SEC week 5 recap: LSU remembers who they are
LSU takes it to South Carolina in Baton Rouge, Bama rolls to 14-straight over Tennessee, Auburn escapes again, and Missouri beats Kentucky at their own game.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer, The Waco Kid
Week 5 is in the books. There were only four games in the SEC this weekend due to bye weeks and COVID postponements, yet the matchups were still intriguing. Auburn and Ole Miss was a game until the final whistle, and Kentucky and Missouri was a game until late in the 4th. Alabama took care of business, and LSU got back on track in Death Valley.
Let’s dig below the surface to see the “why” of how these games went down.
Early Games
Auburn 35 - Ole Miss 28
Photo: Todd Van Emst, AU Athletics via @AuburnFootball
This one went almost exactly as we expected it to. Fairly sloppy overall and Auburn pulled yet another win out of their rear end. Whether it's bad calls, fluke plays, or both, Auburn somehow, someway always seems to find a way to win. Malzahn and the Tigers did it again on Saturday in Oxford. Bo Nix had a solid game completing 23/30 passes for 238 yards and one touchdown. He also added 52 yards on the ground and another score. Freshman stud, Tank Bigsby, was the best player offensively for Auburn as he ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss QB Matt Corral had a decent game but did not play as well as he did earlier in the year. He was actually most effective in the rushing game, running for 88 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Through the air, Corral went 16/27 for 154 yards along with one touchdown and two interceptions. Ole Miss was very effective on the ground all day, totaling 283 yards on 51 carries.
Credit Bo Nix for leading Auburn down the field in the final minutes for the game-winning score. Seth Williams made a great move after the catch and took Nix’s pass 58 yards to the house to give Auburn a 33-28 lead with 1:11 left in the game. The Tigers successfully converted the two-point conversion on the next play making it 35-28. Matt Corral had no magic left as he got the Rebels down to the 30-yard line before running five yards over the line of scrimmage and throwing the ball to the wrong team as time expired.
Ole Miss fans were very upset about the lack of review on the kickoff with about five and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Ole Miss punched it in and took a 28-27 lead with 5:43 to go in the game, then kicked a pooch style kick that may have touched Auburn returner Shaun Shivers before being recovered or downed in the end zone by Ole Miss.
The officiating crew called it a touchback on the field and did not stop to review the play, despite how close Shivers was to the ball. Hard to tell if he touched it or not, but the decision to not review it is puzzling. If I was an Ole Miss fan, I would be upset too. Yet another decision by the referees helps Auburn pull out a win.
The 3-2 Auburn Tigers draw LSU next week at 3:30 ET on CBS, and the 1-4 Rebels draw SEC doormat, Vanderbilt at 4:00 ET on SEC Network.
The Hammer
Midday Games
#2 Alabama 48 - Tennessee 17
Dave in Tuscaloosa, called this one almost to a T, predicting a 47-24 win for the Tide. Pretty darn close. Our man in Crimson and White has a full, in-depth recap which you can read here. Here’s a quick taste":
“On Saturday in Knoxville, the Tide shook off the devastating season-ending ankle injury to star wideout Jaylen Waddle on the opening kickoff of the game to dominate the contest, 48-17. The Volunteers met a menacing group clad in white uniforms and crimson helmets. Alabama ran over the boys in burnt orange like it was a walk in the park...almost like it was their divine right to do so. Bama quarterback Mac “Daddy” Jones adjusted to the loss of Waddle by throwing for 387 yards. Jones failed to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season, yet his pinpoint accuracy (Mac completed his first 11 passes, and combined with completing his last 8 passes of last week’s Georgia game, broke an Alabama record for most passes completed in a row with 19) and moxy led the offense on long, controlled scoring drives that would have made the late Bear Bryant, a big fan of ball controlled offense, so very proud. Bama’s score sheet reads of consistency, with scoring drives of 6 plays/70 yards, 7 plays/76 yards, 9 plays/75 yards, 5 plays/75 yards, 11 plays/80 yards, 7 plays/23 yards, and 12 plays/60 yards with the last two drives mentioned resulting in field goals. Ball control and consistency personified indeed.”
Alabama has Mississippi State next week at 7:00 ET on ESPN. Tennessee has a much needed bye week before taking on Arkansas on November 7.
Missouri 20 - Kentucky 10
Photo: via @MizzouFootball
Missouri beat Kentucky at their own game. Drinkwitz gameplan: Don’t turn the ball over and allow the UK defense to beat you, control the clock, pound the rock, and stifle this bad Kentucky offense. The Tigers ran the game plan to perfection. They didn’t turn the ball over, they controlled the ball from start to finish, totaling 43:10 time of possession to Kentucky’s 16:50, they ran it down Kentucky’s throat, and the defense was suffocating, allowing just 3 points in the first 3 quarters. It sounds like we’re describing a Kentucky game plan, but we aren’t. The score should have been worse, but Kentucky’s defense made enough plays to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Eli Drinkwitz is proving to be one of the great x’s and o’s chess players in the conference, finding opponents’ weaknesses and utilizing the Tigers’ personnel to beat you in many different ways. Against LSU, Mizzou shelled LSU through the air to exploit an uncharacteristically weak Tigers secondary. Against Kentucky, Missouri went on methodical drives that ate clock and pounded the football on the ground all day, handing the ball of to Larry Rountree III 37 times. In comparison, Rountree only carried the ball 18 times against LSU.
