Week in and week out, players and teams surprise us with their performances. We saw several surprises this weekend with an incredible slate of conference games.
Who or what made our cut of the biggest surprises of Week 9?
Leonard Fournette’s performance: Entering the season as one of the most heralded freshmen in the country, Fournette had been most well know perhaps for his striking the Heisman pose earlier this season. However, Fournette had arguably his best performance of the year in LSU’s upset win over Ole Miss Saturday night. Fournette rushed for 113 yards on 23 carries, and bulldozed his way downhill all night at the vaunted Ole Miss defense.
Auburn’s inept pass rush: The Tigers gave South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson all kinds of time Saturday night in Auburn. Steve Spurrier’s brilliant play-calling in the first half neutralized defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson’s ability to blitz and get pressure on Thompson. The front four had no success whatsoever creating pressure, leaving the secondary vulnerable while Thompson threw for 416 yards.
Ole Miss’ end of game sequence: A great game got wild in the final five minutes in Baton Rouge. After Ole Miss scored to take a 10-7 lead, the Rebels got the ball back with more than five minutes left and drove for more than three minutes, opting not to use any of its three timeouts. After a change of possession, Ole Miss found itself with the ball back with less than a minute left. A delay of game penalty moved a potential 42-yard field goal to a 47-yard field goal. Freeze opted to go for it on fourth down and quarterback Bo Wallace was intercepted to seal the game. It was a head-scratching sequence for a potential championship contender.
Patrick Towles’ game: Mark Stoops has one heck of a quarterback on his hands at Kentucky. Patrick Towles accounted for nearly 500 yards of total offense and four touchdowns by himself. His Wildcats battled with No. 1 Mississippi State all afternoon, but had no answer for Bulldog tailback Josh Robinson. Towles made throws, and used his feet to extend plays. What an impressive effort.
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
