Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Lengthy breathers not all bad
When Texas A&M beat LSU 20-7 on Saturday, it improved the record of SEC teams to 5-1 when playing three weeks between games because of postponements.
Florida started the trend when the Gators returned from a three-week layoff — that included shutting down practice for a week — to beat Missouri 41-17 on Oct.
31.
Gators Coach Dan Mullen attributed his team’s response to having the mental toughness to deal with the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic going back to last spring when all college and pro sports were shut down.
“All the different adversities that could throw themselves at us this season, we started talking about those back in March and April,” Mullen said. “So I think our guys were kind of prepared for any curveball that was thrown at us throughout the whole year, and we’ve done a great job of adapting.”
Other teams to win after being off for three weeks in addition to Florida and Texas A&M were Auburn over Tennessee 30-17, Alabama over Kentucky 63-3, and LSU over the University of Arkansas 27
24.
The lone team to lose after a three-week break happened when Ole Miss beat Vanderbilt 54-21, but the Commodores haven’t won under any circumstances this season at 0-8.
“You get a chance to get some of your guys healthier,” Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn said of an extended break. “That did help us.
“But we came out the first quarter sleepwalking, and you could tell we hadn’t played in 21 days.”
Tennessee jumped out to a 10-0 lead against the Tigers, who had tied the score 10-10 by halftime and then dominated the second half.
“We kind of woke up in the second quarter and started playing good football,” Malzahn said.
Alabama and Florida also had sluggish starts after their long layoffs. The Crimson Tide led Kentucky 7-3 after the first quarter before outscoring the Wildcats 57-0 the rest of the way. Missouri led the Gators 7-6 early in the second quarter before Florida took control.
Texas A&M never trailed against LSU, taking a 13-0 halftime lead, while the Tigers scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter to beat Arkansas after the Razorbacks had rallied from a 20-14 halftime deficit.
“The practices were spirited,” LSU Coach Ed Orgeron said of the time between games before playing at Arkansas. “They were tough, they were physical.
“Instead of gameplanning for an opponent, we had time to get better focusing on ourselves.”
Malzahn said the mental break from playing an all-SEC schedule also has benefits.
“I think we’ll look back on this whole deal and the mental and emotional toll that the covid has taken on everybody,” Malzahn said. “I think that’s something that will be very real.
“Going back to fall camp and getting tested three times a week and the uncertainty of everything, it takes a toll on people. So I think that’s probably one of the positives of being off for a little bit.”
Changing mind
Before LSU won 27-24 at Arkansas on Nov. 21, Tigers star junior receiver Terrace Marshall led a players’ only meeting and urged his teammates to finish the season strong after a disappointing 2-3 start.
But Marshall won’t be finishing the season at LSU — strong or otherwise.
On Sunday, Marshall informed LSU Coach Ed Orgeron he would opt out of the rest of the season, with three games and a likely bowl appearance remaining, to focus on preparing for the NFL Draft.
“I thought when he said it, he meant it,” Orgeron said of Marshall’s sentiment of finishing strong. “The team believed him. Obviously he had a change of heart.
“You never can tell what goes on with guys when they talk with their families, people they need to talk to, and they make personal decisions. I think this was a strictly business decision for Terrace.”
When All-American Ja’Marr Chase opted out before the start of the season, Marshall became the Tigers’ go-to receiver. He had 48 catches for 731 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven games.
“Terrace came and talked to me like a man,” Orgeron said. “He told me his decision. I respected his decision.
“We support him. He’s been a great LSU Tiger for us.”
First opt out
It looked like Kentucky would make it through the whole season without a player opting out, but that changed Monday.
Wildcats redshirt sophomore cornerback Kelvin Joseph, who leads the SEC with four interceptions, told Wildcats Coach Mark Stoops he didn’t want to play in the regularseason finale against South Carolina.
“Kelvin didn’t know exactly what he wanted to do, I guess,” Stoops said. “He just didn’t want to play in the game.
“I said, ‘Well, then your best option is to opt out, because I’m not going to have anybody just choose to stand around at practice and watch us who’s not going to play.’ ”
Stoops said he understands that Joseph, who transferred to Kentucky from LSU, wants to prepare for the NFL Draft.
“I think he felt like he didn’t want to risk injury because he’s going to declare for the draft,” Stoops said. “We wish him the best. So it is what it is.
“Kelvin’s a good young man, and I appreciate what he did for us.”
Tough road ahead
Dealing with a fivegame losing streak has been tough enough for Tennessee, but the bleeding figured to stop Saturday when the Volunteers were scheduled to play Vanderbilt.
Yes, the Commodores beat the Vols three consecutive times from 2016-18, but Vanderbilt is winless this season and has suffered several blowout losses. Tennessee would have been a big favorite to beat Vanderbilt.
Except the SEC moved some Nov. 28 games around because of numerous postponements, so Vanderbilt played at Missouri instead of hosting Tennessee.
The Tigers beat the Commodores 41-0 while the Vols had the weekend off.
So now Tennessee will get to try to break its losing streak by playing Vanderbilt, right?
Not quite.
The Vols are playing host to No. 6 Florida on Saturday. So a sixth consecutive loss is a distinct possibility. Then Tennessee is scheduled to play a previously postponed game against No. 5 Texas A&M on Dec. 12.
No announcements have been made about games for Dec. 19 — other than the SEC Championship Game scheduled for that date — but presumably the Vols finally will get to play Vanderbilt then.
On Leach time
Ole Miss held on to beat Mississippi State 3124 in the Egg Bowl when Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers threw a pass into the end zone that fell incomplete on a third-down play from the Rebels’ 36 as time expired.
Mississippi State was out of timeouts when it took possession at its 20 with 36 seconds left.
That prompted a reporter’s question to Bulldogs Coach Mike Leach that in hindsight, was he pleased with his time management on the previous drive when he used two timeouts?
“I was very pleased with the time management,” Leach said. “To save all that for the last drive, save it for the other drive, I mean, it’s kind of like asking, ‘OK, we’re going to stab you. Which knife do you want to get stabbed with?’
“So you might not have liked how those timeouts went. I thought they were correct. When you coach your team, you can go ahead and call the timeouts like you want.”
Leach called two timeouts on his team’s next-to-last possession, which resulted in a field goal that cut the Ole Miss lead to 31-24. He then used his final timeout so Ole Miss couldn’t run out the clock and had to punt the ball back to Mississippi State.
Just business
Tom Fitch, Vanderbilt’s offensive coordinator, is also the team’s interim coach for the final two games after Derek Mason’s firing.
Like everyone else on the staff — which includes running backs coach Tim Horton, a former Arkansas player and assistant coach — Fitch doesn’t know where he might be working next season.
“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of uncertainty for everybody in the building,” Fitch said. “That’s just an unfortunate part of our business.
“But as professionals you understand everything you’ve got to do is centered around our players and making sure their experience is the best it can be.”
Going the distance
Kentucky and South Carolina are set to be the first SEC teams to complete the 10-game conference only regular season when they play Saturday.
“I know we’re doing our best to keep our players safe, but we’re also playing,” Wildcats Coach Mark Stoops said. “We have an obligation, and come hell or high water, we’re going to play.”