SEC week 8 recap: More points than the Harlem Globetrotters
Just three games in the SEC this week, but entertaining they were as box scores were out of control on Saturday.
By: The Hammer, The Waco Kid, Bossman Slim
We’ve talked about it all week - we didn’t have the marquee matchups we are accustomed to due to postponements. But Saturday was fun to watch nonetheless. There were surprises (Vandy hanging around!), Heisman-like performances (Kyle Trask - WOW), and one that went exactly as expected (the Ole Miss-South Carolina track meet). Even with a down week in the SEC, it was still a fun weekend of football in the SEC, especially if you like 5-hour games and more points being scored than the Harlem Globetrotters.
Let’s dig on in.
Early Game
Kentucky 38 - Vanderbilt 35
Photo: Bryan Woolston, AP
Kentucky was able to pull out the victory here but Vandy made me eat crow. I didn’t see their offense putting up this many points against a solid Kentucky defense, but I’ll be damned if they didn't move the ball all day. Both offenses played clean and efficient football with neither team turning the ball over, which is rare for Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Kentucky was able to run the ball as expected and gained 308 yards on the ground. The Big Blue rushing attack was led by usual suspect Chris Rodriguez Jr., who ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 carries. Terry Wilson had a good day as well, running for 83 yards and throwing for 110 while scoring three touchdowns overall.
The Vanderbilt offense was balanced and efficient all day. The Commodores ran for 180 yards and were led by Kenyon Henry-Brooks who pounded into Kentucky’s front for a hard-earned 129 yards. Ken Seals had a solid game as well passing for 225 yards, two scores, and most importantly, no interceptions.
For as bad as this matchup looked on paper, it was a really entertaining game. Kentucky was ahead the entire game but Vanderbilt refused to fold and kept scoring to keep it close. The game was clearly an emotional one for Kentucky, after the passing of offensive line coach, John Schlarman. They honored Schlarman on the first play by coming out with 10 players, leaving the left guard position empty and taking a delay of game penalty. Vanderbilt declined the penalty. Classy stuff from both sides. I’m glad Kentucky was able to get the win and pay tribute while doing so.
Both teams draw tough opponents next week. The 3-4 Wildcats draw Alabama, who has not played in two weeks after a bye week and COVID postponement. Not a good matchup for Kentucky. That game is at 4:00 ET on SEC Network. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt faces red hot Kyle Trask and the Florida Gators at noon ET on ESPN. Yikes.
The Hammer
Late Games
#6 Florida 63 - Arkansas 35
Photo: Sports Illustrated
Keon Zipperer filled in well for injured Kyle Pitts.
Florida has put the College Football Playoff committee in quite a predicament after trouncing the Arkansas Razorbacks, 63-35 on Saturday. Before the game, the Gators were thought to be an outside team looking in due to their loss to #5 Texas A&M. Florida did exactly what they needed to do to impress the committee, while A&M had to postpone their matchup with Tennessee.
The Florida offense came out firing on all cylinders. Kyle Trask threw for 356 yards and six touchdowns. You read that right, six touchdowns. This offense is really a next man up type of team. Tight end Kyle Pitts had to sit out of the contest due to concussion protocol but back up Keon Zipperer stepped right in and caught two touchdowns of his own. That coupled with Trevon Grimes’ 109 yards receiving and two touchdowns, made for an exhilarating air attack from the Gators.
Arkansas was no gator chum in this one either. Feleipe Franks threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Treylon Smith and Rakeem Boyd rushed for over 170 yards and two touchdowns between the two of them. Arkansas kept it interesting but the Gators exploded in the second quarter putting up 28 points. After that, it was too little too late for the Razorbacks.
Florida will most definitely continue their dominance against a Vanderbilt team next Saturday at noon ET on ESPN, while Arkansas will host LSU in an interesting matchup, to say the least. I think Arkansas has the grit and talent to send the Tigers back to Baton Rouge with another loss in the record column. That game is at noon on SEC Network.
The Waco Kid
Ole Miss 59 - South Carolina 42
Here at B&S, we don’t like to brag about when our picks are right, we really like to brag when they’re right. If we’re wrong...well that’s just part of the business and we put our interns on scrubbing evidence from the internet.
But in this one, we were not wrong. Not even close. Did you hear me? We nailed this one.
Bossman slim lights the beacons to let everyone know how right he was.
In the preview, we told you this one would be a scorcher and no defense would be played. Well, I guess it didn’t take Socrates to figure that one out. Both teams had their way on offense, doing whatever they pleased all night. Just as we thought, this game seemed like it would never end. 98 points were scored in the Florida-Arkansas game, and that game started just 30 minutes before Ole Miss-South Carolina. That game was nearly over, and Ole Miss-South Carolina was just beginning the fourth quarter. This was the definition of a “track meet” game.
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral was the star of the show on Saturday. With more weapons around him and a better defense, he would likely find himself in the Heisman conversation. Without a doubt at this point, he’s rightfully considered in the upper tier of SEC quarterbacks along with Kyle Trask and Mac Jones. Corral’s stat line from Saturday night makes your eyes pop: 28/32, 513 yards for 16 yards per completion, 5 total TDs, and a 98.7 QBR. Holy Toledo. Only Archie Manning had a better game passing in a Rebel uniform. To add more gasoline to the Ole Miss offense, RB Jerrion Ealy had 84 yards and 2 TDs on the night, as Ole Miss added 195 yards rushing as a team. That was the good news for Ole Miss. The bad news is they had to score that much just to ensure they could win the game, as South Carolina - who scored just 3 points against Texas A&M two weeks ago - came out looking like “The Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams.
Photo: Bruce Newman, AP
Jerrion Ealy, enthusiastic track meet participant.
Kevin Harris was plugged up by Texas A&M for just 39 yards, but similar to a laxative, everything must come out at some point. Harris sure came out against the Rebels, rushing for over 200 yards for the first time in his career, looking like the second coming of Marshall Faulk. Harris had 243 yards on 25 carries and accounted for FIVE of South Carolina’s six TDs. Are you kidding me? Long gone are the days of Robert Nkemdiche on the Ole Miss D-line.
We thought that a quarterback change was on the way after now-fired Will Muschamp opened up the competition this week, but - we were wrong. Mysterious are the ways of quarterback guru Will Muschamp. In a move to put his picture next to the definition of insanity in the Websters Dictionary, Muschamp trotted Collin Hill out as the starter again this week. Hill had a decent game, throwing for 230 yards, a TD and one INT. But the QBR of 44.2 tells a more accurate story. Hill missed open receivers when it mattered most, particularly late in the game, missing a wide-open TE down the sideline that would have been 6. That potential score would have helped them keep pace with a red-hot Ole Miss offense. It isn’t all Hill’s fault - he only has one wide receiver worth a dang: Shi Smith. At one point Hill had completed seven passes - all the Shi Smith. There is no trust or chemistry with other receivers.
This one ended as we expected - a track meet to the end, and Ole Miss pulls away late.
With Muschamp gone, this South Carolina team is now rudderless and has thrown in the towel for 2020. Mike Bobo takes over as interim head coach. The Gamecocks get Missouri next week at Williams-Brice at 7:30 ET on SEC Network Alternate. Ole Miss travels to Texas to take on #5 Texas A&M at 3:30 ET on CBS.
Bossman Slim