SEC Bookends: Threat Down

October 14th, 2009 by Chris Pendley

This was a great week for SEC wideouts and huge running games; sure, the Florida/LSU game was a fantasy dud (unless you owned either D/ST unit), but there were plenty of outstanding performances. This week, we welcome a true freshman to the Top Performers list as well as a couple of names I quite frankly expected to see sooner.

Alashon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina

Big things were expected from the true freshman WR in Columbia; this week was his best performance to date by far, racking up 7 catches for 138 yards and 3 TDs against Kentucky. Don’t expect an immediate repeat performance from Jeffery, but if you were wondering whether the hype was warranted, true freshmen don’t turn in a line like that if they’re not going to pan out.

Ben Tate, RB, Auburn

Tate returns to his typical spot on this list, decimating Arkansas’s defense to the tune of184 yards on the ground and 2 TDs (adding in 3 catches for 16 yards to add up to a nice round number). Tate was the offense against Arkansas, as the previously dynamic Auburn offense short-circuited against Arkansas, but thankfully Tate just keeps on keepin’ on; he’s now the leading rusher in the SEC and is sniffing around being the leading rusher in the nation.

Anthony Dixon, RB, Mississippi State

This was a tough loss for the Bulldogs against Houston, but Dixon did what many running backs have done before him: feast on a C-USA defense. Dixon gashed the Cougars to the tune of 134 yards and 2 TDs and was one of a few MSU running backs who had success on the ground. Heck, so did Tyson Lee, which I didn’t think was possible.

Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama

Ingram has turned into an absolute beast, hasn’t he? This was a week where Ingram basically pounded the Rebels into submission on his own, getting 172 yards on the ground and a TD (with 3 receptions for 16 yards); Nick Saban apparently decided to forget a RB rotation this week, and with a line like that, who can blame him?

Michael Smith, RB, Arkansas

Glad to see Michael Smith is still alive; we haven’t seen much of anything from him this season yet, but he’s alive to the tune of 145 yards rushing and 1 TD (he did have a catch for 12 yards, too). Half the reason Smith’s been quiet from a fantasy standpoint has been lack of goal line carries; Petrino seems to have turned to Broderick Green for the goal-line carries, and Green came through with a couple of TDs and a Jovorski Lane-esque 6 carries for 8 yards.

Gerald Jones, WR, Tennessee

Wasn’t Jones supposed to be a dynamic threat? This was the first week we’ve seen that, as he pulled in 5 catches for 105 yards and 2 TDs. This was a woodshed beating by Tennessee, and Jones was able to get in on the action, which was a welcome change. The QB play needs to be more consistent for Jones to have much relevance, but there’s finally life in the Tennessee receiver corps.

Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky

There was noise out of Lexington before the season that Cobb could turn into a legitimate dual threat; this week he finally delivered, turning in a total of 151 all-purpose yards and 2 TDs (fractional point alert: 89 yards on the ground, 62 yards through the air) on only 2 catches. Cobb is Kentucky’s most dynamic offensive weapon by far, and is also their only bright fantasy spot.

Jonathan Crompton, QB, Tennessee

Yeah, what? He’s been on here twice now, and apparently this was his Mr. Hyde week. Crompton had an outstanding performance, going for 310 yds passing and 4 TDs (and yes, 1 INT returned for a TD; what’d you expect?). Of particular importance is the 20-27 mark Crompton turned in, and stay tuned to see if he has success in play-action; 3 of those 4 TDs came on rollout, play-action type passes along with a 10-11 mark.

Georgia D/ST

Yes, Georgia got pretty much wrecked on the scoreboard. On the other hand, nearly all of Georgia’s scoring came from the D/ST unit, as they had a kickoff return, an INT return, and a blocked punt for a safety. As long as your scoring format doesn’t punish sieves, Georgia’s D was actually a really solid play this week. Don’t expect that to continue, though.

Next week’s games:

LSU and Tennessee are both off, so anyone on those teams turns into a pretty obvious auto-bench. This matters mainly for Charles Scott and Montario Hardesty owners. Other than that, this looks to be a relatively quiet fantasy week, as most of the breakout players from last week are either off or going up against the Florida or Alabama defensive buzzkills.

Georgia @ Vanderbilt

Kentucky @ Auburn

Oddly, these games might be the best for fantasy, as I don’t trust Georgia’s D/ST at all (from a yardage perspective, at least) and Vanderbilt is struggling. The studs (okay, AJ Green) make sense to start here, and if you’re becoming a Warren Norman believer, now’s the time to put your money where your mouth is. In the other tilt, neither team should be able to stop the other, which means points abound.

Arkansas @ Florida

South Carolina @ Alabama

I’d be floored if either of the road teams does much here; both Florida and Alabama’s D/ST are worth it, and if Tebow is ready to let loose, expect Arkansas to spend most of their day chasing Florida’s WRs. Alabama’s RBs are a bit trickier start; I’d expect them to have traction against South Carolina, but that game will be ugly and it’s anyone’s guess if Ingram can keep it up. This may Trent Richardson’s week to shine.

Mississippi State @ Middle Tennessee

UAB @ Ole Miss

Hey look, OOC patsies! Then again, MTSU did beat Maryland and UAB has the always-fun Joe Webb to drive Houston Nutt …well, nuts. Not a ton to see here, to be honest, as I don’t trust Ole Miss at all right now and most people will auto-start Dixon anyway.

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