B&S week 9: game by game recaps
Peg Leg Daniels impresses, Auburn downs Tennessee, Trask and Mac “Daddy” Jones keep rolling towards the Heisman, and more.
By: The Hammer, Bossman Slim
Photo: Mark Humphrey, AP
Kyle Trask put up more big numbers against Vandy to keep his Heisman hopes in high gear.
Trask keeps making his case for the Heisman, LSU takes down the Hogs, and Georgia looks shaky against the Pirate. A full slate of SEC football is bound to be entertaining, no matter how “meh” the games may seem on paper. Saturday delivered. Vanderbilt hung with Florida for a bit before the Gators steamrolled the Commodores. Tennessee continues to implode without a quarterback, and much more.
Recap time.
Early Games
#6 Florida 38 - Vanderbilt 17
The Gators failed to cover in this one and allowed Vanderbilt to hang around. Give Derek Mason and the Commodores credit for hanging in there and competing with a much more talented Florida team. Despite not winning a game yet, Vanderbilt is still giving great effort which is more than can be said for some other teams around the country.
Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY
The Gators were up just 17-10 at halftime but turned it on in the second half to coast to a comfortable win. Kyle Trask continues to put up silly numbers throwing for 383 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Vandy freshman quarterback, Ken Seals, had a strong performance too. Seals went 22/34 for 319 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. The Gators defense held up against the vandy rushing attack only allowing 87 yards on the ground, but that pass defense remains a concern. Florida will need to shore up their secondary if they plan on taking down Alabama in the SEC championship game.
Florida looks to continue their winning ways with a matchup against a struggling Kentucky team next week. The Commodores square off against in state rival Tennessee, a game I can actually see them winning given how bad the Vols are playing.
LSU 27 - Arkansas 24
Photo: Nelson Chenault, USA TODAY Sports
This was a hard fought game on both sides but LSU outlasted the Hogs in Fayetteville. It was rainy, sloppy and the Tigers found a way to win and keep the coveted Golden Boot trophy in Baton Rouge. Arkansas outgained LSU 443 to 419 on the day but went 0/10 on third downs. Those lack of conversions led to LSU dominating the time of possession 41:43 to 18:17. It's a wonder the Hogs even kept it this close with that gap in time of possession.
Felipe Franks gashed the LSU secondary multiple times but it wasn't enough in the end. LSU was grinding this one out with a methodical run first offense approach. Tiger’s freshman quarterback looked solid throwing for two touchdowns and most importantly, no interceptions. Hog fans were upset at several calls in this game but that is nothing new. They have been crying about the officials all year, rightfully so in some cases. But to me, this one came down to not being able to convert a single third down and leaving their defense on the field all day. Can’t lose time of possession that badly and expect to win.
Arkansas will look to get back in the win column next week against Missouri at noon ET on SEC Network. Should be very winnable. Meanwhile, LSU takes on a Texas A&M team who hasn't played in two weeks due to COVID-19. That game is at 7:00 ET on ESPN.
The Hammer
Midday Game
#1 Alabama 63 - Kentucky 3
Alabama did Kentucky like Stan Podolak in Space Jam.
This one was more lopsided than the Titanic. 63-3. There really isn’t a whole lot to say.
Alabama did what Alabama does. All the Tide had to do was kick the ball off for ESPN’s win probability predictor to put their chances at a 96.7% chance to win. I kid you not. They trounced Kentucky in Bryant-Denny stadium, having their way with the Wildcats all day. 509 total yards to 179. 29 first downs to 12. 283 passing yards to 120. 226 rushing yards to 59. And on and on and on.
Were there any bright spots for Kentucky? Yes, they got to watch greatness flatten them firsthand. Other than that...no. Mac Jones continues his Heisman campaign and DeVonta Smith stays in the lead for the Biletnikoff. Linebacker Christian Harris finished the night with 11 total tackles and a sack. It was total domination.
#1 Alabama faces their beloved rivals #22 Auburn in the Iron Bowl next week at 3:30 ET on CBS. In their efforts to pick themselves up off the turf next week, Kentucky will travel to The Swamp to take on #6 Florida where they will likely get KO’d again in the first quarter. That bloodbath is scheduled for noon ET on ESPN to save Wildcats fans from primetime humiliation.
Late Games
#23 Auburn 30 - Tennessee 17
Photo: Butch Dill, AP
B&S prediction: 38-16. Final score: 30-17. Put another one in the “almost perfect” column for Bossman Slim.
Tennessee gave me an early scare, starting off hot. After missing a field goal on their opening drive, the Vols scored the game's first 10 points. The defense stopped Auburn after 5 plays, turning that stop into a touchdown after a 9 play 80-yard TD drive that was executed well, making it 7-0 Vols. Tennessee then ended a promising Auburn drive when Bo Nix threw an ill-advised forced pass into the end zone that was picked by Tennessee DB Bryce Thompson. Guarantano then marched the Vols 50-yards on 8 plays to get them in position to kick a 47-yard field goal, which they converted to go up 10-0.
And that would be about the only good news for Tennessee the rest of the night.
Auburn would go on to score 27 unanswered points and put this one away late in the 3rd quarter after a 12-play, 80-yard drive by the Tigers to go up 27-10. But that was not the play that broke the Vols spirit - that was a back-breaking interception thrown by Jarrett Guarantano deep in Auburn territory. A touchdown on that drive would have put Tennessee ahead, a field goal would have tied the game. Instead, Jarrett Guarantano threw maybe the most untimely interception he’s thrown all season - and there have been a few - to Auburn DB Smoke Monday, who took the gift 100-yards to the house, swinging the game a minimum of 10 points in one play. Vols fans must have been tearing their hair out.
