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Week 7 in the SEC saw beatdowns reign, but luckily the tightly contested matchups of Mississippi State vs. BYU, Vanderbilt vs. Georgia and Ole Miss vs. Arkansas provided compelling TV. In the national media, there were plenty of unique stats to go along with those blowouts – as well as a ton of ribbing of Kirby Smart and Georgia. Here are the highlights of Week 7:
My top PERFORMANCES for wk7
Team
1-Bama
2-Ohio St
3-Vandy
4-Ark
5-Syr
Player
1-J.Hurts
2-JT Barrett
3-S.Darnold
4-Z.Cunningham
5-C.Henderson— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) October 17, 2016
Mississippi State at BYU
https://twitter.com/Mitch_Harper/status/788074375668838401
MLP says Boise State's secondary isn't as physical as Mississippi State's. Says their feet are better. #BYU
— Jarom Jordan (@jaromjordan) October 17, 2016
Mullen says a tough loss and adversity "can test your character, but it can really pull a team together."
— Bob Carskadon (@bobcarskadon) October 17, 2016
^
https://twitter.com/owenmcguire/status/788084766369259520
Mississippi State vs. BYU may have been the best SEC game on TV last week. Sadly enough, it started at 10:15 p.m. ET on Friday night. The double-OT thriller certainly rewarded viewers who stayed until the end to see these two oddly matched teams duke it out.
Vanderbilt at Georgia
https://twitter.com/ohh_my_jord/status/787803081744449536
(Not an expert, but too funny to pass up)
Vanderbilt LB Zach Cunningham named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) October 16, 2016
Kirby Smart would be well-advised not to lose to Vanderbilt at home. Especially not this Vanderbilt.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) October 15, 2016
UGA OC Jim Chaney will be roundly criticized for giving McKenzie 4th-and-1 carry and not Chubb or Michel. And he should be.
— Travis Haney (@travhaney) October 15, 2016
^
And apparently not changing the call after Vanderbilt saw it and called timeout. https://t.co/HQa9kSnoNq
— Seth Emerson (@SethWEmerson) October 15, 2016
Some UGA fans taking the loss to Vandy harder than others… (spotted by /u/AndrewinDC) pic.twitter.com/RSVP452vGM
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) October 17, 2016
Take heart #UGA fans. You lost to Vandy … but at least you aren't Notre Dame fans.
— Radi Nabulsi (@RadiNabulsi) October 16, 2016
Just the second win between the hedges for Vandy in 20 years.
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) October 15, 2016
It finally happened: Vandy won a road game. What better opponent than the tough-luck Bulldogs, who have endured a Hail Mary by Tennessee, a near-defeat by Nicholls State and another firework-filled affair in Missouri? After the Commodores returned the opening kickoff to the 2-yard line for an easy TD, the Bulldogs’ offense could never get going. The national conversation centered around praising the long-suffering Commodores, while questioning nearly everything we thought we knew about Georgia.
Alabama at Tennessee
Congratulations @dbarnett25 ???? Be #EL17E
? https://t.co/pUgcYYtihP pic.twitter.com/BeJazTMNlN
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) October 17, 2016
Shoop: "I hear they honor officials of the week in Alabama, too. They were the guys that called our game on Saturday."
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) October 17, 2016
According to ESPN's FPI, FSU is the only Top 25 team to play a stronger schedule than Tennessee after seven weeks https://t.co/oLl5H7eLjG
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) October 16, 2016
#Alabama finishes with 438 rushing yards – the most rushing yards in any game since running for 451 yards vs. Tennessee in 1986. #RollTide
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) October 15, 2016
Tennessee is back alright
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) October 15, 2016
How good is @Lane_Kiffin?
Alabama is currently averaging 504.7 YPG and 7.00 yards per play.
With a true freshman QB, no less.
