SEC Recap: Week 3

Time for the recap of week 3 in the SEC!  By now most of you know that we have a new co-host here at House of Hooch, Professor D.  If you don't then to quote Moss from the IT Crowd, "You'd best put seatbelts on your ears, because we're about to take them for the ride of their lives!"

Have you tried turning it off and back on again?

The SEC as a whole made some significant improvements this week with non-conference

victories by both new comers as well as Vanderbilt. Yay Vanerderbilt! Auburn and Kentucky

tried pulling the conference down this week but good showings by South Carolina, LSU, and

Alabama (Arkansas is on a 1 week probation from being considered SEC) made up for it.

Mississippi State was borderline and Ole Miss was, well, Ole Miss. Overall the conference gets a

B this week. Unfortunately I can’t give out an A when we lose to the Big 12, no matter who beat

the PAC-12. Once again for this recap we’ll go in order of excitement (Although it was hard to

keep Mississippi State in the ‘top’ spot this week against Troy when we had that Missouri game).

I'd agree the SEC did a little better this week... it's tough once you get into the bulk of the SEC schedule, though.  This conference tends to cannibalize itself, so only the greatest teams come through unscathed... And for the record, the MSU/Troy game WAS exciting, just not the kind of exciting Bulldog fans really wanted to see.

Idaho 14 v. LSU 63

Oh look... more Tigers.

Well that happened. I can’t wait to see this power laden team face someone of merit. That LSU – Alabama game is shaping up to be a real slugfest again this year, but that’s just the reality of the SEC West (excluding that one year Auburn did something, and that one time Arkansas scared them for a little bit) recently: UA v LSU in a battle for the SEC West/SEC/Regional/National/World collegiate championship in November.

LSU is a solid, upper-tier SEC team that hasn't been tested yet.  I don't see Auburn or Towson (who the hell is Towson?) testing them, either, so it looks like Florida may be the first true test for the Tigahs... I should also apologize to Idaho for doubting they'd get a TD.  My bad, you weren't as utterly awful as I thought, but still...

Florida Atlantic 20 v. Georgia 56

Georgia enjoyed a non-conference game the same way any SEC school should. 56 points

and a school record 713 yards of offense (school records are much more impressive when your

school is arguably the oldest in the country). I’m not sure Georgia deserves their top 10 ranking,

but they have yet to do anything to suggest they shouldn’t be there so hey, enjoy it.

We will find out over the next 2 weeks if Georgia deserves that top ten spot.  Consecutive games against Vandy and at South Carolina will show what the Eastern Bulldogs are really made of...

South Carolina 46 v. UAB 9

No joke... no funny caption.  Just enjoy.

South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw is out for awhile after re-aggravating the injury he took against Tennessee. The South Carolina safety DJ Swearinger decided to repay UAB with

a cheap hit on a defenseless player for UAB late in the third quarter and earned himself a one game suspension from the SEC; which means SC will face Missouri without their quarterback

and starting safety, which could prove costly. The good news for SC is all this happened against UAB and they still won handedly, but if SC ends up floundering down the road, look back to this

game for reasons why.

From a fan's perspective, you hate to see injuries and stupid penalties that result in suspensions, ESPECIALLY when they come against lesser, non-conference opponents.  No disrespect to UAB, because the Blazer have nearly punched MSU's ticket before, but this South Carolina team had them outclassed.  Now the Cocks have to face Mizzou down two starters… not ideal.

Ole Miss 31 v. Texas 66

...that night, Colonel Reb had a dream.

Well what did you really expect? It would’ve been nice for the SEC to get this win, but Ole Miss just wasn’t the team to do it for us. The only surprising thing about this game was the number of Ole Miss fans who thought they had a chance at this one. And that’s all I’m going to say, because if Mississippi State is sitting at 7-0 when we go into Tuscaloosa we’re going to think we’ve got a shot at taking down Goliath; the truth is though, we will only have one real win on the books, and that won’t be against anyone close to the caliber of the Tide. So that’s where I’m going to leave this one. Ole Miss did what everyone outside of Oxford expected, lose.

I gotta be honest, I turned this game off halfway through the third quarter, and it's not just because of boredom.  It was like watching the high school bully beat up the scrawny little kid, and every time the kid gets knocked down you just wanna yell "Stay down!" but he keeps getting back up.  Credit to OM for not giving up, for whatever that's worth… I definitely didn't expect them to put up 31 points, but that may be more of an indictment of Texas' defense than anything else.

