SEC Review: Week Six

Another huge week in the SEC saw the Bayou Bengals defend their turf in an Instant Classic, Spurrier send Kentucky packing, and the Cougars give the Tide a scare. Here’s how it went down:

Game of the Week –

LSU 28, Florida 24 – No doubter here. LSU proved their mettle, coming back from ten down in the fourth quarter against a Gator squad some people (stupid ones) had written off after losing to Auburn. This was national championship stuff from LSU, defending their home turf against a Florida team with pride on the line, and doing so with a big 4^th down conversion with two minutes to play. For all the early talk about Matt Flynn looking spectacular, the offense is going to go only as far as Jacob Hester and the running game can carry it. Based on the effort Saturday night, that could be all the way, as Hester got the big yards and the tough yards, and was rewarded with the winning touchdown. It’ll be very interesting to see how the Gators, Tebow and even Urban Meyer respond to the unfamiliar position of a two-game losing streak.

Best of the Rest –

South Carolina 38, Kentucky 23 – The Gamecocks made a statement with a convincing 15-point win over a Kentucky squad tasting the top ten for the first time in a long time. The smart money was on SC in a charged Thursday night atmosphere, but the ‘Cocks surprised me with how easily they handled the Wildcats. South Carolina was opportunistic, pouncing on three Kentucky fumbles, and freshman QB Chris Smelly is making Spurrier look like a genius, with efficient throws and ball security. Andre Woodson and Rafael Little both got their yards for the ‘Cats, but turnovers ruined any chance of a road win. Eric Norwood returned two fumbles for touchdowns for South Carolina. This wasn’t exactly a ‘back to the drawing board’ loss for Kentucky, but with LSU and Florida coming to town, there might be a little ball security work happening in Lexington.

Alabama 30, Houston 24 – Gambling junkies are going to have a field day with ‘Bama until the Saban-mania wears off; the Tide are probably one of the more overrated big name teams out there right now. This isn’t a bad Houston squad they let back in the game late, but getting outscored 24-7 over the last three quarters against a C-USA team? That’s not Alabama football. The Tide built a 23-0 first quarter lead, then put it in cruise control, only to see Houston scratch and claw, giving themselves a chance to win at the gun. Case Keenum’s pass from the 15-yard line was picked off by Simeon Castille, ending the game. Ole Miss should roll over, but Tennessee won’t in two weeks.

Ho Hum –

Tennessee 35, Georgia 14 – It’s hard to beat a team playing to salvage their pride and their head coach’s job, and that’s the buzzsaw Georgia ran in to in Knoxville Saturday. Wins like this have kept Phil Fulmer employed at Tennessee for years; just as the posse starts to catch up, the Vols put the hammer down on a good squad. For what its worth, the Vols did look pretty darn good, with a steady, pounding running game and no mistakes from QB Erik Ainge. The Vols front shut down a Georgia running attack that had started to look very dynamic the last few weeks, putting too much pressure on Matthew Stafford to make plays.

Mississippi State 30, UAB 13 – Down 4 with 8 minutes to go, the Bulldogs finally wore down a pesky Blazer unit, getting two late scores from Anthony Dixon as well as an INT return with 2 minutes left to win going away. The win looks fine in the box score, but this was a disappointing outing, facing a squad that gave up 700 yards of offense against Tulsa the previous week. The Bulldogs didn’t get 300, and were pretty awful in the passing game. MSU has 4 wins now; it has to throw better to get to 7 and a bowl bid.

Arkansas 34, Chattanooga 15 – Its October 8^th, and the defending SEC West champs haven’t beaten a BCS conference team yet, so I’m not getting all excited until they do. The defense came to play, giving up just 7 first downs and 172 passing yards to Tennessee-Chattanooga, but this is a really bad FCS team. That’s what should happen. This was only a 9-point game at the start of the 4^th quarter. That’s shocking to me, and it’s also stunning how, with the kind of outstanding running attack Arkansas has behind McFadden and Felix Jones, they can’t come up with any kind of scheme that involves successful downfield passing.

Booooooooooooring –

Auburn 35, Vanderbilt 7 – Any talks of a letdown after the Shocker in the Swamp were put to bed pretty early, as the Tigers slugged Vandy in the mouth early, often and repeatedly on their way to a convincing 28 point win. Three Auburn backs got 50+ yards and 5+ yards per carry, and Brandon Cox was as efficient as it gets, throwing 14 of 17 for 165 yards. My only complaint with the Auburn performance is 11 penalties for 87 yards. Vandy, well…this column can only be so long.