(Professor D) This was certainly a good weekend of SEC football. Mississippi State won the conference’s one out of conference game. Florida has everyone questioning why we ever though there was a three horse race in the SEC East, and Alabama looked so good that undefeated Mississippi State is a 24 point underdog this weekend (and State fans seem like the only ones scratching their heads). The only real surprises this weekend were the Mississippi State and the Georgia scores. Overall I would give the SEC a solid B this weekend. Georgia and South Carolina didn’t play up to par and coupled with Tennessee’s big loss made the conference look a little weaker than SEC fans would like.
Alabama 44 - Tennessee 13
Well, Alabama did what Alabama does, and this time it was the Vols who were on the receiving end of things. AJ McCarron went 17-22 with 306 yards and 4 TDs, and I'm pretty sure he took a nap and had time for some juice and cookies while he was at it. We will look at Alabama and their strengths and
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| What? You didn't think Bama's QB would just eat any old juice and cookies, did you? |
If you’re wondering why Mississippi State is a 24 point underdog against the Crimson Tide, this is why. Alabama annihilated the Volunteers this weekend where as Mississippi State won in a shoot out. The Crimson Tide’s defense was as impressive as it has been all year. The offense is still clicking, although so has everyone else who played Tennessee. The Volunteers are still trying to figure out how to play defense. This has been an embarrassing season for the former National Champions. The offense is impressive (when not playing the number one defense in the nation) but that’s really the only bright side of this team. The Tide almost seemed to abandon their potent running game in favor of a passing game that may actually be underrated. Mr. Hooch gave you the stats, McCarron was as dominant as Lacy normally is in the run game. That’s a dangerous sign for everyone with Alabama on their schedule. And we haven’t even gotten into their defense. Tennessee may have the best offensive line in the conference, yet Tennessee was still unable to keep up with Alabama. The Tide may not be the machine they were last year, but they are still the big man on campus in the NCAA.
Florida 44 - South Carolina 11
Well this was not the neck-and-neck struggle I thought it would be, but in the end I backed the right horse at least. Things started out bad for the Gamecocks when Conner Shaw fumbled inside their own 5 yard line and Florida recovered on the 1. At one point in the first quarter Florida was winning 7-3 and had total rushing yardage of -1. Turnovers, man. Turnovers. The Gators didn't need to dig deep and put together another stellar second half this time around, but something tells me they would've if they had to. Florida has 2 games left that could potentially trip them up... Georgia this week and FSU to close the regular season. Win those two and handle a weak Missouri team and the Gators will be off to Atlanta in late December...
In my opinion Florida secured the SEC East with this win. Not only did they beat South Carolina, they dismantled them. The Gamecocks never really had a chance. As Mr. Hooch said, they beat themselves on the first possession. I expected Florida to win. I did not expect them to put up 44 points on what was once one of the finest defenses in the land. South Carolina needs to go back to the drawing board. There are still some good bowl games on the table for the Gamecocks to compete for, but they will need to regroup from the last two weekends if they intend to make a run at them. Florida meanwhile looks like the powerhouse the East has been lacking the past two years. Everyone thought Georgia would step into that roll, but the Gators have come from mediocrity to rip that from them. This Saturday should set the East in stone, but after watching Georgia and Florida this weekend, I’ve already made my picks. The Gators can run the ball with the best in the nation (as proved against LSU) and they play defense better than just about everyone. They are also better coached than anyone (including myself) expected them to be. Florida’s second half adjustments have been incredible this year. Like Mr. Hooch said, they didn’t need a big second half to win this game, but I’m convinced Will Muschamp would have delivered if they did.
Vanderbilt 17 - Auburn 13
You wanna know just how bad this Auburn team is? They won the turnover battle in this game, forcing 3 turnovers from Vandy will giving up none themselves, and still lost. Two seasons removed from a National Championship, and the Tigers have one win (over Louisiana Monroe, in OT no less) eight weeks into the season. The wheels on the bus are falling off, falling off, falling off... Frankly it
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| Um, Coach Chizik? I think we got on the wrong bus!! |
I really enjoyed this game, a lot more than I should have. It is a little concerning to me that as a human being I could take this much delight in the failure of others. Auburn is bad this year. They will not be bowl eligible and they may not win an SEC game this year. Sweet music to my ears (The truly scary part is that I actually hate Alabama much more). The Tigers are one of the worst offensive teams in the FBS and their defense isn’t much better. The SEC should count themselves lucky Auburn will not be in a bowl game this year. They would be an embarrassment to the conference. Vanderbilt meanwhile is quietly starting to put together a decent season. The Commodores are as good on defense as they have ever been and the offense seems to improve every week (if they can figure out how to hold onto the footall). If they can beat three of the remaining teams on their schedule (UMass, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wake Forset, and Ole Miss) they will be bowl eligible. That is definitely an achievable goal for this team, and would go a long way to improving the future of this program.
LSU 24 - Texas A&M 19
Well the Tigers started out sluggish, like a wet sponge on Saturday in College Station, but by halftime they had taken the lead and would not relinquish it. Johnny Football threw an uncharacteristic three INTs and 0 TDs on the day as the Aggies faced a defense that, while riddled with injuries, was still head and shoulders above the rest of the competition A&M has faced this season with the exception of Florida. LSU signal caller Zack Mettenberger threw an ugly 37% on the day, but he did manage a touchdown pass late in the first half to put the Tigers on top. The Aggies tried some hook and ladder action at the end of the game and ended up looking like the Keystone Cops... LSU gets a
I think I called LSU not scoring more than something close to 24 points on the road in the SEC. The Tigers did just that, and the defense did its job and held A&M’s potent offense to just 19 points. LSU is proving that you really don’t need a quarterback to win football games. I don’t know how Zack Mettenberger has fallen this far, but he is awful. Really, why is he still the starting quarterback? You can’t tell me that in LSU’s inexhaustible depths of talent there isn’t a QB who can do better than 37%. There just has to be someone better on that roster. But the Tigers managed to pull out a win on the road. The Aggies are no slouch at home and Les Miles should be proud of this win. Texas A&M shouldn’t read too much into this loss. LSU has a great defense, and although Johnny Manziel made some mistakes, that is to be expected from a freshman against a team of this caliber. This loss shouldn’t diminish any of the progress that has been made in College Station this year.
