College football: Does Georgia have distractions?; Tech can chill; Mercer awaits nailbiter; FVSU and GMC

Does Georgia have distractions to deal with?

            All week long, there was speculation about the quarterback position, now that Jacob Eason is healthy again.

            Then, days after the Bulldogs lost a few defenders to injury, middle linebacker Natrez Patrick was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession, similar to what he was arrested for in 2015.

            Finally, Friday morning, Georgia got word the dual quarterback and touted prospect Justin Fields had committed to the Bulldogs, making for a potential headache-filled traffic jam at the position next year and give players and fans something to talk about.

            Vanderbilt hopes all this weighs on Georgia’s minds for the noon game in Nashville.

            The Commodores, 3-2 and 0-2, will take what they can get after the past two weeks, a 59-0 skunking by Alabama followed by a winnable 38-24 loss at Florida.

            Despite Kirby Smart’s dance regarding quarterback playing time with Jake Fromm and Eason, the Bulldogs are on an offensive roll, thumping Tennessee 41-0 in spite of a poor passing day by Fromm, who compensated by rushing for two touchdowns.

            Smart appears to have opened up the quarterback competition by not naming a starter, stirring the speculation pot. There was little doubt that Eason would get some time against Vandy, especially if the Bulldogs can take control. And starting isn’t the same as getting the most snaps.

            How much the next two Saturdays clear up any quarterback situation is debatable.

            Vanderbilt is third in the SEC in pass efficiency defense, but the Commodores have defended an average of 26.6 passes a game, third-fewest in the league.

            And Missouri is last in pass efficiency defense, giving up a 71.2 percent completion rate. The Tigers are pretty much the worst team in the SEC, so there’s unlikely to be much passing by Georgia after halftime.

            It will be interesting to see the rotation, but Georgia will probably stick with the ground game priority, especially against Vanderbilt, which has a respectable defense overall.

Yellow Jackets can relax

            Georgia Tech is off after routing North Carolina last week, awaiting a prime time meeting at Miami on Oct. 14 on ESPN.

            Miami is amid an odd season affected by weather, the Hurricanes’ home game against Arkansas State being canceled and this Saturday’s game against Florida State in a tenuous spot with another weather situation.

            The Yellow Jackets have scored at least 35 points in every game this season, and Miami gave up 30 points to Toledo.

            Georgia Tech had five regulars – including three offensive linemen – out for the UNC game. Their return for a road game against a defense ranked ninth – after three games – in the ACC in rush defense is key.

Mercer has upset on the road in mind

            The only safe bet when Mercer visits 17th-ranked The Citadel (2 p.m., Saturday) is that it’ll be close.

            Really close. Agonizingly close.

            They’ve played three times in the modern era, and five points are the difference, all in The Citadel’s favor: 28-26, 21-19 and 24-23

            The Bulldogs are off an upset loss, 35-14 to Samford, which jumped into the polls at No. 20.

            Quarterback Dominique Allen was the SoCon offensive player of the week in mid-September, but the Bulldogs also play Jordan Black of Vidalia behind center.

            They are last in the league in passing yards with 110 a game, but first in rushing with 333.5 yards, a good chunk ahead of Western Carolina’s 281.2 and more than double Mercer’s average of 158.

            The game pits two of the top four SoCon defenses and two of the top three rush defenses.

            Mercer is much more balanced with 135 passes and 205 rushes to 42 passes and 267 rushes for The Citadel.

            Alex Lakes set the Mercer record for career rushing yards last week, passing the 2,335 yards of former quarterback John Russ.

            The Bears lost yet another heartbreaker two weeks ago, falling 26-23 at ETSU before rebounding to hammer VMI.

            “Obviously the game unfolded like we wanted it to,” Mercer head coach Bobby Lamb told reporters earlier this week, reviewing the VMI win. “I was really proud of the way we went out there and finished off the fourth quarter.”

            Which will obviously be huge again in a series that goes down to the final minute.

            “They’re leading the nation in time of possession,” Lamb said. “They’re very stingy with the ball. That presents a lot of problems for us.”

FVSU back in conference action

            After a respectable visit to Southern, an FCS program, and 31-14 loss last week, Fort Valley State is back in the SIAC at Clark Atlanta (4 p.m., Saturday).

            CAU is 2-1 in the SIAC and 3-2 overall, and will test the Wildcats (1-3, 1-1) defense with the league’s No. 1 scoring offense at 30.8 points a game, nearly double the Wildcats’ 16.0

            CAU’s defense is tied with Albany State in scoring defense at 22 points a game, eight fewer than the Wildcats.

            Kenneth Morgan, a sophomore from Baldwin, is third with 30 tackles while Shaquan Mitchell, a senior from Dublin, is eighth with 15.

            That may not be much of a surprise. Head coach Kevin Ramsey was Georgia’s defensive coordinator in 1999, and has been on the defensive staffs at Kansas State, Northwestern, West Virginia, Tennessee and Michigan State.

            He is in his third season in charge of the Panthers, who also stepped up to the FBS level last week with a 31-20 loss at Grambling. They have beaten Central State (55-14) and Lane (31-7) and lost to Tuskegee (30-16)

            The Panthers have the SIAC’s top offense with 404.6 yards a game and 18 touchdowns, traveling more by air than ground.

            FVSU quarterback Slade Jarman is fourth in the SIAC with 166 yards a game and fifth with a 123.9 rating.

            Dodge County alum Cameron Young is fourth in the SIAC with 8.5 tackles a game.

            FVSU returns home to host Lane next week at 2 p.m.

GMC rolling into road game

            One thing Bert Williams can promise recruits every year is that they’ll have some road trips better than the usual junior college journeys.

            This year, GMC has played at James Madison, and later on will line up at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah, Florida, home to the Miami United soccer team, and at Marshall.

            Saturday, the 13th-ranked Bulldogs take on Hocking College at Austin Peay in Tennessee.

            Hocking is a technical college in Ohio that is 3-2, with a win over Erie CCC and 24-point loss to Nassau.

            And there is a Central Georgian on the roster. Vanden Vicsotka is a freshman linebacker from Veterans who shares the team lead with four tackles a game.

            GMC had a 17-point lead last week and then pulled away a little in the fourth quarter for a 45-28 win over ASA-Miami.

            The Bulldogs averaged 7.6 yards a play, 7.9 on the ground en route to 378 rushing yards. On the other hand, they lost all three fumbles.

            Former West Laurens standout Garrel Quainton is the Bulldogs’ quarterback, but GMC isn’t passing a whole bunch. Kendall Cross is 12th nationally in rushing with 105 yards a game.

            Brandon Bawn, a sophomore from Rutland, had four tackles last week. He is fourth on the team with 20 tackles, including four for loss and with an interception.