Around the SEC: How the Rest of the League Fared in Week Five
The SEC slate was thin on Saturday, with only eight of the leagues 14 teams in action this weekend. But, that didn’t mean lack of drama, and agony, for some fan bases.
First, and foremost, it's a tragedy that Alabama receiver Jaylen Waddle is done for the season. Waddle injured his ankle after being twisted to the ground returning the opening kickoff of Alabama’s win over Tennessee.
Waddle was averaging over 22 yards a catch this season and already had over 500 receiving yards in just four games. Hopefully, he recovers quickly and will be healthy enough to compete in either the NFL combine (he’s the number 12 overall prospect according to ESPN’s Mel Kiper) or spring practice should he decide to return to Alabama.
Here’s what else happened in week five of the 2020 SEC season.
Auburn (3-2) 35, Ole Miss (1-3) 28
This was the most exciting matchup of the day. Neither team separated by more than seven points at any point in the game. Each team ran the ball incredibly well, churning out over 200 yards on the ground each.
However, it was the play of Bo Nix and Seth Williams that won Auburn the game. Nix played probably his best game of the season, not turning the ball over and completing 23 of 30 passes. He topped the day off with a rushing touchdown, and the game-winning touchdown to Williams where he put a perfect back-shoulder throw to his wide-out, who then turned it upfield and torched the Rebel secondary.
Williams has emerged as one of the best wideouts in the nation. He hauled in eight catches for 150 yards and a score Saturday, and showed plenty of speed, power and athleticism.
For Ole Miss, the run game is emerging as their strength. Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy rushed for 75 and 74 yards each, respectively, while Matt Corral picked up 88 yards on the ground as well.
Corral through the air, though, is looking shaky. After throwing six interceptions a week ago against Arkansas, he threw two more Saturday. The Rebels are dependent on their offense, and it’s become apparent that when it isn’t firing on all cylinders, they can’t win games.
Next up: Auburn vs LSU (2-2), Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt (0-3)
Alabama 48 (5-0), Tennessee 17 (2-3)
Despite the loss of Waddle, Mac Jones still torched the Tennessee secondary. Jones threw for 387 yards and completed over 80% of his passes, and got the Tide in the red zone often. This led to five Alabama rushing touchdowns, three of which came from Najee Harris.
Defensively, it appears that Nick Saban has gotten the unit to finally play like he expects them to. They’ve allowed 17 points in the last six quarters they’ve been on the field, and held Tennessee to under four yards a carry on the ground.
At this point, I don’t know if anyone will be able to beat Alabama.
For Tennessee, the result was somewhat expected. After getting thumped by Kentucky a week ago, things didn’t look pretty for the Vols. There really isn’t a big positive to point to after their loss to the Tide. They committed eight penalties, had 10 less minutes of possession and were 4-16 on third down.
The coming idle week will probably be good for Tennessee, especially considering the brutal stretch of games they played in the last three weeks.
Next up: Alabama vs. Mississippi St (1-3), Tennessee: Idle
Missouri 20 (2-2), Kentucky 10 (2-3)
Missouri dominated this game, despite it only being a 10 point difference. The Tigers controlled the ball for over 43 minutes, rushed for over 200 yards, and converted 10-20 third downs, while also going 5-5 on fourth down.
It seems like Missouri has found its quarterback in Connor Bazelak. The redshirt freshman finished 21-30, for 201 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. His pocket presence shined as Kentucky brought pressure often and he navigated the chaos with ease, keeping the Missouri offense on the field.
Missouri also has a legit one-two punch at running back in Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie. The duo combined for 178 rushing yards, and were the main reason the Tigers controlled so much clock.
As for Kentucky, the offense sputtered constantly. Terry Wilson was benched for Joey Gatewood at one point, only for Wilson to come back in a re-replace Gatewood.
The Wildcats ran only 36 plays, and averaged four yards per play. This is also a testament to the Nick Bolton led Missouri defense that stuffed the potent Kentucky run game repeatedly. Missouri is a team that’s going to scare a lot of good teams this season, and they have a stretch of Florida and Georgia coming up.
Next up: Missouri @ Florida (2-1), Kentucky vs. Georgia (3-1)
LSU 52 (2-2), South Carolina 24 (2-3)
No Myles Brennan? No problem. Freshman quarterback T.J Finley completed 81% of his passes, threw a pair of touchdowns, and managed the game the way LSU needed.
The Tigers rushed for 276 yards, paced by sophomore running back Tyrion Davis-Price’s 135-yard performance.
LSU got another standout performance from freshman defensive back Eli Ricks, who recorded a pick-six on a poor throw from Colin Hill.
South Carolina did themselves no favors, missing three field goals, and Hill throwing that pick-six. They also couldn’t keep LSU off the field, as the Tigers fixed their third-down woes by converting eight of 10 third downs. The defense also held the Gamecocks to only 3-10 on third downs.
The standout of the game though was Terrace Marshall. The sophomore receiver got into the endzone two more times, and he has nine touchdowns on the season now. No one has been able to stop him thus far, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change.
Next up: LSU @ Auburn (3-2), South Carolina: Idle
