B&S Week 9 game-by-game recaps
Things got spooky this past weekend in the SEC, and Auburn fired Bryan Harsin.
By: The Waco Kid, The Hammer, Bossman Slim
Hendon Hooker and the Vols rolled Kentucky and are now #1 in the CFP rankings. Photo via @Vol_Football
We’re entering the home stretch of the 2022 season, which is wild to say. As usual, the season is flying by. But we’re beginning to get a real picture of the SEC in terms of who the contenders and pretenders are. There was off field drama in College Station as well with Lane Kiffin making a joke about Jimbo having a joker costume in reference to Jimbo calling him a clown this past offseason. Lane also called an A&M player a “bitch,” which is not something I can ever recall seeing. Safe to say there is no love lost between A&M and Ole Miss, but Kiffin and the Rebs got the last laugh in College Station.
Bossman’s gloating caught up to him as he dropped the South Carolina-Mizzou game and the field closed the gap by one game. It’s now a dead heat as we head into the final weeks of the season.
It is worth mentioning here before we dive into the games that Auburn fired head coach Bryan Harsin yesterday. As soon as the ink was dry on new Athletic Director John Cohen’s contract, Harsin was fired. The guy was never given a fair chance, but he also didn’t help himself much. He wasn’t winning games, and that’s a death sentence in the SEC. Where does Auburn go from here? Who knows. You’ll hear names like Deion Sanders, Lane Kiffin, Hugh Freeze, Matt Ruhl, etc. Every name will be floated or rumored for this job, and several coaches will likely get raises as Jimmy Sexton stirs the rumor mill and cashes in. I truly don’t know where Auburn will go, but one thing is for sure: this is a massive hire for Auburn. The SEC waits for no one, and two disastrous hires in a row can really set a program back.
Now, let’s hit the recaps.
Arkansas 41 - Auburn 27
Bossman Slim: 41-27 is the final score that Bryan Harsin saw on the Jordan-Hare scoreboard before being fired. I’ve been saying it - the Hogs are a different team with KJ Jefferson under center. Auburn had us in the first half not gonna lie, keeping it close as the Hogs clung to a 17-13 lead at halftime. The second half was another story as the Razorbacks offense got it going, scoring a TD on three straight drives that all but sealed the game. Arkansas went 9 plays, 64 yards, 7 plays 94 yards and 10 plays 84 yards to put this one on ice. In the preview, I said I expected Arkansas’ solid run game to run all over the worst rush defense in the SEC. That’s exactly what happened as Rocket Sanders and the boys piled on 286 yards and 4 TDs on the ground. KJ Jefferson added 234 yards and a TD through. As Porky Pig used to say: I belie-I belie-I believe that’s all folks…for this game and for Harsin’s career on the Plains.
The Hammer: I finally made some solid picks this week and it started with this game, which I nailed. I predicted a 42-28 win for Arkansas and that was nearly on the button. The real story from this weekend wasn't the actual game, but the report that Auburn is set to hire Mississippi State’s AD John Cohen. The deal seems to be nearly done, and once it is I’m not sure how much longer Harsin will be the Auburn coach. On the field, this game was won by KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders, per usual. Sanders ran for 171 yards on 16 carries and Jefferson ran for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns. He added 234 yards and one more touchdown through the air on 16/24 attempts. With Jefferson coming back healthy, Arkansas appears to have righted the ship and should be poised for a strong finish to the season. Auburn, on the other hand, continues to get gashed on defense and their offense is improving under Robby Ashford but lacks real explosiveness. Tank Bigsby had a good game rushing for 63 yards and a touchdown but only got 11 carries because the Tigers fell behind quickly. This is a season to forget on the Plains.
The Waco Kid: Well, the writing was on the wall. Arkansas came out and took care of business against a very subpar Auburn team and ended Bryan Harsin’s coaching tenure in the SEC. As of early Monday, the Tigers relieved Harsin of his coaching duties after an underwhelming two seasons on the Plains. There are few teams in the Southeast that put up with mediocrity and Auburn is far from that level. Fans of Vandy and Mizzou can expect losing seasons but with a powerhouse program like the orange and blue, being under .500 is unacceptable. For the time being, the Tigers will look to Cadillac Williams to be their new head coach. Now on the other side, the Razorbacks do look like a pretty good squad despite their three losses. KJ Jefferson’s return has reinvigorated the offense and they have yet to score under 40 since he came back from injury. He has been posting TDs both through the air and in the run game, accounting for 8 trips to the end zone in the past two weeks. This team is trending in the right direction at a pivotal point in the season, it’s time to go bowling or bust. Two more wins gets Sam Pittman’s team a bowl berth and you can bet they will make sure they are a part of the postseason. Next week they take on #23 Liberty and will most likely “upset” Freeze and the Flames. While Auburn travels to Stark Vegas to receive another L in the books from Mississippi State. For the Tigers, it seems this nightmare of a season may never end.
