Week one of the college football season is officially behind us, and Pro Football Focus has evaluated every SEC quarterback’s performance.
The conference went 12-2 on the weekend, with South Carolina and LSU suffering losses to stiff competition from the ACC. Several SEC quarterbacks put together stellar performances while others wish they could get a fresh start in week two.
As for Auburn, the Tigers played three quarterbacks in their 59-14 win over UMass on Saturday. [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] started the game and ended with 141 yards and a touchdown. [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] says that he was pleased overall with Thorne’s start.
“He made three decisions that were not good, but he played good and protected the football,” Freeze said Saturday. “We didn’t ask him to do a lot in the passing game, truthfully, but I thought he was solid. He’ll be ready to improve on what he sees.”
The surprise in Saturday’s game was the role that [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] played in the win. Freeze mentioned that Ashford would always have a “package”, and it appears that he will be crucial to red zone success. Ashford scored three times on Saturday, all on quarterback runs.
“Every press conference that I’ve been in I’ve said Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games and I don’t know how else to say it. He is vital to us winning football games,” Freeze said. “I don’t know what that looks like week-to-week, but I know that he’s vital to us winning football games and we need him.”
How did Thorne and Ashford’s week one performance stack up against the rest of the SEC’s signal callers? Here’s a look at the grade that each SEC quarterback received from PFF following week one’s action.