Biscuits & SEC Week 4 game-by-game recaps 2024
Tennessee is for real, LSU and Mizzou survive scares, and Auburn is in the throws of depression.
By: Bossman Slim, Hammer, Waco Kid
We’re through four weeks now and we’re learning a lot about who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. Some of those contenders looked like pretenders this week (looking at you Mizzou). The hot seat rankings also took a shift, as it feels like the seat is warming up quickly for Hugh Freeze on the Plains. When you throw your players under the bus every week, it’s probably time to look in the mirror.
Here’s how the B&S Crew fared in Week 4:
It was the second straight week that Bossman and Hammer batted .1000 in the straight up column. Doubtful they can keep up that clip for much longer. Waco Kid kept pace, but he tried to gain a game with Mississippi State over Florida and it backfired. Bet opposite of us if you’re into that, no one can seem to get over .500 against the spread.
Let’s hit the recaps.
Bossman: I thought this might turn into a shootout, and that’s exactly what we got. Neither of these teams can play defense, and that was obvious on Saturday. Mississippi State made Graham Mertz look like Tom Brady, as he lit up the Bulldogs going 19/21 for 201 yards and three TDs. For State, Blake Shapen and Michael Van Buren combined for 240 yards passing and a TD, while the Bulldogs added three rushing TDs and 240 yards on the ground. These two teams combined for 983 yards and 59 first downs. It was a friggin’ track meet, but Florida was still the much better team (which is crazy). This gives Florida fans a glimmer of hope, but I don’t think most of the fanbase is impressed with this. Hail State is at the beginning of a complete rebuild, so this isn’t much of a win to write home about. The Gators have a week off before they take on 3-0 UCF, which could easily result in a loss. The Bulldogs meanwhile are licking their wounds as Blake Shapen is done for the year. State’s next four games are: at #1 Texas, at #2 Georgia, home vs. #25 Texas A&M, and home vs. Arkansas. Yikes. And Tennessee, Mizzou, and Ole Miss are still on the schedule. Absolutely brutal. Jeff Lebby is staring a 2-10 season directly in the face.
Hammer: Coming into this game, the story was about which team was worse. We got a definitive answer, and Mississippi State has taken the crown as the worst team in the SEC. Honestly, I feel bad for that fanbase. State had a solid thing going with Mike Leach and he unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. They went with the easy hire last year in Zach Arnett, who was not ready at all in hindsight. Now they hire Jeff Lebby, who might be good long term but is way in over his head right now. This team is terrible, the roster is bad, and the program is in disarray. Graham Mertz looked excellent yesterday, and as much as I would like to heap praise on him and Florida for bouncing back, the Bulldog defense is pitiful. Mertz and the Florida offense will not do that against any defense with a pulse. Good win for Billy Napier and Florida, perhaps they can build on this but Mississippi State looks like they will lose every SEC game this year.
The Waco Kid: Bad move on my part. In my defense, I was just trying to steal a game from Hammer and Bossman. I should have never bet on Mississippi State. Mertz was back and made the Bulldog defense look like a bunch of JV players, throwing for three scores and rushing for another against MSU. When all is said and done both of these teams will be near the bottom of the SEC but at least Napier got the win against a similarly bad opponent.
Bossman: That uneasy feeling in Baton Rouge wasn’t assuaged after this one. UCLA, who lost to Indiana at home last week 42-13, came into Tiger Stadium and had the game tied 17-17 at halftime. The secondary continues to be a serious issue, as they gave up multiple chunk plays, including 12 pass plays over 10 yards and five passes of 20+ yards. On the day, UCLA rushed for just 14 yards but racked up 281 yards through the air. Not great, Bob. That secondary is what is really holding this team back at the moment, along with a still baffling inability to run the ball effectively. Garrett Nussmeier was efficient again, tossing three TDs and popping off for 352 yards. You’ll take that from your QB any day. Mason Taylor is emerging as a top target which makes this a very deep receiving corps. LSU has one more tune-up next week with South Alabama before they get into the heart of their SEC schedule, starting on October 12 with #5 Ole Miss coming to Tiger Stadium.