In my preview, I thought the Kentucky defense would keep rolling against Mizzou. So, what was it that we missed? The fact that Kentucky’s defense was creating turnovers and scoring too many points, bailing out their offense. Eventually, that clock would strike midnight. On Saturday, it did.
Kentucky was absolutely exposed on offense, gaining just 145 yards of total offense. Terry Wilson cannot throw the ball, making one good throw all day. Wilson was 3/9 for 39 yards and 1 TD. 26 of those yards came on his lone TD throw. It was so anemic that Joey Gatewood came into the game for two series in the second quarter, and was also given the keys to the offense at the most critical juncture in the game - late in the 4th with Kentucky needing a comeback. Gatewood couldn’t muster any offense either.
And in this one, the Wildcats couldn’t run the ball either. We thought Chris Rodriguez Jr. would go for over 200. Instead, it was Mizzou running back Larry Rountree III who outperformed Rodriguez, going for 126 yards and 2 TDs. As a team, the Tigers rushed for 220 yards and held Kentucky to under 100 yards rushing. Again...Drinkwitz beat them at their own game.
The Kentucky defense forced third downs and made big stops, keeping this Wildcats team in another game. But they couldn’t slow the clock-munching Mizzou attack, allowing multiple long drives and giving up 26 first downs on the day. Up 10-3 beginning the second half, Mizzou went on a long 21-play drive that looked sure to end in points, but Kentucky’s defense again did their job, stopping Mizzou on 4th and 1 inside the redzone to keep the game within reach.
Terry Wilson’s one solid throw on the day brought the game within a score at 17-10 with 13:14 left in the 4th, when UK really had no business being in the game.
Wilson makes at least one throw a game that makes you wonder why he can’t be more consistent through the air. But it was Gatewood who got the call for the last drive with 3:00 minutes left down 20-10, but a fumble by WR Josh Ali ended any hope of a comeback.
Mizzou has a multifaceted offense and can beat you in multiple ways. Eli Drinkwitz is proving to be a capable, smart coach who understands the chess game well and fits the playbook to his team’s strengths. Mizzou is a historically pesky team that has seemingly inexplicable success. It looks like Drinkwitz is going to have Mizzou back at that level again very soon, like the sticker-bur in your sock. It’s little, and it doesn’t look like it can hurt you. Then you step on it and crumble.
Missouri gets a big test next week, traveling to The Swamp to take on #10 Florida at 7:30 ET on SEC Network Alternate. Kentucky may score negative points next week when they take on #5 Georgia in Athens at noon ET on SEC Network.
Bossman Slim
Late Game
LSU 52 - South Carolina 24
Photo: via @LSUfootball
Sorry, I’m not sorry for picking South Carolina. That being said I will have revert to my old ways of betting against any Will Muschamp coached team. Muschamp and the Big 12 are the greatest politicians in college football, you can’t trust them as far as you could throw them. LSU fans were the only ones in the nation that would have picked the Tigers as a 28 point favorite. Let’s face it, this LSU team to this point was one the likes of which we have never seen. They had given up 96 points in the first three games alone. Sure, last year they gave up a few more points than the Bayou Bengals are used to, but they had that luxury of Joe Burrow’s weekly performances, plus their defense was not giving up 40+ points to the Missouri’s of the world. But after that performance last night, it seems as though LSU is heading towards redemption.
LSU started a true freshman quarterback, T.J. Finley, due to an injury to Myles Brennan. The second string freshman stepped up in a big way under the Saturday Night Lights on Blue Bayou; ending his night with 265 yards through the air, for two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 24 yards and another score. Not bad at all for a true freshman playing an SEC defense that the week before forced three interceptions against 2019’s SEC Freshman of the Year.
Finley’s efficiency in the passing game allowed the Tiger backs to have their way with the Gamecock defense. John Emery Jr. and his Hand of the King, Tyrion Davis-Price, combined for a total of 223 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Every time one of these backs touched the ball it seemed as if they were six yards past the line of scrimmage before South Carolina realized they were supposed to be playing defense. Just to pour salt in the wound, LSU’s Trey Palmer returned a kick-off 93 yards for a touchdown and Eli Ricks had a pick six. The Tigers were able to score in every facet of the game and South Carolina could do nothing about it.
South Carolina was able to put up decent numbers on offense. Quarterback Collin Hill threw for 234 yards and a touchdown, however his lone pick was taken to the house by the Tiger defense. Kevin Harris averaged a whopping 10.5 yards per carry, finishing the night with 126 yards and two touchdowns. USC was unable to capitalize on needed drives and did not utilize Shi Smith to the best of their abilities. This paired with LSU’s defensive and special teams score proved too much for the Gamecocks to keep up with.
LSU travels to Auburn for a Halloween matchup that could provide many treats for the Bayou Bengals defense playing against an inconsistent Bo Nix. That game is at 3:30 ET on CBS. South Carolina has a bye week before drawing the short end of the stick by having to host the Texas A&M Aggies for their next game on November 7th. I think LSU grounds the War Eagle defense and T.J. Finley (if he starts) comes out firing on all cylinders. South Carolina will need to make a lot of improvements on offense and defense to compete with a Texas A&M team playing at a high level.
The Waco Kid
Thanks for reading - we’ll see you back here for our in-depth recaps next week.