Quick thoughts and takes on every Week 6 SEC game.
LSU 42, Utah State 6
Don’t blow this off. Utah State is a good team with a terrific quarterback in Jordan Love, and and LSU ripped through it like it was working against air. Joe Burrow kept the production going with 344 yards and five scores, but he (gasp!) threw an interception, and he ran for 42 yards and a score. Justin Jefferson was the main man with 155 yards and two scores on nine catches.
There’s the LSU secondary. It was a wee bit lax over the first part of the season, but it rose up and rocked against Love and company with three picks while not allowing a touchdown pass and giving up just 140 yards, The Tigers didn’t give up a thing deep.
601 yards, 32 first downs, a brilliant defensive performance on third downs – allowing just 1-of-12 conversions, and with yet another amazing day from Burrow. The team is as tuned up as it can be with the showdown against Florida coming up next.
Missouri 42, Troy 10
Is Kelly Bryant okay? He should’ve have been in the game up 42-7, but that doesn’t excuse the cheap shot on his legs. He’s supposedly going to be okay, but that’s not confirmed. Before going out, he completed 12-of-19 passes for 221 yards and three scores, and he ran for 20 yards and a touchdowns. Taylor Powell is a more-than-capable backup, and he can beat Ole Miss next week and Vanderbilt the week after, but Bryant and to O were starting to groove.
Troy is a good enough team with a dangerous enough offense to challenge for the Sun Belt title, and Mizzou shut it down to a dead stop. It got hit for an early touchdown pass, and that was it the rest of the way. The defensive line appears to be fully jelled now, there wasn’t anything happening from the Trojan running game, and it was a dominant performance to keep on rolling.
Where’s the loss coming before November? All bets are off if Bryant isn’t right, but Ole Miss, at Vandy, at Kentucky. That’s it until going to Georgia and following up against Florida. It doesn’t matter for the Tigers since they can’t play for the SEC title anyway, but they’re looking more and more like a team that’s going to be a thorn in the side of the rest of the East.
– Georgia 43, Tenn 14 | Ole Miss 31, Vandy 6
NEXT: Florida 24, Auburn 13
Florida 24, Auburn 13
If it’s possible to be a fun-ugly game, this was it. Eight turnovers – four each – a combined 6-of-29 on third downs, 15 penalties, horrible passing from Auburn’s Bo Nix, way too many miscues by the Gators, and … again, it was fun.
It wasn’t all Bo Nix’s fault that he was awful. The Gator secondary got some key parts back, and the coaching staff didn’t seem to help him out all that much, but 11-of-27 for 145 yards and a touchdown with three picks isn’t okay. There were a whole slew of chances for the Tigers to come up with a big scoring moment to grab the game away, and the offense couldn’t do it.
The O had something with JaTarvious Whitlow – he finished with 81 yards – but couldn’t keep it all going in the second half to lead to anything. The Tigers left too many points on the field.
Kyle Trask had an okay day considering he banged up his knee. He threw for 234 yards and two scores, didn’t throw any picks, and … three fumbles. Freddie Swain was fantastic with six catches for 146 yards and a score, and Lamical Perine had the signature moment with his 88-yard touchdown run, but it was Trask’s big win.
Actually, it was the Florida defense’s big win. Auburn’s Derrick Brown was brilliant, and the D overall kept the team in the game, but Florida’s defense came up with stop after stop after stop in key menus. The pass rush was just okay, but the secondary was the key. Now it looks ready for its real test with LSU up next.
NEXT: Georgia 43, Tennessee 14; Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 6
Ole Miss 31, Vanderbilt 6
John Rhys Plumlee was more than fine … on the ground. The Ole Miss starter only hit 10-of-18 passes for 99 yards, but he dominated under offensive coordinator Rich Rodriguez with 165 rushing yards and a score. Vanderbilt had absolutely no answer from the start against a Rebel attack that finished with 413 rushing yards, four scores, and big dash after big dash.
The Ole Miss defense did its part, too. It didn’t give up a touchdown, only allowed two field goals, and stuffed drive after drive. Vandy converted just 2-of-17 third down tries as it couldn’t get anything moving. The Ole Miss offense was explosive, and the Vandy offense spun its wheels.
Vanderbilt should be able to get by UNLV next week, and it’ll get by East Tennessee State, but it needed this game to realistically make a push for bowl eligibility. There are winnable games left, but this was a punch in the gut. On the other side, Ole Miss just got back on track after losing two straight. At 3-3, there’s hope to get to six wins with New Mexico State still to play as part of the three wins needed.
Georgia 43, Tennessee 14
On the plus side, Tennessee might have found a possible quarterback. Brian Maurer wasn’t able to keep it all going after a great start, but he finished hitting 14-of-28 passes for 259 yards and two scores with a pick and a forced fumble after getting lit up on a huge hit. There was no running game, and there wasn’t a key stop after getting up early, but at least for a little while, the Vols looked the part. But …
There was absolutely no panic on the Georgia side. Jake Fromm was Jake Fromm – he hit 24-of-29 passes for 288 yards and two scores – the running game was steadily nasty, and the defense clamped down and played like enough was enough. The Bulldogs scored 33 unanswered points, and they managed to make it a laugher on the scoreboard. However, against South Carolina and Kentucky, they have to work on getting off to hotter starts before dealing with Florida in early November.
This is such an amazing Georgia team, but it’s almost as if it’s going through the motions until it has to be good. There’s still a lot to clean up with 11 penalties and again, getting off to a hotter start, but that’s nitpicking. It got its win over Notre Dame, and now it’s about maintaining focus over the next few weeks.
Even at 1-4, there’s still time for Tennessee. It can beat Vanderbilt and UAB, and it gets Mississippi State and South Carolina at home. Blow off the losses to Florida and Georgia – those two are at another level – but next week is the real test, Lose to Miss State, and then it really is time to pack it in.