Hammer: I am done counting on LSU to cover a spread. Sure, they won yesterday with relative ease by pulling away in the second half. However, Indiana beat UCLA worse a week ago in LA. The Tigers couldn’t even replicate that at home in Baton Rouge. They just do not have a killer instinct right now. I’ll give Blake Baker and the defense credit for shutting UCLA out in the second half, and they looked great against the run game all day, only surrendering just 14 yards on 22 carries for UCLA. But the secondary remains an issue and teams with better QBs and weapons will exploit that. It’s the same old tune with the offense as well. Nussmeier continues to look good, but the running game continues to struggle. LSU did okay on the ground this week, totaling 103 yards on 27 carries but couldn't even run for as much yardage as Indiana the week prior. The bottom line and it's another win and LSU is 3-1. I’m nitpicking here but I do think the Tigers are ripe for being exposed by better teams unless they can figure a few things out.
The Waco Kid: It’s hard to see a world where UCLA toppled LSU, but dang did they look good at halftime. The Bruins gave me a scare there for a minute but the Tigers came out of the locker room on point and with determination. Nussmeier is still doing what he needs to to get the W, but the defense is getting exploited and will have to step up if LSU even wants a close shot at making the playoffs. Brian Kelly is winning but not impressively so I would not be surprised if the boys down in Baton Rouge finish the season with three losses and just on the outside bubble of the CFP.
Bossman: “If you’re an Auburn fan, it’s time to panic.” –Chris Doering on SEC Football Final. Yep. That’s as direct as it gets. Favored by four at home against a middling Arkansas team and you get beat by 10 in a very ugly game. This game should have reverted back to the Wing-T or the Wildcat because no one wanted to play QB. There were six interceptions thrown in this game, including four in the first half. Hank Brown started for the Tigers in his first SEC start after talking smack about “dominating Arkansas,” and instead of dominating he flamed out with three INTs in the first half before being benched in favor of previously benched Payton Thorne, who decided he had to get in on the action and threw a pick at the end of the third quarter. This was one of the uglier games you’ll ever watch, and neither of these teams is very well coached. After the game, Hugh Freeze reverted back to throwing players under the bus, which doesn’t sound like a real helpful strategy in trying to pull a team together. Many Auburn fans were on Twitter during the second half starting to call for Hugh’s job, and you can understand why. Through 17 games at Auburn, Freeze is 8-9. Bryan Harsin through 17 games? 9-8. Things are looking bleak in Auburn except for recruiting. How long can you expect to sell Auburn fans the dream before they reject what they’re seeing in front of their face every week? As for the Razorbacks, this team isn’t great but they’re physical and will won’t go away easily.
Hammer: Well, I called this one. I told Auburn fans not to get ahead of themselves with Hank Brown based on a game against New Mexico. There is a reason that Payton Thorne was starting ahead of Brown, and we saw that on Saturday as Brown went 7/13 for 72 yards and three interceptions before being benched. Yikes. On the other side of the ball, Auburn’s defense did some good things. They totaled seven TFLs and three sacks and even forced Razorback QB Taylen Green to be benched for a series because he was playing terribly (though Sam Pittman said this was for cramps - I’m not so sure). The problem remains the Tigers offense. They are not good enough to take advantage and it is going to cost them all season long. And good for Arkansas here. Auburn is down, sure. But the Hogs just went into Jordan-Hare and won a game by 10 points in which they had to bench their starting QB for a spell. They did not have their A game, especially on offense but they found a way to win. The defense held up and they are sitting at 3-1 in a year when Sam Pittman needs every win he can get.
The Waco Kid: I never thought Auburn had a chance in this one. Arkansas has just put together more well-rounded games than the Tigers. On top of that Auburn fell to Cal who just lost to an FSU team that no one would have thought could win a game after three weeks. Hugh Freeze has had an unwelcoming return to the SEC, while Sam Pittman continues to keep his head just above water. The talent level of these teams is close but Pittman and Travis Williams out-coached the Tigers on defense and that was the difference.
Bossman: It’s probably time to start wondering if Mizzou is worthy of being in the top 15. It seems that Vanderbilt is improved, even in spite of last week’s embarrassing loss to Georgia State, but they’re still a bottom dweller in the SEC. Needing two overtimes to beat this Commodores team at home does not scream “playoff contender.” And had Vandy’s kicker not choked like a kid at Chuck E. Cheese, this one would have gone to three OTs. I expected the Mizzou defense to be disruptive and they were, but I did not expect Vandy’s defensive front to outperform the Tigers. The Commodores finished the day with three sacks and eight TFLs, which tells you that Mizzou may have a problem on the offensive line. They’ve also got a problem at kicker, where Blake Craig missed three field goals that nearly cost them the game, before getting some redemption in the second OT. Brady Cook was decent but will need to be much better if the Tigers have any real shot at making the playoff. As for Vandy, I’m starting to believe they could pick off one or two SEC opponents this year. Deigo Pavia puts the team on his back, and he is difficult to stop.
