B&S week 12 game by game recaps
Alabama scrapes by Arkansas in the marquee game of Cupcake Week and Eli Drinkwitz gets the last laugh.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer,
Master Jedi Eli Drinkwitz told Dan Mullen “I am your father.”
Cupcake week lived up to its name as there were blowouts across the conference. Alabama-Arkansas was a must-watch and was a very entertaining game, as was Mizzou-Florida which ended up being the final straw the broke the camel's back for Dan Mullen.
Let’s see how the crew fared this weekend:
The Hammer: 9-1; 77-17 overall
Bossman Slim: 8-2; 74-20 overall
The Waco Kid: 8-2; 72-22 overall
The Hammer was bold enough to pick Mizzou over Florida, which gave him a leg up over both Bossman and Mr. Waco. He gains a game and stays in the driver seat for King Biscuit.
The Waco Kid got cornered by the Corporate Man this week, so Bossman and The Hammer are lifting the boats on the recaps.
Let’s dive in.
Early Games
#1 Georgia 56 - Charleston Southern 7
Bossman Slim: You won’t see Georgia dancing after this one. Nakobi Dean is going to be lighting his defense up all week letting them know that giving up 7 to Charleston Southern is unacceptable. That’s the culture in Athens. An astronomical standard they’re always striving for. The same can’t be said down south in Gainesville, and that coach is now gone. Georgia will coast next week against Georgia Tech, who just lost to Notre Dame 55-0. If the Dawgs give up more than ND, better bet that the coaches will ride that defense leading up to the SEC Championship game. It’s still the Dawgs year until further notice.
The Hammer: Charleston Southern managed to score a touchdown on a scoop and score in the 3rd quarter, and that’s about the only thing that surprised me here. Georgia smothered them, and they are going to do the same to Georgia Tech next weekend.
#16 Texas A&M 52 - Prairie View 3
Bossman Slim: The Aggies came out and did what I expected. Jimbo challenged the offense to come out firing on all cylinders and to put their foot on the Prairie View jugular and show no mercy. In games earlier this year, New Mexico in particular, A&M won convincingly but left much to be desired. That was not the case today as the Aggies dominated PVAM on both sides of the ball from whistle to whistle. A showdown with LSU in Death Valley looms for the Aggies, who are pushing for a 9-3 regular season.
The Hammer: The Aggies ran over Prairie View as they should have. This game was 38-0 at half time and A&M emptied the bench. Ahead of a touch matchup at LSU for a night game to close the year, Aggie fans should be encouraged by their execution this weekend.
#25 Mississippi State 55 - Tennessee State 10
Bossman Slim: I picked this one 52-10. I’m so dang good at predicting scores I should run Vegas. Instead I run this blog. Tennessee State sounds like a generic school that Hollywood made up to avoid paying licensing fees. Mississippi State took care of business and is geared up and ready for the Egg Bowl, which I can’t wait to watch.
The Hammer: We all knew the Bulldogs would roll in this game, but Cowboy Will Rogers continues to impress. The kid just doesn’t miss and has complete control of this Mike Leach air raid. The Cowboy finished with 391 yards and five touchdowns on 28/34 attempts. It’s hard to find a QB who has played better over the last month than Rogers.
Kentucky 56 - New Mexico State 16
Bossman Slim: I didn’t watch any of this game, which was a good call. Kentucky wins, as they should have. Good work Big Blue. Up next is Louisville, who isn’t good but is scrappy. The fighting Papa John’s have lost 3 of their 5 games by just one score. I should be a good one in Louisville, I will tune into that one.
The Hammer: New Mexico State took its second straight beating this weekend at the hands of an SEC team. Kentucky was the lucky team this weekend and they took advantage of their opportunity to whoop up on the Aggies of New Mexico. Will LEvis looked good and threw for over 400 yards and 4 TDs, and the Wildcats ran the ball at will. Interesting game against Louisville next weekend to close out the year.
