B&S Week 6 game-by-game recaps 2023
A wild weekend across the SEC involving blowouts, nail-biters, and general madness.
By: Bossman Slim, Hammer
@biscuitsandsec
Jalen Milroe said “watch this,” to which Carson Beck responded, “hold my beer.” Both signal callers had career days against their opponents and after six weeks, despite all the talk of their demise, it looks like Alabama and Georgia are once again the class of the SEC. Jayden Daniels also played lights out yet again and showed why he’s considered a top-tier Heisman contender. Just another great weekend of games in the SEC.
Let’s check out how the crew fared in Week 6:
Hammer opened up a three-game lead straight up as Bossman went sicko-mode, picking three upsets that all had a chance but fell flat on their face in the end. Waco Kid caught up to Bossman straight up, going 4-1, but remained in the basement ATS.
Let’s hit the recaps.
Bossman Slim: They HAD’EM! I knew this one would be another LSU shootout, I just thought Mizzou could get that one stop that would put them over the hump. Instead, that was the LSU Tigers who got TWO stops in the final two minutes with a stop on 4th & 32 and a pick-six from Major Burns to put the final dagger in Missouri. This was an offensive clinic, as both teams up up over 500 yards of total offense (LSU 533; Mizzou 527). Aside from Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers who played out of their minds once again, the LSU rushing attack was also potent putting up 274 yards and two TDs (Jayden Daniels had 130 of those yards and one of those TDs, of course). Brady Cook and Luther Burden played out of their minds, but two INTs and the killer pick-six from Cook were the difference in the game. That one hurts for Mizzou, while LSU gets back on track.
Hammer: Another week, another LSU shootout. I think we’ve seen enough from LSU this year to know their offense is elite and their defense will give up yards and points to pretty much anyone. But Mizzou isn’t just anyone, they are a good team and they played a great game on offense in this one but simply got outscored by a better offense. Give credit to LSU for going on the road at 11 a.m. local time and getting a win after the heartbreaking loss at Ole Miss a week ago. The difference in this game really came down to turnovers. Brady Cook, who had yet to throw an interception coming into this game, tossed two on Saturday while LSU did not turn the ball over. Both teams topped 500 yards of offense and moved the ball at will, but those turnovers proved too costly for Mizzou, especially the pick-six to close out the game with under a minute remaining. One more thing to note outside of Brady Cook, Luther Burden, and Jayden Daniels lighting up the stat sheet was LSU running back Logan Diggs. The Bayou Bengals have really struggled to run the ball with tailbacks for several years now. So far this year, most of their success on the ground has still come from Daniels but Logan Diggs is emerging as a threat, adding to their offensive arsenal. Diggs ran for 134 yards and a TD on 24 carries in this game, which is such a welcome sight for LSU fans. If Diggs can continue running effectively that will go a long way to lighten the load on Daniels and the wide receivers.
Waco Kid: Missouri was so close to toppling LSU. All game this was back and forth and looked like it may come down to who had the last possession. But a costly pick six by Brady Cook ultimately put the Bayou Bengals out of reach for the Tigers from Columbia. The good news is that at the beginning of the season, Mizzou would have been immediately written off in this game against the West champions. They are now on track to a decent rebuild. LSU is firing on all cylinders on offense and look like they can out score almost any opponent. Their defense seems to be getting exposed week after week. Jayden Daniels will continue to keep the purple and gold in the West discussion but if they can not pick up the slack defensively, Atlanta could be out of reach.
Next up for LSU: vs. Auburn
Next up for Mizzou: @ #24 Kentucky
Bossman Slim: Texas A&M beat themselves in this one. Let me be more clear: Texas A&M’s own coaching staff beat them in this game. Credit to Alabama, they played well and Jalen Milroe, Jermaine Burton, and Isaiah Bond all had career days against an Aggie secondary with more leaks than a FlexSeal commercial. But A&M had their chances to win this game and they didn’t, mostly because the coaching staff mismanaged the game. The Aggies staff left at least 8 points on the field, were conservative and risk-averse instead of putting the pedal to the metal, and it cost them a winnable game. A&M had more rushing yards than Alabama, won the turnover battle, had more time of possession, and had ten fewer penalties than the Tide for 79 fewer yards. If you had told me all of those numbers before the game, I would have bet my house on Texas A&M. Instead, it was another gut-wrenching loss for the Aggies. You could spend an entire day dissecting all that went wrong for A&M and the “what ifs,” but at the end of the day, they didn’t get it done and Alabama is now right back where they want to be: in the driver’s seat in the SEC West.
