Five undefeated SEC West teams entered week six of the college football season and three remained perfect. The big shakeup happened in the state of Mississippi, where two quarterbacks stepped up to their respective challenges and continued to build a strong resume for NFL evaluators.
Behind the play of their senior passer, Ole Miss overcame a 14-3 second half deficit to pull off a stunning 24-17 upset victory over #3 ranked Alabama. Now how did that happen?
By: Alex Brown
Bo Wallace didn’t start the game clean, but he rallied the Rebels offense with three touchdowns in the second half. From showing the courage to stare down the gun barrel to confidently firing accurate passes into tight window coverage, he played with excellent confidence and composure under pressure. Perhaps more importantly, Wallace committed zero turnovers and only took two sacks on the afternoon. And after going 1-7 on third down in the first half, Bo Wallace and the Ole Miss offense went 5-7 on third downs while converting 3 of 5 second half drives into touchdown scores.
While Bo still locks into high difficulty, low-percentage throws and even had a couple passes batted down at the line, his shoulder is finally healthy and it shows with the types of throws he’s completing. His vertical passing traits were on display, as he executed a handful of deep seam throws, hit a deep post for the game-tying touchdown and showcased the range to drive back shoulder throws 20+ yards down-field. Wallace needs to maintain his level of play to continue building on his already rising draft status.
Almost 100 miles to the south, Mississippi State’s junior QB Dak Prescott cemented his status as a legit Heisman contender and high upside NFL Draft prospect with the dismantling of the #6 ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
Prescott dons the #15 jersey, directs a Dan Mullen offense, bullies opponents in the running game and shows obvious leadership qualities to draw non-stop Tim Tebow comparisons. The comparison falls short, however, in that Prescott sports a much tighter, compact delivery and more natural arm talent. Throughout the game versus Texas A&M, Dak used his eyes to hold the safety and make the most of his one-on-one perimeter matchups. He’s able drive the football with plus back end velocity, making it highly difficult for defensive backs to defend back shoulder throws.
He lacks efficient footwork and needs to improve at maneuvering pressure pockets, but Dak is a 6’2, 235 pound bull of a runner with a laser arm. He isn’t Tim Tebow or Cam Newton, but his game features positive traits from both of those players. Just like his in-state rival, Dak Prescott is a draft prospect on the rise.
Other Notes
Mississippi State
Preston Smith, DE, #91: Smith had mixed results in the pass rush department versus Texas A&M’s offensive line. He continued to play with a powerful punch and lockout to press the pocket, but struggled to win when kicked inside over the center. Smith has greatly improved his hand usage and overall technique, however, he played too high in this game and wasn’t nearly as disruptive as he was versus LSU.
(JR) Bernardrick McKinney, ILB, #50: McKinney really looks the part of an inside linebacker or standup edge rusher. In a few instances, Mississippi State lined him across from left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi and I’m hoping that we see more of that look moving forward. As a defensive prospect, Bernardrick is a long-armed, powerfully built linebacker that displays elite closing burst to the football. Although his physical qualities were easily seen in this game, it’s the little things that can get him in trouble. Deep pursuit angles from McKinney in this game were subpar and he must improve at gaining depth in his zone coverage drops. No doubt he has top 40 overall ability, but he’ll need to improve in pursuit and coverage.
Texas A&M
Cedric Ogbuehi, OT, #70: When it comes to film study, coaches always tell you, “It’s not as good as you think and it’s not as bad as you think.” In the case of Ogbuehi that idiom couldn’t be more fitting. Through the first half of the season, he’s relatively the same player he was a season ago. Cedric is an outstanding athlete with a fluid kick slide and flexible lower half, but he too often exposes his midsection through extended pass sets and is late to land the hands. His functional strength is good in my opinion and I believe he’s a plus athlete, but he must learn to keep his hands up and active through his pass sets. I’m seeing too much catching and not enough punching from Ogbuehi, and he’ll need to fix those issues in a hurry before A&M plays Ole Miss next weekend.
Jarvis Harrison, OG, #51: Very much the opposite of Ogbuehi, Harrison is a puncher that plays top heavy through his pass set. Finally healthy and over an off-season injury that kept him off the practice field, Harrison played stout at the point of attack and created noticeable movement in the run game. With his girthy, wide-body and heavy hands, you see powerful offensive guard traits from the senior prospect. Now that he’s healthy, it’ll be important to watch how he progresses through the rest of the season.
Ole Miss
Senquez Golson, CB, #21: Coming down with the game-sealing interception was the highlight of Golson’s day, but his positioning in Cover 3 limited Alabama’s ability to attack vertically. Golson tilts and mirrors efficiently off the line of scrimmage, and moreover did a great job of keeping topside position in downfield coverage. Despite being an undersized corner, Golson continues to find ways to play big at the catch point with 4 interceptions on the season.
Alabama
(JR) T.J. Yeldon, RB, #4: Even though he’s a 6’2 running back, Yeldon runs with exceptional lateral quickness to and through the hole. I continue to be impressed with his ability to pick, slide and accelerate up the field. At the same time, I am concerned with how upright of a runner he is with that frame. Yeldon takes too much hard contact and was not as effective as I’d like to see in short yardage situations. He’s definitely gifted with balance and explosive feet, but he’ll have to work hard to keep his pad level down. I already like him as a second rounder, but need to see consistent ball security and improvements with his pad level.
Auburn
(JR) Sammie Coates, WR, #18
Coates finally looked like himself and had an outstanding weekend versus LSU. His first touchdown grab showcased all the elements that make him a potential first round wide receiver –aggressive physicality to bully the defensive back out of a press coverage look, speed to win vertically, body control to win at the catch point and toughness to drag the defender into the endzone. He possesses size, speed and strength components that every NFL team is looking for.
Nick Marshall, QB, #14
Nick Marshall had himself a strong outing, completing over 63 percent of his passes for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns. He executed a variety of touch throws and drive throws, while continuing to flash the deep ball range to hook up vertically with Sammie Coates. In the running game, he repeatedly made open field defenders look silly while finishing with over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. His efficiency is vastly improved from a season ago and Auburn’s receiving corps is even better than it was in 2013, both of which are positive signs for his production as a senior. The biggest area of improvement has been Marshall’s field vision, as he’s no longer honing in on the primary target and actually able to find secondary receivers. He’s definitely a raw talent, but the natural arm strength and athleticism will intrigue teams on the third day of the draft.
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