Texas A&M 48 v. SMU 3

This was an important game for TAMU. I can’t stress the importance of this game

enough actually. Last year A&M had some serious 2nd half issues. This year they took a lead into

halftime against Florida and didn’t score in the second half, losing the game. Florida has proven

itself a second half team, and now TAMU has shown that last week wasn’t a holdover from last

year. The Aggies came out and scored 21 points in the 3rd quarter and while they only scored 7 in

the 4th, the score was 41 – 3, you can’t blame them for not keeping their foot on the gas. This

team proved they can hang with the West by participating in an SEC tradition: beating the crap

out of non-conference opponents early in the season.

Job well done, Aggies.  That's how an SEC team should conduct themselves in OOC situations.  Carry on.

Vanderbilt 58 v. Presbyterian 0

Hooray Vanderbilt! There are still some questions floating around this team, namely a

sub-par passing game and a poor record on third down, but they finally found a way to win big.

The Commodore’s running game came up big with over 400 rushing yards, and the defense put

together an impressive game. Granted it was against Presbyterian, but 58-0 is a score to be proud

of no matter the opponent (Except for you Alabama. You should just expect it). Time will tell if

Vandy has turned the corner this season, but this is one week where this team can pat themselves

on the back.

See my comment to TAMU, substitute Vandy, rinse and repeat.

Alabama 52 v. Arkansas 0

Yup. That happened, and no one seems all that surprised. Alabama’s defense isn’t exactly

flexing muscles, they’re finding them. And that is scary. To be clear, I really hate Alabama.

Alabama and LSU hands down are the most hostile environments I visited with the Famous

Maroon Band, but with some important differences. LSU hates you because you have the

misfortune of playing them that weekend and they love their LSU football. Alabama fans hate

you because in their mind, you aren’t Alabama and therefore scum. LSU was a fun hostile

environment and a hell of an experience, Alabama was cruel and you couldn’t pay me to go to

another game at that stadium (I will insert a caveat here and say I have never had a problem with

a student or Alumni from Alabama, it is the fans who never actually set foot on campus for

anything but sports). That being said, this is one heck of a football team. The offense is clicking

in a dominant power game that will beat you in the air, if they choose to that weekend, and the

defense is just suffocating. Yes they’ve taken a step back from last year’s defense, but let’s face

it, this unit could have turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction for ten minutes and

still been near the top of the SEC defenses. This is going to be a scary team to watch down the

road.

Arkansas. At least this time you faced an SEC opponent. If last week didn’t dash your

pre-season hopes of an SEC west run this week surely did. “But our quarterback was injured!”

Your defense can’t tackle and your new coach looks like he is trying to lose in the second half.

There’s always next year. (I’m really counting on State to come through for me in this game

down the road and justify all the crap I’ve been giving Arkansas this season)

The only people who didn't see this coming live in a delusional bubble nestled deep within the foothills surrounding Fayetteville, Arkansas.  (Wow, lady... just. Wow.) Still, I feel for the Razorbacks, I really do.  State has been in this situation, and it will suck the wind right out of you.  I'm not sure of Tyler Wilson should've called his team out exactly in the manner he did.  It almost seemed like he was attempting the Tebow-speech and ended up dog-cussing his teammates.  In any case the Razorbacks will need to reevaluate their schedule and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Auburn 31 v. ULM 28 OT

I was starting to feel sorry for Auburn, until I remembered their national championship year a few years ago. I like to think State fans would handle success better than those fans on the plains, but until we’re proven to be just as susceptible I’m going to hold it against Auburn and enjoy watching this team struggle. Gene Chizik is being revealed for the coach he truly is, unreliable. He is a poor motivator and has had trouble finding a good staff. Frazier improved

Aw man, I was really hoping I could at least get
a new coaching job... I don't think they're happy
with me back home.

from last week’s debacle and only threw one interception. He was helped out by a running game that was enjoying itself against a non-conference foe until the fourth quarter, when the Tigers again seemed unable to move the ball. The one positive of this team remains special teams, which won the game for the Tigers in overtime by blocking ULM’s field goal attempt and then scoring a FG of their own, not trusting the offense to move the ball past the 25 yard line (Interesting to note that the kick was made from out of the redzone, where Auburn has now improved to just a single touchdown; a milestone achieved in this game when Tre Mason ran the ball in from 1 yard out).

You mean that $180k crystal ball they bought a few years ago?  I hope they still enjoy it as much as they did when it was shiny and new, because they're not likely to see another one for a loooong time if things keep going the way they're going down on the Plains.  Popular opinion is that Gus Malzhan WAS Chizik's offense, and that appears to be the case.  Sure not having a guy like Cam Newton will have an effect, but you can't go slinging $180k around EVERY year, can you?  Auburn may be bad, but ULM is also pretty damn good and they deserve a lot of credit for beating 1 SEC team and taking another to OT… if you're from any conference OUTSIDE of the SEC that is a big accomplishment.

