SEC week one recap
The Pirate arrives in style, Trask starts his Heisman campaign, and the Vols get a big win.
By: Bossman Slim
Captain Leach leads the Bulldogs into Death Valley to steal their championship booty.
Oh, what a weekend it was. As crazy a year as 2020 has been, it was an incredible feeling to have SEC football back on TV. We hope you drank some good beer, made some great food, and saw some great friends, and we hope you don’t cheer for Arkansas, Missouri, or Ole Miss. And Texas A&M for that matter because...man, was that ugly.
Let’s get into the action and our takeaways from the weekend.
Early Games
Photo: Thomas Wells
#5 Florida 51 - Ole Miss 35
First off, wow those powder blues are beautiful. Ole Miss won even in defeat in those clean threads. But on the field, Florida just looks dominant. The Lane Train kept it close for a bit, but in the end, the Rebels were Gator bait. That Gator defense is mean, and Kyle Trask lived up to the preseason hype in week one of SEC football, going 30/42 for 416 yards and 6 TDs. He threw some absolute dimes in this one - mostly to all-world tight end Kyle Pitts, who inserted himself directly into postseason award conversations with his 8/170 yards and 4 TD performance. The Ole Miss defense is porous and will be their Achilles heel all year, but the offense is good enough to catch someone sleeping. Matt Coral looks to be the guy in Oxford, with last year’s starter John Rhys Plumlee only attempting one pass and being used as a decoy at WR for part of the day. Corral had a respectable day, going 22/31 for 395 and 3 touchdowns with 1 INT.
Next week: Florida gets the Gamecocks at noon ET on ESPN, while the Rebels travel to Kentucky for a 4:00 ET bout on SEC Network.
#8 Auburn 29 - #23 Kentucky 13
Before Twitter knew what Gus Malzahn’s look was all about, he took some heat for his old school tie and Auburn-hat combo. We thought former Miami coach Al Golden called “celeb shot” and stepped in to coach the Tigers against Kentucky. Or maybe that he was keeping the tie on for a possible job interview after the game in case they lost to the Wildcats. Malzahn’s gesture though was in remembrance of Auburn legendary coach Pat Dye, who passed away in June. Jokes aside, respect to Malzahn on a classy move.
On the field, this game had more twists and turns than the track at Churchill Downs. The sequence at the end of the first half was mind-bending. Kentucky should have had a touchdown to take the lead after running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. was clearly over the goal line, but for reasons unknown, he was called down before the line. On the next play, Kentucky QB Terry Wilson threw a pick-six to Auburn DB Roger McCreay, but it was reversed on a targeting call. By the letter of the rule, it was probably targeting, but it was borderline. And again, targeting is the most controversial rule in football. That block should not have negated a touchdown and it put no one in danger. He led with the shoulder and the helmets happened to touch. I don’t like the fact that this is considered targeting at all.
You can see the full sequence here and judge for yourself:
Auburn outlasted the Wildcats in the second half. A costly fumble by Terry Wilson with 12:42 left in the fourth quarter, which Auburn turned into points on a touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Seth Williams to make it 22-13, changed the momentum for good. Auburn sealed the deal on another Bo Nix touchdown pass with 8:13 to go in the game to make it 29-13.
Nix took a step forward today, made some great throws, and took care of business going 16-27 for 233 yards and 3 TDs. I still think Kentucky is a good team and will give people some trouble in the East, but much of their success this season comes down to the QB position. Can Terry Wilson cut down on the turnovers and find his stride throwing the ball? Or will Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood get a look if he’s granted eligibility? If Gatewood gets eligibility, we expect to see him on the field immediately.
Next week: Auburn travels to #4 Georgia next week for a 7:30 ET heavyweight tilt under the lights on ESPN. Kentucky takes on the #LaneTrain Ole Miss Rebs at 4:00 ET on SEC Network.
Midday Games
Mississippi State 44 - #6 LSU 34
Wily pirate Mike Leach put the conference on notice in his SEC debut in a 44-34 win over the reigning national champs. Myles Brennan looked like a deer in the headlights in the first half, as it was obvious that the little real-game experience he had was an issue. Brennan’s performance was not enough for him to unseat Brennan Huff in our weekly “Top Brennan” rankings. He will need to show significant improvement next week to take the top spot.
K.J. “Elvis” Costello threw for a million yards and 5 TDs, which helped the Bulldogs overcome their four turnovers. Mississippi State had nine total rushing yards, but still found ways to use Kylin Hill. The Leach era in Starkville is going to be as unconventional as the rest of his stops, and even more fun to watch. Alabama transfer WR Tyrell Shavers showed some flashes with two receptions for 68 yards and a TD, and Osirus Mitchell had a DAY as Costello’s main target, with 7/183 and 2 TDs.
