1. Congratulations to Georgia, I guess.
I give credit to Georgia for one thing - when they put some emotional effort into a game, they are a pretty good team. Fortunately for the Bulldogs, they have been able to phone it in for a good part of the season and still get into position to take the lead in the SEC East away from Florida. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they looked as undisciplined as ever, amassing 14 penalties and three turnovers in a sloppily played 17-9 victory. But the Gators looked even worse, losing four fumbles, throwing two interceptions and garnering ten penalties of their own. Didn't anyone on the Florida team read my blog post last week where I said turnovers are bad? Georgia still has to beat a decent Ole Miss team at home, then will close their SEC schedule against the worst Auburn team in decades, but Florida was the largest hurdle left for the 'Dawgs on the way to Atlanta.
2. #FailState.
Mississippi State and its fans have embraced Twitter, using the #HailState and #WeBelieve hashtags to send pictures from around the world to encourage each other and their team on to victory. That's okay as far as it goes, and fans with posters stating "8-0. We Believe" and cowbells getting pictures made at the White House, Times Square, the Eiffel Tower and whatnot are all well and good. But if you are going to do something like this:
You might want to wait until the game is over, or at least until you have a team that can actually pull it off.
3. Hugh Freeze may be SEC Coach of the Year.
One week after winning their first conference game in two years, Freeze's Rebels have doubled that total and are one win away from bowl eligibility. Saturday's 30-27 win over Arkansas, like last week's victory over Auburn, was admittedly far from perfect, and neither opponent is likely to make a bowl game, but Ole Miss already looks like a much better team than they did under the last two years of Houston Nutt's tenure. It remains to be seen whether Freeze can recruit well enough to move to the next level, but opponents are already having to change their view of the Rebels from an easy out to a dangerous opponent. That's a big accomplishment, and if Freeze can find one or two more wins and makes a bowl - no easy task - I think he locks up the vote for SEC Coach of the Year.
4. The Good.
(1) Alabama 38, (11) Mississippi State 7
Alabama has made every opponent look vastly inferior this year by following the same formula - offensive balance; stifling defense, especially in the red zone; and forcing and capitalizing on mistakes by their opponents. AJ McCarron hasn't thrown an interception all year and is only two touchdowns away from tying Greg McElroy's single-season school record. The Tide's defense held State 100 yards below their season average, forced three turnovers from the nation's leader in turnover margin, and held the SEC's leading rusher, LaDarius Perkins, to just 38 yards on 15 carries.
Ole Miss 30, Arkansas 27
Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace led the Rebels on an eight play, 61-yard drive to score the game-winning field goal as time expired. Wallace was responsible for 316 yards of total offense for Ole Miss, completing 29 of 37 passes for 278 yards and rushing for another 38 yards on eleven carries.
Missouri 33, Kentucky 10
While it took three-quarters of the season to do so, Missouri won its first SEC game Saturday behind a strong finish by quarterback James Franklin, who replaced Corbin Berkstresser in the third quarter after he threw two consecutive interceptions. The Tigers evened their record at 4-4.
Vanderbilt 49, Massachusetts 7
The Commodores scored two touchdowns in the last 55 seconds of the second half, then blew the game open with four touchdowns in the third quarter to put away a winless UMass team that is inaugurating its first season in FBS in grand style.
5. The Bad.
(13) South Carolina 38, Tennessee 35
South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore, who returned this season from a devastating knee injury in 2011, appeared to severely damage his other knee on a routine tackle in the second quarter of the game. The love of his teammates and respect of his opponents was abundantly clear as Lattimore was carted off the field. Season-ending injuries are hard enough. Having two of them in successive seasons, putting his future on the football field in doubt, is a tough pill to swallow, and it's something that no football fan wants to see.
(20) Texas A&M 63, Auburn 21
I'm running out of adjectives to describe how terrible this Auburn team is. The Aggies outgained Auburn 671 yards (an all-time record for an Auburn opponent) to 335. The game was over by the end of the first quarter, and at this point winning next week over 1-7 New Mexico State is going to look like an achievement.
6. The Ugly.
(10) Georgia 17, (2) Florida 9
This game featured nine turnovers, 24 penalties, and several dustups that looked to be a second or two away from a full-blown fistfight. The result was an ugly performance from both teams, although Georgia fans are glad to get away from Jacksonville with only their fifth victory over Florida in their last 23 matchups.
7. Games to Watch in Week Ten.
(1) Alabama at (5) LSU
The Crimson Tide will face their sternest test of the 2012 season so far as they travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU. The Tigers are still the best team that 'Bama will face in the regular season and, although the Tide used to pay rent on Tiger Stadium (because they owned it, you see), night games there are notoriously hard to win in the Les Miles era. I give Alabama the edge due to LSU's offensive woes, but I expect another close game.
(16) Texas A&M at (15) Mississippi State
This is a tough game to predict. I know Texas A&M is a good team and, coming off an easy win over Auburn, is pretty well rested for this game. I also know that the Aggies might be tempted to look ahead to top-ranked Alabama week after next. I know the Bulldogs were beat up a little bit against Alabama, and haven't faced as brutal a schedule as the Aggies. I also know that State is playing at home and they have a lot left to play for in 2012. I think this is pretty much a tossup, but I lean toward the home-standing Bulldogs in this one.
Ole Miss at (6) Georgia
Georgia should be able to handle Ole Miss, but it will be interesting to see if the Bulldogs have any kind of letdown after the Florida win. In addition, I want to see what Ole Miss looks like against better competition than their last two SEC opponents. I expect a Georgia win, but a close game, at least for the first half.
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