Well, that was interesting. Texas A&M takes down Alabama, Ole Miss and Arkansas put on an instant classic, Kentucky joins Georgia as one of the league’s last two undefeated teams, and Tennessee might be genuinely good. It sounds like plenty happened in SEC Week 6 because it did. And we’ll unravel it all with our weekly look at the SEC’s best and worst.

Winners

Texas A&M

Sure, we all saw that one coming. After losing Haynes King in Week 2, the Aggies fall against Arkansas, then at home against Mississippi State. And then promptly turn around their season by besting Alabama as an 18.5-point home underdog. Just like Jimbo Fisher drew it up. But of many things the Aggies should be credited for, the first was keeping their cool after Alabama rallied to take a 38-31 lead with 5:00 to play. Giving up the lead on a pass to an uncovered receiver would have broken the back of a lesser team. But A&M picked up a gutsy win, in no small part due to…

Zach Calzada

In his two previous SEC games, Calzada passed for 286 yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Against Bama, he suddenly played like a man who couldn’t miss. The numbers were good: 285 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception. But the composure was even better, like on his game-tying strike to Ainais Smith with 3:00 to play. Calzada got his ankle rolled on the play, but stood calm in the pocket and delivered a rocket to tie the score at 38-38. That’s a winner.

Ole Miss/Arkansas

Some will say that 52-51 is WAC football. Or Big 12 football. But not SEC football. Well, it was real and it was glorious: 1,287 total yards of offense including 61 first downs for an afternoon of complete excitement. Sure, some people would have enjoyed it more had it been like the 9-6 Alabama-LSU game back in 2011. But the world has changed in the last decade, and if you don’t like your college football with a little more caffeine, too bad.

Sam Pittman going for two

There are people who will say Sam Pittman shouldn’t have gone for two to end the Ole Miss/Arkansas game, that he should have sent it to overtime. But let’s not judge the play call by the result. Feeling his team’s pulse, Pittman knew Arkansas couldn’t shut down that Ole Miss offense. K.J. Jefferson was magical and the coach wanted to give his quarterback a chance to steal the game in Oxford with no time on the clock. It didn’t work, but it was still a very bold call.

Kentucky

In scoring 42 points and running all over LSU, Kentucky looked like an undefeated SEC team. Any time Mark Stoops’s squad gets UK media relations firing up the “first time since XXXX” stories, you know the Wildcats are on their game again. The last 6-0 UK team was Bear Bryant’s 1950 squad that won the SEC and the Sugar Bowl. Not saying UK bests Georgia next week, but who thought the Wildcats would be here in the first place?

Georgia and Tennessee

Both UGA and UT were mild favorites, but both went pedal to the metal in stomping Auburn and South Carolina, respectively, into the dust. Georgia does it (mostly) with defense, and UT’s rebirth has been offensive, but both squads were hitting the marks on Saturday.

Losers

Saban’s other assistants

Jimbo Fisher finally put to bed Nick Saban’s streak of never losing to one of his former assistant coaches. Saban had been 24-0 in such games. You know that Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin and all the others wanted to be the guy who did it. And then, Jimbo denied even caring about it. Now THAT is shade!

Alabama’s late playcalling

After Alabama grabbed the 38-31 lead, a victory over A&M seemed very likely. And even after the Aggies tied the score, Alabama had over 300 2nd half yards to under 100 for A&M. But a 1-yard run for Brian Robinson and a pair of incomplete passes led to a punt on Bama’s last drive, and to a loss. Alabama had not had a 3 and out all game, but with the chance to at least take the game to overtime, the play-calling seemed disconnected and unfocused.

South Carolina and Missouri’s defenses

The Gamecocks were absolutely bludgeoned by Tennessee’s offense, by land (247 rushing yards) and by air (225 passing yards). Meanwhile, Missouri allowed 493 total yards to a 1-4 North Texas team. At least Mizzou put up enough points to win, but in both cases, mediocre defensive performances won’t help either team moving forward.

Auburn’s ground game

The Tigers have a couple of the scariest running backs in the SEC, but Georgia basically took Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter out of the game. Or was that Auburn? The two backs combined for just 15 carries for 46 yards. Expecting Bo Nix to run around and beat Georgia by himself was never a good strategy. Auburn offensive coordinator Mike Bobo needed to get his feature backs more touches, and when he didn’t, a one-dimensional offense was doomed.