They say defense wins championships. SEC schools took that phrase literally in Week 5.
There were only 8 games involving SEC teams on Saturday, but SEC defenses forced 16 turnovers and scored 4 touchdowns in those contests. The most impactful play of 5 games involving SEC teams in Week 5 was a turnover. There are more defensive touchdowns (2) on this list than offensive scores (1). If the conference’s defenses can maintain this level of intensity as true football weather comes upon us, whoever can execute on offense will have the upper hand in the back half of the season.
Games are listed in order of approximate start time. Plays mentioned are based on win probability added, via ESPN analytics.
No. 22 Notre Dame vs. Arkansas (56-13 Notre Dame)
Play: 8:26 Q2, 1st-and-10, Arkansas 23-yard line. CJ Carr pass complete to Will Pauling for 23 yards, touchdown. 21-3 Notre Dame (+6.4%).
Jeremiyah Love reminded the country why he’s the top running back prospect for the 2026 NFL Draft in this game. The Fighting Irish star didn’t provide this touchdown, but he scored 4 others and recorded 127 total yards against the Razorbacks. Arkansas is throwing it back to 2010-11 with Bobby Petrino as their interim coach following Sam Pittman‘s dismissal.
Utah State vs. No. 18 Vanderbilt (55-35 Vanderbilt)
Play: 9:03 Q2, 2nd-and-11, Vanderbilt 45-yard line. Diego Pavia pass complete to Trey Richardson for 30 yards to the Utah State 25-yard line. First down (+4.9%).
Did the Commodores spend the early part of this game looking ahead to Alabama? We can’t blame them if so. Regardless, Clark Lea got his team’s focus back on the task at hand late in the first half. Vanderbilt rattled off 21 unanswered points from 6:14-1:20 of the second quarter to take a 28-14 lead. Now, Lea is bringing the only undefeated team to this weekend’s College GameDay matchup in Tuscaloosa.
No. 4 LSU vs. No. 13 Ole Miss (24-19 Ole Miss)
Play: 8:00 Q2, 1st-and-10, LSU 32-yard line. Trinidad Chambliss pass complete to Cayden Lee for 31 yards, FUMBLED. LSU recovers in end zone. First down LSU (+10.2% for LSU).
The 2 turnovers the Tigers’ defense forced were the 2 most impactful plays of this game on win probability (their interception added 9.6% to their chances). Brian Kelly has to find a solution for LSU’s offensive line’s struggles during this bye week if he wants to ensure he’s still in Baton Rouge this time next season.
Auburn vs. No. 9 Texas A&M (16-10 Texas A&M)
Play: 10:41 Q4, 3rd-and-1, Auburn 21-yard line. Marcel Reed pass INTERCEPTED by Xavier Atkins, returned to Texas A&M 2-yard line. First-and-Goal Auburn (+21.5% for Auburn).
Thirteen penalties, 2 missed field goals and a critical interception is a great recipe for keeping an opponent in a game. Fortunately, the Aggies only tried pretty hard (and not their absolute best) to let the Tigers win this one. Mike Elko is hoping he won’t have to use his new Cabo fund until late January. If these preventable errors continue, Texas A&M‘s season will be over well before then.
No. 15 Tennessee vs. Mississippi State (41-34 Tennessee (OT))
Play: 13:29 Q4, 1st-and-10, Mississippi State 48-yard line. Blake Shapen sacked by Tyre West, FUMBLED. Joshua Josephs returns 41 yards, touchdown. Tennessee 27-24 (+38.4%).
What do you get when you add up 3 ties, 4 lead changes and overtime? The answer is a heck of a game in Starkville. Mississippi State won the turnover battle 3-2 vs. Tennessee, but the Vols scored touchdowns on both of their takeaways. The Bulldogs still having a chance to win shows how far they’ve come in a short period of time under Jeff Lebby. Note: For some reason, there was no win probability data for overtime of this game.
No. 17 Alabama vs. No. 5 Georgia (24-21 Alabama)
Play: 5:40 Q4, 3rd-and-11, Georgia 14-yard line. Gunnar Stockton pass complete to Zachariah Branch for 22 yards to Georgia 36-yard line. First down (+12.5% for Georgia).
The Crimson Tide put the Bulldogs on their heels right out of the gate in this game. Georgia, as is becoming tradition, fought back admirably. Win probability swung a combined 21.9% in Alabama‘s favor when the Bulldogs failed on both 3rd-and-3 from the Crimson Tide 10-yard line and 4th-and-1 from the 8-yard line early in the 4th quarter. You’ve got to wonder how things would have unfolded if Kirby Smart had taken the points and tied the game instead of pushing his chips to the center of the table.
UMass vs. No. 20 Mizzou (42-6 Mizzou)
Play: 6:24 Q1, 3rd-and-8, UMass 21-yard line. Beau Pribula pass INTERCEPTED by Timmy Hinspeter, returned 63 yards to the Mizzou 21-yard line. First down UMass (+0.4% for UMass).
The Tigers have now failed to cover the spread in back-to-back weeks. That may not mean much to you, but it did to some of us. If Mizzou winds up being a slight underdog to Alabama in Week 7, Tigers fans will hope that streak comes to an end on the back of a massive victory.
Kentucky vs. South Carolina (35-13 South Carolina)
Play: 11:28 Q2, 3rd-and-7, South Carolina 46-yard line. Cutter Boley sacked by Dylan Stewart, FUMBLED. Jatius Greer returns 41 yards, touchdown. South Carolina 14-10 (+20.1%).
Mark Stoops‘ team led the Gamecocks 10-7 with roughly 12 minutes remaining in the first half on Saturday night. Three Wildcat offensive snaps later, they trailed 21-10. Cutter Boley undoubtedly gives Kentucky‘s passing game more life, but making your first starts against SEC competition on the road at South Carolina and Georgia (upcoming) is tall task for anyone, let alone a redshirt freshman who opened the year as the backup quarterback.
