B&S Week 13 game by game recaps
By: Bossman Slim
What a way to end the season - with a bang. That was some of the best football watching we’ve done all year. Adrenaline was pumping high, wondering if A&M could sneak in the playoff, and watching Florida take Alabama to the wire. LSU and Ole Miss traded punches all night and gave us a track meet of a game that was a helluva a lot of fun to watch.
First - I want to thank our readers for supporting this upstart, scrappy blog. We do this because we enjoy talking ball and all the trash talk and debating that comes with it. And in our first season - what a fun ride it’s been. Thank you to all who have read our rants over the past 13 weeks. We hope you’ll keep coming back for more as we cover bowl season, the coaching carousel, and the offseason, and the build-up to a (hopefully non-corona) 2021 season...We can’t wait to be back for more tomfoolery in 2021 and beyond. We’re just getting started!
Now, let’s dig into the final regular-season recap of the inaugural Biscuits & SEC 2020 season.
Early Game
#5 Texas A&M 34 Tennessee - 13
Photo: via @AggieFootball
The Junction Blog put up a great recap of the game, which you can read here. Here’s a preview of the recap:
“Coming into this game, the narrative was that Texas A&M needed to win “convincingly” and get some help from the teams above them. A&M certainly held up their end of that bargain, dominating Tennessee in a 34-13 rout. The Aggie defense suffocated the Vols all day, and the only chink in the armor was second-string corner Brian George, who was filling in for Myles Jones. George got beat a few times but also made some plays when it mattered and ultimately the Vol’s offense had no hope.
Just look at these stats and you can’t deny how impressive that game was for the new wrecking crew and overall #1 defense in the SEC (tip of the cap to DC Mike Elko on a hell of a coaching job this season). Tennessee had just 217 total yards, and only 24 of those were on the ground. Running back Eric Gray was out, but it would not have mattered. If you can only muster 1.4 yards per carry, it doesn’t matter who is carrying the ball there’s no room to run. The A&M front seven was unblockable as they have been for the majority of the year. The Vols were just 1-6 on third downs, threw one interception, and lost a fumble to boot.
Offensively Texas A&M was extremely efficient again. A great run-pass balance and methodical attack. The Aggies dominated time of possession 44:09 to just 15:51 for the Vols. A&M racked up 497 yards of total offense and were 10/14 on third downs. Without a big-play threat, A&M has to move the ball down the field with precision and execution, and they do it extremely well. As usual, the Aggie attack was led by Isaiah Spiller and Ainias Smith. Spiller carried the ball 26 times for just 89 yards and a touchdown, but also tallied six catches for 60 yards. Smith meanwhile had eight carries for 70 yards and had four receptions for 29 yards, finding the end zone twice - one on the ground and one through the air.”
#5 Texas A&M takes on #13 North Carolina in the Orange Bowl on January 2nd at 8:00 ET on ESPN. Tennessee received an invitation to the Liberty Bowl, but opted-out due to COVID-19 issues within the program.
Midday Games
LSU 53 - Ole Miss 48
Photo: via @LSUFootball
Nope, not a basketball score. It was a track meet. Nearly 1,200 total yards, 101 points, 54 first downs, and on and on it goes. LSU WR Kayshon Boutte had 14 receptions for 308 yards and 3 TDs in the best performance for an SEC WR in a game ever. And here’s something else crazy - LSU picked off Matt Corral FIVE TIMES in this game and still gave up 48 points and almost lost. That Lane Kiffin offense can move the ball - quickly.
This game was made for TV. Tons of yards, tons of points, very little defense. Matt Corral was throwing dimes when he wasn’t throwing picks, and Max Johnson was slinging the rock too. Jerrion Ealy had a highlight reel kickoff return, while Jay Ward and Ali Gaye for LSU added to the Tigers highlight reel with impressive interceptions.
Ole Miss retook the lead early in the 4th quarter 41-40 on a 25-yard strike from Matt Corral to Braylon Sanders. From there, these two would trade punches until LSU would ultimately score for the final time on an impressive 45-yard Kayshon Boutte catch and run that was all heart, breaking multiple tackles and weaving through the Rebel defense. LSU sealed the game by forcing one more Matt Corral turnover, this time on a fumble that was recovered by Ali Gaye with 40 seconds left.
Kayshon Boutte had a day, and capped it off with this 45-yard game-winning score.
It’s been an up and down season for both of these teams. LSU self-imposed a bowl ban for this year (HA), so their season is finished. Time for Coach O to start cleaning house on the defensive side of the ball. Ole Miss accepted an invitation to the Outback Bowl against Indiana, which will be played on January 2nd at 12:30 ET on ABC.
