B&S Week 11 game-by-game recaps 2023
It was “Blowout Saturday” across the SEC, with every game being decided by an average of 33 points.
By: Bossman Slim, Hammer
Did you see that coming? We sure didn’t. There were some great games on Saturday, even though many turned into blowouts. Jayden Daniels was a star once again, Jaylen Henderson burst onto the scene in College Station, and “Cody Shredder” absolutely dismantled Tennessee. You’ve also got to mention Carson Beck and the Dawgs, along with the Auburn Tigers who took out all of their frustration on a shell shocked Arkansas team.
Here’s how the crew fared this week:
Just a few weeks to go and it’s going to come down to the final weekend to determine who comes out on top in both categories, though Bossman has built up a cushion in the ATS column. Everyone chose the same winners this week, so nothing changed in the Straight Up race.
Let’s hit the recaps.
Bossman Slim: I wish y’all would keep writing about how ‘the dynasty is done,’ aight? We devoured that rat poison and now we’re devouring everything in our path.” –Nick Saban, probably. I thought the Tide would roll in this one, but instead, they steamrolled through Lexington. Kentucky had no answer for Jalen Milroe, who totaled six touchdowns on the day. The defense was exceptional yet again, holding Kentucky to seven points in the first half, including a fourth down stand deep in the red zone, notching 12 negative plays against Kentucky and swiping two turnovers. Alabama dominated this game from start to finish, plain and simple. Great team win. Kentucky has to go back to the drawing board for the fourth time this season as their disappointing year rolls on. Winning next week against South Carolina is no guarantee, and rival Louisville is in the top 10 and looking tough. This team could easily end up 6-6 or 7-5 after starting the year with hopes of a nine or 10-win season.
Hammer: Alabama looks like they are officially entering death eater mode. The time to get the Tide was earlier this in the season when they were still trying to figure things out on offense. Now, Jalen Milroe looks awesome and despite their offense not having the star power of years past, they are moving the ball well and scoring in bunches yet again. Milroe finished with 234 yards passing, three touchdowns on 15/22 attempts. He also added 36 yards rushing and three more touchdowns, giving him six for the game. NCAA football video game numbers. What really impressed me is how he spread the ball around on offense, completing a pass to 10 different players. The job that Nick Saban, Tommy Rees and this staff has done to figure out a plan on offense cannot be understated. The Alabama defense has been great all year, and there doesn’t appear to be any chance of that slowing down. They held Kentucky to 253 total yards and forced two turnovers. That is a good enough defensive performance to win nearly every game. With this victory, Alabama secured their spot in Atlanta for the SEC title game and barring a massive upset against Auburn will roll into that game with their CFP hopes still intact. Kentucky is already bowl eligible but they finish with a couple of difficult road games against South Carolina and Louisville to close out the year.
Next up for Alabama: vs. Chattanooga
Next up for Kentucky: @ South Carolina
Bossman Slim: This was the first blowout of the day that made me turn my head. I picked South Carolina to beat Vanderbilt by 17, so I didn’t expect it to be close, but this was an all-out dominating effort from the ‘Cocks that I especially didn’t expect after they struggled against Jacksonville State last week. Spencer Rattler went off, Xavier Legette was sensational as usual, and the SC defense turned Vandy over twice in the second half while holding the Commodores without points until the beginning of the fourth quarter. A good, confidence-building win for the fightin’ Beamers who had a tough one against Kentucky coming up.
Hammer: Another week, another Vandy loss. Only this time, they didn't even compete. The Gamecocks outgained Vandy 487 to 234 thanks to a 351-yard and three-touchdown performance from Spencer Rattler. This one had to feel good for Gamecock players and fans given how disappointing this season has been, but at the end of the day it was just Vandy and they really stink.
Next up for South Carolina: vs. Kentucky
Next up for Vanderbilt: @ #18 Tennessee
Bossman Slim: I was worried about Mizzou stopping Tennessee’s rushing attack. I was worried about Luther Burden playing. I thought this game would have a point total in the 50s. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Turns out it was Tennessee that needed to be worried about “Cody Shredder,” who went for over 200 yards and a TD. Joe Milton was the Vols leading rusher with a paltry 36 yards on the ground. After throwing a pick on the first drive, Brady Cook settled in and threw for 275 yards and a TD and methodically led Mizzou to a win. Tennessee just couldn’t stop this clicking Missouri offense all night, couldn’t sustain drives, and made costly turnover mistakes that the Tigers converted into 17 points. A lot to work on up on Rocky Top, as a date with Georgia looms and the fanbase is staring 8-4 directly in the face.
