SEC Week 4 Round Up: Razorback Heartbreak, SEC Refs, Gators Spiraling
Week 4 of the College Football season proved to be another action-packed weekend in the SEC, even with Georgia and Alabama on bye weeks. One quarter of the way through the SEC, the conference remains the deepest in the country, with no clear leader at the top. Here are some key takeaways from Week 4 from around the conference.
Ten teams remain in the Top 25
Following yesterday’s AP Top 25 poll, the SEC has 10 ranked teams, still more than any other conference in the country. Below are the SEC teams ranked after Week 4.
LSU, No. 4
Georgia, No. 5
Oklahoma, No. 7
Texas A&M, No. 9
Texas, No. 10
Ole Miss, No. 13
Tennessee, No. 15
Alabama, No. 17
Vanderbilt, No. 18
Missouri, No. 20
All of these teams, which will hereinafter be referred to as “the pack,” all have a shot in a wide-open SEC. And if Mississippi State wins on Saturday, the Bulldogs could join the pack, too. Gone are the days when it was only Alabama and then everyone else.
Bad officiating impacts Auburn-Oklahoma
It’s never a good thing when a high-end game ends with calls for an investigation of an officiating crew. On Saturday afternoon, the referees missed a huge call in Norman during a tight game between Auburn and Oklahoma. The Sooners prevailed 24-17, thanks to the Sooner defense nailing Auburn’s Jackson Arnold for a safety. However, the headline from the game involved the referees and a fake substitution from the first half that had Auburn fans fuming.
In the second quarter, the Sooners were driving into Auburn territory with the score knotted at 3. Oklahoma receiver Isaiah Sategna III jogged towards the bench as if he was about to be substituted out. Instead of running out of bounds, Sategna stopped and remained on the field. With the Auburn defense thinking Sategna subbed out, Sategna was more wide open than a tray of reheated eggs at a breakfast buffet. On the next play, Sategna ran up the field and caught a 24-yard pass from quarterback John Mateer to give Oklahoma a 10-3 lead.
Referees are like labor unions. If someone screws up, officials are usually tight-lipped, deflect blame, and protect their own interests. However, this missed call was so egregious that SEC Officiating jumped into the fray and issued a formal statement. In the statement, SEC Officiating noted that Sategna should have been called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because his play constituted “unfair tactics” and the touchdown should have been taken off the board.
Oklahoma fans will argue that the Sooners could have still scored on that drive if the penalty had been called, but the damage was done. It remains to be seen whether plays like this will continue to be a point of emphasis for officials moving forward, especially in games involving high-flying, hurry-up offenses that aim to trick defensive coordinators. One also has to wonder if Greg Sankey made a phone call to Sooners Head Coach Brent Venables and told him to stop the shenanigans.
Sooners show they belong, trouble for Auburn’s offense
Despite the referees making the headlines, Oklahoma proved once again on Saturday that it will be a force to be reckoned with this season. Heading into the game, many questions were asked about whether Oklahoma could score if quarterback John Mateer was forced to throw the ball. Mateer passed this test and threw the ball 36 times on Saturday, going 24/36 for 271 yards and a touchdown. Mateer also had 29 yards on 10 rushes and a rushing touchdown. Receiver Isaiah Sategna III tore up the Tigers’ defense for 129 yards on 9 catches and a touchdown.
The biggest highlight for Oklahoma was its defense, which finished the day with 9 sacks. Defensive lineman Jayden Jackson had a game-wrecking 2.5 sacks and 5 tackles, defensive lineman R Mason Thomas had 2 sacks and 4 tackles, and linebacker Kip Lewis had 10 tackles and half a sack. Anytime a defense can generate 4.5 sacks in a game from its defensive line, a coaching staff will be licking its chops. While some of the sacks were definitely on Jackson Arnold, who held onto the ball too long, the Sooners have to be feeling good about what they have defensively.
For Auburn, the biggest questions are pass protection and Arnold’s ability to consistently throw the football. Arnold was constantly under pressure from the Sooners’ defense and could not get anything going on the ground. On the day, Jackson had -11 rushing yards on 20 carries. Although Arnold threw for 220 passing yards and a touchdown, he was unable to get the ball to his outside receivers consistently, and the Tigers’ last drive ended with him getting sacked for a safety. If the Tigers don’t fix their offensive issues, Auburn will have tough sledding ahead in conference play.