Midday Games
#2 Alabama 42 - #21 Arkansas 35
Bossman Slim: I’m visiting some family ahead of Thanksgiving in ACC country, so we had on the Virginia-Pittsburgh game last night when I got a text from The Hammer saying “turn on the Arkansas-Bama game.” Sure enough, Arkansas was down by just one score and made it interesting into the 4th quarter. I had this one at 45-28, thinking that Alabama would pull away late. Got dang I’m good. Sam Pittman is building a winner, man. Based on recruiting rankings of the last five years, that team should get run off the field by Alabama. Instead, they hung tough and believed, giving the Tide a scare up to the end. Credit to Alabama for pulling out another hard-fought win, and credit to Sam Pittman for getting this program to where it is now in just two short years. Alabama still has everything in front of them, and Arkansas continues to build on the biggest thing that matters in college football: culture.
The Hammer: In a weekend where there were precious little good SEC games, this one delivered. It was back and forth all afternoon and Alabama just made a few more plays than Arkansas in the end. Bryce Young was brilliant, throwing for 559 yards and 5 touchdowns. His two main targets unsurprisingly were Jamison Williams (8 catches, 190 yards, 3 TDs) and John Metchie (10 catches, 173 yards, 1 TD) who both lit up the stat sheet. Give the Razorbacks credit though because every time their defense gave up a big shot, the Hogs offense responded. Alabam was able to stifle the Arkansas run game, as they only managed 110 yards on 42 carries, but KJ Jefferson made things happen through the air. His favorite receiver of course was Treylon Burks who caught 8 passes for 179 yards and two TDs. This Alabama team may not be a “vintage” Bama team who just smothers their opponents and dominates, but they are winning. And they are winning in multiple ways. Plus they have one of the best quarterbacks in the country in Bryce Young. Don’t count out the Tide just yet as they have punched their ticket to Atlanta to face Georgia, regardless of what happens in the Iron Bowl this weekend.
Missouri 24 - Florida 23 (OT)
Bossman Slim: “I’m picking Florida just so they can let me down one more time this year.” -Me. Thank you, Dan Mullen, for putting the final nail in my coffin after picking the Gators to finish second in the East this year and placing my faith in Emory Jones. Y’all don’t look now, I’m deleting my preseason picks using BleachBit. No trace. Mizzou gets a great win over UF and Eli Drinkwitz got the last laugh over Dan Mullen. Eli said “may the force be with you,” but he should have said, “Dan, I am your father.”
The Hammer: HAHA! I was the only one with the guts to pick Mizzou and super-nerd Eli Drinkwitz in this game, and my guys delivered. I was expecting a shootout here given how both defenses have played most of the year, but surprisingly these teams buckled down and we got an old school defensive battle in Columbia. The main reason I picked Mizzou is simply that I felt like the team cared. They had shown some improvement over the last month, and although they aren’t a good team, I felt they would battle for the whole game to try and get to bowl eligibility. I did not feel any of that for Florida. I felt like they had given up on their coach and their season. I’ll give credit to Florida players for playing with effort, but Dan Mullen was clearly the one who had quit. And he was swiftly fired for his shortcomings Sunday. His coaching in this game was pathetic and he truly looked like he wanted to be fired, collect his 12 million dollar buyout, and leave Gainesville in his rearview. Eli Drinkwitz delivered one of the best troll jobs I have ever seen in his post-game presser, and effectively ended Dan Mullen’s SEC coaching career. You can never come back from that as Dan Mullen, and Florida had no choice but to fire him.
Late Games
South Carolina 21 - Auburn 17
Bossman Slim: Dadgone, man! This doesn’t make much sense. Auburn is the better team on paper and had played well for much of the year post-Georgia State wakeup. Columbia was rocking last night - give credit to those fans who stick by the Gamecocks through thick and thin. It was a great atmosphere for a game between two teams that were hovering at .500. TJ Finley has talent, but he’s yet to figure out how to harness it for a full 60 minutes. With Bo Nix, Auburn probably wins this game. Instead, South Carolina made the plays they needed to when it counted and got the job done at home. Now they get to go bowling. Shane Beamer is a coach I’d send my kid to play for in a heartbeat. I tweeted this from the B&S account last night...but watch out for SC. The East is down outside of Georgia, and it’s ripe for the taking if someone can start stringing together recruiting classes and wins. Shane Beamer can do that. Cocks fans should be excited for the future - as should Auburn fans despite the loss.
