Quick thoughts and takes on every Week 7 SEC game.
UNLV 34, Vanderbilt 10
You can argue all you want about how tough it is to win in the SEC if you’re Vanderbilt. You can give them all the credit in the world for merely being competitive. But this is beyond inexcusable. UNLV was deep in the mix for the honor of being America’s worst team, and it showed up. Vanderbilt didn’t.
UNLV’s offense hasn’t worked on anyone with even the lightest of pulses, and yet it held the ball for over 37 minutes, was shockingly balanced, and it dominated throughout on both sides of the ball. Riley Neal only hit 11-of-25 passes for 104 yards, the 140-yard rushing day – with a 53-yard pass play – from Ke’Shawn Vaughn fell flat, and drive after drive stalled.
Now at 1-5 with the lone win coming against Northern Illinois, Vanderbilt will need a miracle to be anything better than 2-10. It’ll beat East Tennessee State, but if you can’t blowout UNLV, you can’t beat anyone in the SEC. Unfortunately, this might not be a bad brain cramp.
Tennessee 20, Mississippi State 10
The Vols got a real, live win. Jarrett Guarantano completed 6-of-7 passes for 106 yards and a score as he stepped in for starter Brian Maurer – who got banged up with an apparent neck injury after running for 41 yards and throwing for 61 with two scores – but it was the defense that got the job done. This was the type of game and performance the D hasn’t had against an FBS team, stuffing everything and keeping Mississippi State out of the end zone into the fourth quarter.
Mississippi State just doesn’t have an offense. Kylin Hill was stuffed for 13 yards on 11 carries, the passing game was ineffective with both Garrett Shrader and Tommy Stevens, and drive after drive stalled. The offense managed just 267 yards with three turnovers with no answers for the amped up Tennessee defensive line.
Now, as crazy as it might seem, Tennessee actually has legitimate bowl hopes. It’s not going to beat Alabama, but it can beat UAB, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. That’s asking a lot, and it’s going to take a win over South Carolina or Missouri, too, but with this stunner, there’s something to play for. This is the Tennessee team that can beat the mediocre teams.
Mississippi State now has to deal with LSU. If that wasn’t enough, it follows that up with games at Texas A&M and Arkansas before dealing with Alabama. There are enough winnable games left to go bowling – the Bulldogs will beat Abilene Christian and should be able to handle Ole Miss – but this is a big, big step back in what needed to be a must win.
NEXT: Alabama 47, Texas A&M 28; Kentucky 24, Arkansas 20
Alabama 47, Texas A&M 28
It wasn’t the sharpest performance by Alabama, but there wasn’t any major drama and it was another easy win with the offense coming up with the scores it needed to stay comfortably ahead.
Finally, Jaylen Waddle got a touchdown catch – his first of the year – as part of the four thrown by Tua Tagoavailoa. There was an interception, and it wasn’t all just a light scrimmage, but it all clicked. Najee Harris ran for 114 yards, and Brian Robinson ran for 51 yards and a score.
Texas A&M kept pushing. It was outplayed and outmanned, but Kellen Mond wasn’t bad, hitting 24-of-42 passes for 264 yards and two scores, and he led the team with 90 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Wydermyer caught two touchdown passes, and the Aggies kept pressing, but they were shooting spitballs at a battleship. They just couldn’t keep up, partly because …
The Tide got the big plays needed in big games from two key defenders. LB Terrell Lewis came up with two sacks and constant pressure from one side, and with Anfernee Jennings rolling for a team-high eight tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss. These two were all over the place.
Alabama has to keep plowing through with home games against Tennessee and Arkansas up next, and then there’s a week off to get ready for LSU. Texas A&M at 3-3 needs to go on a run, and it starts at Ole Miss next week with Mississippi State, UTSA and South Carolina to follow. Winning at least three of those four is a must with road games at Georgia and LSU to finish up.
Kentucky 24, Arkansas 20
EXHALE … Kentucky got pushed and pushed some more, but WR-turned-QB Lynn Bowden came through with a big late touchdown run to take the lead, and the defense held on for dear life to close out the win. The passing game didn’t do much – just 88 yards on an 8-of-12 day – but Bowden ripped off 196 yards and two scores as part of a 330-yard rushing day from the Cats.