#1 Georgia 42 - Florida 20
Bossman Slim: This one was for the late Vince Dooley who passed away on Friday, and the Dawgs delivered.I nearly called the Arkansas-Auburn score and I nearly called this one too. Georgia smacked the Gators around early, then let them come back, only to smack them a few more times upside the head for good measure. It was 21-0 early in the 2nd quarter and the Dawgs had a 28-3 lead at halftime. It looked like the Dawgs would roll, but Florida had other ideas, scoring on three straight possessions to make it 28-20 and within striking distance. Then Georgia remembered who they were and must have had a speech from Coach Yost, because Florida didn’t score another point and turned it over on downs three straight possessions after that while the Dawgs scored a TD on two straight drives to put it away. Brock Bowers is a dang freak, and the TD catch he made in the 2nd quarter is a must see. Georgia takes care of business and rolls despite three turnovers. A massive showdown with Tennessee awaits next week. Florida heads to College Station to take on Texas A&M.
The Hammer: Although this game was 28-20 late in the third quarter, Georgia was in control nearly all game. The Dawgs jumped out to a 28-3 lead at halftime and then let the Gators mount a small comeback before finding the gas pedal again and pulling away in the 4th quarter. The Georgia offense ran the ball very well, totaling 239 yards and 4 touchdowns on 40 rushing attempts. Stetson “Tombstone” Bennett was inconsistent on the day throwing for 316 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions on just 19/38 pass attempts. Bennett will have to be better against Tennessee because the Vols have the high powered offense that really makes teams pay for turnovers. Florida’s offense struggled as you might expect. The Gators have run the ball well most of the year, but the Dawgs bottled them up only allowing 100 yards and one touchdown on 34 rushing attempts. Billy Napier is still in his first year so this result was nothing to panic about, but it's a reminder of how much work the Gators have ahead of them.
The Waco Kid: Florida did it, they made sure that Georgia did not cover the 23.5 spread and if I remember correctly, I was only one point off on my prediction. Really all that fans could hope for was the Gators to cover the spread. That was a feat in and of itself against the #1 team in the nation. The Bulldogs continue to steamroll the competition, no matter the rivalry, no matter the strength of the team, and no matter the injuries on their sideline. This Dawgs team is starting to look a whole lot like last year’s and we all know how they fared in the playoffs. But time is up for Kirby Smart, this weekend will determine the top program in the East and most likely who will be playing for a National Championship come January. The Vols travel to Athens in a clash of the titans on Saturday and it will be one of the best games the SEC has seen since well Tennessee beat Bama three weeks ago. I mean we are now talking #1 vs #2 in the same conference, in the same division. When it comes to big time games and rivalries it just doesn’t get any better than this. I still can’t decide who will win but after a week of practice, us fans may have a little more clarity. As for Florida, they travel to College Station to take on the, just as disappointing, fighting Texas Aggies. This too should be a great matchup, although the implications of this game are far less severe, it could determine which program makes a bowl and which will end their season early. This weekend is shaping out to be another great football Saturday.
Missouri 23 - #25 South Carolina 10
Bossman Slim: I am dumb. I should have looked a little more between the lines on this one, instead of reading too much into South Carolina’s win over Texas A&M. Carolina’s offense was not good against A&M, but they did just enough to get the job done with some help on special teams. Mizzou presented the perfect challenge to that sputtering offense, didn’t shoot themselves in the foot as much as A&M, and their record doesn’t reflect how close they’ve been in many of these games. Shame on me - I’ll own it Mizzou fans. You earned this one and made Spencer Rattler look pedestrian while also holding this South Carolina run game to just 32 yards. The defense was stifling all night. In our preview show with Steven Willis, I said Mizzou would need to get Luther Burden involved to win this one. In fact, they didn’t need him at all on Saturday night as he barely registered on the stat sheet. Instead, it was Dominic Lovett who exploded for 10 catches and 148 yards and a steady ground game behind Cody Schrader and QB1 Brady Cook that got the job done for the Tigers. Solid win for Mizzou and gets them back on the right track. It’s going to be tight with this team to see if they can get bowl eligible with Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas still on the schedule, but they could win one of those games (maybe two!) along with cupcake New Mexico State. South Carolina should get bowl eligible next week against Vandy (but don’t sleep on the Commodores).
