With the bye week for Alabama, I was able to watch at least a little bit of every SEC game as well as parts of other contests. Even without the Tide playing, it was a strong weekend of college football. At the end of the day, we are down to four undefeated teams in the Southeastern Conference, and at least two of them are surprise contenders. Let's start the rundown!
1. The King is Dead/Long Live the King.
One of the easiest media picks in the offseason was that LSU and Alabama would be back atop the SEC and that LSU would repeat as SEC champion with most of their defense returning and a brand-new (better) quarterback. Well, (3) LSU's defense is still very good, but the offense is downright lethargic. The Tigers only converted one third down in Saturday's 14-6 loss to (10) Florida and garnered only 200 yards of offense. Once the Gators scored their second touchdown, no one except die hard LSU fans thought that the Tigers had any chance of driving the field to win. Florida didn't necessarily light up the scoreboard, but they have consistently played good defense and adjusted well at halftime against their opponents. The Gators have established themselves again at the top of the SEC East. Whether they can beat both South Carolina and Georgia is still a question, but for now the Gators are back on top.
2. South Carolina is a national championship contender/Georgia - not so much.
Count me as one of those who was never sold on the Georgia Bulldogs. The other easy media pick was that the Bulldogs had an easy schedule that didn't require them to play Alabama, LSU or Arkansas, just like last year, and that they would return to the SEC Championship Game. Unfortunately for Mark Richt, you actually have to play the games to win them, and that schedule looks a lot tougher today than it did in July. Sixth-ranked South Carolina's offense drove the field immediately on the Bulldogs, the crowd was as loud and raucous as you could imagine for a primetime game between two top-ten teams with ESPN GameDay on site, and by the end of the first quarter, the game was over. The Gamecocks dominated on both sides of the ball, and made (5) Georgia look like an also-ran.
3. Arkansas stops the bleeding/Auburn opens another vein.
No team in the country had a worse September than the Arkansas Razorbacks. After winning their first game against FCS opponent Jacksonville State, the 'Backs went on a catastrophic slide, one so bad it's difficult to name the low point. Many, including me, have accused the team of giving up when the chips were down. They needed a win against Auburn badly. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they needed this win too. September wasn't quite as bad as Arkansas' only in the sense that Auburn fans didn't have high expectations to begin with. Tiger fans could console themselves in the bye week that they had a chance to win against the second-ranked LSU Tigers and might have looked slightly better on offense. Also, they had one of the worst defenses in the country coming to their house to improve against. At the end of the day, the Auburn offense was in shambles, playing three quarterbacks who were sacked eight times and turning the ball over five times. Arkansas saves the season, at least for this week, with a 24-7 win.
4. Mississippi State is quietly 5-0 for the first time since 1999.
While the Bulldogs have admittedly played a light schedule, they have done what they needed to do every week and have taken care of business. With the 27-14 win over Kentucky, Mississippi State stands alone with Alabama atop the SEC West. I'm not ready to put Bully up there with Alabama, Carolina and Florida, but after next week's match-up with Tennessee I think we'll have a much better idea of how good this team is. The great thing about college football is that any week you can have a NC State over Florida State, a Vandy over Missouri, or an Iowa State over TCU. Don't count the Bulldogs out yet.
5. The Good.
(10) Florida 14, (4) LSU 6
Mike Gillislee carried the rock 34 times against LSU for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Early yardage was difficult to come by, but LSU's inability to drive the ball consistently eventually wore down the defense. The team that rushes for the most yardage in this game has won every year since Les Miles took over at LSU. Florida establishes itself as a strong contender in the East while LSU realistically has to win out to make it back to the SEC Championship Game.
(6) South Carolina 35, (5) Georgia 7
Georgia's star rushing duo of Gurley and Marshall were the story entering the game, but Marcus Lattimore rushed for 104 yards and USC nearly doubled Georgia's offensive output as the Bulldogs were completely dominated from the outset. South Carolina at Florida on October 20 looks to be epic, but both teams have a few hurdles to top before they get there.
(20) Mississippi State 27, Kentucky 14
State dominates the hapless Wildcats in a game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Bulldog quarterback Tyler Russell is improving every week, but the first real test approaches.
Texas A&M 30, Ole Miss 27
Both teams had a chance to win this one, and it was back and forth the whole game. Ole Miss coach Hugh freeze made a bonehead decision to go for a fourth and one deep in their own territory late in the game and didn't make it, giving A&M an opportunity for the go-ahead score. The Aggies, after falling to Florida early, are 4-1 and gaining confidence. Kevin Sumlin has to be an early candidate for SEC Coach of the Year.
6. The Bad
Arkansas 24, Auburn 7
Yeah, the Razorbacks won, and they needed it. But let's not kid ourselves. Both of these teams are hilariously bad.
7. The Ugly
Vanderbilt 19, Missouri 14
Missouri signal caller James Franklin left the game early with a knee injury. Vandy didn't even get a first down until near halftime. The Tigers missed a PAT and gave up a safety on a bobbled punt attempt. Props to the Commodores for the win, but this one was hard to watch.
8. Games to Watch in Week Seven
South Carolina at LSU
The Gamecocks played their best game of the year (maybe one of their best ever) against Georgia. Can they avoid the letdown on the road in Baton Rouge? Will LSU rebound from the tough loss at Florida? I think USC is a better team, but night games at Tiger Stadium are notoriously tough. I think it's easier for defenses to recover from the big game, and LSU has shown me nothing good on offense. I'm picking Cocky to win.
Auburn at Ole Miss
No game for Auburn is a gimme, and Ole Miss is looking better every week. I think the Rebels will pick up their first SEC win since 2010.
Tennessee at Mississippi State
This is an intriguing game. Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley cannot lose this game if he wants to stay around another year. State is probably good enough to pull off the win, but I am leaning toward the Vols due to the desperation factor.
Alabama at Missouri
Alabama's second road test of the season doesn't appear to be much of a challenge, especially since Vanderbilt just won in Columbia. However, Missouri happens to be the only SEC team against which the Crimson Tide has a losing record (1-2 in three games in the sixties and seventies) and it's important to go ahead and take care of that. Expect the Tide to roll.
Texas A&M at Louisiana Tech
This game was originally scheduled for the first weekend of the season, but was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac. In the meantime, La Tech is 5-0 and sporting wins against Conference-USA (Houston, Rice), the B1G (Illinois), the ACC (Virginia) and the Mountain West (UNLV). The Bulldogs will start getting serious attention if they beat the Aggies. I suspect the Cinderella season comes to an end at the hands of "Johnny Football."
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