B&S week 9 game by game recaps
Auburn and Mississippi State get the job done at home while the Dawgs keep feasting.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer, The Waco Kid
Bo Nix celebrates after running for a touchdown against Ole Miss as the Tigers take down the Rebels. Photo by John Reed, USA TODAY Sports
Another week in college football, another Saturday of Game of Thrones style chaos. Ole Miss falls to Auburn and Mississippi State pulled off the upset against Kentucky. Outside the conference, Baylor handed another L to Texas, Michigan State pulled off an improbable win against their hated rival Michigan, and Ohio State escaped the Nittany Lions with a win.
This Saturday was yet another example of why we tune in every week to this wild sport. Anything can happen on a given Saturday! Let’s check in on how the crew fared this weekend:
The Hammer: 4-0; 63-14 overall
The Waco Kid: 3-1; 61-16 overall
Bossman Slim: 2-2; 60-17 overall
The Hammer called not one but TWO big shots and hit on BOTH. Follow his gambling picks like you would follow Congress’s stock trades, and you’ll be a rich man.
Midday Games
Missouri 37 - Vanderbilt 28
Bossman Slim: If you’ve read B&S for a while, you’re aware that I’m a uniform geek and a Paul Lukas Uni-watch acolyte. This was a battle of two block collegiate helmets, which were beautiful to look at. Neither school should wear another logo in my opinion.
While the helmets were beautiful, the game was not. There are two big stories to come out of this game: Tyler Badie is a bad, bad man, and Connor Bazelak suffered an injury that could affect his status for next week against Georgia (yikes). Another storyline was how Vandy sophomore QB Mike Wright played. He threw for 122 yards, 3 TDs and an INT (a late INT when he had to take a shot), and added 152 yards on the ground including breaking a 70-yarder. His accuracy left a little to be desired, but Vandy could have something with Wright, a former 3-star recruit out of Atlanta.
Credit to Vanderbilt, they were in this one the entire game without their starting QB. Another bad look for Mizzou, but a win is a win. Mizzou gets the Dawgs next week which will get ugly quick while Vandy gets a much needed bye week.
The Hammer: I was white hot this weekend. Went 4-0 picking SEC games, and had this one pegged quite well. I figured Vandy would be able to move the ball, but did not quite have the talent to keep up with Mizzou, especially with Ken Seals still out. That was exactly the case. Vandy QB Mike Wright had a good day, throwing for 122 yards, three touchdowns, an interception and adding 152 yards rushing. The player of the game though was Mizzou’s Tyler Badie, which is no surprise if you have been paying attention to Mizzou football. They guy does it all for the Tigers and Saturday night was no different as Badie ran for 254 yards, two TDs, and caught 8 passes for 40 yards. Nearly 300 yards from scrimmage! Neither one of these teams are good, but they at least played an entertaining game.
The Waco Kid: A little bit closer than expected but the outcome was the same. The Tigers took care of business and handed Vanderbilt yet another loss on their season. Clark Lea has his program headed in the right direction and could have two more wins had the cards fallen into place in this one and the South Carolina team. Vandy will not be an overnight success but are looking at a multi year, complete rebuild. The Tigers are now even with 4 wins and 4 losses and will try to become bowl eligible by the end of the season but that might be a stretch at this point. Both teams are at the bottom of the conference and this game may have allowed Mizzou to narrowly dodge the title of the worst in the east.
#1 Georgia 34 - Florida 7*
Bossman Slim: From my preview: “The recipe will be simple and a repeat of what’s it’s been all season: play suffocating defense, run the ball to set up the play-action, and hit a few from Stetson to Brock Bowers. Boom, 34-14 and another Dawg win.” And that’s exactly what they did. Florida was hanging tough all first half until the Georgia defense made their presence felt late in the second quarter, forcing three Anthony Richardson turnovers in the span of 2 and half minutes. James Cook turned the first TO into a TD, and Tombstone Bennett hit Kearis Jackson off a play-action to make it 17-0 before you could blink. For good measure, Nakobi Dean got a pick-six off an ill-advised pass to the sideline right before the half to make it 24-0. And just like that, it was over.
