Around the SEC: How the Rest of the League Fared in Week 12
There haven’t been many landscape shaking games this season in the SEC, but LSU besting #6 Florida Saturday night was the epitome of that. The Bayou Bengals spoiled the Gators College Football Playoff hopes with gritty play, and a cleat that soared through the dense fog in the Swamp.
With the penultimate week of the SEC season is behind us, let’s take a look at how this week panned out.
LSU (4-5) 37, Florida (8-2) 34
Dense fog, three turnovers and a shoe. All that culminated to LSU pulling off arguably the biggest upset of this college football season.
True-freshman quarterback Max Johnson made his first career start in the Swamp and played like a veteran under the lights, throwing for 239 yards, three touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over. He also got stellar pass protection, only being sacked twice.
LSU ran the ball well enough to help Johnson, nickel-and-diming the Gators defense for four and five-yard carries throughout the night.
For Florida, everything that could go wrong, went wrong. Kyle Trask turned the ball over three times, one being a pick-six, another being a bizarre, bouncing interception inside the LSU 20-yard-line, and another being a strip-sack right before halftime that led to an LSU field goal.
The Gator offense also sputtered at a rate that was even more dire than in prior games, punting three times in a row in the second half on drives that went a combined nine plays for eight yards.
The game all but certainly ruined the Gators' CFP hopes and makes their upcoming contest against Alabama even more daunting.
Next up: Florida vs. Alabama (10-0) SEC Title game, LSU vs. Ole Miss (4-4)
Alabama (10-0) 52, Arkansas (3-7) 3
Is there anything Devonta Smith can’t do? After Arkansas had to punt in a 3-3 game, Smith fielded a punt, started to his left, made one cut up the middle and torched the rest of the Razorback return unit for an 84-yard touchdown.
Smith wouldn’t catch a touchdown, but the Crimson Tide didn’t need the passing game to handle Arkansas. Alabama rushed for six touchdowns, getting two from Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. crossed the goal-line three times. The Tide rushed for 216 combined yards, and cruised to victory to be the first team in SEC history to win 10 conference games.
The defense was just as incredible, holding Arkansas to 188 yards of offense and forcing four turnovers.
It wasn’t a bad start for Arkansas, they held Alabama to a field goal on their opening drive and forced a turn-over-on-downs on the Tide’s next possession. Then, well, Smith happened.
However, it’s a season Arkansas can build on, they’ve won more SEC games this year than they won the last two seasons combined, and were competitive with a lot of teams they hadn’t been competitive in years.
Next up: Alabama vs. Florida (8-2) SEC Championship, Arkansas: Finished
Georgia (7-2) 49, Missouri (5-4) 14
Georgia looked like they were in for a scare in the first half. Missouri blocked a punt down 14-7 in the second quarter that set them up at the Georgia one-yard line. Larry Rountree then plunged across the goal line to tie the game up, and it looked like Missouri was going to hang around.
That was short-lived. J.T. Daniels found George Pickens for a 36-yard touchdown just before halftime, and then hit Pickens again on the first possession of the third quarter for 31-yards to quickly take a two-score lead, and wouldn’t look back.
The Dawg defense was incredibly stout, holding Missouri to 22 rushing yards and 200 yards of offense. Meanwhile, Georgia gashed the Missouri defense for 316 rushing yards, averaging seven yards per carry.
Georgia is in a good position to make a New Year’s Six Bowl, and look to have remedied a lot of issues that were exposed against Florida earlier in the year.
Next up: Georgia vs Vanderbilt (0-9), Missouri @ Mississippi St. (2-7)
Tennessee (3-6) 42, Vanderbilt (0-9) 17
The Vols got back in the win column for the first time since September, beating up on a depleted Vanderbilt roster by picking up 530 yards of offense and getting a defensive touchdown by defensive back Bryce Thompson.
However, the biggest moment of the day came after Vanderbilt’s first touchdown of the game. Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power-5 football game by making the extra point after the score. She later scored a second point after the Commodores first touchdown.
Another bit of good news for Vandy: Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea is expected to accept the head coaching job on Monday, allowing the program to move forward with new leadership.
For Tennessee, Harrison Bailey played a fine game at quarterback, completing 14-18 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns. Expect him to be the Vols signal caller going forward.
Next up: Tennessee vs Texas A&M (7-1), Vanderbilt @ Georgia (7-2)
Auburn (6-4) 24, Mississippi State (2-7) 10
The most exciting thing about this game happened once the two teams left the field. Auburn decided to fire head coach Gus Malzahn on Sunday, and pay his incredible $21.4 million buyout.
Despite having won more games against Nick Saban and Alabama in his tenure than every other current SEC head coach combined, it wasn’t enough to save Gus.
However, the game itself was a quality performance for the Tigers. Freshman running back Tank Bigsby rushed for 192 yards on 26 carries, generating over half of the Auburn offense.
The defense was stout, picking off Mississippi State, quarterback Will Rogers twice, and holding Mike Leach and company to 240 yards of total offense.
The win was overshadowed by the firing of Malzahn, and the only question is: Who will Auburn go after to man the sidelines next?
Next up: Mississippi State vs Missouri (5-4), Auburn: Finished
