SEC West
Alabama — Grade: D
Alabama 21, South Carolina 35
It’s never easy on the road in the SEC. Giving an offensive mind like Steve Spurrier an extra week to prepare on top of that meant that Alabama was walking into trouble. Alabama didn’t play a horrible defensive game. They only surrendered 301 yards to the Gamecocks. It was the offense that provided the big letdown for the Tide. Greg McElroy spent more time on his back than he did upright, and the running back tandem of Ingram and Richardson only managed a combined 64 yards and no touchdowns. The Tide deserve credit for storming back to cut an 18 point deficit back to seven, but the defense failed them when they needed them most, allowing a 10 play, 74 yard drive that resulted in a Marcus Lattimore touchdown to seal the deal. More bad news for the Crimson Tide. Julio Jones broke his hand during what was shaping up to be a monster performance and is questionable to play against Ole Miss next week. Right tackle D.J. Fluker will also miss next week’s game with a groin injury.
Auburn — Grade: B-
Auburn 37, Kentucky 34
If ever a player single-handedly can be attributed for a team’s success, it is Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers. His back must be killing him, because he’s carrying Auburn in almost every game. Auburn’s defense was exposed (again) for being soft, particularly against the pass. In the first half, Kentucky passers completed 15 of 16 attempts. They also ran the ball effectively. Despite building what looked to be an insurmountable 24-7 lead in the first half, Auburn’s defense allowed Kentucky to storm back and tie the game midway through the fourth quarter. Enter Cam Newton. Newton’s day passing was very pedestrian. He tossed no touchdowns and one interception while throwing for 201 yards. Newton, however, did the damage with his legs to the tune of four touchdowns and nearly 200 yards rushing. Auburn’s defense will cost the Tigers if they do not tighten up. They better hurry. No team in the conference throws the ball as well as the Razorbacks who visit Auburn this coming Saturday.
Arkansas — Grade: B
Arkansas 24, Texas A&M 17
The Razorbacks’ biggest enemy against Texas A&M turned out to not be the Aggies. Texas A&M couldn’t stop the Hogs from moving the football. Arkansas, however, stopped themselves over and over again. Despite the mismatch between the Arkansas offense and the Aggie defense, Razorback penalties continually put the Razorbacks in third and long situations. The Razorbacks committed 13 penalties for over 100 yards during the contest. Ryan Mallett certainly couldn’t be to blame for the lack of offensive output. He completed over 70% of his passes, accumulating over 300 yards and three touchdowns. The Razorbacks may have a running back that has separated himself from the pack. Knile Davis had over 80 yards on 10 carries. Defensively, the Razorbacks were superb. Aggie quarterback Jerrod Johnson completed less than 40% of his passes. The much improved Arkansas defense held the potent A&M offense to only 324 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers.
LSU — Grade: A
LSU 33, Florida 29
Finally, LSU looks like a team that resembles their record and ranking. And don’t look now, but the Tigers actually had balance on offense. LSU tripled their passing touchdown total on the year by throwing two against Florida- that is how bad the LSU passing attack has been this season. But with Jarrett Lee behind center, the Tigers looked plenty competent in their passing game. The LSU defense played much better than the score indicates. The Gator offense was held to only 243 yards of total offense. LSU special teams, which have been spectacular this season, had a few breakdowns. One of those included a kickoff return for a touchdown that provided Florida with momentum. But alas, no Les Miles victory comes without controversy. A fake field goal attempt resulted in a lateral that looked as if it was a forward pass. After review, the no-call stood, and the result was a first down for the Tigers. LSU went on to score the game winning touchdown. In the end, the Tigers played a complete game against a team that plays very tough at home.
Mississippi State — Grade: A-
Mississippi State 47, Houston 24
Is Mississippi State the newest offensive juggernaut for the SEC? The passing game looked shaky, but in their second consecutive monster offensive output, the Bulldogs rushed for over 400 yards against Housto** **n. State finished with 538 yards of total offense and jumped all over the Cougars early. In fact, Mississippi State took a 33-10 lead at the break. Mississippi State did give up over 300 yards passing to Houston, but the Cougars passed the ball nearly 60 times. In addition to keeping the Cougars in check in terms of yards, the Bulldogs also forced three turnovers. Mississippi State did not turn the ball over at all. Vick Ballard scored three touchdowns, bringing his season total to twelve on the year.
SEC East
Florida — Grade: D
LSU 33, Florida 29
Florida’s offense was not productive despite the 29 points scored against LSU. Florida scored on drives that consisted of 17 yards, 16 yards, and 11 yards. They also scored a special teams touchdown. Florida did take advantage of Tiger turnovers, but the Gators owned only three drives of any significant length, one of which ended with a punt. The Gator offense looked lost and confused against LSU’s defense. They managed only 243 yards of total offense and 12 first downs. In addition, they made LSU’s offense look like a serious threat. LSU had their most impressive performance to date against the Gators. Perhaps what is worse is that the Gators suffered the defeat at night in the Swamp. With Mississippi State looking much stronger and what might be the reemergence of Georgia next on the slate, the Gators have some soul searching to do b** **efore the stretch run that also includes games against South Carolina and a road trip to Florida State.