Arkansas lost, and it might not be a great year overall – in just a wee bit of an understatement – but it battled well, Rakeem Boyd ran for 134 yards and two scores, and it was in the fight until late. But the passing game couldn’t clock. Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel combined to complete just 12-of-17 passes for 122 yards averaging 4.5 yards per throw – that’s not how this is all supposed to work.
Kentucky went all Kentucky as it held the ball for over 37 minutes and dragged down Arkansas into its style. It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcat broke their three-game losing streak, and now they get to go to Georgia as a reward. With Vanderbilt and UT Martin still to play, getting in range of a bowl game shouldn’t be a problem, and getting that sixth win should come at home against Tennessee or Louisville. Arkansas, for its troubles, gets to deal with Auburn and Alabama up next.
NEXT: Missouri 38, Ole Miss 27; LSU 42, Florida 28
Missouri 38, Ole Miss 27
Kelly Bryant looked good enough. The key that he hurt last week kept him from looking and playing a wee bit like his normal self with his mobility, but he ripped up Ole Miss with a 329-yard, one score and one pick day as he and the O exploded just after halftime. It was a rocky first half, and then the running game took off. Bryant was great, and Larry Rountree ran for 126 yards and two scores.
Ole Miss has something in John Rhys Plumleee. He’s the type of quarterback who can run the Rich Rodriguez like it needs to work, running for 143 yards and two scores, and he threw for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Corral stepped in and threw for 133 yards to help balance out the O, but it couldn’t keep up and didn’t do enough until it put up a few late cosmetic points. There’s hope, though – there’s some pop to the attack.
The Rebels have lsat three of their last four, and it doesn’t get any easier with Texas A&M and a trip to Auburn up next. They have to sneak a win out of those two with LSU still to deal with. Lose all three big games, and that’s it for the bowl hunt.
Mizzou is still waiting and hoping for a possible reversal on the NCAA sanctions handed down this offseason. At 5-1 and with Vanderbilt and Kentucky up next, it should go into the showdowns at Georgia and against Florida with chances to take over the SEC East. But for now, they can’t play for the SEC title.
LSU 42, Florida 28
So … could the LSU offense work against a real defense? Blowing up Texas was nice, but the secondary doesn’t tackle and the pass D gives up well over 300 yards per game. There’s no one else on the LSU slate that could stop you and ten friends from putting up 35 points, but …
KABOOM.
Florida has NFL talent in the secondary, and Joe Burrow completed 21-of-24 passes for 293 yards and three scores. The Gators have been a rock against the run, and they got hammered for over nine yards per carry with Clyde Edwards-Helaire running 13 times for 134 yards and two scores. In all, the offense rolled for over 500 yards and didn’t blink all game long.
Give Florida credit for not buckling until late. Forget the two-touchdown final score for a moment – the Gators managed to keep pressing LSU even though they didn’t have the same offensive explosion. They had the lead in the second half, but the D couldn’t hold on – the offense did just enough. Kyle Trask threw for 310 yards, and the running game was just strong enough to keep control of the clock at times, but the D didn’t have any answers.
Ja’Marr Chase caught seven passes for 127 yards and two scores, Justin Jefferson caught a tough ten passes for 123 yards and a touchdown – breaking plenty of tackles along the way – and the offensive line did its job to keep Burrow clean. How many sacks did Florida have? None. It registered just one tackle for loss.
Sort of like it was for Georgia and its loss to South Carolina, this is a setback for Florida, but it’s hardly a deathblow. The Gators were going to have to beat Georgia no matter what, and they’re going to have to win the SEC Championship no matter what to get to the College Football Playoff – 12-1 without an SEC title was asking for too much. Getting the split with LSU and Auburn was what they needed, and they got it. Now they can’t falter against South Carolina on the road, and then it’s Game On with Georgia to follow. They still have to deal with Missouri on the road, too.
All paths keep on leading to the Alabama-LSU showdown on November 9th, but the Tigers still have to get by Mississippi State on the road and Auburn at home. The defense is still playing just okay. S Grant Delpit is coming off a brilliant performance, but the D struggled on third downs against a Florida offense that hasn’t been able to do squat on the money downs. As long as the offense keeps on rolling for over 500 yards and with big play after big play, the defense just needs to hold serve … for now.