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) October 16, 2016
This was the most impressive win of Alabama’s season. The Tide silenced any whispers of 2016 being Tennessee’s year as they went up to Knoxville and hung 49 on the Vols. Though many weren’t exactly surprised at the win, few could’ve predicted its scope. Bama sent the Vols home licking their wounds and made a definitive case to be the number one team in all of college football.
Missouri at Florida
#Mizzou leads the series against Middle Tennessee, 1-0. Their last meeting?
In 2003, when Missouri beat MT, 41-40.
— Alec Lewis (@alec_lewis) October 17, 2016
Mizzou handing out pick sixes like pic.twitter.com/m7kaTIAehd
— Barrett Sallee ?? (@BarrettSallee) October 15, 2016
Mizzou's rushing total at Florida were the most allowed by Florida in an SEC game since … 'Remember the Titans' was No. 1 at box office.
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) October 17, 2016
https://twitter.com/GabeDeArmond/status/787451228401741824
#Mizzou drive chart: Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, Punt, INT, INT, Punt, Half
TD, Punt, Punt, Fumble, Punt. #Gators— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) October 15, 2016
“This was Jeremy Foley’s last game in The Swamp.’’ — Mac on game ball to Foley, and a standing O from players
— Scott Carter (@GatorsScott) October 16, 2016
This game was peculiar for a couple of reasons. Though Mizzou put up an impressive performance on the ground, the offense was nearly outscored by Florida’s defense. NFL quarterback scouts could’ve skipped this one altogether as both Drew Lock for Mizzou and Luke Del Rio for Florida struggled throughout. In a messy slugfest, the Gators’ two pick-sixes pushed victory out of the equation early for the offensively challenged Tigers.
Ole Miss at Arkansas
Arkansas RB Rawleigh Williams III career-high 180 yards rushing was the most by any player against a Hugh Freeze coached Ole Miss team.
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) October 16, 2016
12 Ole Miss vs 22 Arkansas on ESPN at 7.
The last time they played as ranked opp: 1970 Sugar Bowl. Ole Miss QB Archie Manning was MVP pic.twitter.com/BJLrzXi3hp
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 15, 2016
Arkansas- predicted this win, oline and running game wore down Ole Miss, Allen is tough and makes very good decisions, Ledbetter was a beast
— Booger (@ESPNBooger) October 16, 2016
https://twitter.com/PeterBurnsESPN/status/787464142223540224
This game did a lot to clear up the power structure in the SEC West going forward. Ole Miss entered the game at 3-2 but still ranked No. 12, while Arkansas, at 4-2, was No. 22 despite an out-of-conference win over TCU. The Hogs definitely gained some respect with a come-from-behind win over Ole Miss and staked Austin Allen’s claim among the SEC’s elite.
Southern Miss at LSU
Every team #LSU plays the rest of the way is ranked:
Ole Miss – No. 22
Alabama – No. 1
at Arkansas – No. 17
Florida – No. 12
at TAMU – No. 6— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) October 16, 2016
Orgeron on Leonard Fournette expecting to play vs #OleMiss: "He said 'Coach I'm ready to go.' You could feel the fire in him."
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) October 17, 2016
Derrius Guice is the fastest RB in #LSU history to reach 1,000 career yards. Did it in just 113 carries.
(h/t @CodyWorsham, @tpolitz)
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 17, 2016
#LSU defense has only allowed six touchdowns in six games this year.
— Jacques Doucet (@JacquesDoucet) October 17, 2016
#LSU has allowed the fewest TD's (6) on defense of any team in college football. Dave Aranda continues to have a big impact in year one.
— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) October 16, 2016
Guice on Fournette: "At half, he told all of us we were playing sloppy and we weren’t playing #LSU football. I guess that sparked everybody"
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 16, 2016
LSU rolled another inferior opponent in the second game under the fiery Ed Orgeron, but their toughest test yet comes against an angry Ole Miss team that’s fresh off a loss to Arkansas. LSU started slow and went into halftime tied at 10 before exploding for 35 points and a shutout in the second half.
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.