Hammer: If you come at the king, you best not miss. And A&M missed on Saturday. Everything seemed to be setting up for an Aggie win heading into this game but once again the Aggies came up just short in front of 108,101 screaming fans. Give credit to Alabama for having a great gameplan on offense and taking advantage of a leaky A&M secondary. Jalen Milroe is not perfect, and he’s taken a ton of criticism in his time at Alabama, but he played very well on Saturday throwing for 321 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 21/33 attempts. Jermaine Burton finally made plays in a Crimson Tide uniform, hauling in 9 catches for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Tommy Rees and the Alabama staff clearly saw a matchup advantage with Burton and they took shots whenever they saw a 1x1 matchup with Burton on the outside. Despite the offensive line surrendering six sacks and 8 tackles for loss and generating less than one yard per carry, Milroe and the Alabama offense were able to move the ball downfield in the air and score just enough to come out with a victory. The Aggies fought hard but simply did not make enough plays to win. Max Johnson was decent on the day but missed a few open receivers downfield at critical times that could have changed the outcome. Similar to the Aggies, the Alabama front seven wreaked havoc on the Aggie offensive line and Johnson, tallying 5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss, most of which came in the second half. Games like this are won in the margins and Alabama took advantage of their opportunities while A&M did not. Aggie fans will look back at their missed chances and think about what could have been, which unfortunately is an all too familiar tune with A&M under Jimbo Fisher. They simply don’t get the job done consistently enough with big implications on the line. For Alabama, this is business as usual. The greatest coach of all time continues to be written off and just keeps winning.
Waco Kid: I expected Bama to win this one, but A&M made everyone sweat there for the majority of the game. There was never a point where it looked like one team was just outright more talented. And when that is the case it usually comes down to coaching. Saban was not going to get out coached by another of his former employees and he made sure Jimbo knew his place in the pecking order. Still the Aggie defense looks solid and stout, even giving up quite a few passing yards, that defensive line looked nasty and like a top unit. A&M has some tough ones ahead and really needs to gather some wins to stay on track. The Tide has a rough few upcoming weeks too but if any team is built to withstand the heat, it’s a Saban team.
Next up for Alabama: vs. Arkansas
Next up for Texas A&M: @ #19 Tennessee
Bossman Slim: Expected. I picked Florida to put up 35 on the Commodores, and they put up 38. I was expecting Vandy to put up a little more of a fight, but without AJ Swann, that wasn’t going to happen. Florida took care of business even without Trevor Etienne. Montrell Johnson had a solid game, as did Graham Mertz who tallied three TDs and over 250 yards passing. Vandy is bad, Florida did what they needed to do. Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.
Hammer: Not much to say on this game, honestly. Florida took care of business and played well at home as expected. The Gators are a drastically different team at home compared to on the road. Vanderbilt is not equipped to go into The Swamp and win a game like this, even with Florida’s question marks. Graham Mertz had his best game as a Gator, throwing for 254 yards and three touchdowns on 30/36 attempts. Montrell Johnson also went to work on the ground running for 135 yards and a TD on 18 carries. For the ‘Dores, the forgotten QB Ken Seals looked solid throwing for 276 yards and two TDs on 19/34 attempts. Not bad at all for Seals and Vandy but this game was controlled by Florida the entire time. The Gators ran the ball effectively, threw the ball effectively, and dominated time of possession. A nice win for Florida and Billy Napier, but Gator fans won’t be impressed by beating Vandy at home. The Gators need to continue this level of play to gain any trust back with the fanbase.
Waco Kid: The only surprising thing in this one was that Vandy couldn’t even put up more than 20 points. I thought for sure after watching films the Commodores would try to use their speed against the Gator defense and bounce a few outside the tackles. If Florida has one thing it’s size and that’s just not something Vanderbilt is known for. Instead they found paydirt with the passing game behind QB Ken Seals. While on the flip side Florida play caller, Graham Mertz, was close to perfect in this one. Another week, another boring performance by Clark Lea’s squad.
Next up for Florida: @South Carolina
Next up for Vanderbilt: #1 Georgia
Bossman Slim: Excuse me? I picked the Dawgs to cover buuuuut not like that! Georgia beat the friggin’ brakes off of Kentucky, this one was never in question. Georgia went up 21-0 in the second quarter before Kentucky scored, then tacked on another 13 points before halftime to go up 34-7. Do you think the Dawgs have heard the talk about how vulnerable they are? They sure didn’t look vulnerable on Saturday against a top-20 Kentucky team. Carson Beck has been improving week over week, and that didn’t stop in this game. He broke through and now looks like at QB who can lead Georgia to another title. The Bulldogs put up over 600 - yes SIX HUNDRED - yards of total offense, while they held the Wildcats to just 193 total yards. Devin Leary struggled much of the night as UGA took away the running game and forced the Wildcats to throw the ball. After the game, Mark Stoops was candid in his disappointment with Leary’s play so far: “...there’s no excuse to not hit some of those passes. I mean, we had some guys wide open, you know? We missed some open plays to keep it close early.” It does not get any easier for Kentucky, who face a solid Mizzou team next week and still have Tennessee, Alabama and Louisville to go.
