Best and Worst SEC Football Performances: Week 5

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Oct 3, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteer fans during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Neyland Stadium. Arkansas won 24 to 20. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss

– I already talked about how Ole Miss choked in Gainesville on Sunday, but that ultimately falls on their quarterback for not being able to score points. Yes, his top receivers Treadwell and Engram were able to snag some worthless first down catches. Unfortunately they let down their offensive leader when it mattered the most, both with key drops during the second half.

Kelly is to blame for the team’s lack of success even though his numbers would put up a pretty good argument that he didn’t play terribly on Saturday. Kelly went 26-for-40 for 259 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

But he was sacked four times, couldn’t run or throw for a first down to save his life and definitely couldn’t complete a throw in the red zone. In the fourth quarter as the fans in the Swamp started to get rowdy, Kelly was affected even more by the atmosphere and it showed. The Rebels scored in the fourth quarter in what looked like seven points that could shift the momentum of the game, but then on a botched onside kick they lost the ball.

If Kelly could have found the end zone at least once before the fourth quarter the game would have gone very differently on Saturday.

Here’s the biggest takeaway from that game for Ole Miss: If the Rebels don’t jump out to an early lead and don’t hold their opponent to zero points, kiss the win goodbye.

Lorenzo Nunez, QB, South Carolina

– 15 for 24, 172 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. A stat line that speaks for itself.

Sep 26, 2015; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Lorenzo Nunez (19) runs during the second half against the UCF Knights at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The Missouri Tigers had a nice welcoming gift waiting for freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez during his first trip to Faurot Field. A day filled with more sacks and interceptions than the young quarterback had seen in his first four games combined.

Falling to 0-3 in the conference, the Gamecocks need to do something in order to right the ship and try to get themselves off the floor in the SEC East.

That won’t happen if Nunez plays like he did against the Tigers. Nunez also ran for 60 yards on 15 carries against Mizzou, nothing special.

It’s a tall task anytime a young quarterback comes into one of the top leagues and is asked to start, but if he throws three picks he will definitely land on the worst of the week list. Welcome to the SEC Lorenzo Nunez.

Tennessee

– After a crushing road loss to Florida in week 4, the Volunteers were looking to get back on track when they took on a struggling Arkansas Razorback team in Knoxville on Saturday.

The complete opposite occurred. The Volunteers were dealt another SEC loss and took a huge knock to their confidence. Arkansas had lost three straight games to teams that at the beginning of the year most people would have said the Hogs should have handled easily. As a result, everyone doubted them going into the game with Tennessee.

Tennessee may have over looked the Hogs, because nothing stood out in this game besides the let down in front of the home crowd and the final score. Josh Dobbs couldn’t find the end zone and despite an early lead for the Vols, the Razorbacks found a way to come out on top.

With their second straight SEC loss, Tennessee is falling quickly to the bottom of the ranks in the SEC and have almost kissed any chance of competing this year goodbye. Although college football is crazy and Tennessee might be back on the Best of portion of this list next week. Who knows. We’ll see.

Next: Best SEC Assistant Coach

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