Kentucky 31 v. Western Kentucky 32

The difference between this game and the Florida game is I wouldn’t have lost money on

this game; because I would never put money on Kentucky. The Wildcat’s offense moved to ball

effectively through the air but was undercut by four interceptions. The running game was

abysmal, totaling just 41 yards of offense. At least they didn’t fumble though right? The worst

part of this loss though goes to the defense, which couldn’t keep WKU off the field. The time of

possession battle was over 14 minutes in WKU’s favor. The positives here are that Kentucky

showed some real class in this loss. Even when WKU’s coach made a snarky comment about red

being the new blue in the state of Kentucky, Joker Phillips stayed calm and didn’t bite at the jab.

He handled this loss with the appropriate level of calm sternness that an SEC coach should have

after this kind of loss. Kentucky fans are starting to call for a change of the guard when it comes

to coaching, I would urge caution. You have a coach who looks to be laying a good foundation

when it comes to attitude. I’m not saying he is the road to winning seasons, I’m just saying a

good foundation of discipline is a necessity when it comes to sustaining a winning program (see

Auburn football post-Tuberville).

I did not see this game or hear about the comments, but kudos to Joker Phillips on staying classy.  Phillips is a solid coach that is attempting to recruit football at a basketball school, in the heart of basketball country.  No easy task.  Yet he's managed to raise the bar at Kentucky, so keep an eye on this one.  His stock is on the rise...

Tennessee 20 v. Florida 37

I’m glad I’m not a betting man or I would’ve lost money on this one. I still think Florida

is overrated, but not by much. This is a good team. They rushed for over 300 yards against

Tennessee and Driskel is looking better each game. Florida’s defensive coordinator is doing

some impressive stuff in the locker room (see how I’m not making a Penn State joke here?) at

halftime. In each of their SEC games this year Florida’s defense has come out and shut down

opposing offenses. It seems the key to beating this team is to jump out ahead in the first two

quarters and then buckle in because the Gators are going to fight tooth and nail to take it away

from you in the second half. Tennessee didn’t play bad, although Tyler Bray did toss two

interceptions and was forced to throw the ball forty times; they just seemed overmatched in the

second half. The Vol’s offensive line is going to have to do a better job opening up the running

game if they want to contend for the SEC East crown because a one dimensional passing game

just isn’t going to cut it against what appears to be a resurged Eastern Division.

It seems both the Professor and myself are guilty of tipping the scales in favor of Tennessee here.  I'm not sure if I've underestimated Florida, overestimated the Vols, or a bit of both (most likely it's both).  I honestly thought the score would be closer (within one possession) and reversed, but that's why we play the games.  Go Gata... 

Missouri 24 v. Arizona State 20

I called this one out as being a close one last week and it did not disappoint. Missourilooked to have it well in hand early but its defense gradually started losing ground to a ferocious comeback attempt by Arizona State. This is a worrisome trend for Mizzou who gave up 17 points to Georgia in the 4th quarter last week. The good news is Missouri may have found its quarterback for the future in Corbin Berkstresser who was in for the injured James Franklin and

the defense forced four turnovers. The bad news is the defense couldn’t stop Arizona State from scoring in the 4th quarter and their kicker missed three field goals (We feel you). This game was about as close as games can get across the board with total yards of 318 – 296, 192 – 183 passing, 126 – 113 rushing all going in favor of Mizzou. The difference came in turnovers where the Tigers were +3, and on third down with Missouri going 10 of 22 compared to Arizona State’s 2 of 12, leading to a time of possession difference of almost ten minutes. Missouri still has a long way to go to compete in the SEC, but this was an important conference win over the PAC-12. We owe you one newbie.

As expected, the Sun Devils kept it close, but the newest Tigers of the SEC sacked up and towed the conference line… but seriously, shouldn't we at least have made them change their mascot? I mean 3 teams of Tigers in one conference? Whatever, I'm over it…

Troy 24 v. Mississippi State 30

A lot of people seem to be getting worried about how close this one was. I’m not. Going

back to last week’s predictions Troy did pretty much what I expected, they moved the ball. That

is what they’re good at. Troy is an offensive juggernaut whose only limitation is how many

points their defense allows. The things I saw this weekend that truly bother me were the number

of dropped passes by State receivers, and the number of times Tyler Russell hit the dirt. Honestly

I think this was a case of this (mostly) veteran receiving corps making a rookie mistake: seeing

the endzone and not the ball. In a game that the defense could never really take control of,

despite four turnovers, the receivers looked like they were trying to do just a little too much.