Hammer: Shame on me for doubting Eli Drinkwitz and the Mizzou Tigers. They not only won this game, but they steamrolled Tennessee and sent them back to Knoxville with their tails between their legs. Missouri bullied Tennessee in the trenches, rushing for 255 yards on the Vols and holding the Vols' vaunted rushing attack to just 83 yards. Cody Schrader might be the best story in the SEC this year. The man is running wild this year and I guarantee no one had Cody Schrader leading the SEC in rushing through 11 weeks on their preseason predictions. Schrader absolutely gashed Tennessee for 205 yards rushing on 35 attempts, 116 yards receiving on five catches, and one touchdown. The man is unstoppable right now. Joe Milton was fine, but it’s still evident that this Vol offense misses Hendon Hooker, Jalin Hyatt, Cedric Tillman, and Bru McCoy. They just are not explosive, even though that is supposed to be a hallmark of the Heupel offense. The Vols close with games against Georgia and Vandy so 8-4 looks like an inevitability right now. Mizzou, on the other hand, finishes with games against Florida and Arkansas so could very well finish the regular season with 10 wins, which would be incredible.
Next up for Mizzou: vs. Florida
Next up for Tennessee: @ #18 Tennessee
Bossman Slim: All aboard the train wreck express! Actually though, what the hell was that? I thought Arkansas might have figured a few things out after their OT win against Florida last week, but shame on me for having a little faith in the Hogs. Auburn is not a good football team, and they just walked into Arkansas’s house and disrespected their mother in front of the whole family. After the game, Hugh Freeze poured salt in the wound, saying “I don’t mean this to sound any sort of way, but we could’ve put up a lot of numbers [on Arkansas]. We started milking some clock.” OUCH. Arkansas looked completely lost on both sides of the ball all day. It didn’t seem like Sam Pittman had lost the team after last week’s performance, but with players watching The Polar Express in the locker room at halftime, it seems he may have lost the team. What an unbelievable score, credit to Auburn, and especially Jarquez Hunter, for coming into Fayetteville and bringing the wood.
Hammer: I don’t know what the hell is going on in Fayetteville. They stink all year, then fire Dan Enos and go win on the road in the Swamp while scoring 39 points. Then they turn around and get beat by Auburn at home 48-10?? Makes no sense, and Sam Pittman seems to have lost the fanbase and possibly the locker room, as evidenced by the footage showing Razorback players were watching the classic christmas movie “Polar Express” during halftime. You can’t make this stuff up. Unfortunately, Arkansas was the team getting run over by a train on the field Saturday, not the other way around. Auburn flattened the Arkansas defense for 354 yards rushing on 55 attempts. It was a bloodbath. On the other side of the ball, Auburn’s front seven dominated a bad Razorback offensive line, tallying five sacks and eight tackles for loss. A very nice win for Auburn that secures them a bowl invite and possibly the worst loss of the Pittman era at Arkansas. I have no idea where the Razorbacks go from here but I’m worried this team has given up.
Next up for Auburn: vs. New Mexico State
Next up for Arkansas: vs. FIU
Bossman Slim: “Georgia On My Mind” is an all-time great song, performed by giants of American music like Ray Charles and Willie Nelson. For Ole Miss, it’s going to be a recurring nightmare on their mind as those Dawgs barking will be firmly entrenched in their psyche for some time. Georgia was absolutely dominant and this one was basically over by halftime as UGA led 28-14. Ole Miss came out swinging and kept it close early, but Georgia is just too talented. I was worried about this Ole Miss defense holding up against Georiga in light of their performance against a middling A&M offense, and those fears were realized in spades. Carson Beck had a great night, Kendall Milton had over 120 yards and two TDs, and Dajiun Edwards tallied two TDs of his own. Ole Miss is a good team, but once again they were exposed against top tier competition. Jaxson Dart looked pedestrian against the Dawgs defense and Quinshon Judkins was held to just 75 yards on 22 carries. Georgia ain’t done yet.
