Stephen Garcia, South Carolina: 31/53, 313 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Ryan Mallett, Arkansas, 21/39, 408 yards, 5 TD, 0 INT
Danny Sullivan, Arizona State, 10/32, 116 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Jordan Jefferson, LSU, 18/27, 212 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
***********, *********, 20/27, 310 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT
Vanderbilt quarterbacks, 17/34, 174 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
What's with this list? A few things. First, these statistics are a result of a not-so-great passing defense. Second, a lot of yards have been given up in both losses and wins; surprisingly, Garcia and Mallett both lost these games despite their strong numbers. Finally, our mystery quarterback did win his game with these statistics.
This mystery quarterback probably isn't too much of a surprise, especially when it's revealed that all these statistics were put up against Georgia and their porous defense. Garcia and Mallett both experienced slightly different results when playing in Tuscaloosa. For Jonathan Crompton to succeed where they failed, he's going to need to replicate his passing from that Georgia game. Theoretically, it's possible: if Javy can't go, if McClain gets injured, if the secondary doesn't show up, then Crompton could get close to those numbers and cause trouble for the Tide. However, the chances of all those factors manifesting themselves are not too high.
Playing Alabama is different. Trying to run against them is frustrating; trying to pass against them is a bit easier, but in the way that the CPA exam is easier than the bar exam. Their goal is for a team to gain negative yards for the game; they're mad when a team gains any yardage; and they believe they can hold a team to nothing. Tennessee's going to hit hard, they're going to block hard, they're going to show up; what they may not be ready for is a team that will do that for 60 minutes and still be hungry for more.
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