Week 9 SEC report card: Georgia, State win pretty; Kentucky wins ugly

The week ended with at least one SEC head coach losing his job, highlights from some league cellar dwellers, and some tough losses for a couple of the league’s also-rans. If you’re still sorting it out, we’re here to help. As is our custom, we grade all the teams, then honor (or dishonor) the best and worst teams in all three main areas of the game.

SEC West

Mississippi State: A

It’s one thing to beat Kentucky comfortably at home. It’s another to go to a competitive Texas A&M team (remember, the squad that played Bama to a one-score game) and lay down a beating. State’s offense isn’t pretty, but it’s also hard to shut down. The defense has been a pleasant surprise.

Arkansas: B+

If we could separately grade the Razorbacks’ comeback (A) and first 20 minutes of play (D-), we would. As it is, we’ve got to give them credit for the first without ignoring the second. When Ole Miss led 31-7 in the early second quarter, the Razorbacks had a win probability of 3.2% per ESPN’s analytics. Way to beat the odds!

Texas A&M: C

This was A&M’s chance to gain a foothold into the race for the top half of the West, and by losing, the Aggies are looking more likely to finish fourth or fifth than second or third. The Aggies’ offense looked outmatched, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for the games ahead.

Ole Miss: D-

The temptation is to give the Rebels an F, but the impressive quality of the first 20 minutes should take some of the sting out of the last 40. It does, but very little. The back end of the Rebels’ schedule is tough, loaded with games like this in which Ole Miss really has nothing to play for and the opponent does, whether it be bowl position or a coach trying to keep his job. Kentucky next week is another opportunity, but another game in which motivation doesn’t seem to be on the Rebels’ side.

Alabama: Incomplete

Bye week.

Auburn: Incomplete

Same.

LSU: Incomplete

And once again.

SEC East

Georgia: A

Winning a rivalry game by 35 points and getting the opposing head coach fired? Suffice it to say that this was a good week to be a Georgia Bulldogs fan. While Georgia has burned those who have predicted big things year after year, maybe this one really is the year.

Kentucky: A-

Beating Tennessee for the second time in 33 years should have put Kentucky at the head of the class. But this wasn’t a Mississippi State or Georgia type of effort. Kentucky won very, very ugly. The Wildcats’ first win in 19 years with a -4 turnover margin is enough to both put them toward the top of the class and leave the rest of the league shaking their heads.

South Carolina: B+

Carolina survived another game of being outgained by an inferior opponent. The Gamecocks are efficient, and surprised with an excellent ground game. The defense wasn’t as sharp as it will need to be down the season’s stretch.

Missouri: B

Mizzou beat a bad team badly. But that same quick-trigger offense that let UConn run 93 plays against the Mizzou defense will struggle to win enough snaps to deliver another W this year.

Vanderbilt: C-

If Vandy wanted to win six games, this Carolina matchup was a good chance to pull an upset. Kyle Shurmur had a very solid game, but the Vandy defense, which was at one point one of the biggest stories in the SEC, just looks lost.

Tennessee: F

When you play a team that you’re 31-1 against in the last 32 years, and you have a +4 turnover margin, and you outgain it by 74 yards, how do you lose? As so many other times in the Butch Jones era, the UT fan base walks away thinking, “How did that happen?” It’ll happen for some other head coach shortly. Which brings us to …

Florida: F

The Gators hail-Mary’ed Tennessee, they got past Kentucky, but they absolutely got crushed this week. The offense continued to be clueless, even with the third highly-regarded QB to do nothing this season. They committed 14 penalties, and they watched Georgia run through the defensive front like a sword through butter. The McElwain departure is an audacious move, but how did one of the best programs in the country find itself in position to be paying three head coaches at one time?

Hall passes

OFFENSE

Georgia: The Bulldogs scored 42 points, but really they are here because they absolutely fed Florida the ball in the run game. 35 carries for 292 yards is a sign of doing things right.

Arkansas: Much like Georgia, the numbers are eye-popping in some areas: 53 carries for 260 yards for one, and coming back from a 31-7 deficit for another.

DEFENSE

Mississippi State: Holding A&M to 14 points was impressive. While the Aggies ended up with 285 yards, there’s some late-game fool’s gold in there. State held A&M to 16-for-41 passing with three interceptions, as well as just 3.4 yards per carry.

Georgia: Sure, the Florida offense is easy to pick on. But holding UF to 10-for-25 passing for 66 yards is insane. For perspective’s sake, Georgia only threw seven passes in the game, but still outpassed the Gators by more than 50% in yardage.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Arkansas: Game ball to Connor Limpert, who connected on the win-or-lose 34-yarder with 4 seconds to play in the win over Ole Miss. The Arkansas kick return game was also solid, with De’Vion Warren averaging over 28 yards.

Florida: Honestly, it’s work to find something positive about the Gators. But punter Johnny Townsend is as good at his job as anyone in America. The Gators were awful, but Townsend punted at a rate of 54.4 yards per kick, including a 70-yarder. He netted over 50 yards per punt.

Detention

OFFENSE

Florida: Oh, dear goodness, this was bad. How bad? Consider Feleipe Franks’s stat line: 7 for 19 for 30 yards and an interception; 9 rushes for -15 yards, including a fumble lost. Really says it all.

Kentucky: Sure, the Wildcats won, and Benny Snell was outstanding, but after losing three fumbles in the first seven games of the season, UK coughed up the ball four times against Tennessee. Wins with a -4 turnover margin are like one-legged unicorns, so Mark Stoops better not go hunting for more soon.

DEFENSE

Florida: Sony Michel going for 137 yards isn’t shocking. But he did it on six carries. The Bulldogs dominated Florida so completely on the ground that they basically didn’t even need to pass the ball. Seriously, they threw seven passes. Find a non-Paul Johnson team that dominates somebody that badly on the ground.

Vanderbilt: Last year, South Carolina rushed for 134 yards per game. Their best rushing performance in the conference was 174 yards against Mizzou. Coming into Saturday, Carolina averaged 110.9 yards per game on the ground this year. Against Vandy, they racked up 212 on 37 carries. How does a team go from one of the toughest defenses in the country to one of the worst? Good question.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Vanderbilt: A missed extra point and some poor punting won’t help in a one-score game.

Joe Cox

Joe Cox is a columnist for Saturday Down South. He has also written or assisted in writing five books, and his most recent, Almost Perfect (a study of baseball pitchers’ near-miss attempts at perfect games), is available on Amazon or at many local bookstores.