailed 10-6.

The Tigers relied heavily on the arm of Jeremy Johnson who was decent but disappointing in the end. Johnson threw for 236 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Those two interceptions were costly for the Tigers that “found a way to win” against the Gamecocks. A bright spot for the Tigers was the play of running back Peyton Barber in his first career start at tailback, tallying 125 yards and a touchdown in overtime to win the Tigers the game.

Auburn will have to improve its offense if the team wants to compete in the SEC. I think the Tigers lose this week against LSU and Auburn will fall out of the AP Top 25.

Austin Hardin, K, Florida

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– Not having a definitive quarterback going into week three, a team that travels down the field and into scoring position needs to rely on the kicker to put three points on the board. That’s exactly what the Gators thought they were doing in week 2. There were three separate times in the first half when drives ended in scoring position on third down.

Enter Austin Hardin, the inconsistent place kicker for Florida, who miss two field goals on three attempts that completely changed the outcome of the game.

If Hardin put his attempts through the uprights, East Carolina would have had no momentum against the Gators and the scoreline would have been much larger than just 31-24.

Hardin needs to perform in week three for the Gators to win at Kentucky. Last season, these two teams went into triple overtime and the Gators won by only six points.

Arkansas’ red zone attempts

– In the second half of Arkansas’ upset loss to Toledo four out of five offensive drives ended without a touchdown within 20 yards from pay dirt.

After punting on their first offensive drive of the second half, Arkansas threw an interception at the Toledo 7-yardline, kicked a field goal, turned the ball over on downs within ten yards of a score and failed to score as time expired.

Failed execution. I already knew that Arkansas was going to lose this game, but I didn’t know that would be the reason why.

Quarterback Brandon Allen threw for 412 yards, no touchdowns and an interception. The Razorbacks failed to do much of anything right in this game and the worst part of their game was the failed red zone trips.

Look for Arkansas to look like a much more disciplined team in week three when they try to rebound against Texas Tech.

Next: SBD Staff Pick 'Em (ATS): Week 3

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