Georgia — Grade: A+
Tennessee 14, Georgia 41
While it is hard to imagine a scenario where Georgia can compete for the SEC East title, the Bulldogs made a major statement toward a possible reemergence with a dominating victory over Tennessee. Georgia played all phases well. Defensively, the Bulldogs held UT to just ** 269 yards of offense. The Bulldogs forced three turnovers. Most impressively, they held Tennessee to just 9 yards of rushing, a stat aided by four sacks on Matt Simms. Offensively, Georgia rode their freshman quarterback to victory. Aaron Murray made plays with his arm and his legs. Murray threw for two touchdowns and 266 y **ards. He also ran for 41 yards and two more scores. A.J. Green had another solid performance in his second game since the return from his suspension. Green finished with six receptions for 96 yards, including a 22 yard touchdown reception from Murray. With Kentucky, Vanderbilt, a struggling Florida, and Idaho State up next on the slate, it is not hard to imagine Georgia ripping off a series of wins and helping ** **to cool the seat a little for head coach Mark Richt.
Kentucky — Grade: C-
Auburn 37, Kentucky 34
Kentucky showed a lot of grit coming back from a 24-7 deficit. Unfortunately, they never should have found themselves trailing by 17 points. The Kentucky defense surrendered over 500 yards of total offense and 300 yards of rushing. Cam Newton was responsible for over 400 yards of that output between running and throwing. Offensively, the Kentucky Wildcats did more than enough to win the game. Mike Hartline’s passing proved to be very sharp as he completed over 80% of his passes. The rushing attack was effective enough. Despite the rushing yards piled up against them, the Wildcat’s ability to sustain drives kept the time of possession surprisingly close. Kentucky’s defense tightened down in the second half, surrendering only two field goals. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, one of those field goals was a game winner as time expired.
South Carolina — Grade: A+
Alabama 21, South Carolina 35
It is looking more and more like Steve Spurrier will be coaching another team in the SEC championship game. The Gamecock offense was solid and unrelenting. Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore scored twice and fe** **ll just shy of hitting the century mark in rushing. The passing game was particularly sharp. Stephen Garcia completed 17 of 20 pass attempts. He tossed three touchdowns, two of which went to sophomore Alshon Jeffery. Jeffery now has four 100 yard receiving outings in only five games this season. As good as the offense was, the defense was even better. The South Carolina run defense played amazingly, holding last year’s Heisman winner to only 41 yards. The Gamecocks sacked the Alabama quarterback seven times. South Carolina put in a complete performance and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Tennessee — Grade: F
Tennessee 14, Georgia 41
While it could be that the Bulldogs have simply put themselves together, Tennessee certainly looked like a team that was suffering a hangover from a heartbreaking loss to LSU the week before. The Vols put together a horrible performance, their worst of the year. Sacks and negative plays killed Tennessee drives. Despite Tauren Poole’s 50 yards rushing, the Vols still finished with a net rushing total of less than 10 yards. Tennessee lost the turnover battle. They lost three and forced none. The passing game was average when they got the pass off, but the sacks were counterproductive. Defensively, the Vols did little to prevent Georgia from running or throwing. A letdown is understandable, but the Volunteers had to feel as if they could make some noise against a wounded Georgia team. The Volunteers get a week to lick their own wounds before taking on the Crimson Tide and then traveling to South Carolina.
Vanderbilt — Grade: A
Vanderbilt 52, Eastern Michigan 6
Vanderbilt is a tricky team to gauge. They lost a heartbreaker against a pro** **bable bowl team in Northwestern. They lost to LSU and then again on the road at UConn. But they also beat Ole Miss in Oxford and did so soundly. This week, they throttled Eastern Michigan. Granted, Eastern Michigan is 0-6 on the year and not a good football team. Even still, Vanderbilt beat the Eagles the way an SEC team should. This is more than we can say for Ole Miss, Florida, and some others this season. Vandy held Eastern Michigan to just over 200 yards total offense while piling up over 550 yards of their own. The Commodores threw it well and ran it well. Commodore quarterback Larry Smith was the star of the game for Vandy. He threw two touchdowns and ran for another. In fact, Vandy has been just good enough to believe that they can give Georgia trouble this Saturday in Athens…Maybe.
SEC Stud of the Week
Aaron Murray – Georgia
- Passing: 17-25, 266 yards 2 TD, 0 int
- Rushing: 7 carries 41 yards 2 TD
SEC Dud of the Week
Mark Ingram – Alabama
- 15 total touches, 57 total yards