The Hammer: Boom, called this one! After the terrible year I’ve had picking games, it felt good to finally pick an upset. South Carolina seemed to be skating by and Mizzou was due for a close win. I know they just beat Vandy close but that’s Vandy. The Tigers were due for a real SEC win, and they got one this past Saturday on the road at Williams Bryce. Don’t look now, but Missouri’s defense might actually be good. The Tigers defense is only allowing 18.2 points per game in SEC play, and they bottled up the Gamecock offense on Saturday. South Carolina’s offense has struggled all year but after the A&M victory I’m sure they had confidence, but that was quelled quickly by the Tiger defense. Mizzou only allowed 203 total yards for the Gamecocks, and that’s just not enough to win in the SEC. Missouri’s offense is still struggling, but with that defense I expect Mizzou to compete with any team they play. Eli Drinkwitz deserves a ton of credit for keeping this team engaged and playing hard despite some really tough losses. For South Carolina, this is just a bump in the rebuild. You can’t score on special teams and get a bunch of turnovers every game. At some point, your offense needs to be good enough to score points on their own, and right now they are not.
The Waco Kid: No meme could change the day that The Hammer and Waco Kid outsmarted Bossman. Sure South Carolina was coming off of a big win against Texas A&M and yes Mizzou has been unimpressive in almost every game this season. But the inevitability of Spencer Rattler turning over the ball always seems to bite the Gamecocks right in the, well, gamecock. Once viewed as a preseason top tier quarterback, here at B&S, we or at least I, did not for one second think that slithery little snake would be any better than he was at Oklahoma. And the Sooners benched him. Have you seen them play this season? That team did not trust him taking snaps but we for some reason were supposed to believe he could transition to the SEC and be effective against defenses that actually played defense. That’s just crazy and he has made us all truly believe in skepticism. He did not have the worst of days, I mean he did throw for 170 yards and ran for -2 and a TD. QBs have had worse (see Derek Carr). Thanks a lot Carr, I started you in fantasy football this week. On the other hand, the Tigers were able to run on the SC defense and scored the majority of their points on the ground. That has always been a key to SEC wins, running the ball and controlling the clock and they executed the game plan perfectly. Missouri travels to Lexington to take on Kentucky on Saturday while the Gamecocks head to Nashville for a showdown with Vandy. UM loses while USC gains another win over an under .500 team.
#3 Tennessee 44 - #19 Kentucky 6
Bossman Slim: What a beatdown. I thought this would be a solid win for Tennessee, but I didn’t expect it to get this ugly. This game was over by mid-third quarter when the Vols went up 30-6. Kentucky scored a touchdown on their second drive to pull within one (they had the PAT blocked), and then didn’t score another dang point the rest of the night. Will Levis threw three interceptions, including a back breaker in the red zone after an 11-play, 58-yard drive in the second quarter that could have brought the Wildcats within a score. Hendon Hooker continues to play lights out and light up the stat sheet, as does Jaylin Hyatt. Hooker is your Heisman leader and the Vols are rolling heading into their season defining showdown with Georiga next week. Kentucky must lick their wounds, forget about this one and move on quickly as they must get up for Mizzou next week - a game that isn’t a walk in the park.
The Hammer: I missed this game badly. I thought Kentucky would be able to keep it close, slow down the game and make Tennessee play their style. Not even close. After an even first quarter, the Vols jumped all over Kentucky in the second quarter, scoring 20 unanswered points and putting the game out of reach. Will Levis really struggled in this one, managing just 98 yards and 3 interceptions on 16/27 pass attempts. It was his worst game at Kentucky. There was no look ahead feeling from Tennessee, who plays UGA on the road next weekend, and that is a credit to Heupel and his staff. You cannot say enough about how good of a job that staff is doing in just their second season. Tennessee is playing as well as anyone in the country right now, and Kentucky is simply not on that level. Remember when we said this weekend helped us sort out the contenders from the pretenders? This game is a prime example. Tennessee is a contender and Kentucky is a pretender.
The Waco Kid: Tennessee just cannot be stopped. Their offense moved the ball with no problems while their defense looked like something out of an SEC fairytale. They held the Wildcats to 6 points and Levis and CRod only combined for 140 total yards. These were two guys who have been used to scoring at will and shot blanks against the Vol defense. That was the one hole I believed that UT had coming into this game was their defensive effort. Now they head into Athens looking like a complete team that actually can compete and defeat the #1 team in the nation. Hendon Hooker had another spectacular game on his way to a Heisman nod, scoring 4 TDs, 3 passing and one rushing. While Jalin Hyatt continues his streak as well with over 130 yards receiving and two scores. If these guys perform that way against the Georgia D, you may be looking at #1 and #2 in Heisman voting the next week. If the Dawgs cannot slow the orange and white down, their shot at back to back titles and the beginning of a dynasty may die only one year after rising to national notoriety. It’s going to be a helluva Saturday in GA. As far as Kentucky goes, Levis will need to get back on track to have the Wildcats in position to make a top tier bowl game and this weekend’s matchup against Mizzou may be the perfect palate cleanser for an offense and team in desperate need of a win.