Hammer: Don’t sleep on Diego Football! Okay, I can’t gloat too much. I picked Vandy to cover but also lose by 18, and yet they damn near won the game outright after taking this one to double overtime. Cleary, the ‘Dores were just caught napping last week by Georgia State when they were looking ahead to this game and they gave it all they had. Pavia is just a dawg, man. He carried Vandy in this game, throwing for 178 yards and two TDs and running for 84 more yards. Vandy only managed 324 total yards so everything was going through Pavia and he almost got it done. But enough about Pavia, the Mizzou Tigers got this done despite three missed FGs. They should have won this in regulation if they had a kicker. They missed the thicker kicker Harrison Mevis dearly in this one. Mizzou’s offense needs to finish drives better, but they still totaled 442 total yards and looked explosive. This was a good win because they did not play their best, and left at least six points on the field with those easy missed field goals. Drinkwitz knows there is plenty to work on but its a hell of alot better to work on improving when you are unbeaten compared to coming off a home loss to Vandy. Survive and advance.
The Waco Kid: Wow, who saw this coming? Two OTs just to beat Vanderbilt? The ‘Dores are not the team of old but still have a lot of building to do to become competitive in the SEC. Mizzou, on the other hand, was thought to be a top ten team after the first few weeks of play. Barely beating Vandy should drop them in rankings but everyone plays down to competition from time to time. The Tigers still put up great offensive numbers so chalk this up to a fluke but keep an eye on this team down the stretch. They could fall off quickly.
Bossman: This game should be known as “Heupel’s Revenge.” That sounds enough like a Western thriller, doesn’t it? After becoming a Sooners legend in the early 2000s, Heupel was fired in 2014 as the OU OC as has been well documented. On Saturday night, he got revenge upon his homecoming to Norman as the Vols controlled this game throughout, going into the lockerroom at halftime with a 19-3 lead and using the old Nick Saban Boa Constrictor method to choke out the Sooners. The offense played well in this one for the Vols, but the story was the defense. They affected OU all night, tallying three sacks and 11 TFLs while holding Oklahoma to just 222 yards of total offense and made Brent Venables bench Jackson Arnold late in the first half. Stellar performance from the Volunteer defense. The Sooners are now in a real bind. They let Dillon Gabriel walk to give Jackson Arnold the reins, and now he’s been benched just four games into the season. Will that kill his confidence? Will Venables stick with freshman Michael Hawkins, who provided the Sooners with a spark? Oklahoma’s schedule is seriously unforgiving, so they better figure it out quick.
Hammer: Yikes man. Oklahoma is in trouble on offense. The Tennessee defense is good, but the Sooners made them look like the ‘85 Bears. They can’t block anyone. OU averaged 1.1 yards per carry and gave up 11 TFLs and three sacks to the Vols. It was a beatdown on the line of scrimmage in that matchup, and that does not bode well for the rest of their schedule. Jackson Arnold, who Oklahoma ran Dillion Gabriel off in favor of, got benched. And I don’t even think it’s really Arnold’s fault because he has no help! It is just a mess on that side of the ball for Oklahoma and it’s a damn shame because their defense is awesome. The Vols were clearly the better overall team in this game and really never had a doubt they would win this, but the Sooner defense gave them hell. They forced three fumbles, had nine TFLs, three sacks, and held the Vols to 345 total yards. This was just a gritty win from Tennessee where they were the more physical team and just kept swinging. I mean, they ran the ball for 151 yards on 52 carries while Nico only threw the ball 21 times. Josh Heupel stuck to his game plan and relied on his defense to win this one, and they did. Welcome to the SEC, Sooners. Hope you enjoy going 6-6.
The Waco Kid: This is classic old Big 12 teams thinking they can take on the big boys of college football. Yes, maybe for a game or two but a whole regular season? No way. Tennessee’s defense was unstoppable, or Oklahoma’s offense was just that bad. Either way OU is looking at 4+ losses and there is no doubt about that. Granted, the Vols are seeming more and more like contenders so it was just a perfect storm for this one to be out of the Sooners reach before the game even began.
Other games on the slate:
Kentucky 41 - Ohio 6
#25 Texas A&M 26 - Bowling Green 20
South Carolina 50 - Akron 7
#5 Ole Miss 52 - Georgia Southern 13
#1 Texas 51 - ULM 3
