SEC Roundup: No. 1 goes down in Week 6
It’s another great Sunday to wake up a Wildcat fan, BBN. While the ‘Cats were whooping Tiger tail last night, giants were falling. Let’s talk about it.
No. 1 Alabama at Texas A&M
UPSETTTT! No. 1 Alabama was defeated in dramatic fashion last night in College Station. Senior Seth Small made a 28-yard chip-in field goal with only one second left as the Aggies stunned the Tide 41-38 to end their 19-game win streak.
‘Bama mounted an impressive comeback in the second half. They scored 21 straight points, including a two-point conversion with five minutes left to take a 31-38 lead. The Aggies were determined, though. A&M quarterback Zach Calzada found Ainias Smith for a 25-yard touchdown to tie the game with three minutes to go.
Calzada was shaken up on the touchdown play and had to take a trip to the medical tent. Fortunately, he was able to return on the next play and get his team within field goal range as time expired.
With the win, Jimbo Fisher is now the first former Saban assistant to beat him. Prior to the game, Saban was 24-0 against his former minions–four of those wins being against Fisher.
No. 2 Georgia at No. 18 Auburn
The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs will remain undefeated (for now) after a convincing 34-10 in Auburn last night.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett passed for 231 yards and two touchdowns. The senior was 14 of 21 on the night, including a 60-yard bomb to Ladd McConkey in the third quarter. Junior Zamir White added two of his own on the ground.
The Tigers came in averaging 40 points per game, but had no answer for the Bulldog defense–the best in the nation. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix was sacked four times by the UGA defense. The Bulldogs allowed only 46 rushing yards.
Enjoy it while it lasts, Dawg nation…
No. 13 Arkansas at No. 17 Ole Miss
This one was a little more competitive. The No. 17 Rebels defeated the No. 13 Razorbacks 52-51 in an Oxford shootout to move to 4-1 on the season.
Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral completed 14 of 21 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns in the match. For him, this one might have been a bit more personal. The junior threw six interceptions when the two teams met last year.
Arkansas scored on a nine-yard pass from KJ Jefferson to Warren Thompson in the final seconds of the game. The Razorbacks opted for a win over a tie and went for two–a decision they might be regretting this morning. Jefferson was pressured by the Ole Miss defense, causing him to overthrow the final pass.
Vanderbilt at No. 20 Florida
Florida found someone they can beat this week–congrats guys! After they were upset in Lexington last weekend, the Gators bounced back yesterday afternoon with a dominant 42-0 win over the Commodores.
Though there has been some uncertainty at the quarterback spot in Gainesville this season, Emory Jones made a pretty convincing case for himself yesterday. Jones had a career-high four touchdown passes as he racked up 273 yards in the air, plus an additional 40 on the ground.
Vandy had plenty of chances to find the scoreboard, but (in true Vandy fashion) just couldn’t quite get there. Alabama transfer Joseph Bulovas missed three field goals from 33, 39 and 41 yards.
South Carolina at Tennessee
The Tennessee Volunteers have moved to 4-2 on the season after a big 45-20 win over South Carolina last night. The Vols lost an early few to Pittsburgh and Florida, but have bounced back nicely since with convincing SEC wins.
Much of that success can be accredited to Vol quarterback Hendon Hooker. Hooker, a Virginia Tech transfer, is now 3-1 as a starter. Yesterday, he threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns–in addition to the one he ran in.
South Carolina couldn’t quite find that same offensive success. The Gamecocks tried four different quarterbacks, but still only managed 217 passing yards.
North Texas at Missouri
The Missouri Tigers pulled out a gritty 48-35 win over North Texas yesterday afternoon to leave them at 3-3 on the season. Tiger running back Tyler Badie rushed for a career-high 217 yards and three touchdowns in the win, averaging 12.8 yards per carry.
Mizzou quarterback Connor Bazelak completed 21 of 32 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. One of those came in the form of a 41-yard beauty to JJ Hester.
Missouri had a comfortable 31-7 lead at the half, but North Texas came back to bring it within a score despite their three turnovers. The ‘Mean Green’ (???) out-gained the Tigers 493-474 and threw for 305 yards, but it just wasn’t enough.
LSU at No. 16 Kentucky
I have a lot of words for this one, but I will start with these two: Will Levis.
Levis threw for three touchdowns and ran in two more in a dominant 42-21 Kentucky win last night–giving the ‘Cats their first 6-0 start since 1950. He was 14 of 17 passing for 145 yards. But he got it done on the ground, too. See for yourself with this gutsy 33-yard run from the Penn State transfer.
Chris Rodriguez was instrumental in the Wildcat win as well. C-Rod rushed for 147 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries–AND NO FUMBLES! The ‘Cats out-rushed the Tigers 330-147.
The Kentucky defense showed up as well. They recorded four sacks and nine tackles for loss. Two sacks and two of those nine tackles for loss came from Octavious Oxedine. Unfortunately, Oxedine left the game on crutches with an iced knee. He was not the only Wildcat shaken up in the bout.
The ‘Cats were 5-5 in the red zone, a promising sign as they’ll begin preparations for Georgia this week. The Bulldogs in Athens will be tough, but not impossible. If we play like we did last night, I like my team.
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