The Hammer: It wouldn’t be a weekend of football in the SEC without some upsets. Some would call the Mizzou game an upset, but this one was bigger to me. Florida has quit, Auburn has not. Yes, losing Bo Nix hurt Auburn in this game but they still should be able to beat this South Carolina team. TJ Finley had an erratic game, something that he struggled with in his time at LSU. He’s just not a very accurate passer at this point. Auburn has now lost 3 straight games and blew another lead on Saturday. Tank Bigsby ran for 175 yards and averaged 7.5 yards per carry, but outside of him, Auburn’s offense didn't have much. Jason Brown wasn't asked to do a ton for Gamecocks, but he made a few plays when he needed to, slinging three touchdowns on 10/15 passes. The MVP for South Carolina was ZaQuandre White who ran for 99 yards and had 69 yards receiving with a TD. That kid can play. Huge win for Shane Beamer, and what a job he has done in his first year in Columbia. I know the referees call on that punt was at the end of the game questionable, and I didn’t think it touched the Auburn player, or it at least was not conclusive enough to overturn, but nothing Auburn had done in the second half would lead you to believe they were going to march down the field and score a game-winning TD. Take your loss, Tigers.
#12 Ole Miss 31 - Vanderbilt 17
Bossman Slim: Good win for Ole Miss, beat up on FCS Vandy as expected. Next up: Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. Let the hate flow through you, and go out and beat the Cowbells. That’s got to be the mindset until Thanksgiving. If Lane plays clanging cowbells over the PA system at practice all week, the Rebs will be so mad by Thursday they’ll probably put up 100. I can’t wait for that game.
The Hammer: Ho hum, another decent performance from Ole Miss against a bad opponent. This game was 24-9 at half and although not quite out of reach, it was clear the Vandy offense wasn’t going to be able to climb out of that hole. The Rebs could have scored more too if they kept running the ball. Lane Kiffin clearly wanted to let Corral throw the ball around the yard in his final home game (he announced he will be leaving for the NFL after this year), and he had a solid, but not great, game. Corral finished 27/36 for 326 yards for two TDs and one interception, which came in the red zone. With the Egg Bowl looming just 4 days away, I’m not surprised this game played out this way. Ole Miss played fine, but not their best and got out with a relatively easy win. Onto the Egg Bowl not for a HUGE showdown with Mississippi State.
Tennessee 60 - South Alabama 14
Bossman Slim: Tennessee does what they’re supposed to do and devours the cupcake. Luckily for the Vols, their in-state “rival” is Vanderbilt, so add another W to their column. The Vols should finish the year 7-5 (barring disaster) and have a shot for an 8-5 season in Heupel’s first year with a bowl win.
The Hammer: Yeah, I didn't get to watch much of this one and I’m glad I didn’t. Tennessee steamrolled South Alabama as expected. The Vols started fast as they always do and led 35-7 at half. Josh Heupel and the Vols are now bowl eligible, and he has done a great job in year one on Rocky Top.
LSU 27 - UL Monroe 14
Bossman Slim: This one reminds you why Coach O is getting the ax. The final score should read “LSU 52 - ULM 10.” Instead, LSU won by two scores but it wasn’t pretty as ULM had a few opportunities to make this a real game but couldn’t convert. LSU limps into the final game of the year against Texas A&M, where they’ll try and get bowl eligible and send Coach O off in style.
The Hammer: I don’t get a ton right, especially in this wild year, but I nailed this game and I’m going to brag on myself. I predicted a 28-14 LSU win, and said this one could be tricky because ULM would be motivated, and LSU might be looking ahead to A&M, and the Tigers don’t have an offense that can pull away from anyone right now. This game was almost a nail-biter as ULM failed on two separate 4th and goal opportunities from inside the LSU two-yard line. And both plays would have been touchdowns if the Warhawks executed. The plays were there, LSU did not make the plays but ULM messed both up on their own. LSU struggled to run the ball, much like they did earlier in the year, and Max Johnson had to bail them out. Interested to see how this LSU team plays next week in Coach O’s final game with a bowl berth on the line.