Hammer: Wow. Georgia finally woke up. Through the first five weeks of the season, everyone was wondering aloud if this Bulldog team was capable of winning a third consecutive national title. They certainly had not looked like that team until Saturday night, but my goodness they took out all their anger on Kentucky. Yet another game where Kentucky seems poised to give Georgia a real challenge and is promptly patted on the head and stuffed into a locker. Sanford Stadium was rocking and the Dawgs were HUNGRY. Georgia outgained Kentucky 608 to 183 on the night. Carson Beck played his best game in a Bulldog uniform going 28/35 for 389 yards, 4 touchdowns and one interception. Georgia also ran the ball effectively at 5.6 yards per carry. They could do whatever they wanted on the Wildcat defense and Kirby wasn't going to slow down. He wanted to send a message and he did. As most thought heading into this game, Devin Leary would need to play extremely well to keep this game close since Georgia does not allow opposing running backs to run on them. Kentucky only ran for 55 yards which is normal against Georgia but unfortunately for Big Blue Nation, Leary was not up to the task. On the night, Leary only managed 128 yards passing and two touchdowns on 10/26 throws. That’s an abysmal completion percentage and it's been plaguing Leary all season. The hyped-up QB transfer and return of Liam Coen as offensive coordinator have not panned out as Kentucky hoped. It’s very much still a work in progress and if your offensive is not clicking on all cylinders against the Dawgs, you’re not going to be effective. Georgia reigns supreme and this game was a reminder to everyone in the nation that the Dawgs are still on top.
Waco Kid: Talk about a coming out performance. Georgia finally hit their sweet point on offense at the exact right time. Carson Beck looked like an elite QB throwing for 4 scores and over 380 yards. And this showing could not have come at a better time for the Dawgs. Kentucky was looking like they may be the biggest competition in the East after Tennessee fell to Florida. But Kirby Smart did what he does and completely dismantled the Wildcats and left no doubt that UGA still stands at the top of the division by far. UK has some serious issues to address. Their inability to get the ball moving on offense was evident in this loss and will create questions about their QB Devin Leary. He was supposed to be a top conference quarterback this year and all of the sudden looks like he should have stayed in the ACC. Big Blue has some adjustments to make if they want to stick around the top of the East. But for now Georgia can rest easy knowing that not only is their defense top tier but their offense may be as well.
Next up for Georgia: @ Vanderbilt
Next up for Kentucky: vs. Mizzou
Bossman Slim: Sam Pittman and the Hogs let’em off the hook. Arkansas struck first to go up 7-0, then gave up 17 straight points before clawing their way back to take the lead 20-17 early in the fourth quarter. It looked like Arkansas had the momentum and would get a much-needed win, but Ole Miss stiffened their upper lip and defended their home turf. KJ Jefferson played well but turnovers are biting him in the tail. He threw a pick early in the game deep in Arkansas territory that Ole Miss turned into a TD four plays later, then threw a game-sealing interception on the final drive of the game. He’s thrown at least one INT in his last four games. Arkansas’s weak line was an issue once again, as the Hogs rushing attack couldn’t get going and they gave up five sacks and 10 TFLs to an Ole Miss defense that was flying around. As for Ole Miss, it wasn’t Jaxson Dart’s best game, but he was aided by a Rebel ground attack that put up 159 yards and two TDs between Quinshon Judkins and Ulysses Bentley IV. Ole Miss is 5-1 and continues to look impressive. This team has a real chance to make noise in the West with Auburn, Texas A&M, and Georgia still to come.
Hammer: Another hard-fought loss for Arkansas, who has now dropped 4 in a row and sits at 2-4 with a road trip to Alabama on deck. Yikes. I feel for Hog fans, who were drinking serious Kool-Aid before the season and thought this team was legitimately good. They are not. KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders are great. The rest of the team, not so much. The Razorback offensive line is one of the worst in the SEC and their defense is alright, but not nearly good enough to win them games. To illustrate how poor this Hog offensive line is, the Rebels front seven dominated this game, notching 10 TFLs and five sacks. Texas A&M recorded 15 TFLs and 7 sacks the week before. You cannot win games in the SEC with that kind of offensive line play. On the Ole Miss side, this was a solid win. Sure, the offense did not look nearly as deadly this week as they did last week against LSU, but they did enough. Dart did not put up big-time numbers, but he took care of the ball and the ground game worked just enough to get the win. Ole Miss won this game with defense, showing they can win ball games in multiple ways. They aren't perfect but right now the Rebs look like the second-best team in the SEC West and just need some luck to backdoor their way to Atlanta if they can just keep winning.
Waco Kid: Even in a loss Arkansas looked like an impressive team. I’m sure to both fans and players this is a frustrating season because this Razorback team has been in the mix in almost every game they’ve fallen outside of the A&M match up. I mean opponents are beating the Hogs by an average of 7 points per game. The margin does not get much closer than that. KJ Jefferson, once again, was expected to shoulder the load in this one and if it hadn’t been for two costly turnovers may have been able to will his team past a top 25 Ole Miss team. Right now Arkansas has to figure out how to finish games and put together wins. The Rebs are on an upward trajectory as they are hitting the meat of their SEC schedule. Lane Kiffin has them where he wants them and with a few more conference wins could make some noise in Atlanta. The pigs are just hoping for a bowl berth at this point.