#15 Ole Miss 31 - Texas A&M 28
Bossman Slim: Quinshon Judkins is still running. On his birthday, Judkins tore up the Kyle Field turf, accounting for 205 yards and a TD on 35 carries for the Rebels. Ole Miss finished the night with 390 rushing yards, the most yards the Aggies have given up on the ground in more than 20 years. Lane Kiffin must have been laughing all night as he looked at DJ Durkin across the field. Despite those gaudy rushing stats for Ole Miss, A&M was in this game to the very end. Devon Achane ran for over 120 yards in the first half, then inexplicably disappeared from Jimbo’s gameplan in the second half, accounting for 14 yards on the ground in the second frame. The Aggies found a spark in freshman Conner Weigman, who is the Aggies future - and right now - at QB. A&M’s season is long over at 3-5, so now it’s about pride, playing for the future and working to fight their way into a bowl game. As bad as it seems, we still may not have seen the bottom in College Station. A&M has a home matchup with Florida next week while Ole Miss hosts Alabama in a game with massive SEC and playoff implications. Can’t wait for that one.
The Hammer: This was the game of the weekend in the SEC. Lane Kiffin and Jimbo Fisher do not like each other and Kiffin made sure to take his jabs at Jimbo after the game. To the victor goes the spoils. Texas A&M lost yet another heartbreaking, close game as they just could not make enough plays when it mattered to get a win. The Aggies played better offense than we’ve seen all year with Achane rushing for 138 yards and true freshman Conner Weigman played well at QB (finally). The young gunslinger threw for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns on 28/44 attempts. It was not enough to pull off a victory though because Ole Miss ran all over A&M’s defense. The Rebels rushed for 390 yards as a team and were led by freshman sensation quinshon Judkins who ran for 205 yards and one touchdown on his own. Jaxson Dart wasn’t very dynamic passing the ball, although he did throw 3 TDs, but he made the Aggies pay with his legs running for 95 yards, including some crucial third down conversions. Kiffin and his staff undoubtedly outcoached Jimbo and the Aggies and it was never more evident than the fake punt Ole Miss pulled off deep in their own territory. It was a gutsy call and it paid off with a field goal later that drive, which ended up being the difference in the game. Ole Miss looks to be a real contender in the SEC West and will face Alabama in two weeks after a much needed bye week. Meanwhile, A&M is still a pretender as we’ve known since week two when they lost to Appalachian State.
The Waco Kid: This may have been the closest game of the night Saturday. In reality it all came down to the last series for Texas A&M. Pinned in their own territory with less than a minute left, the Aggies had four downs to get within field goal range. Four downs ended up not even being enough to move the chains once. Unfortunately for A&M, they ended up losing by 3 to the #15 team in the nation. The good news is Freshman QB Connor Weigman looked like a stud with the plays he was given and seems to have taken the reins of the offensive unit. Not only did he put his team in a position to win his first start but he also scored more points than the maroon and white have seen in most games this season. Granted that was only 28 points but when you have been as awful as they have at moving the ball, pretty much anything is an improvement. Devon Achane, also finally got back on track and looked like the RB1 Jimbo was used to utilizing all last year. He had over 100 yards in the first half and I’d say against a bunch of 3 and 4 stars, that’s pretty good. Speaking of which, funny man Lane Kiffin was on fire all game. It seemed as though Kyle Field may have gotten the best of him and given him the Kyle Krazies. Not only was he caught on camera calling A&M players little bitches, he also threw some shade Jimbo’s way, implying that he was a joke. Jimbo may be the Joker but we know for sure Kiffin is not the Batman, maybe Catwoman due to his fiesta attitude but definitely not the hero. He should just take the money and run to Auburn like we know he wants to. LK was right about one thing though, his running backs looked like they may be the best duo in the country and both are underclassmen. They rushed for over 300 yards against a massive maroon D line. Sure it could have been due to the Aggies giving up the line of scrimmage but let’s all let Lane think he did something impressive. He was supposed to win that game, nothing out of the ordinary, act like you’ve been there before. Plus honestly the defensive line looked like they were non-existent and never made it to the bus, something Kiffin knows all too well about. Mississippi has the weekend off before hosting Alabama, a game in which I am sure Lane will get his ass handed to him either verbally or physically by his daddy Nick Saban. Kyle Field will be rockin on Saturday when Florida makes their way to College Station for the match up of mediocrity. What exactly is on the line, possibly a shot at the Charmin Toilet Bowl.