Frankly, there is not much Florida could have done. Georgia does the same thing every week and still beats your ass. You know what’s coming, and you cannot stop it. No one has been able to yet, and I don’t think anyone will this year. Another big win for the Dawgs on Kirby’s march to Atlanta.
The Hammer: This game was surprisingly very close with just over two minutes remaining before half time. Georgia was leading 3-0 and then everything went to hell for the Gators. Anthony Richardson fumbled, leading to a Bulldog touchdown one play later. On the Gator’s next drive AR15 threw an interception that led to another one play TD drive for UGA. And for the cherry on top, on Florida’s next drive, Nakobe Dean picked off Richardson again and took it back for a touchdown. 21 points off three Gator turnovers in the final minutes before half time, and the game was over at that point. A few things surprised me in this one though. I thought Florida held up well in the trenches given how pathetic they looked against LSU a few weeks ago, and if the Gators offense wasn't turning the ball over and giving UGA short fields, I think the Gator defense would have held up pretty well. The second surprising thing was a seemingly healthy JT Daniels did not play. It seems like Kirby is riding with Stetson Tombstone Bennett, which I have no problem with but you know if UGA loses a game, the fan base will pile on Kirby for not putting in JT Daniels. When it’s all said and done, I’m not sure it will matter because of how special this defense is. Can anyone score 21 or more on the Dawgs this year?
The Waco Kid: With a little more than 2 minutes left in the first half, Georgia’s defense came alive and embarrassed Florida with two interceptions and one fumble all three of which led to Dawg touchdowns. So in that amount of time the score swung from 3-0 to 24-0. That goes to show how elite this defense is. Most game changers are offensive players, be that the quarterback, running back or wide receivers but for this team their defense is the biggest game changer every week. Georgia’s offense was a bit stagnant before the spark from the other side of the ball but that has a lot to do with JT Daniels not making an entrance into this contest. Still UGA scored 34 points with a backup quarterback and down receivers. This team is scary good and I am not sure if anyone in the nation can slow them down. Florida, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment on offense. They could not get anything going and still seem to have an issue at the QB position. Luckily for the Gators there is no real competition left on their schedule. They should be able to go 8-4 but won’t be in the running for a decent bowl game.
Late Games
#18 Auburn 31 - #10 Ole Miss 20
Bossman Slim: Uni-check: Ole Miss last night was clean as a whistle with the powder-white-white. I’m not a huge fan of the orange chrome facemask for Auburn, they’ve had better, including the white facemask against Penn State and the gray facemask in the Outback Bowl a few years ago.
Bo Nix. What a turnaround for this kid. He needed to be benched, but since being put on the pine against Georgia State, he’s come back a different player, notching wins against LSU, Arkansas and now top 10 Ole Miss. Nix finished the night with a 78.4 QBR, 276 yards through the air and 3 total TDs. He outplayed Heisman candidate Matt Corral and picked on this bad Ole Miss defense all night.
Auburn is a darn good team, and they are well-coached. This is a big win for Harsin and co. They are improving week by week and rounding into form. A showdown with Texas A&M in College Station awaits next week...cannot wait for that one.
Hammer: Bryan Hardass Harsin has found something on The Plains. Auburn is a damn good football team, and they flexed their muscles on Saturday night at Jordan Hare by taking down a top 10 Ole Miss team. Auburn had a ton of success running the ball in the first half, but give credit to the Ole Miss defense for tightening up in the second half and only allowing a field goal after halftime. Problem was, the Ole Miss offense couldn't put together anything and missed on a few key 4th down conversion attempts. The injuries on offense have clearly caught up to the Rebels. Matt Corral was taken back to the locker room after injuring his foot, but he returned shortly after and gutted it out. Unfortunately, he was without his three best wide receivers, and Auburn clamped down on the Ole Miss rushing attack only allowing 157 rushing yards. Bo Nix continues to play good, almost mistake free football. Tank Bigsby was back healthy as well and gobbled up 140 yards and touchdown on the ground. Without many weapons on the outside, if you can limit the Ole Miss run game, this offense will struggle. In SEC play, the Rebels are averaging 31 points per game, which seems low for what we expected from them. Give the Tigers a ton of credit for being the more physical team and getting a hard fought win at home, setting up a huge showdown in College Station next weekend against the Aggies.
