B&S week 10: game by game recaps
Did someone say blowout? Across the SEC, that was the word of the weekend.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer
Photo: Ole Miss Athletics
With six games on Saturday (the heated Tennessee-Vanderbilt rivalry was postponed), just one ended within a score. Most games were over in the 3rd quarter. But we had SEC football on all Saturday, and Thanksgiving leftovers to fatten us up for the Christmas season. Not much to complain about. If you’re like our family, you got to burn off a bunch of those calories by going to find a big ole Christmas tree the day after you stuffed the Turkey.
If you didn’t burn those calories that way, I’m sure you found plenty of time for post-leftover naps with these snoozer games. Unless your team was on and playing, there wasn’t a whole lot of intrigue in the conference. We were flipping over to the Northwestern game to check-in on Wildcats playoff hopes, which summarily got dashed by Michigan State.
Still, even with all the blowouts, this weekend had big implications for the division and CFP races. One note - the SEC schedule for next week is in flux. The only game we have definitive details for at this point is that Alabama-LSU has been rescheduled and will be played at 8:00 ET for a CBS night game in Death Valley. We will update everyone throughout the week in the Mornin’ Biscuits Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
Now, let’s dig on in.
Early Games
#6 Florida 34 - Kentucky 10
In the preview I said: “This one is pretty simple: Kentucky has no offense, Florida does.” It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, and that’s exactly how this one played out.
After coming out of the gate sloppy and unfocused, the Gators found themselves down 10-7 with 2:13 left to go before halftime. That sloppy play resulted in an ironic ass-chewing from Dan Mullen, as he gave defensive coordinator Todd Grantham the business for his unit's early performance. It was ironic because...Mullen’s offense wasn’t doing squat either. Luckily for Florida, they have Kadarius Toney, who took a Kentucky punt 50 yards to the house just before halftime to give the Gators the lead heading into the break. After that, they never looked back, getting their offense going and shutting out the Wildcats in the second half.
Kyle Trask continued his Heisman campaign putting in another solid day of work, going 21/27 for 256 yards and 3 TDs - all three of which were to Kyle Pitts, who had 5 receptions for 99 yards and 3 TDs.
Kentucky’s offense was predictably anemic, and their defense was never going to keep Florida’s offense in check. Terry Wilson ended the day with another rough stat line as Todd Grantham turned up the heat after his ass chewing. Wilson finished the day 10/18 for 62 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs. The Kentucky rushing attack didn’t fare much better, as Asim Rose Jr. was their leading rusher with 15 carries for 58 yards. The Kentucky defense came into this game as the 6th best defense in the conference - but just as we thought, that didn’t matter. Florida racked up 418 total yards going over 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing.
Florida was able to shake off their early rust and do what they were supposed to do. Kentucky followed the same predictable story we’ve seen all year. It certainly did not help that the Wildcats were down 18 players and some staff - but at the end of the day it really wouldn't have mattered. The result would have been the same.
And about that Grantham ass-chewing - Dan Mullen made sure to clear up exactly what he was mad about during the game. In our expert opinion, he is 100% in the right to be blasting Grantham for his Christmas light timing.
Missouri 41- Vanderbilt 0
Vanderbilt is really bad. Missouri throttled the Commodores, 41-0. But that was not the talk of this game. The story of this contest was Sarah Fuller getting her shot as a kicker, making history as the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game.
Listening to her interviews after the game, she is one class act. It was great to see her make history on Saturday, and it was fun to see all the tweets talking about how much it meant to so many people, all the support she received from people like Mia Hamm, and especially young girls who love watching football and were excited to see a woman in the game they love to watch. It was a nice diversion from the game, where Vanderbilt again got smoked.
Eli Drinkwitz is building a contender in Columbia. This guy can coach. Derek Mason can coach too, and is one of the most respected men in the business. Unfortunately, Vandy is just one of the most difficult places to win in the country, and Mason wasn’t able to put up enough Ws to keep his job. Vanderbilt and Mason announced they had agreed to “part ways” this afternoon.
Great to watch history, and good luck to Coach Mason. He won’t be unemployed long.
Midday Games
#1 Alabama 42 - #22 Auburn 13
Photo: University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa News
Dave in Tuscaloosa nearly pinned this one. He predicted 42-23. He underestimated just how much the Tide defense would affect Bo Nix and co. This Bama defense has found their stride.
They were in the backfield all night, giving Bo Nix little time to throw and bottling up Tank Bigsby who was held to just 39 yards on 11 carries. The Tide forced two turnovers and produced 4 sacks, 8 tackles for loss and 9 QB hurries. It feels a little odd to say it was a dominant performance when they gave up nearly 350 yards to the Tigers, but it was dominant. Holding an offense that hung 48 on LSU to just 13 points is no joke.
Auburn fared no better on the other side of the ball, as the Tide imposed their will on the Tigers all day long. 445 yards of total offense, 42 points, 300+ rushing yards and 140+ rushing yards. Mac “Daddy” Jones went 18/26 for 302 yards and 5 TDs. Najee Harris added a TD and almost hit the 100-yard mark. DeVonta Smith continued his incredible season, rubbing salt in Auburn’s wounds with 7 receptions for 171 yards and 2 TDs.
