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How Payton Thorne’s week two performance stacks up to fellow SEC quarterbacks

Auburn football showed signs of struggle in Saturday’s 14-10 win over California. Most of that could be seen in quarterback Payton Thorne’s performance.

The Michigan State transfer failed to reach a 65% completion rate in two starts to this point. He increased his completion percentage from 58.8% to 64.3% in week two but passed for just 94 yards and two touchdowns.

According to Pro Football Focus, Thorne graded out at 50.8, which is the lowest among SEC quarterbacks for week two. His game two grade is 28 points lower than his game one grade, which averages him out at 64.9 for the season to this point.

We know that Thorne had the lowest grade of all SEC quarterbacks in week two, but how does his performance against California stack up with the rest of the SEC’s starters?

Here’s a rundown of week two’s SEC quarterback grades from Pro Football Focus.

Jalen Milroe, Alabama

Gary Cosby Jr. -USA TODAY Sports
Gary Cosby Jr. -USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 55.7

Milroe took a tough turn in week two by completing 14-of-27 passes for 255 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions in Alabama’s loss to Texas. He was pressured 19 times, which resulted in five sacks. He threw six turnover-worthy passes, and his receivers dropped three of his passes.

Read more about Alabama’s game with Texas here.

Joe Milton, Tennessee

© Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
© Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

PFF Grade: 62.2

Milton suffered another low grade this week as his receivers dropped four passes in Tennessee’s win over Austin Peay. The Volunteers struggled early on, which is evident by Milton’s performance. He completed 64% of his passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s win.

For more on Tennessee’s win over Austin Peay, click here.

AJ Swann, Vanderbilt

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 63.5

Vanderbilt will have to wait at least one more year to open a season with a 3-0 record under head coach Clark Lea as they fell to Wake Forest on Saturday. Swann tossed two turnover-worthy passes on Saturday, both resulting in interceptions. He also managed to complete just 66.7% of his passes for 314 yards and three scores.

Brady Cook, Missouri

© Abigail Landwehr/For the Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
© Abigail Landwehr/For the Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

PFF Grade: 66.7

Middle Tennessee State’s defense turned up the pressure on Missouri’s Brady Cook on Saturday, which resulted in a disappointing performance. Cook was pressured seven times on Saturday and was sacked four times. He also saw a 6% decrease in completion percentage from week one. Still, he managed to throw for 204 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

Graham Mertz, Florida

Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 69.5

Mertz appeared to be more comfortable in the Gators’ win over McNeese State on Saturday. He completed 14-of-18 passes for 193 yards and a score. It also helped that his offensive line did not allow him to be pressured, which in turn allowed him to be more patient with his throws. He has zero turnover-worthy passes and only experienced one drop from his receivers.

Read more about Florida’s win over McNeese State here.

Conner Weigman, Texas A&M

Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 74.0

Weigman could not follow up last week’s five-touchdown performance in week two’s affair at Miami. He passed for exactly 100 more yards but completed just 58.5% of his 53 pass attempts. He was pressured an astonishing 26 times and sacked just once. Weigman looks to get back into rhythm this Saturday at home against UL-Monroe.

For more on Texas A&M’s loss to Miami, click here.

Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 75.0

The Tulane Green Wave provided a much more challenging experience for Ole Miss on Saturday than Mercer did in week one, and the evidence was clear in Jaxson Dart’s performance. The Green Wave pressured Dart 10 times, and sacked him four times. Ole Miss receivers dropped four passes, and Dart threw two turnover-worthy passes. He completed just 63% of his passes for 267 yards and two scores.

Devin Leary, Kentucky

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 79.0

After a disappointing showing in his first game in Lexington, Wildcat fans were relieved to see a much better performance out of Devin Leary on Saturday. In Kentucky’s win over Eastern Kentucky, Leary completed 24 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns. He recorded zero turnover-worthy passes and experienced just one receiver drop.

Carson Beck, Georgia

© Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK
© Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

PFF Grade: 79.7

Beck failed to live up to expectations in Georgia’s week one win over UT-Martin but managed to find rhythm in the Bulldogs’ win over Ball State on Saturday. He increased his completion percentage by 10% this week and saw a 20-point overall passer grade bump as well.

Read more about Georgia’s win over South Carolina here.

Will Rogers, Mississippi State

Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 85.8

Rogers had an unordinary performance on Saturday but still managed to perform well against Arizona. The gunslinger threw for just 160 yards and three scores in Mississippi State’s victory, completing 76% of his passes. His output was fueled by his offensive line allowing just four pressures throughout the game, and his receivers failing to drop a pass.

Jayden Daniels, LSU

© SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK
© SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

PFF Grade: 87.6

Daniels and the LSU Tigers were able to bounce back on Saturday by dropping 72 points on Grambling at Tiger Stadium. Daniels found the endzone five times and completed nearly 70% of his passes with just two drops.

For more on LSU’s win over Grambling, click here.

Spencer Rattler, South Carolina

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 93.1

South Carolina improved in several areas following the season-opening loss to North Carolina, which helped Spencer Rattler perform to the best of his abilities on Saturday against Furman. Rattler was pressured 21 times against North Carolina and was sacked eight times. In Saturday’s game against Furman, he was pressured just six times with zero sacks. His completing percentage also increased from 75% to 89%. Rattler and the Gamecocks travel to Athens to face Georgia this Saturday, and his offensive line will need to replicate Saturday’s performance in order to have a chance at victory.

KJ Jefferson, Arkansas

Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

PFF Grade: 93.6

Jefferson made very few mistakes in Arkansas’ win over Kent State on Saturday. He attempted to pass 23 times Saturday and managed to get 19 of those passes off. He went 13-of-19 for 137 yards and two touchdowns and threw just one turnover-worthy pass.

Read more about Arkansas’ win over Kent State here.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire