We don’t need Alabama and LSU around for us to have another great week in the SEC. The conference took even further shape in Week 9, highlighted by Florida’s drubbing of Georgia in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party.
Here’s a look at a few takeaways from the week that was in the SEC:
Defensive Chomp: It’s time to put some champagne on ice in Gainesville because the Florida Gators are back. Barring a collapse of epic proportions, Florida is going to claim its first SEC East title since Tim Tebow was under center in 2009. This year’s Gators get the job done on defense and now rank No. 15 in the nation in total defense, and third in the SEC. One more win for Florida – or a Vanderbilt loss, of all things – and it clinches a spot in the conference title game. We probably have to start considering Jim McElwain as the coach of the year in the SEC.
RELATED: Florida defense makes a statement
Spoiled Cocktail: It doesn’t matter who is under center in Athens, because no one on the Bulldogs roster can move the ball. When Georgia’s running game falters – as it did on Saturday when Florida held the Bulldogs to only 69 yards rushing and 223 yards overall – so, too, does Mark Richt’s squad. Georgia turned to Faton Bauta at quarterback in its biggest game of the year. The junior, making his first career start, hadn’t attempted a throw all season. Bauta wasn’t able to earn the Bulldogs their first touchdown since Oct. 10 and Florida easily rolled past Georgia. He finished with 154 passing yards and four interceptions. Jacob Eason arrives on campus next summer and perhaps the son of former Notre Dame and New England Patriots quarterback Tony Eason is the answer for the Bulldogs’ passing woes.
RELATED: New QB, same problems for UGA offense
Lend an arm?: Perhaps Georgia head coach Mark Richt should ask Texas A&M if they’d lend the Bulldogs a quarterback. The Aggies, after all, have a glut of talent under center — bolstered by Kyler Murray’s impressive debut as A&M’s starting quarterback against South Carolina. Murray threw for 223 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for another 156 yards and a score to lead the Aggies past a pesky South Carolina 35-28 in his first career start. The freshman got the nod with former starter Kyle Allen relegated to third string, presumably with an injury. Murray was poised, never panicked and, most importantly, protected the ball with no turnovers. Kyle Allen won’t get his job back very easy.
RELATED: Murray leads Aggies to victory in debut
Rolling Hogs: It’s wasn’t the prettiest defensive effort for Arkansas in its 63-28 win over Tennessee-Martin, but the Razorbacks appear to be rolling as they head into the season’s final stretch. Just like last year, Bret Bielema’s squad is getting the modus operandi of a second-half-of-the-season-type of team — making earlier losses to Toledo and Texas Tech all the more confounding. Last year, Arkansas closed out the season going 3-1 with shutout wins over LSU and Ole Miss before doling Texas a beatdown in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl. The Razorbacks close out the regular season with the same four teams as last year, including Ole Miss, LSU, Mississippi State and Missouri. A similar finish would somewhat salvage the 2015 season in Fayetteville.
RELATED: Bret Bielema’s Talks Hogs Win
Blue Zone: For all the yards — 558 of them total against Auburn — Ole Miss still has its share of struggles in the red zone. The Rebels failed to score a touchdown on any of their three trips inside the Tigers’ 20-yard line. For the season, Ole Miss has scored touchdowns on 22 of its 41 visits in opponent’s red zones. So far they’ve been relatively lucky, despite the red zone struggles, but it could eventually come back to bite them.
RELATED: Ole Miss Sharp in Beating Auburn
Cat Calls: Gus Malzahn gets a long leash for what he’s been able to accomplish at Auburn. But the crowd let him have it after questionable calls in the Tigers’ 27-19 loss to Ole Miss — specifically letting maligned quarterback Jeremy Johnson throw some misdirected throws. Malzahn didn’t have his best day with Auburn, also mishandling his team’s timeout situation on the Tigers’ final possession.
RELATED: Poor Coaching Hold Auburn Back
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
