SEC Notebook

[aubiefifty 18,236]

SEC Notebook: Bo Nix's supporting cast, Ed Orgeron's exit and more

ByNathan King

10-12 minutes

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Lane Kiffin would bring a renewed energy to LSU

 

Bryan Harsin hopes all the successes Auburn had in its win at Arkansas translate through the bye week and into the team's final five games of the season, and none more so than the performance of junior quarterback Bo Nix.

With his offensive line holding steady and his receivers catching passes at their best rate in Power Five play this season (only one drop), Nix went 21-of-26 for 292 yards, three total touchdowns and an interception in Fayetteville.

"I think Bo is that student of the game when it comes to learning from the previous game," Harsin said Wednesday on the SEC teleconference.

While complimenting Nix's preparedness for Arkansas in the wake of the Georgia loss, Harsin also acknowledged the improvement of Nix's supporting cast in the offense. If Auburn is to produce on offense in a similar fashion in its next few games, the Tigers will need to be just as crisp.

"I also thought the guys around him played better," Harsin said. "So it was good to see the execution from more guys on the offensive side than we had in the previous game."

Now three games into coaching in the SEC, Harsin said he'd probably be able to better assess how the conference differs from his previous coaching stops when the season comes to a close. He did, however, note that Auburn's road environments this year — possibly including the Penn State game in Week 3 — are unmatched by what he was up against in the Mountain West.

"What does stand out is, when you go on the road, I think the fans of the teams we play are very good," Harsin said. "As far as the atmosphere goes, it's enjoyable in a way to go into a stadium where it's packed and people are passionate."

Of course, the level of competition is heightened from a game-planning perspective, too.

"Just the level of talent we've seen," Harsin said. "There's good players on every team; there's explosive players on every team; the coaches on every staff. It's a challenge every week — you've got to be on it."

Harsin referenced Ole Miss, Auburn's next opponent following the bye week, multiple times, during the teleconference. Because of Auburn's early kick last week, Harsin said he was able to watch the Rebels play Tennessee.

"They're very explosive in what they do," Harsin said. "We need to take advantage of this week and get ourselves ready."

Auburn was without junior starting linebacker Owen Pappoe for the fourth straight game over the weekend after he sustained a lower-body injury in Week 3 at Penn State. Harsin has been mum on his status, and that trend continued Wednesday in regards to whether the bye week will be enough time for Pappoe to return to the field.

"I'll give you the same answer: I hope he's ready to go," Harsin said. "We need him."

In Pappoe's absence, senior Chandler Wooten has 42 tackles in his last five games.

Former JUCO transfer Kilian Zierer got his first career start against Arkansas in place of an injured Austin Troxell, who started all six games prior.

"Troxell was a little bit banged up," Harsin said. "So we had to give him some time to start feeling better, so Kilian was getting more reps. We saw that Kilian was doing a pretty good job in practice, and we thought that would be the right decision going into the game.

"That says a lot about his focus to be a backup at the time, but not to be so far behind that you have no chance of getting in the game."

Harsin did not go into detail on Troxell's injury, but did insinuate it was minor. The senior appeared to be suited up and available in an emergency on Saturday.

Does Auburn have a competition at left tackle now? Harsin didn't say Troxell was guaranteed to slide back into the role once he's healthy. 

"We'll see how this week and next week plays out as far as who's going to be in that position come game time," Harsin said.

LSU and coach Ed Orgeron reached a separation agreement Sunday for Orgeron, who is 9-8 since winning the 2019 national championship, to exit his post when LSU's season concludes.

It is unorthodox for a coach to close out a season with a scheduled termination on the table, but Orgeron said Wednesday he would have been disappointed if he couldn't be with his team for the remainder of the year.

“I feel good about it," Orgeron said of coaching the rest of LSU's season before the program pushes him out. "This is our team, and I want to finish out with it."

Orgeron, who is owed the entirety of his $16.9 million buyout by LSU, said he plans to take a year off coaching in 2022 "to spend more time with my children."