Tennessee running back Eric Gray put in a heroic effort, rushing for 173 yards on 22 carries and a TD. He averaged 7.9 yards-per-carry, and the Vols rushed for 222 yards as a team. When you look at the team stats, it was an evenly matched game - but Tennessee had the edge in almost every facet:
Total Yards: Tennessee 464 vs. Auburn 385
First Downs: Tennessee 28 vs. Auburn 23
Time of Possession: Tennessee 31:29 vs Auburn 28:31
But as Dave in Tuscaloosa always says...it comes down to who makes more plays. And Auburn made the most plays when it mattered. Tennessee missed two field goals and threw a costly red zone interception, while Auburn took advantage of their opportunities and capitalized on Tennessee mishaps. Bo Nix’s QBR was just 66.7, but he did throw for 220 yards and a TD. He continues to show improvement and has led the Tigers to three-straight wins since that embarrassing loss to South Carolina.
Gus Malzahn gets a win in his 100th game as head coach at Auburn, and the Tigers have found a stride - though it does not get easier. The Tigers face #1 Alabama and #5 Texas A&M in consecutive weeks, and end the season with Mississippi State. 5-2 and ranked could quickly become 5-4 and unranked, with Malzahn right back on a warm seat. Time will tell.
Tennessee gets in-state “rival” Vanderbilt next week at 7:30 ET on SEC Network Alternate, while the Tigers get the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa at 3:30 ET on CBS.
#13 Georgia 31 - Mississippi State 24
“Peg Leg” Daniels starred in his debut for the Dawgs.
JT “Peg Leg” Daniels made his debut for the Dawgs to much excitement from UGA fans. In Wednesday’s newsletter, we thought Daniels could go off against Mississippi State, even with his long hiatus from the field. And he delivered - bigly. Check out his stat line: 28/38 for 401 yards and 4 TDs with a 96.2 QBR. Daniels spread the ball out like birdshot, hitting 8 different Bulldogs’ receivers on the night. Jermaine Burton exploded for 8 receptions, 197 yards and 2 TDs, while George Pickens reintroduced himself with 8 receptions of his own for 87 yards, finding pay dirt once himself. Woo boy - that’s EXACTLY what Georgia has been missing. JT Daniels ain’t giving this job up, and it’s his show now.
His performance has some wondering why he didn’t get the chance to start earlier, especially when he was cleared to play after the Dawgs opening game win over Arkansas. It grew even more curious when Daniels mentioned in post-game that it was the coaching staffs’ decision not to play him after he was cleared post week one. Dawgs fans will not be happy to hear that.
But even with that explosive performance on offense from Daniels, three curious things kept Mississippi State in this game: Georgia rushed for just EIGHT yards, the Georgia defense gave up 336 passing yards, and Mississippi State actually played...decent.
Mike Leach has turned the page to the future with freshman QB Will Rogers, who had his best game to date, completing 41/52 passes for 336 yards and TD. Running back Dillon Johnson was Mississippi State’s leading rusher with just 19 yards - but added 2 TDs.
Mississippi was driving late in the 4th quarter in this one with a chance to tie the game, but Will Rogers was sacked for a 9-yard loss on 4th and 4 with 1:18 left to seal the other Bulldogs’ fate and allow Georgia fans to exhale.
#13 Georgia takes on reeling South Carolina next week at 7:30 ET on SEC Network, while Mississippi State takes on Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl at 4:00 ET on SEC Network. I sure as heck am tuning into that one. Neither team is that good - but Leach and Kiffin, their first Egg Bowl? It might be the game of the week just from sheer entertainment factor.
Missouri 17 - South Carolina 10
The Waco Kid wrote his preview predicting a South Carolina win. He’s been in the saloon too long, and has been smoking some good stuff during his card games this season. I wouldn’t have picked South Carolina to beat The Little Giants this week, let alone Missouri.
Even Ice Box would have smoked the chickens this weekend.
As you can tell from the score, this was a pedestrian game. The big news for South Carolina was that Mike Bobo made the move at QB that Will Muschamp was unwilling to, pulling Collin Hill after a completely ineffectual first half that saw South Carolina’s drives look like this:
Turnover on downs, punt, punt, punt, punt...you guessed it: punt. Luke Doty came in to begin the second half and didn’t fare much better, throwing for 130 yards, an INT and a QBR of 57.8. Not great - but at least Bobo was willing to give one of their two talented backups a chance.
Missouri was able to capitalize on South Carolina’s complete incompetence in the first half, scoring all 17 points before the break. Doty led a 13-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a 1-yard TD run by Deshaun Fenwick, which made it interesting late in the 4th quarter at 17-10. South Carolina’s defense held on the ensuing Tiger drive, giving South Carolina one final drive to try and tie the game. A great Missouri punt pinned the Gamecocks at their own 1, and a few plays later, Doty threw an interception to guarantee a win for Missouri.
South Carolina has a trap game next week, as they play #13 Georgia at 7:30 ET on SEC Network. It’s a trap because South Carolina could get caught looking ahead to their season finale against Kentucky, a game that they may actually have a chance of winning. Missouri will see Arkansas cross the Ozarks for a border war. That game is at noon ET on SEC Network.
Bossman Slim
That’s all for the Week 9 recaps. Keep coming back this week for more great content if you need a break from arguing politics with your Aunt over the Thanksgiving holiday.