SEC Recap: Week 6

Well, that certainly escalated quickly... I don't think I could've done much worse if I had tried to make the wrong calls going into this past weekend.  Although the conference largely cannibalized itself this weekend, I'd still say it was a C performance at best.  There's no way to dress up this pig, so let's just get down to it and see what went wrong, for whom, and what it means for the rest of us...

Sure it is, Cheech...
Sure it is.

The conference certainly did cannibalize itself this weekend, but I liked seeing Vanderbilt and Ole Miss prove what SEC fans have been saying for years. There are no weekends off in the SEC. I liked seeing those bottom teams put up a fight. What I didn’t like was seeing some of the upper teams roll over like a weeble put on its head. Maybe it’s because I didn’t get to actually watch the games (I was out of town with no tv or internet, and my wallet couldn’t support BWW for more than the State game) but I’m going to give the SEC a B for the weekend. Mainly for surpassing the Big 10 as the number one conference (on paper only, we’ve all known who was number one in reality) and for putting three teams in the top 5 this week.







MSU 24 - Kentucky 17

We'll start with the one game I was actually close to predicting, either in final outcome or score.  The Bulldogs set the tone of the game and held on for the duration, while the Wildcats struggled to find any rhythm offensively.  MSU is 5-0 for the first time since 1999, and this sets up for a hell of a game come this Saturday night.  Tennessee is 3-2 (0-2) coming into this meeting, but has proven to be more formidable than many thought early in the season.  The Bulldogs will have to put together a complete game to stave off the onslaught, but we will look at that in more detail in this weekend's preview later.


I really feel bad for Kentucky. They played the best football they could with the personnel they had left. Injuries have really hamstrung (bad um tiss) this team. As Mr. Hooch said, Kentucky’s previously potent offense just couldn’t get anything going against Mississippi State’s defense. To the Bulldog’s credit though the defense did play really well considering how unpredictable Kentucky’s offense was going to be this week with so many key injuries. On offense Mississippi State looked much improved from the last two games, yet this unit has still barely begun to scratch the surface in terms of potential. What Tyler Russell did particularly well this weekend though was control the clock; lots of short passes that took advantage of Kentucky’s week line backing corps. The running game slugged things out on the ground and gave State the balance that really has become the identity of this team. Defense, Offense, and Special Teams all operated at about seventy percent Saturday. Progress, but with the remaining schedule the time is now for Dan Mullen and company to coax out that complete performance fans have been waiting for.



TAMU 30 - Ole Miss 27

You read that right, and to add insult to injury (just in case you didn't catch the game) Ole Miss led for most of the game.  Of course that's bound to happen when you turn the ball over SIX times... But Johnny Football came up big when it mattered, connecting with Ryan Swope (a name other SEC teams should take note of) with under 2 minutes left in the game to take the lead from the Rebels.  Credit this Ole Miss team for taking the game to the Aggies, but they couldn't hold the lead when it mattered.  This game showed that Ole Miss is not the gimme that we thought, but A&M may not be the juggernaut we thought, either.  At least they held up my predictions, though...


I completely agree with my colleagues’ statement “This game showed that Ole Miss is not the gimme that we thought, but A&M may not be the juggernaut we thought, either.” I will go one step further and say that I think A&M is exactly what they appeared to be… at home… on the road in hostile SEC territory though the Aggies look like they may have some struggles (good news for State fans). Ole Miss for the second week in a row fought hard for a loss. That’s a good sign for this program moving forward, and a reminder to the rest of the SEC that the easy pickin’s had to end sometime.



Arkansas 24 - Auburn 7

The freaks come out at night...

...unlike Arkansas and Auburn, who seem dead set on giving Mr. Hooch an aneurism.  This Auburn team has more personalities than some of the worst patients ever to grace the halls of the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.  Are they the 'good' team that played highly ranked Clemson and LSU teams down to the wire, or are they they 'bad' team that lost to MSU (you've GOTTA be bad to lose to the Bulldogs, right national media?) a few weeks ago?  And Arkansas finally snapped their losing streak and showed glimpses of the talent everyone expected out of them to start the season, although whether they're actually turning the corner or not remains to be seen.  Still a very unlikely outcome, especially with the Razorbacks on the road.  I know I've got some old friends who are Arky fans, so kudos to you, Hogs.  You hustled for every bit of it and you should relish this win, even if Auburn will be labelled a 'bad' team for losing to you.  Join the club.



I’m sensing some bitterness here. Not that it isn’t justified, Auburn really screwed us over in terms of picks and as State fans we really needed them to come out and play. For the second game this season Auburn had 5 turnovers. I don’t know if you could do that in C-USA and come out with a win. Arkansas also sacked Auburn quarterbacks eight, yes eight, times. Some of those could be attributed to a freshman quarterback being a little to indecisive, but some of those fall squarely on the shoulders of the offensive line. Arkansas did finally show some of that offensive talent we expected going into the season as Tyler Wilson went 20-27 and despite not throwing a touchdown pass was sharp all game. He also didn’t throw an interception, which Auburn backup quarterback Clint Moseley did twice, in the end zone. I guess one of these teams had to come out with a win though, and despite earlier predictions, Arkansas just seemed to want it more.