Waco Kid: Auburn pulled off another victory. Hopes were not high on this team coming into the season with a first year head coach and Bo Nix at quarterback. Yet week after week they continue to impress and Nix seems to have found himself as a true SEC QB. Tank Bigsby also had quite a day rushing for 140 yards and a score. It did not hurt the Tigers that Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral missed a few series due to injury. I was hesitant to pick the Rebs because of the home field advantage War Eagle had and the fact that Mississippi’s defense is still not great. They have definitely improved from last year but if your goal is to outscore your opponent, there will always be a couple of games where that does not happen. Lane Kiffin hosts Liberty next week in what may be a trap game. Hugh Freeze makes his return to Oxford with a 7-2 flames team and will look to upset his former employer. As for Auburn they head to College Station to meet the Texas A&M Aggies in a matchup between the #12 and #13 teams in the country. That one should be a fun contest to watch.
#12 Kentucky 17 - Mississippi State 31
Bossman Slim: Since I have commented on nearly every uniform thus far in this blog, I won’t stop now. Mississippi State honored the baseball team’s national championship on Saturday by wearing the baseball hat logo on their helmet. This is the logo they should always wear unless they’re wearing the rocket M. Great stuff from the Bulldogs.
As for the game, Kentucky led this one 10-0 early, but the Mississippi State offense woke up and never looked back. It was a tale of two QBs: Will Rogers played a helluva game and is gaining confidence week by week in Mike Leach’s offense. Will Levis seems to be regressing, throwing 3 INTs on the night and finishing with a 44.7 QBR. Maybe he should start eating bananas without the peel. Another big story was the State defense holding Chris Rodriguez Jr. to just 34 yards rushing and the entire Kentucky rushing attack to a measly 66 yards on the ground. If Kentucky doesn’t get that figured out, along with the Levis turnovers, the dream season they had within their grasp will slip away. Four winnable games ahead for the Cats, but they must beat Tennessee next week (no easy task) to stay in the hunt for 10-2.
The Hammer: Another upset I called, although a very slight upset according to Vegas. I do not trust Will Levis on the road, and that played out on Saturday night as the cowbells rang into the Starkville night. Levis had his worst game of the year, throwing for just 150 yards, one TD and three interceptions. Mississippi State’s defense completely shut down the Wildcats, allowing just 216 total yards. Kentucky did not score an offensive touchdown until the 4th quarter. If you can shut down Chris Rodriguez and the Cats run game, their offense will stall. Will Cowboy Rogers continues to look like one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC. Although Leach decided to run the ball way more than normal (35 rushing attempts), Rogers was incredibly efficient all night. The Cowboy finished his night going 36/39 for 344 yards and a touchdown. In perhaps one of the more surprising stats, the Bulldogs lead the SEC in time of possession, and they dominated that statistic again on Saturday, possessing the ball for over 41 minutes, while the Cats only had it for 18 minutes and some change. If you cannot get pressure on Will Rogers, look out because he’ll carve you up like a Thanksgiving turkey. The Bulldogs are looking more and more like a good team. Puzzling at times, yes, but they are playing good football right now and no team looks forward to playing them. All is not lost for Kentucky either, they can still get to 10 wins with a relatively soft schedule to finish the year, but Levis will need to play much better for them to win out.
The Waco Kid: This game solidifies my hate for MSU. Another game that the pirate somehow figures out how to win as an underdog. Will Rogers did throw for 344 yards and a score but the defense shined in this game. The bulldogs were able to create three interceptions against Will Levis and when you win the turnover battle significantly, victories are inevitable. Not only did they capitalize on Kentucky mistakes but they also held running back Chris Rodriguez in check for only 34 yards. The Wildcats are officially out of the race for the SEC East as Georgia with a win and a Lexington loss cemented their status as conference champions. The Blue and White can still enjoy the spoils of a good season with the expectation being they will make a pretty good bowl game. Mark Stoops has his team competing at a high level on a year to year basis and no longer are the ‘Cats a low tier squad. Leach’s group could be looking at three more potential losses but have already done enough to pretty much secure a bowl berth.
*neutral site game