Best and Worst SEC Football Performances: Week 9

Oct 31, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia Bulldogs safety Dominick Sanders (24) sacks Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Faton Bauta (10) during the second half at EverBank Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 27-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Faton Bauta, QB, Georgia

– I’ve been digging on Georgia a little bit so far and rightfully so: the Dawgs played terribly against the Gators in week 9.  As a result they have found themselves on this worst of the week portion twice due to the performance.

Let’s start with how I mentioned Georgia was going to try and replicate Josh Dobbs’ success against the Florida defense when they met in Jacksonville in week 9.  Enter junior quarterback Faton Bauta.

Actually on second thought, he probably shouldn’t have entered the scene at all. Bauta replaced Greyson Lambert, a transfer student who has had trouble finding the end zone against SEC opponents, and the supposed dual-threat was no better than Lambert.   Actually he was probably not worse.

Bauta completed less than half of his passing attempts, going 15 of 33 and threw four interceptions.

Prior to week 9 Bauta was the third string quarterback for the Dawgs and his performance arguably points to him returning to the bench.

Really boring game to watch if you were a Georgia fan.  Not only could they not find the end zone but the offense was horrible and it wasn’t just Bauta.

Georgia’s running game

– Equally as disappointing as the play of their new quarterback, the running back corps for Georgia didn’t stand a chance against the Gators defensive front seven.

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt before the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Gators held Georgia to a total of 69 rushing yards and a 50 percent third down efficiency.

After the Bulldogs lost Nick Chubb in week 6, the Dawgs haven’t been able to get any kind of offense going. That didn’t change this week, even though Georgia was hopeful that backup turned starter Sony Michel could carry the load.

Michel ran the ball 13 times Saturday for a total of 45 yards. His longest spray of 10 yards was the longest of any Georgia runner and he averaged 3.5 yards per carry.

Georgia needs to find a quarterback to lead their team and a running back who can at least run for 50 yards against a good defense.
Otherwise they are in a lot of trouble in the SEC East.

Due to their lack of offensive ability, I think Georgia will two out of its final four games – dropping both the Kentucky and Georgia Tech games.

Vanderbilt

– If week 8 offered anything to the natives of Tennessee it was that, for once, there was hope for Vanderbilt.  If the Volunteers faltered like they did against Alabama, fans could still let out a tiny cheer for a victory in Nashville by the Commodores, who got their first SEC win since 2013 by defeating Missouri.

BUT (there always seems to be a but when talking about Vanderbilt’s potential on the football field) that nice feeling of a win for any fan of a underdog story likethe Vandy program was wiped far away in week 9 when the Commodores were blanked by Houston.

Passing yards: 44 Rushing yards: 141 – those were the offensive numbers for Vandy after a big SEC win in week 8.

Things have gone from bad to worse for the Commodores as they are experimenting at the quarterback position. Vandy chose to start freshman Kyle Shurmur in week 8 against Missouri and it seemed to work out from a wins and losses standpoint.

But when he started again in week 9, there was no scoring and no life in the offense. Shurmur was 3 of 11 for 20 yards and threw an interception. The former 11-game starter Johnny McCrary also saw playing time in week 9, despite being benched, and completed two of his nine passing attempts while throwing two interceptions.

Next: New Polls - Same Possible Results

Vanderbilt looked to be on the rise after a defensive battle against Missouri but in reality they are both just bad teams. Vanderbilt won’t win another SEC game this season.

We will see if either Vandy or Georgia can turn it around in week 10, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say I doubt it.  I think both of them lose again next week against Florida and Kentucky and have a good chance of being right back in this worst of the week category.