Defensively, while Auburn held the Sooners to just 32 yards on the ground, Auburn’s passing defense left a lot to be desired, giving up 271 passing yards on Saturday. Auburn has a tough test against Texas A&M on the road on Saturday.
More trouble for Florida
The Gators dropped to 1-3 on Saturday night with a punishing 26-7 loss to Miami. While Florida’s defense did everything it could to slow down Carson Beck and the Hurricanes’ dynamic offense, quarterback DJ Lagway turned in another clunker and completed 12/23 passes for 61 yards.
Miami’s defense is elite, but this game was another bad omen for Lagway. With so much press in the offseason about Lagway’s improvements as a passer, Saturday night was another reminder that Lagway has a long way to go and is limited in throwing the football. Gators fans will be pointing to the team’s third-down woes, where Florida went a putrid 0/13. Good quarterbacks can convert on third down, and it’s a massive red flag that Lagway went an entire game without a third-down conversion.
Florida didn’t fare much better on the ground, earning 80 yards on 29 carries. When your quarterback is struggling like Lagway is, establishing the run is crucial for any offense. The Gators’ inability to run the ball against Miami should be another concern.
Where does Florida go from here? Billy Napier needs to figure something out before he finds himself out of a job. The Gators have a much-needed bye this week and will face Texas on October 4.
Watch out for Mizzou, Gamecocks continue slide
Missouri continues to demonstrate that it is a dangerous team with a 29-20 win over South Carolina. Tigers running back Ahmad Hardy stole the show with a blistering 138 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Missouri also saw solid production from running back Jamal Roberts, who had 13 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown. Missouri’s run game was massive as quarterback Beau Pribula had his worst game of the season, completing 16/27 passes for 171 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.
The Tigers’ defense also came up big, holding the Gamecocks to just 3/11 on third down and 0/1 on a fourth down conversion attempt. Despite allowing 14 points in the first half, the Tigers’ defense rallied and held the Gamecocks to just two field goals in the third quarter, South Carolina’s only points of the second half. The biggest story of the game was the Tigers’ run defense, which held South Carolina to -9 rushing yards.
Offensively, the Tigers’ rushing attack took over in the second half, with Hardy and Roberts both scoring their touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. After halftime, the Tigers outscored South Carolina 17-6.
For South Carolina, Saturday’s loss should be a gigantic red flag. Despite LaNorris Sellers throwing for 302 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions in his best game of the season, the Gamecocks only managed 20 points and got nothing going on the ground. To save their season, which includes a list of future opponents such as LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, the Gamecocks must win against Kentucky on Saturday.
Turnovers against Memphis doom Arkansas
On Saturday, Arkansas lost disappointingly to a much-improved Memphis team, which is now 4-0. Quarterback Taylen Green had a productive day throwing the ball and went 18/34 for 325 yards and 1 touchdown, but 2 costly interceptions put a dynamic Memphis offense back on the field. With the Razorbacks driving in the 4th quarter into the red zone, running back Mike Washington had a costly fumble, which cost Arkansas the game.
Arkansas’ defense did not fare much better, giving up 290 rushing yards against Memphis and three rushing touchdowns. The Razorbacks gave up 26 first downs, and Memphis went 6/13 on third down conversions. Arkansas hosts Notre Dame on Saturday.
More takin’ care of non-conference business
Besides Vanderbilt taking Georgia State to the woodshed, here are some other SEC teams that took care of business and left no doubt against non-conference opponents over the weekend:
Tennessee 56, UAB 24.
Aguilar threw 3 touchdowns, and the Vols’ offense continued to roll.
Ole Miss 45, Tulane 4.
Trinidad Chambliss continues to shine at quarterback with 307 passing yards and 2 touchdowns.
Mississippi State 38, NIU 10.
The Bulldogs scored 24 unanswered points in the second half and find themselves 4-0.
LSU, 56, SLU 10.
Tigers quarterback Garrett Nuessmeier threw for 3 touchdowns, and LSU scored 28 points in the second quarter and 14 in the fourth quarter.
Texas, 65, Sam Houston State 0.
Arch Manning threw for 3 touchdowns, two to Ryan Wingo, in a beatdown. Texas fans claim Arch has his “swagger” back, and opposing fans claim Arch’s showboating over weaker opponents is a clown move. We’ll learn much more about Texas in SEC play.
Stay tuned for next week’s Round Up of Week 5.
