It’s been an interesting season, but the top teams are finally beginning to separate themselves. Alabama, Auburn and LSU looked extremely impressive over the weekend, while several other teams and individuals did not.
Here’s who disappointed us the most in Week 8.
Arkansas: After losing a relatively close game to Alabama, something we’ve learned is an impressive feat, the Razorbacks bounced back by beating Ole Miss 34-30. The win pushed Arkansas’ record to 5-2 and positioned Bret Bielema’s team to make a run at a top bowl game.
Unfortunately, the Razorbacks have struggled to string together wins on both halves of the schedule in recent seasons. A massive 56-3 loss at Auburn might signal a familiar swoon ahead for Arkansas. Given the exhilarating wins that Razorbacks have enjoyed, it won’t be as much fun if that turns out to be the case.
South Carolina’s defense: In his first season with the Gamecocks, Will Muschamp has created one of the SEC’s top scoring defenses. An easy game against Massachusetts looked like the perfect opportunity to get South Carolina’s offense, which entered the contest as college football’s worst scoring offense, on the right track.
Fortunately, the Gamecocks’ offense had a strong day and scored a season-high 34 points against the Minutemen. It was a good time for that offensive surge because the team’s defense had difficulty maintaining the lead. UMass’ offense, which averaged less than 20 points per game, nearly erased a 20-point margin in the fourth quarter.
The offense finally gave South Carolina’s defense a lead to protect and it nearly turned into a disaster for the Gamecocks.
Missouri’s defense: Unlike South Carolina’s defense, Missouri’s defense has been a work in progress. As the Tigers transition to DeMontie Cross’ new defensive scheme, there have been plenty of growing pains. The coaching staff has held meetings with players to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, and there was hope that things could get figured out during the team’s bye week.
It looks like that didn’t happen. The Tigers dropped their fifth game of the season to Middle Tennessee in a 51-45 shootout. Missouri suffered a handful on injuries on the defensive side of the ball, which is always difficult to overcome, but it’s a shame that it couldn’t figure out ways to slow down the Blue Raiders.
The Tigers’ defense was always formidable under Gary Pinkel, but if the coaching staff doesn’t find a way to get it back on track, they are in serious jeopardy of missing a bowl game.
Mississippi State: Given Dak Prescott’s success in the NFL and Mississippi State’s very real problems this season, it’s fair to wonder whether the Bulldogs were a one-man show. Dan Mullen’s team has now dropped three games in a row, the last of which was a 40-38 loss against Kentucky. Without Prescott, the Bulldogs have lost to South Alabama, BYU and Kentucky – that’s not a good look.
Nick Fitzgerald looks like he could become another good quarterback, but he’s not yet that polished passer that Prescott was. The Bulldogs might once against be too reliant on one player, as Fitzgerald is also the team’s leading rusher. There were also problems for the defense, which failed to hold a one-point lead with just over one minute remaining in the game.
Chad Kelly: There’s no question that Kelly has one of the best arms in college football, but he hasn’t done the best job taking care of the ball, especially in Ole Miss’ biggest games. Kelly has thrown seven interceptions this season, and all but one was against a ranked opponent.
He infamously threw three picks in the second half of the Rebels’ loss to Florida State; he threw one against Arkansas and tossed a pair in last weekend’s loss at LSU. Fumbles have also been a problem for Kelly in big games.
The Rebels’ offense goes as their quarterback goes, and Kelly’s turnovers have been extremely problematic in big games.