The SEC teleconference allowed only three questions to be asked of Orgeron, taking up only four of the 10 minutes allotted for each coach.

No. 1 Georgia is gliding through its SEC schedule, but Kirby Smart may be faced with a quarterback decision in the coming weeks.

Starter and USC transfer JT Daniels, who has missed the Bulldogs' last four games with a muscle strain, took the most reps at practice Tuesday since sustaining the injury and will continue to increase his workload leading up to Georgia's next game against Florida on Oct. 30, Smart said.

Former walk-on Stetson Bennett has been Georgia's quarterback since Daniels went out, completing 69.5% of his passes this season, with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

After Florida lost 49-42 at LSU over the weekend, Gators coach Dan Mullen was asked bluntly Wednesday whether he's made any changes with his defensive assistants.

After Mullen responded with a confused "no?", the same reporter asked whether Mullen is already looking ahead to possibly moving on from defensive coordinator Todd Grantham at the end of the season.

"Right now we're getting ready to play Georgia," Mullen said.

First-year Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea called the Commodores' defeat at South Carolina, in which his team led by a score in late in the fourth quarter and lost on a touchdown with 37 seconds left, a "formative loss" for the DNA of his program.

"As painful as it is, pain is part of the progress," Lea said.

After losing 23-3 in its season opener to East Tennessee State, Vanderbilt has won two games in Lea's debut season — at Colorado State and at home against UConn. Lea said he thinks his program has come a long way, maturity wise, from that Week 1 lost to ETSU, in which he thought his team felt it was "entitled to a win."

"We felt like because we had worked hard through the winter, spring and summer that somehow it was going to be easy for us (against East Tennessee State)," Lea said. "And that's not just a player issue; I think that's a program issue, meaning our coaching staff, too."

Arkansas gets a break from its SEC gauntlet this weekend, playing Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Little Rock, Arkansas. It's the Razorbacks' first game against an in-state opponent since 1944, and second-year coach Sam Pittman said he wants more in-state matchups on future schedules.

"It helps our fan base, as well, when we come somewhat unite the whole state," Pittman said. "... If you're going to give money to schools to play you, keeping it in state is probably a pretty good idea.

Nick Saban said "there's no question" Tennessee and first-year coach Josh Heupel could be 6-1 this season, with two of the Vols' three losses coming at home by less than a score.

Tennessee travels to play No. 4 Alabama this Saturday. Saban credited Heupel for "retooling" his first-year roster this with players who "fit his scheme" on both sides of the ball. Saban was part of the need for that overhaul, as star Vols linebacker Henry To'o To'o transferred to Alabama in the offseason.

"I think he's done a really good job of making his team play extremely well," Saban said.

First-year South Carolina coach Shane Beamer talks as much about the importance of recruiting as any SEC head coach. Wednesday, the former Gamecocks assistant said all it takes is one big recruit to buy in for a program to start seeing a domino effect — and that's what he wants for his USC team soon.

“Yeah, I saw it happen here before with Alshon Jeffery and Stephon Gilmore," said Beamer, who went on to cite Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney as other big prospects who committed to South Carolina in a snowball effect of sorts during Steve Spurrier's best run with the Gamecocks in the early 2010s.

Jimbo Fisher is certainly proud of his team for a signature win over then-No. 1 Alabama two weeks ago, but he'd prefer not to talk about it anymore.

“They want to anoint you as kings after you do something one time," Fisher said. "That's not football, and that's not leadership. ... You have to fight against that because human nature is to want to relax."

Fisher was also asked for his stance on feigned injuries, particularly in recent SEC games against tempo offenses. Fisher said that, while he does not condone it within his program, it's a tough situation to assess because it creates a "cried wolf" predicament where players who actually become injured on defense are booed.

"To say someone’s lying on an injury? That’s tough," Fisher said. "But we do not do it here, we do not coach it here, I do not allow it here.”

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