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What they’re saying about the SEC after Week 8

Will Ogburn

By Will Ogburn

Published:

Week 8 in the SEC saw plenty of storylines for the media to dig into. The Tide continued to hold court as the No. 1 team, Auburn embarrassed Arkansas with 543 rushing yards, Kentucky earned its first win over Dan Mullen on a last-second field goal and LSU’s Ed Orgeron earned a dominant victory over the Ole Miss team that fired him.

South Carolina finally found a starting quarterback, Vandy won two in a row and Leonard Fournette came out of hiding to show why he’s still one of the best players in all of college football.

UMass at South Carolina

This game was notable because the Gamecocks solved their quarterback woes, the South Carolina student section made a giant chain out of their giveaway towels and not much else.

At the end of the day, this one could’ve given USC more than a scare if UMass didn’t continually shoot itself in the foot with turnovers. This game was pretty sloppy as has been the norm for both South Carolina and noon games this year.

Texas A&M at Alabama

https://twitter.com/SolidVerbal/status/790381443226726400

Well, this one was about as uneventful as a No. 1 versus No. 6 matchup could be – exactly the way Nick Saban wanted it. The Aggies’ run game was contained, Alabama scored another defensive touchdown and the game felt out of reach by the time the fourth quarter started. It was great football nonetheless, but once Jonathan Allen rumbled into the end zone, the national football writing populous began googling more stats of Alabama’s dominance. Trevor Knight performed admirably, but Alabama winning at home is about as predictable as the tides.

MTSU at Mizzou 

When Mizzou scheduled Middle Tennessee State for homecoming, it surely didn’t expect this. The squad that gave up 51 points at home on Saturday looked nothing like the defensive powerhouse that featured the likes of Kony Ealy, Michael Sam, Kentrell Brothers, Shane Ray and Sheldon Richardson. Losing on homecoming is a bad look, especially for a rookie head coach in the most competitive conference in college football.

Arkansas at Auburn

https://twitter.com/SInow/status/790001196161495040

https://twitter.com/jasonkersey/status/789997436618043392

Mississippi State at Kentucky

After UK fans were ready to burn Mark Stoops at the stake, the Wildcats have suddenly gone on a run that puts them squarely at second place in the East. Stoops secured his first win over Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen on a dramatic 51-yard field goal to keep the Wildcats’ bowl hopes alive at 4-3. As Matt Jones notes, he has done so with backup quarterback Stephen Johnson, who has been good enough to go 4-1.

Tennessee State at Vandy

Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason is riding high following his first SEC road win last weekend, then notching his first back-to-back wins as head coach last Saturday. However, it was over Tennessee State, so there’s not much else to say here.

Ole Miss at LSU

(This one was before Saturday but still a great tidbit)

Ole Miss came into this game at 3-3 but ranked ahead of 4-2 LSU. The Tigers, led by a finally healthy Leonard Fournette, had an agenda to show that their dominance against inferior opponents could be replicated. They did just that as the versatile running back had a field day against the once-feared Land Shark Defense.

As the LSU offense continues to roll, chants for the hometown flair of coach Ed Orgeron to retain the head coaching job grow louder and louder. They may get their wish if the Tigers can keep it up against Alabama in Week 10 after a mutual bye week.

Will Ogburn

A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.

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