Georgia 29 - Kentucky 24
The SEC East version of the Bulldogs had to put in considerably more effort than their Maroon and White brothers from the West, but in the end they did come away from Kentucky with a win. Aaron Murray slung the rock for 427 yards through the air totaling 4 TDs while the Bulldogs turned in 504 yards of total offense on the day. After a first half that saw Kentucky jump out to a 7-0 lead, then Georgia tie it up, then Kentucky score again, the Bulldogs were down 14-7 when they found the endzone... and bounced the PAT off the upright. However just before halftime the Dawgs kicked a FG to go up 16-14. In the second half it was all Bulldogs, except for a late TD by Kentucky to keep it close.
What has happened to Georgia? They were supposed to be the equal of Alabama and LSU this year out of the East, but they have looked everything but in their last two games. Kentucky is bad. How they managed to end this game within one touchdown of Georgia I don’t know, but more power to them for it. Georgia’s defense isn’t the strength of this team they were expected to be. In fact I would go as far as to call them a liability to an impressive offense. Aaron Murray has looked good the past couple of games, despite the bulldogs inability to function on defense. Mark Richt is going to need to turn this team around fast if he expects to keep his job much longer. On the other side of the coin Kentucky’s freshman are starting to play decent football. A bowl game is out of the question, but the future could be bright for these Wildcats and Joker Phillips (If the fans will give him a chance).
MSU 45 - Middle Tennessee 3
Walking in to this game Mississippi State knew this was the very definition of a trap game, and they would have none of it. The Bulldogs struck first on a Tyler Russell pass to Chris Smith, who would have 2 TDs on the day when it was all said and done. MSU would go into halftime leading 10-3, but whatever Dan Mullen said in the locker room definitely got the Dawgs attention as they unloaded in the second half. This was a solid, all-around performance by the Bulldogs and it couldn't come at a better time. This was basically the live-game version of a tune up before State travels east this weekend to take on the top ranked Alabama Crimson Tide.
Some individual stats: Tyler Russell was 17 of 21 for 191 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs. Dak Prescott was 3 for 4 netting 24 yards, and also ran his own TD in on the ground late in the game. LaDarius Perkins and Derrick Milton would contribute rushing TDs as well. On the defensive side of the ball it was a return to the dominating defense the Bulldogs put on display to open the season, and the cherry on top was Johnthan Banks' INT.
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| Johnthan Banks always knows how to "Do the Right Thing." |
Mississippi State looked exactly like all the analysts thought they would in the first half. They were sluggish on offense and the defense relied on speed rather than power of discipline to hold the Blue Raiders to just a field goal. LaDarius Perkins came out of the locker room hot when he broke a 64 yard run to boost State’s lead to 17. I’ve been reading a lot about Mississippi State’s second half turn around in this game, but I disagree. With five minutes left in the third quarter the score was 17 – 3 with the only score on the Bulldogs side being Perkins afore mentioned run. Then Johnthan Banks happened. Banks was close to getting two picks earlier in the game and finally got his hands on one late in the third. It was the 16th of his career, tied for first in Mississippi State history. Banks returned it deep into MTSU territory before finally being tackled, and then fell on by the Blue Raiders. Banks didn’t get up, but rather began clutching his knee and hitting the ground. Davis-Wade fell silent and didn’t stir until Coach Mullen began chewing out the ref for not calling a late hit (which turned out to be a good no call, but you can’t blame Mullen for being furious). The stadium came back to life when number 13 made it to the sideline but the game had changed. Whether the late hit was dirty or incidental the Bulldogs took it personally. They scored twice in the last five minutes of the third. The subs didn’t let up much either once they came in, adding on two more in the fourth. The defense, which hadn’t recorded a sack all game, got to the quarterback three times after Banks went down, and the Blue Raiders one drive that had potential ended, fittingly, with a goal line interception.
Mississippi State played the best half they’ve played all year defensively in the second half. If they can couple that kind of defense with the offensive play they had in the first half against Tennessee and, win or lose against Alabama, it will be a special season for the Bulldogs. Tyler Russell continued to have a great season this weekend, but the better defenses on State’s schedule are still to come. Same goes for the running backs. Perkins is the go to back, but Milton, Griffen, and Robinson are ready to share the load when Perkins comes out. They are going to have to put together some good games down the stretch. It is going to be a fun end to the season.
Something that we will touch on more in this week's preview but I want to mention now is the Bulldogs lead the nation in turnover margin at 16. Alabama is only a few places back with their 14, though. Another key factor that is not being mentioned is the Dogs are playing some very disciplined ball this year. They are averaging around 4 penalties per game for an average of roughly 36 yards per game. Alabama has very similar stats as well, so one could make the argument that winning these two categories would go a long way to determining who walks away a winner Saturday night. But again, that is something we will touch on more in our weekend preview, so with that said, thanks for reading, be sure to stop by our Facebook page and like us (Look! The link is RIGHT HERE!), and retweet us til the cows come home! Have a great week!
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