SEC Snapshot: Georgia, Texas A&M Dominant while Dan Mullen's Seat Heats Up
Every week we think things are figured out in the Southeastern Conference and then the games begin. Week 10 was another staunch reminder on how onlookers should expect the unexpected in college football's best conference.
Several causal expectations were met with harsh reality on Saturday, from the notion Alabama would punish LSU for their post-game behavior last time they were in Tuscaloosa, to expecting Auburn to continue its momentum or for Florida to get in a good rebound against a South Carolina defense that gave up 44 to Texas A&M last week.
Wrong, all wrong.
Let's look back at a wild Week 10 in the SEC.
No. 1 Georgia 43, Missouri 6
About the only chalk that materialized this weekend was that of big, bad Georgia. The defense continues to somehow be better than advertised, still yet to give up more than 13 points in a given contest. Teams cannot run on that front seven and don't look now, but the vertical passing game is starting to develop with the wide receiver corps healing up. UGA is a different team with this group of receivers, and that still doesn't include top option, George Pickens. That sound you hear is the rest of the country, not just the SEC, with a collective gulp.
No. 2 Alabama 20, LSU 14
Good teams win on their 'dud' games but this one was strange for Alabama all around, especially considering the injuries and more LSU is dealing with. The Tigers came out inspired and a trick play helped to gain an early lead, but 'Bama bounced back with 14 unanswered going into the half. It felt like it would run away with the game in the final two quarters, but it just couldn't pull away. In fact, LSU matched UA's seven points in the final half and the Crimson Tide defense needed to step up to survive the upset bid in the end. That unit looked as good as we've seen them appear all season, a welcomed site in Tuscaloosa, but all of a sudden the offense can't run the football in the meantime? Bryce Young had to be almost Matt Corral-like in carrying 'Bama to this win.
No. 14 Texas A&M 20, No. 13 Auburn 3
If you like defense, or the illusion of elite defense because of subpar quarterback play, this was the game for you Saturday. The only ranked-on-ranked matchup of the slate was as tight as one may have expected in playing to a 3-3 draw in the first half. But even with amended offensive approaches, these two passers could only muster 50% accuracy and both defenses began to thrive even more. The difference was Bo Nix's mistakes were more glaring than Zach Calzada's, especially when you just drop the football and it gets returned for a score. Again the Aggie running game took care of the rest in what has been a different team since Alabama came to town. No SEC program had a better Saturday than A&M, which also added the nation's top defensive recruit in Walter Nolen.
No. 16 Ole Miss 27, Liberty 14
Expectations were not met in Oxford, at least offensively, but the defense deserves as much due as can be given for slowing down Malik Willis. It allowed the Flames running backs to do as they pleased, but the task in facing a No. 1 NFL Draft selection type is to limit his opportunities and the Rebels did that. Willis was sacked nine times and turned over three times without throwing for a score in a game where Ole Miss led the entire way. The complete opposite approach is coming to town next week, along with College GameDay, in Texas A&M's balanced rushing attack, so adjustments will need to be made. Escaping despite a banged-up skill position group on offense does feel a bit better the day after.
Arkansas 31, No. 17 Mississippi State 28
Missed field goals made up this one for State in an otherwise entertaining back-and-forth game. A trio of misses from MSU kickers would quite literally wrap up this game as time expired. To State's credit, the offense somehow got into makeable field goal range behind a red-hot Will Rogers (417 yards passing with four touchdowns) despite starting from their own 25-yard line with 21 seconds to play. Nolan McCord would miss from 40 yards out and the efficient KJ Jefferson walked away with another win. UA built a 13-0 lead early and Rogers was very slow out of the gates before engineering a scoring drive late in the second quarter. MSU would take the lead with just over two minutes to play but Jefferson led a 10 play drive that would ultimately hold off the Bulldog charge.
Tennessee 45, No. 18 Kentucky 42
The most entertaining game for modern football fans was of course in Lexington, where there was a basketball feel on the Kroger Field turf. Each offense was explosive in their own right, although different in method, as UT lived off of chunk plays and UK was more methodical. Each style worked as points came in bunches in a game that will remind traditionalists how much time of possession does not really matter. UT had the ball for less than 14 minutes and put up 45 points. The onslaught helped the defense to hold off UK just enough to defend a late lead. Will Levis commanded the final drive but fell short on four straight incompletions to wrap things up.
South Carolina 40, Florida 17
Where do we begin? Dan Mullen's seat is as hot as it's ever been in Gainesville and it really only tells part of the story here. He pivoted back to Emory Jones at quarterback, who turned it over twice including on a scoop and score, and leaned on him for 30 pass attempts and 11 more carries -- surpassing that of the talented running back room when it counted most. The group of rushers combined for 10 runs in the rout prior to the garbage time drive to run the clock out, in which it got four more opportunities. On the flip side, the Todd Grantham-led unit, which Mullen has defended for years at this point, was lit up by the rushing attack it knew was coming, not to mention a third-string quarterback in Jason Brown at the helm. USC averaged nearly 7 yards per carry and only gave up one sack to UF pass rushers.
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