Nick Saban couldn’t be on the sideline for this one, but he sure got his revenge. This was a classic Alabama win, methodically squeezing the life out of their opponent like a boa constrictor.
Ole Miss 31 - Mississippi State 24
It’s the damn Egg Bowl, y’all. Dang that was fun. And it’s going to be fun to watch Kiffin vs. Leach for years to come.
It looked like this one might be over as soon as Kiffin walked off the bus, because the drip king struck again. But Mississippi State brought their own iced out unis as a counter, and the Egg Bowl was on.
This one was a fight to the finish, and the best game of the day in the SEC. Ole Miss struck paydirt first, but Mississippi State went on an 8-play, 75-yard drive that looked like it would tie the game, but a fumble on the goal line and subsequent 84-yard return by the Rebels’ Dean Leonard turned out to be a 14-point swing and the difference in the ball game. Ole Miss RB Snoop Connor would punch it in for the Rebels to go up 14-0 just a few plays later.
Mississippi State would hang around all day however, keeping pace with the Ole Miss offense and getting it to within a field goal at 24-21 midway through the 4th quarter. Within a touchdown on their last drive, the Bulldogs were driving and had a chance to tie the game, but the Ole Miss defense held, batting down a Will Rogers prayer in the end zone to end the game.
Both teams have much to look forward to as the future looks bright under their new head coaches. Mississippi State has taken their lumps this year, but the last two games have been encouraging. Leach seems to have found his man in freshman quarterback Will Rogers. On the other side, Kiffin gets a win in his first Egg Bowl and has an offense that can compete with anyone, and a quarterback in Matt Corral he can build the program with (so long as Corral stays in school). Kiffin needs to recruit hard on defense, and Leach needs to do recruiting work across the board, but it looks like the Mississippi schools will be tough outs in the years to come.
We’ll leave you with a great troll from Ole Miss to start off the Kiffin-Leach era right:
Bossman Slim
Late Games
#5 Texas A&M 20 - LSU 7
Photo: via @PeytonAufill
The Aggies prevail in a sloppy, rainy night in College Station. It was pouring most of the game and neither team’s passing game ever found a rhythm. LSU played both TJ Finley and Max “Mark Richt’s Nephew” Johnson but A&M dialed up pressure all night and neither Tiger quarterback could get anything going. On the other side, Mond never looked sharp. He was pressured more than usual but that’s no excuse. He was inaccurate all night and his wide receivers dropped passes too.
Just a sloppy offensive performance on both sides. If not for a 52 yard touchdown run from Isaiah Spiller in the first half, and a garbage time LSU touchdown with less than a minute remaining, there would not have been an offensive touchdown at all. Clearly, the three weeks off left A&M a little rusty. Not only was the offense stagnant but the Aggies tallied up nine penalties.
The real story coming out of this game should be the Texas A&M defense and defensive coordinator Mike Elko. The true mark of a good team is winning games in multiple ways. A&M has won a shootout (41-38 over Florida), blown out opponents (48-3 over South Carolina), and now has won a sloppy defensive struggle - and won it convincingly. The LSU offense never threatened and Elko dialed up the right blitzes all night confusing the LSU offensive line and quarterbacks on nearly every drop back. Finley and Johnson had no chance back there. A&M came into the game with the best defensive unit in the SEC statistically, and they played like it last night. Aggie fans will look for the offense to find its footing next week, but they ought to appreciate this win. Texas A&M has now won two of the last three meetings against LSU and the arrow is pointing up in Aggieland.
The Hammer
#9 Georgia 45 - South Carolina 16
Photo: Jeff Blake, USA TODAY Sports
Loss avenged. After falling to the Gamecocks 20-17 last season in stunning fashion, Georgia made darn sure that would not happen again this year. On Saturday, the Dawgs took their turn cooking the chickens, doing whatever they wanted all night. South Carolina doesn’t have much personnel left - and they certainly have zero will after Will Muschamp’s firing.
This one was all about Georgia’s run game, which racked up 332 yards on 46 carries. Four rushers went over 70 yards, and James Cook and Zamir White tallied two touchdowns each. JT “Peg Leg” Daniels is the guy - he didn’t have eye popping stats on Saturday night, but he didn’t need to. Having Daniels under center adds another dimension to this Georgia offense. Having a QB that is a threat in the passing game helps open up the run game. Just think if he had been starting all year…? Would we be talking about Georgia for a College Football Playoff spot? We’ll never know, but the Dawgs should finish the year strong and be set up for a title run in 2021.
For South Carolina, there’s not much to say. They got beat in every facet of the game, and the 2020 season can’t conclude fast enough for the Gamecocks. Interim Head Coach Mike Bobo is already trying to turn the page, starting highly-recruited Luke Doty at QB, getting him some game reps before a new coach takes the reins. Not many bright spots right now - and likely won’t be until a new head coach is announced.
Bossman Slim