LSU will be okay, but they have plenty of work cut out for them. We’re rooting for Myles Brennan, he seems like a great kid and is doing everything he can to lead the Bayou Bengals forward. Coach O will have this team back in top shape soon, but a return to the CFP this year looks unlikely, especially at 0-1 in a 10 game season.
Next week: LSU looks to right the ship in Nashville against Vandy at 7:30 ET on SEC Network. The Bulldog pirate ship sails home to Starkville to take on the lowly Razorbacks at 7:30 on SEC Network Alternate.
#4 Georgia 37 - Arkansas 10
Like most of the games this weekend, this one was sloppy. Arkansas led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, and then clung to a 7-5 lead going into halftime. D’wan Mathis, who started at QB for the Dawgs after a closely watched camp battle, looked shaky and inaccurate and was pulled after one quarter. It would be surprising if we see another start from Mathis again this year, especially if JT Daniels gets clearance this week.
The Dawgs woke up in the second half on the back of improbable hero Stetson Bennett IV, who is Gordon Gecko’s son from his first marriage and summers in the Hamptons. Would you like some tea with that? Yes, he would take some tea. Besides his trust fund sounding name, Bennett looked the part of UGA QB1 in the second half, throwing two TDs in the third quarter to open the game up. Zamir White put the game out of reach early in the fourth with a six-yard run to make it 34-10.
It’s going to be another long year in Fayetteville. Feleipe Franks again showed flashes of his considerable talent but made the same boneheaded mistakes that plagued his time at Florida. Sam Pittman needs to recruit his tail off, because the cupboard is just as bare as when Bielema was fired three years ago. Rakeem Boyd, you are our only hope.
Next week: Georgia gets #7 Auburn at home next week at 7:30 ET on ESPN. Arkansas rides into Starkville on their motorcycle (too soon?) to see how many points KJ Costello and the #16 Bulldogs can hang on them. That game is at 7:30 ET on SEC Network Alternate.
Late Games
#2 Alabama 38 - Missouri 19
This one can be pretty brief. Alabama is Alabama. They are who we thought they were. This one was over in the first half, as Najee Harris ran for two scores and Mac Jones added two passing touchdowns to Jaylen Waddle. It was 28-3 at half, and Bama barely let off the gas, spoiling Eli Drinkwitz debut as Tigers coach, 38-19. Missouri is likely to join Vanderbilt and Arkansas in the basement of the SEC this year.
Next week: Alabama gets #13 Texas A&M for the game of the week at 3:30 ET on CBS. Missouri travels to Neyland Stadium to take on the #21 Vols on SEC Network at noon ET.
#15 Tennessee 31 - South Carolina 27
This was the most evenly matched game of the weekend and a great SEC battle from start to finish. Collin Hill showed why he earned the starting role over Ryan Hilinski, going 25/39 for 290, one TD and one INT. He also added a score on the ground. Jarett Guarantano played well, keeping the Vols in the game long enough to outlast the Gamecocks. He threw for one TD and rushed for another. Tennessee LB Henry To’o To’o’s (how many apostrophes can you have in one word?) pick-six in the second quarter was a must-watch play.
The Gamecocks tied the game at 24 with 10:48 to go in the fourth, but Guarantano led the Vols on a quick 4-play, 75-yard drive in just 1:13 to answer the bell. With 1:27 left in the fourth and UT clinging to a 31-27 lead, Tennessee punted and it looked like Colin Hill would have a chance to take the Gamecocks on a last-minute drive to steal one. But SC punt returner Cam Smith had other ideas, fumbling on the return, which was recovered by Tennessee, sealing the game for the Vols.
Next week: Tennessee gets Missouri at home at noon ET on SEC Network and South Carolina travels to The Swamp to take on the #3 Gators at noon ET on ESPN.
#10 Texas A&M 17 - Vanderbilt 12
For a top ten team in the nation, this one was WAY to close. A&M looked sluggish all night, engineering just enough offense to beat the Commodores in College Station. Vanderbilt true Freshman QB Ken Seals made some great throws but also threw two costly picks. Kellen Mond was meh again, and the Aggies will need to jump leaps and bounds this week if they have any prayer of beating the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa next week.
Texas A&M fans summoning a higher power and flashing a Gig’em ahead of their likely thrashing at the hands of SEC pseudo-devil Nick Saban.
Next week: Texas A&M hits the road to take on #2 Alabama at 3:30 ET on CBS. Vanderbilt gets pissed off #20 LSU in Nashville and will look to lose by a respectable margin. That game is at 7:30 ET on SEC Network.
All in all, it was a great week of SEC football. The only wire-to-wire blowout was Alabama blowing the doors off Missouri - the rest of the slate was interesting if not glued-to-your TV type games. The only snoozer was Texas A&M vs. Vanderbilt, which if you were watching that game we hope you flipped it over to Tennessee vs. South Carolina.
Next week will have some great matchups like Georgia vs. Auburn, A&M at Alabama, and Florida vs. South Carolina.
See y’all next Sunday for the recap of week two in the SEC.