Hammer: Welp, I got caught by the mouse trap trying to grab the cheese. I thought Ole Miss could hang in this one and they didn’t come remotely close. After keeping it close early on, the score was 14-14 with 14 minutes to go in the second quarter, the Dawgs reeled off 31 straight points and absolutely bludgeoned the Rebels. The Ole Miss offense had to be better if the Rebs were going to win, but they weren’t the real issue in this game. Georgia racked up 611 yards of offense and did so with 311 yards passing and 300 yards rushing. Translation: the Dawgs did whatever they wanted on offense and Ole Miss had no answer. Kendall Milton was running wild, Ladd McConkey was breaking DBs ankles and Carson Beck put forth yet another good performance. Perhaps Georgia is not quite the team they have been, but they are darn close and continue getting better and better. Call me crazy, but this is really starting to smell like a three-peat.
Next up for Georgia: @ #18 Tennessee
Next up for Ole Miss: vs. UL Monroe
Bossman Slim: The score looks lopsided, but Florida held a second half lead and then scored a TD to get within three with 10:27 left in fourth quarter…then LSU put this one on ice by scoring on two straight possessions and stopping Florida on downs on their final two possessions. This LSU defense is not good, but Jayden Daniels is exceptionally good. For the game, LSU had 11 drives. They scored on 8/11 of those drives and could have had more points but were stopped on downs from 4th & goal at the 1-yard line in the first quarter. The LSU offense racked up over SEVEN HUNDRED YARDS on this Florida defense, the most ever given up by a Gators defensive unit. LSU went 5/5 in the second half, scoring a TD on each of their drives. Absolutely ridiculous. I still think Florida has a shot in their final two games, but it’s going to be an uphill battle to get to bowl eligibility with two top 10 teams left on the schedule. Meanwhile LSU should be in the national title conversation if it wasn’t for their defense.
Hammer: Jayden Daniels. That’s really all that needs to be said for a recap of this game. Just look at this state line: 372 yards passing and three touchdowns on 17/26 attempts. 12 carries, 234 yards, and two touchdowns. For those of you who can’t do math in your head, that is 606 total yards of offense by himself. It was ludicrous. Daniels is the best player in the country right now and if he had a defense, LSU would actually be relevant. Naturally, the Tigers defense is awful and they allowed 488 yards of offense to Florida, allowing the Gators to stay in this game for much longer than they should have. Billy Napier and Florida are likely to miss a bowl game unless they can upset Mizzou or FSU in the closing weeks. Not great. LSU closes with Georgia State and Texas A&M, so a 9-3 regular season seems likely.
Next up for LSU: vs. Georgia State
Next up for Florida: @ #9 Missouri
Bossman Slim: The final blowout of the weekend that was utterly shocking. Was it a surprise that A&M won? Or a surprise that A&M won big? No - they were an 18-point favorite, but it was extremely surprising to see the Aggies win by 41 points, especially after going down 7-0 after the opening kickoff, a spot where we’ve seen A&M fold before. Instead, A&M’s third-string QB Jaylen Henderson, who was the backup at Fresno State last year, burst onto the scene with a Rudy Reuttiger game. Henderson looked in command of the offense all night. I know people say Jimbo didn’t know he was about to get the axe, but looking at that A&M offense, it looked much different than it has much of the season. It looked like they threw caution to the wind and said “F*** it, we ball.” Who knows if that’s true, but the Aggies looked as loose and carefree as they have all season. Meanwhile Mississippi State’s nightmare season just won’t end, and it’ll start with a new coach and fresh approach next season.
Hammer: This is the best Texas A&M has looked in a conference game so far this year, and naturally Jimbo Fisher was fired later that night. Oh, and Zach Arnett was also fired. There will be plenty of time to discuss these two decisions and coaching searches so let's focus on the game. The Aggies were forced to start third-string QB Jaylen Henderson after it was revealed Max Johnson had three cracked ribs. I won’t get ahead of myself because Mississippi State is really bad, but Henderson looked really good. The Fresno State transfer finished with 150 yards passing and two TDs on 11/19 attempts and he led the team in rushing with 60 yards and two more TDs. Not bad for his Aggie debut. If both of these coaches hadn’t been fired after this game, it would largely be forgotten to history as the Aggies are in the midst of another incredibly disappointing season and Mississippi State simply stinks.
Next up for Texas A&M: vs. Abilene Christian
Next up for Mississippi State: vs. Southern Miss