Mississippi State 51 - Missouri 32
Clanga-clanga-clanga-clanga. That was the sound heard all night in Starkville. The cowbells were out in full force on Saturday, as the Pirate finally found the keys to the offense again, hanging 51 on Mizzou.
Missouri scored first on a great 18-yard spinning run from RB Larry Rountree III. After that, Mississippi State scored 17 unanswered points and didn’t look back. At one point in the 3rd quarter, the score was 44-18. Mizzou had a chance to put some pressure on Mississippi State in the 3rd quarter when they scored their second touchdown of the day to make it 34-18 after a two-point conversion, then picked off Will Rogers in the end zone on State’s next possession. It looked like momentum might be swinging, but the Bulldogs defense answered when Bazelak threw a costly interception that stunted the Missouri comeback effort.
In a big surprise, this one was a blowout. It was an all-around team effort from the Bulldogs, as the defense got in on the action, forcing four turnovers. They were able to affect normally calm and cool Connor Bazelak all day and picked him off three times. They also forced three fumbles, recovering one. State freshman QB Will Rogers continued to show great promise, going 21/36 for 295 yards 3 TDs and 1 INT.
Missouri will need to regroup quickly as they take on #15 Iowa in the Music City Bowl on December 30th at 4:00 ET on ESPN. Mississippi State will try and keep their momentum going and notch a top-25 win in the Armed Forces Bowl against #24 Tulsa on December 31st at 12:00 ET on ESPN.
Late Game
SEC Championship
#1 Alabama 52 - #7 Florida 46
Photo: via @JustinDunk
Dave in Tuscaloosa has an in-depth recap of the title bout. We’ve got a snippet below, and you can read the full blog here.
“The path to get to the end result featured a terrific SEC final, a true classic...two heavyweights, titans of the gridiron, doing honorable battle in front of a small, but vocal crowd. Although they never trailed, the Tide was pushed to the brink. Florida’s offense proved to be as good as advertised and had the boys in Crimson and White on their heels for much of the night. In a game that reminded Tide fans of the 2017 National Championship game, a 45-40 win over the Clemson Tigers that saw Deshawn Watson wear down a talented Tide D, the Alabama offense once again delivered in heroic fashion. The Tide racked up 605 total yards, 33 first downs, and punted just twice. Simply put, the contest came down to two simple facts: the Gator defense could not stop the balanced Bama offense, and the Bama defense did just enough to slow down the potent Gator offense.
The 46 points given up by the Bama defense was more the result of Gator offensive brilliance than Alabama deficiency. Quarterback Kyle Trask had a terrific evening, completing 26 of 40 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns. His receiving corps had the upper hand on the Bama secondary all game, as Kadarius Toney (8 catches, 153 yards, 1 touchdown), Kyle Pitts (7/129/1), and Trevon Grimes (4/78/1) had monster nights and reminded the Bama nation of the night in October when Ole Miss rolled over the Tide defense to the tune of 48 points and 647 yards. Alabama’s defense has improved a lot since getting torched by the Rebel attack, yet couldn’t consistently slow down the Gator attack. The Bama secondary and linebacking corps was forced into coverage much of the night and committed five pass interference penalties. Despite the struggles, the Tide D registered 5 sacks and forced two key turnovers that turned into 10 points.
On the other side of the ball, the Crimson Tide offensive juggernaut marched on, scoring on all but three possessions (2 punts and a stop on 4th down). On the backs of the machine known as the offensive line, the three-headed monster of Jones, Harris, and Smith rolled on and all had Heisman worthy nights. The Gator defensive unit had no answer. Quarterback Mac “Daddy” Jones had another brilliant night, completing 33 of 43 passes for 418 yards (an SEC Championship game record) and 5 touchdowns. He threw one interception, as Gator corner Trey Dean wrestled a pass away from Tide tight end Miller Forristall in the first quarter. As Dean turned upfield, he was literally trucked (as in a hockey player getting nailed into the boards style) by Tide sophomore wideout John ”Oh Canada” Metchie. The hit caused Dean to cough up the ball, which was recovered by DeVonta Smith.”
John Metchie taking out Trey Dean.
Alabama is in the College Football Playoff and will take on #4 Notre Dame in a rematch of the 2013 National Championship. That game is at 4:00 ET on New Years Day. Florida looks to rebound and end their season on a high note in the Cotton Bowl against #6 Oklahoma on December 31st at 8:00 ET on ESPN.