Matt Stinchcomb on the SEC: Georgia closing gap on Alabama, LSU disappoints

ESPN’s SEC college football analyst Matt Stinchcomb took the time to discuss some early season topics related to this Power 5 college football conference.

College football is already entering Week 5. So far, we’ve seen a few teams in the Power 5 start to separate from the pack. Two programs that immediately come to mind are the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers.

To help us understand some of the early trends in the SEC is ESPN college football analyst Matt Stinchcomb. Stinchcomb is a two-time All-American tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs (1997,98) and a current voting panelist for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, a team Stinchcomb made during his playing days in Athens.

FanSided: Matt, what can you tell me about the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team? I noticed that four SEC players made the 2017 team.

Matt Stinchcomb: Of the 22 players that get recognized for the national team, the fact that four are coming from the SEC isn’t that big of a surprise given that the SEC as a conference has had more players named to the team than any other conference.

But I think more than anything, it just underlines kind of the fact that it’s not just either or. It’s not “Oh, you’re a good football player or you’re a good kid or a good person.” Those coexist and in fact, that’s predominantly the case. You’ve got a bunch of really good kids that are playing the game right now. You can’t spend enough time talking about the best among them. The ones that really take advantage of the chances that they get and the ones that they create to give back to those around them.

So this year, it just so happens that of the 22 across the entire country and in every division of football that’s being played at the collegiate level, it just so happens that four of them come from one of the Power 5 conferences and the one that’s enjoyed the most success in recent years.

FS: The most high-profile SEC game this week is up in Knoxville between No. 7 Georgia and Tennessee. Georgia is favored, but could this game be closer than most expect it to be?

MS: Well, the rivalry games you always pause a second, you have to look beyond the body of work, personnel, schemes, X’s and O’s, all that other stuff. There’s a history there, there’s a passion there, there’s a familiarity there. So it is possible, there is no question.

Tennessee is a team that is somewhat in flux, in that they’ve got a couple of quarterbacks that had to play, not necessarily due to injury. So when you find yourself in that situation, it’s not always optimal. They’ve also dealt with a lot of injuries at key positions already this year.

Right now, I don’t think we’ve seen the most competitive team that Tennessee could have fielded this year. A lot of that is due to the attrition that they have had from the talent on the field to the training room. Guys that are incapable of playing right now because they’re banged up or injured. Some are out for the year.

That’s on both sides of the football. That’s what I think has really taken its toll on the team. You know, let’s keep in mind that they’ve dropped one game and they dropped it on the final play versus the team that has won the division title the last two years in Florida.

So it’s definitely not a team that I think is performing in the way that they had hoped. at this point in the season. At the same time, they have kind of clawed and scratched their way to a 3-1 record. Obviously, the East Division race heats up with that matchup versus Georgia this week.

All that to say, the way that Georgia’s playing and given the fact that they have most of the personnel, albeit a big change at quarterback, one that has seemingly worked out, it should appear that Georgia should have the advantage in this matchup.

FS: With a win over Tennessee, does Georgia close the gap on Alabama or are the Crimson Tide simply a cut above the rest?

MS: I think relative to where Georgia was, they’ve closed the gap. I think Alabama is the better standard in the SEC given the fact that they’ve pretty much dominated, not only that western division but the conference in general. So given the fact that I think Georgia is much improved, then yes, they will have closed the gap on Alabama relative to where they were a season ago.

But I think the biggest thing more than anything else is that you have to win your division first before it matters how you relate to Alabama’s performance this season. Alabama could be great, but if you don’t win the division, they’re not on the regular season schedule with Georgia, so it won’t matter.

They have to take care of business in the East Division and then you earn the right to play the West Division Champion, which as it sits right now, it certainly appears it would be the team from Tuscaloosa.

FS: Another important game this week is No. 24 Mississippi State at No. 13 Auburn. Is the winner of this game seen as the third best team in the SEC?

MS: I think so. Some might even argue that if Auburn does what Georgia did to Mississippi State, or something similar to what Georgia did to Mississippi State, they might argue Auburn is. Their lone blemish was not nearly as underwhelming of a performance, and certainly not on the defensive side of the ball as many are making it out to be, a loss to Clemson.

