Takeaways: Auburn going backward
By about10 p.m. on the East Coast, the saga of how Nick Saban ended up on the sideline Saturday in Bryant-Denny Stadium – just three days after a positive test for COVID-19 – had receded into the background.
The more immediate issue was whether Alabama’s offense or Georgia’s defense was going to win the battle within the battle; which unit was going to muster a push at the point in the game where it was all up for grabs.
And in emphatic fashion, Alabama made it clear in a 41-24 win: This offense isn’t going to be stopped anytime soon.
Fast, loose and uber-aggressive may not be the way Saban wants to play – he once famously said of the spread offense, “Is this what we want football to be?” – but when you’ve got a great quarterback, a great running back and receivers that can’t be covered one-on-one, why would you play any other way?
For the third straight week, Alabama quarterback Mac Jones threw for more than 400 yards, which is a testament to his ability, the options he has with DeVonta Smith, John Metchie III and Jaylen Waddle and the scheme designed by Steve Sarkisian. In the end, even a very good Georgia defense just couldn’t plug the dam well enough in the second half.
After Georgia forced a punt with 8:31 left in the third quarter, leading 24-20, Alabama scored touchdowns on three straight possessions and that was that. It happens so quickly with this team, and it sets a clear hierarchy now in the SEC with Georgia firmly behind Alabama at No. 2 and another big gap to everyone else.
Of course, the other big sidebar was that Saban could be on the sideline at all Saturday. After the shocking news that he had tested positive Wednesday – shocking because the 68-year-old Saban, of all the SEC coaches, had been fastidious about mask wearing and social distancing – he had followed up with three consecutive negative PCR tests on consecutive days leading up to the game.
That qualified Saban, who had not shown any symptoms of the coronavirus, as a false positive under the SEC’s guidelines and cleared him to coach.
Here are five other takeaways from Week 7 in college football:
● Georgia may well get another chance at Alabama in the SEC championship game, but it’s hard to imagine the Bulldogs being able to raise their ceiling as long as Stetson Bennett is starting at quarterback. Bennett is a great story and seems to be genuinely liked by teammates, but he’s a former walk-on for a reason. While he’s a capable game manager in certain situations, you need someone who can make the tough throws to beat Alabama.
Bennett’s final line – 18-for-40 for 269 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions – should give Kirby Smart enough of an opening to see if Southern California transfer JT Daniels offers more upside. If you want to take a more optimistic view for Georgia, Alabama got a lot of breaks Saturday. It made a 52yard field goal at the end of the half after being given a second back by the officials on a spike, and it was on the wrong end of a pass interference call late in the third quarter that turned an Alabama field goal into a touchdown and made it a twoscore game.
● The unraveling at Auburn is something to keep an eye on. Though Gus Malzahn’s contract still carries a hefty $21.4 million buyout thanks to a reckless extension negotiated in 2017 by former university president Steven Leath, Saturday’s 30-22 loss to South Carolina was the kind of performance that would begin a serious discussion of his job security under normal circumstances.
Obviously, the unknown factor for any school is whether the pandemic has hurt its financial position to such an extent that coaching buyouts simply aren’t tenable this year. But Malzahn is just 19-12 since signing that mega-extension, and the Tigers’ body of work this season suggests a program going backward.
Malzahn has tied his fortunes to sophomore quarterback Bo Nix, who threw for a season-high 272 yards against South Carolina but also tossed three interceptions.
● The Heisman Trophy race doesn’t really get underway until next week when the Big Ten starts play, but it’s striking how asymmetrical the comparisons are going to be all season between Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields.
Obviously, other players can and will be in the mix as the season chugs along. But those are the two quarterbacks at the top of everyone’s list, and you’d have to say that Lawrence has built up a pretty good head start.
Think of it like a golf tournament. Lawrence has already played 36 holes, and he got a nice stat-padder to finish his first half in a 73-7 win at Georgia Tech. Lawrence recorded his first 400-yard passing game (he finished with 404) on just 24 completions with five touchdowns. For the season, Lawrence has 15 touchdowns and just one interception while completing 72.4% of his passes.
● We saw some signs of life – finally – from Florida State last week in a semi-competitive loss at Notre Dame. Still, it would have been difficult to envision further improvement happening quickly enough for the Seminoles to come back right away and beat No. 6 North Carolina. But that’s exactly what Florida State did, 31-28, building a big early lead and then hanging on for dear life in the fourth quarter as the Tar Heels made a big push.
Even though the Seminoles were a bit fortunate at the end – North Carolina’s final drive ended with three straight dropped passes – you have to remember this is a team that lost its opener to Georgia Tech, lost by 42 points to Miami and was trailing Jacksonville State well into the third quarter before finding a bit of identity with Jordan Travis at quarterback.
● The strangest scene of the night occurred moments after Memphis escaped with a 50-49 victory over UCF in a dramatic game that ended when Knights sophomore Daniel Obarski missed a 40yard field goal.
Obarski, who is in his first year as the primary placekicker, understandably looked upset and angry as Memphis knelt down for the game’s final play, punching a banner behind the UCF bench. Then backup quarterback Quadry Jones came over and said something to him, causing Obarski to charge at him as if he wanted to fight. After a few seconds, coaches had pulled them apart and UCF players appeared to go to the locker room without incident.
Still, what an ugly look for the Knights, who blew a 35-14 lead and lost a game in which they had 798 offensive yards.