Vanderbilt 19 - Missouri 15

Well, it looks like I let me respect for the Aggies shine a little undue light on Mizzou, and I paid for that pick with a loss.  The newest Tigers posted some respectable stats hosting the Commodores, but in the final 7:30 of the game Missouri was unable to put together anything resembling an offensive drive.  I unfortunately did not get to watch this game as I was making the rounds on a few other match ups that were giving me fits at the time, and I'm kind of glad I didn't.  I like Vandy more than the Tigers, mainly because Mizzou has given me exactly zero things to like about them, from their ability on the field to their whining off of it, so I'm glad the 'Dores got the win, but I still look like an ass for giving the nod to Missouri and showing any respect for them, home team or not.  So if you're asking yourself "What's the  point, Mr. Hooch?" well then just look at it like this.... the Alabama game this weekend not withstanding, pretty much the next time I pick Missouri to win, you might do well to bet against me.  Right now that Kentucky game is looking like a coin flip, so you may want to take the 'Cats if you're a betting man.

The Professor and Mr. Hooch
are both suffering CSW syndrome.

You know I had Vanderbilt picked to win this game right up until five minutes before sending off my “final draft”. Not that it will count for anything. Like Mr. Hooch I was thrilled to see Vanderbilt come out of this with the win, because again like Mr. Hooch, I don’t really care for Missouri that much. Missouri beat Vanderbilt in almost every statistical category this weekend except for three: completion percentage, time of possession, and points scored. The Tigers outgained Vanderbilt 395 – 295 in total offense with 39 more yards of passing offense and 61 more yards on the ground. Both teams tied with 17 first downs and 1 turnover. The difference in this game, as my colleague pointed out (boy he’s just dead on this week isn’t he?), was Missouri’s inability to produce points after long drives. It will be interesting to see how these two teams move forward from this game. Will Vanderbilt finally gain some traction and start putting up wins? Will Missouri… well no we pretty much have learned all there is to know about Missouri. They just aren’t cut out for this league right now.



Florida 16 - LSU 6

Serrsly gerz, wherz mer hert!?

Ok, on this one I'll go ahead and admit I was taking a bit of a risk calling for LSU to win in the first place. I even said as much in my prediction, but you gotta go out on a limb sometimes.  The Florida defense lived up to the hype in this one, and Will Muschamp should be proud of what his Gators accomplished.  Florida is looking more and more like the powerhouse of days gone by with every game, only they're getting it done on the defensive side of the ball instead of the classic Spurrier Gators, or even the Urban Meyer led teams.  LSU, meanwhile, continues to show more and more weakness, talent not withstanding.  Yes, they are loaded with physical specimens, but something is clearly not clicking.  Is it Les "The Mad Hatter" Miles finally letting his crazy show, is the offense just not clicking, are there too many individuals on the team?  I'm not really sure I can answer the question, but after winning by the skin of their fangs to a 'BAD' Auburn team and losing on the road to Florida, the Tigers definitely don't look as daunting.  Still they will be one of the tougher games for the Bulldogs this season, and they are never a team to be taken lightly...


This game really didn’t surprise me. Florida is playing some good, consistent football right now. Don’t get me wrong LSU has been consistent too, just not in the right way. The Gators used a pound-it-out running game in the second half and exposed a potential weakness in LSU’s defense on route to a 14 – 6 comeback win. LSU finally proved it does not deserve to be a top 5 team, just as Florida proved it deserves some serious consideration in terms of a national title. Some analysts have been saying that this game has given the SEC West title to Alabama. I disagree. I don’t think LSU’s loss to Florida clenches the race in the West. I think it blows it wide open. Alabama has a tough schedule left, and while they look unbeatable so far there is a lot of good football left to be played. Mississippi State and Texas A&M are both salivating at the chance to make their run in the coming weeks. I really wish I had gotten to see this game to really give a better analysis of these two teams, but alas it is not so.



South Carolina 35 - Georgia 7

What.  The.  Fuck.  Seriously, Georgia, WTF???  Thanks to a 76 yard opening drive followed by a batted pass that was intercepted on their next possession Georgia found themselves down 21-0 in the FIRST QUARTER.  As I watched this farce unfold I clearly remember telling myself that Mark Richt would go into that locker room and rally his troops, and the Bulldogs would come back out with a vengeance in the second half.  Nope.  Georgia's lone touchdown came in mop-up time, with less than 2 minutes to go in the game, when victory was all but assured for the Gamecocks.  This is the classic, textbook definition of 'shitting the bed.'  Steve Spurrier had to be happy with Conner Shaw, who went 6-10 with 162 yds and 2 TDs, although the Ol' Ball Coach would never let on to something like that.  Georgia is no doubt reeling from this loss, but they are still a solid upper-tier SEC team this season and could easily find themselves in a BCS bowl game if they put this behind them and move on.  But based on the performance of Georgia (outside of this travesty),

And I ♥ you, crazy cock lady...

Florida and South Carolina coupled with a floundering LSU it looks as though the pendulum is swinging back the other way, and the SEC East is attempting to assert that they are the premier division of the premier conference in the land.  It now falls to the 2 undefeated teams left in the West, Alabama and MSU, to defend the SEC West's bragging rights, and that is no small task.  The Tennessee/MSU game this weekend will have major implications throughout the conference.


I really thought Georgia was the team to beat in the SEC East this year. South Carolina didn’t waste time proving me wrong. 21 points in the first quarter against Georgia’s defense is impressive. The Gamecocks looked good as they dominated every aspect of the game against Georgia. How the bulldogs will rebound from this setback remains to be seen, but the three horse race for the SEC East has been trimmed back to two. It’s going to be an interesting second half of the season.


And there you have it... Not at all what we expected going in to the weekend, but there was some outstanding football played on Saturday, and there will be more this next weekend, so be sure to tune in Friday afternoon when we release the SEC Weekend Preview for Week 7!  Thanks for reading, and don't forget to tell your friends about us!