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The SEC’s Week 4 report card:
OFFENSE
Texas A&M: A-
The Aggies didn’t have the success in the running game that they’ve been accustomed to this season, and their yardage total (423) is their lowest of the season, but that’s mostly due to the fact that Arkansas controlled possession for nearly 40 minutes of the game. When Texas A&M had the ball, the passing game was electric.
Kyle Allen finished 21 of 28 with 358 yards and two touchdowns — not to mention a perfectly placed two-point conversion to tie the game — as the Aggies rallied for a 28-21 win in overtime. Meanwhile, freshman Christian Kirk was phenomenal, grabbing eight passes for 173 yards and two scores, including the game-winner in overtime.
Florida: B+
The Gators found tough sledding for most of the afternoon against Tennessee, but earn bonus points for their work in the clutch. Not only did Florida rally for two fourth-quarter touchdowns to take a 28-27 win over the Vols and move to 4-0 on the season, it also converted all five fourth-down attempts.
Redshirt freshman Will Grier wasn’t perfect, but he finished with 283 yards through the air, while Kelvin Taylor had 102 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Arkansas: C
The Hogs held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game, put up 457 yards of offense with near-perfect balance (225 passing, 232 rushing) and still found a way to lose. It’s been an ongoing issue in Bret Bielema’s third year. Arkansas ranks third in the SEC in total offense per game, but is ninth in scoring. In their three straight losses, the Hogs are averaging 465 yards but just 19 points per game.
DEFENSE
Alabama: A
Sure, it was only Louisiana-Monroe, but after giving up more than 40 points last week, the Crimson Tide needed this predictably dominant effort. The Warhawks managed just 9 rushing yards on 31 carries, with Alabama notching six sacks, 12 tackles for loss and two interceptions. On a day when the Crimson Tide offense wasn’t especially crisp, the defense made sure Alabama won with ease.
Mississippi State: B+
The Bulldogs did plenty of bending against Auburn, but came up big when stops were needed. They held the Tigers to just four third-down conversions on 14 attempts and tallied four sacks and eight tackles for loss. That helped Mississippi State keep Auburn out of the end zone, despite four trips deep into red zone, and gave Dak Prescott and the offense the breathing room it needed to escape the Plains with a road victory.
South Carolina: B+
Central Florida has struggled offensively all season, but the Gamecocks defense deserves some acclaim for making sure those troubles persisted on Saturday. South Carolina was coming off a humbling loss to Georgia in which the Bulldogs moved the ball at will and finished with 52 points and 576 yards of offense. The Gamecocks shook off that performance by allowing just 26 rushing yards on 23 attempts and intercepting a pair of passes on Saturday.
SPECIAL TEAMS
LSU: C
The good: Tre’Davious White’s 69-yard sprint to the end zone on a third-quarter punt return that gave the Tigers some cushion against a pesky Syracuse team. The bad: a shanked punt and repeatedly poor coverage by the return teams that gave the Orange average starting field position at their own 38 for their first four possessions of the game.
COACHING
Tennessee: D
We’re not giving Butch Jones and company a failing grade, because the Vols found ways to move the ball and build a 13-point lead on the road against a good defense, and for that, the staff deserves some measure of credit. Ultimately, though, Tennessee squandered that lead and fell to Florida in heartbreaking fashion, and that’s all that really matters here. It’s becoming tougher to defend Jones with each fourth-quarter meltdown, whether you take issue with specific decisions or not, there is a growing feeling that the team goes into a shell in the fourth quarter instead of staying aggressive.
Kentucky: A
A week after a loss to Florida in which the offense failed to score a touchdown and quarterback Patrick Towles completed only one-third of his passes, the Wildcats played like a different team offensively and earned a pivotal win over No. 25 Missouri. Kentucky has continued to make strides on the defensive side of the ball under Stoops, and Towles’ 22-of-27, 249-yard outing against a strong Missouri defense shows that the offense is progressing, as well.
OVERALL
A week after the conference pecking order was clearly enunciated, the SEC’s best seemed to be in survival mode on Saturday. Only Georgia’s romp over Southern was as easy as it was expected to be for the conference’s top-tier teams.
Now as clearer pictures are starting to form near the top of both divisions, we head into a week that features a nice array of critical showdowns. Alabama at Georgia is next weekend’s headliner, but Ole Miss at Florida and Mississippi State at Texas A&M also carry plenty of intrigue, while preseason darlings Arkansas and Tennessee square off with both badly in need of a win.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