After being a non-factor in the Auburn game Joe Morrow seemed to want to take control of this

game a little too much, and ditto for the rest of those guys. I don’t see this becoming an issue as

the season progresses, these guys have just played too many game for that to happen. Mississippi

State can count themselves lucky they got this learning opportunity out of the way in a win, and

not a season altering loss. Last week I harped on the offensive line for not giving Tyler Russell

better protection, particularly off the edge. Tyler Russell was under a little more pressure than

State fans would like to see from a non-conference opponent but there is one very important

number that needs to come into the discussion of Russell’s protection. 0, it’s the number of

interceptions he’s thrown this year. So yeah, Russell holds on to the ball for a little longer than

his protection can manage, but the payoff is he isn’t making poor decisions. All things

considered this offensive line is doing a heck of a job adjusting to a pocket passer and opening

up some lanes for the running game, even with starter Tobias Smith still not 100%. Dylan Day,

the new center, has fit right into this unit and done his job better than anyone expected. That

being said, I would still like to see Russell get some more time in the pocket, because while I’ll

take the sack over an interception any day, I’d prefer few more touchdown passes to Bumphis.

Speaking of Bumphis, the senior stepped up big. Good job. Now go do it a few more times,

cause we’re going to need some leadership out of you down the stretch when things get tough

and the SEC corners start frustrating the rest of the receivers.

Tyler Russell and MSU are averaging almost 220 yrds/gm.
He is 47 for 83 and has 0 INT's on the season...

I'm not as worried as the average State fan, and for roughly the same reasons.  MSU essentially put out a soft zone, prevent defense for the whole game in order to attempt to limit Troy's ability to pull off the 'big play' and it worked… mostly.  It resulted in a win, which is why I say it worked, but there were some defensive gaffs that the Bulldogs clearly need to address, and I have no doubt they will.  As for Joe Morrow, the guy is a true freshman, and he's got the one thing you can't coach, size.  Give him another year in the system under Matt Ballis and drill it into his brain that he can't take his eyes off the ball til he's got his mitts on it, and you're going to see a STELLAR receiver on the field.  One more number of note: 1.  That is the total number of sacks allowed by MSU so far this season.  Keep the turnover ratio and sacks to a minimum and this will be a very fun offense to watch the rest of the way.

The defense seemed surprised by the ferocity of Troy’s passing attack, and when they

adjusted, Troy’s OC did a good job of coming back with a run. I said we would see what our

defense was made of, and overall they didn’t do a bad job. They capitalized on almost every

mistake Troy’s quarterback made and while they didn’t hold down the yardage numbers they did

keep the score manageable, not an easy task against these guys. The only thing I saw on defense

that concerned me was the lines inability to get at the quarterback. Troy didn’t exactly take their

time getting the ball out but I was expecting to see a little more pressure from our guys.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, we won’t get to see if that was a fluke or a trend until we face

Tennessee down the road (although we might get a glimpse at Kentucky). As for special teams,

well we finally got a field goal, and then missed an extra point. Two steps forward, three steps

backwards. On the plus side our kickoff coverage looked better… so there’s that…

Another thing to keep in mind here is that Troy has played the role of giant-killer before, knocking off Oklahoma State and Missouri on the road.  Having an SEC team come to their house was the equivalent of the Super Bowl for them, so if you don't think they were 'up' for this game you need to check your pulse.  Meanwhile, it was probably a more daunting task to keep MSU motivated after the win over Auburn due to the emotion wrapped up in having lost the last 2 years by a VERY. NARROW. MARGIN.  And the fact that the Bulldogs were riding high after their first SEC win of the season.  As for the kicking game… I thought Bell had finally shaken off the jitters when he hit that FG, but then he misses a PAT?  Ugh.  Back to the drawing board...

Overall I’m alright with Saturday’s game. Yeah the offense could have looked flashier,

and the defense could have tackled better, but Troy is a known giant slayer, especially at home;

I’m just happy we came out of Memorial Stadium with a win and can get back to Davis Wade

and start prepping for 4-0 and a climb up the rankings.

Professor, you took the words right outta my mouth...

...and that'll do it for the week 3 recap!  Hope you enjoyed it.  If you did be sure to click 'Like' at the top of the page and/or share the blog via the buttons below.  Seriously, share it on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media you happen to frequent.  We're not picky.  Seriously.