SEC Week 11 Round Up: Kentucky Stuns Gators, Missouri Out of CFP Race, Bama Wins Rock Fight

Week 11 of the College Football season was underwhelming across the SEC. With key CFP hunt teams like Texas and Oklahoma on a bye, the weekend was essentially drama-free around the conference. Here are some takeaways from the weekend: 

Eight SEC teams ranked in the Top 25 

The latest AP Poll has 8 SEC teams ranked in the Top 25. That is still more than any other conference in the country. Below are the SEC teams currently ranked in the Top 25: 

Texas A&M, No. 3 (9-0) 

Alabama, No. 4 (8-1)

Georgia, No. 5 (8-1)

Ole Miss, No. 6 (9-1) 

Texas, No. 10 (7-2)

Oklahoma, No. 11 (7-2) 

Vanderbilt, No. 13 (8-2)

Tennessee, No. 21 (6-3)

Georgia takes care of business against State

On Saturday afternoon, Georgia overcame a slow start and took care of business against Mississippi State, 41-21.   

Quarterback Gunner Stockton led Georgia with 18/29 passing with 264 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Running back Nate Frazier punished the Bulldogs’ defense with 12 carries for 181 yards and a touchdown. Receivers Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch had 78 and 68 yards, respectively, with one touchdown apiece. The Bulldogs were 7/12 on third down and wore down State with their balanced offense. 

For Mississippi State, quarterback Kamari Taylor led the way with 6/10 passing for 87 yards, 12 carries for 60 yards, and 3 rushing touchdowns. Taylor entered the game after starter Blake Shapen went down with a shoulder injury. Shapen completed 10/15 passes for 86 yards and no touchdowns. Despite going 8/16 on third down and 1/2 on fourth down, State could not finish drives consistently. 

Georgia hosts Texas on Saturday night in a game with massive College Football Playoff implications. A Bulldog win would give Texas its third loss, and a Longhorns victory would muddy the waters with another two-loss SEC team. Mississippi State travels to Missouri on Saturday before its bye week. 

Ole Miss dominates the Citadel

Ole Miss wasted no time on Saturday and crushed the Citadel 49-0. Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss completed 29/33 passes for 333 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Running back Kewan Lacy had 11 rushes for 49 yards and 3 touchdowns. Receiver Winston Watkins led the way for Ole Miss with 5 catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. 

With the win, Ole Miss likely needs to split their final two games against Florida and Mississippi State to make the College Football Playoff. 

Texas A&M knocks Missouri out of the CFP race 

Texas A&M remained undefeated on Saturday and crushed Missouri, 38-17. With the loss, Missouri is now officially out of the College Football Playoff hunt. 

Quarterback Marcel Reed completed 20/29 passes for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions for the Aggies. KC Concepcion continues to give defenses fits and had 4 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. Running back Rueben Owens had 12 rushes for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

For Missouri, freshman quarterback Matt Zollers completed just 7/22 passes for 77 yards and 0 touchdowns. While the Tigers’ running back duo of Roberts and Hardy had strong days, with Roberts racking up 17 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown, and Hardy adding 13 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown, Missouri struggled to get anything going in the air. 

The Aggies are in the driver’s seat for a top 4 seed in the CFP and have remaining games against South Carolina, Samford, and Texas. Missouri has games against Mississippi State, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to finish off the season. 

Alabama wins rock fight at home 

Since Brian Kelly’s firing, several pundits have tried to cast some shade on Vanderbilt’s win over LSU. Saturday’s Alabama-LSU game was a reminder of how impressive the Tim Beck offense is when it’s clicking. Despite being at home against a program in disarray, Alabama did not look sharp offensively and defeated the Tigers, 20-9. 

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson missed several throws and finished the game 21/35 passing for 277 yards and a touchdown with 0 interceptions. For the Crimson Tide, receiver Germie Bernard had 3 catches for 79 yards, and Simpson’s lone passing touchdown went to receiver Ryan Williams, who finished with 3 catches for 33 yards. Running back Daniel Hill had 7 carries for 21 yards and a touchdown. Despite going 4/13 on third down, Alabama’s offense did just enough to win the game. Defensively, Alabama smothered LSU’s offense, which had only 232 total yards and just 59 rushing yards, and scored only on three field goals.s 

LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier went 18/21 with 121 passing yards and had little help from his receivers or running backs. It remains puzzling how the Tigers’ offense has struggled to score all season, despite the talent in the receiver room. 

Alabama faces Oklahoma at home on Saturday afternoon and then has a tune-up game against Eastern Illinois before the Iron Bowl. LSU faces Arkansas, Western Kentucky, and then travels to Oklahoma to close out the season. 

Kentucky stuns Florida 

In the most shocking result across the SEC, Kentucky blew out Florida 38-7. The Wildcat defense, which was one of the worst defenses in the conference, held Gators quarterback DJ Lagway to 11/19 passing for 83 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. After Florida scored a touchdown on a 10-yard pass to tie the game at 7with 1:12 remaining in the first quarter, Kentucky scored 31 unanswered points and whooped Florida in front of a home crowd. 

Cutter Boley completed 18/23 passes for the Wildcats for 168 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. Running backs Dante Dowdell and Seth McGowan pounded the ball for the Wildcats. Dowdell finished with 7 carries for 104 yards and 1 touchdown, and McGowan had 22 carries for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. 

Kentucky’s victory is shocking for a couple of reasons. Last week, Florida had Georgia on the ropes late and could not finish. Leading up to the game, Kentucky’s defense had been unable to get stops outside of its win against Auburn consistently. The Wildcats are now two games away from bowl eligibility in what once looked like a lost season. Vanderbilt will need to be on its toes on November 22 as Wildcat quarterback Cutter Boley’s confidence continues to grow. For Florida, DJ Lagway continues to prove that he is not the star he was projected to be. Three interceptions against a bad Kentucky defense are hard to explain. Florida’s blowout loss is also a blow to Texas’s resume, as the Longhorns lost to Florida earlier this season. 

Florida travels to Ole Miss on Saturday before facing Tennessee and Florida State in the swamp to close out the season. Kentucky faces a tough Tennessee Tech team at home before traveling to Nashville on November 22 and closing out the season at Louisville on November 29. 

Stay tuned for next week’s edition of SEC Round Up!