Clemson looks to be one of the better teams in the country, one thing I think must of us dismissed somewhat coming into the year thinking it would be FSU’s year. Clearly, that has not been the case. If Auburn is able to dominate Mississippi State in a similar fashion to which Mississippi State was beaten this past Saturday, then there will be some that will still argue that Auburn is the team that could contend with Alabama as the second best team in the conference.

Of course, you’ll find that out because as you pointed out, both of them will play Alabama at some point in time. Obviously, in the Iron Bowl and Mississippi State will get Alabama later in the season.

FS: Arkansas has really struggled out of the gate. Have the Razorbacks been the biggest disappointment in the SEC so far?

MS: I would say no. To me, the biggest disappointment in the SEC so far I think is LSU. I don’t know if anyone else is even close. The way that LSU has performed so far given the expectations, and we may be learning that those expectations were incredibly unfair.

I know coming into the year I wasn’t expecting a ton out of LSU. I thought they were going to have a tough year. It seems to be the case so far from what we’ve seen. So I would put LSU as the biggest disappointment so far.

Arkansas, I think was one of those teams where you were thinking, “No, I don’t think they’ll contend for a division title.” They perhaps could improve on their record from a season ago. That’s going to be really difficult. That’s proving to be a real challenge for Arkansas.

What’s been kind of curious is that a lot of that can be centered on offensive line play and the difficulty they have had in establishing a dominant ground game as they have had in the past, to be able to capitalize on the-the talent they have at quarterback. A guy in Austin Allen, who has rarely been afforded enough to actually operate his offense.

FS: Kentucky lost to Florida again. The Wildcats should get a pair of wins the next two weeks over Eastern Michigan and Missouri. How does the Florida loss shape the perception of the Kentucky program?

MS: Well, I think if Kentucky rallies, no one’s going to care. I mean it will hurt when the game comes up next year, but if Kentucky continues to play well like they have. Obviously, that game had some unorthodox occasions in it. Obviously, a couple of receivers that went uncovered, which is kind of hard to fathom it would happen once, it happened twice.

Kentucky is a much-improved football team. A lot of people were high on Kentucky and thought that they were the dark horse contender in the East Division and Kentucky is proving them right. The victory over South Carolina on the road I think spoke volumes.

Now South Carolina might have some difficulties down the stretch as well given that they have probably lost arguably the most productive player in the entire conference in Deebo Samuel. A guy that can do it all, kind of Christian Kirk-like, a guy that South Carolina will see this week versus A&M. He can hurt you in the return game, he can hurt you on handoffs, he can hurt you as a receiver. He won’t be available for South Carolina.

Kentucky though is a team that has a quarterback that is improving, a guy that’s a dual-threat. They’ve got an established talent at running back in Benny Snell. They’ve got a myriad of offensive sets and formations they like to employ that helps them on that side of the football.

The defense is playing better than it did a season ago, and need to. So you look at the way their season shakes out, it might come down to a matchup versus Georgia, depending on what happens to Georgia, in Athens to determine the East Division.

So it stings now for Kentucky, but if you keep getting better, it’s right there in front of you. You’ve got a chance to perhaps contend for that division title even with a loss to Florida in your East Division race.

FS: Which SEC division favorite is more likely to be challenged the rest of the way: Alabama or Georgia?

MS: I think Georgia. The way that Alabama is playing right now and given what we’ve seen, although I’ve said all that about Auburn. They are probably better than what they are being perceived even with that loss to Clemson.

I think the gap is a little more significant. I think that Alabama has a good bit of a head start over everybody in this conference. We’ll learn a lot Saturday with Mississippi State at Auburn for the race in the West Division because LSU right now, I don’t think is going to be a contender for that. I don’t think they can unseat Alabama and play spoiler.

So I’m going to have to say Georgia given that they have yet to play Florida, which is always a tricky game, to say the least. Of course, they’ve got that matchup versus Kentucky and the bulk of their East Division slate in front of them. They haven’t played a single game within their division. Saturday will be their opener versus Tennessee.

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FS: Yeah, it should be an exciting weekend. Matt, thank you very much.

MS: Alright, thank you.