1 thing I learned about every SEC team in Week 10
Be gone, bye weeks.
Bye weeks are a thing of the past in the SEC, and man, it feels good.
(OK, so technically Vanderbilt has a Week 12 bye week, but for a team that’s already eliminated from bowl contention, all meaningful bye weeks are in the past.)
That’s a good thing. That meant that every SEC team was in action in Week 10.
Here’s 1 thing I learned from every SEC team on Saturday:
Alabama — The Tide can win a shootout
That was unknown for this version of Alabama. The last time that the Tide allowed 28 points in a winning effort was the 2021 Arkansas game. Yeah, it had been a minute. That snapped a streak of 4 consecutive losses in games in which it allowed 28 points, which included the Texas loss. Jalen Milroe looked like a much more mature quarterback than the guy who had multiple interceptions that night back in Week 2. He didn’t just take care of the football. He ran all over that depleted LSU defense. Milroe’s 155 rushing yards and 4 scores with his legs — he also completed 15-for-23 passes for 219 yards without an interception — fueled a 42-point outburst from the Tide, but beyond the box score, the Alabama quarterback took control in key spots.
As a result, Alabama is now in firm control of another West title. One more Tide win or an Ole Miss loss will send Alabama to Atlanta for the 10th time since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.
Arkansas — Sam Pittman isn’t going down without a fight, and neither is this offense
Man, tell me Arkansas didn’t need a moment like this:
A WIN IN GAINESVILLE pic.twitter.com/JtjHacjwZ8
— Arkansas Razorback Football (@RazorbackFB) November 4, 2023
In need of a win at Florida to keep bowl hopes alive, Arkansas somehow found a way. Never mind the fact that Kenny Guiton was a first-time play-caller and Florida hadn’t lost at home in over a year. Oh, and never mind the fact that Arkansas hadn’t beaten a Power 5 team all year. That was quite the response from KJ Jefferson and Co.
You can bet he appreciated having star running back Rocket Sanders in the lineup after he was sidelined for the last month. The 1-2 punch that had high preseason hopes was finally on display for 60 minutes. Sanders had 103 rushing yards while Jefferson got more designed runs called and he finished the day with 92 yards on the ground. It felt much more like the Kendal Briles offense than the Dan Enos offense. That was after leading receiver Andrew Armstrong went down with a scary injury.
Arkansas still needs to win 3 more to reach a bowl game, but for at least a week, Pittman’s job security won’t be the hot topic of conversation in Fayetteville.
Auburn — Jarquez Hunter is all the way back
I thought it was fair to wonder about Hunter looking like an All-SEC running back this season. With how bad that Auburn passing game has been, it was more about the way defenses were defending the run than it was about Hunter’s ability. Well, Hunter didn’t really care about that. He’s been on a tear. That continued on Saturday with 183 rushing yards and a couple of scores. Shoot, Hunter surpassed the century mark in the first quarter.
As Hugh Freeze noted afterward, Hunter’s patience was the difference. It also helped that Auburn wasn’t just a Power 5 service academy, and like we saw last week against Mississippi State, Payton Thorne could actually stretch the field. But Hunter, after failing to hit 60 rushing yards in his first 5 games, might now be in line for a 1,000-yard season. Doing so for a potential bowl-eligible Auburn team — it’ll need 1 more win to reach the postseason — would be a nice turnaround for the Tigers tailback.
Florida — The roller coaster ride was far from over with Billy Napier
Let’s be clear. Arkansas deserves credit for going on the road and showing a “never-say-die” attitude after it hadn’t won a game in nearly 2 months. But consider that all the more reason Florida’s showing was so disappointing. At home, Florida watched Arkansas sprint out to a 14-0 lead in the first 3 minutes. For whatever reason, the Gators struggled to find answers on defense. Maybe that was because Arkansas had a first-time play-caller in Kenny Guiton. There wasn’t any film on Guiton after he took over for the fired Dan Enos, who got the boot after a disastrous 3-point showing just 8 games into his Arkansas tenure. Or perhaps not having leading tackler Shemar James, who suffered a season-ending injury in Jacksonville, hurt Florida.
Whatever the case, the Gators’ run defense looked like the group that was gashed at Kentucky. It surrendered 226 rushing yards and didn’t show the poise it needed to down the stretch. As a result, we’re back to questioning whether Napier really does have things figured out in Year 2. At 5-4, the Gators still have 2 games against top-15 teams remaining, both of whom have Heisman Trophy candidates who tore up Florida last year. It turns out, that South Carolina might not have been the “turn-the-corner moment” that many thought it was.
Georgia — Another key injury, another impressive response
Jamon Dumas-Johnson was on the sideline in a sling during critical moments down the stretch. Much like Brock Bowers with Oscar Delp, who had a touchdown on an impressive adjustment in the end zone, Dumas-Johnson watched his backup step up with a big-time play. All true freshman CJ Allen did was force pressure on Brady Cook, who rushed a throw that was intercepted by Nazir Stackhouse. It halted Mizzou’s chance at a potential go-ahead drive and it set up a 49-yard field goal that put the game on ice.
BIG MAN INT ???@georgiafootball with the HUGE turnover pic.twitter.com/3c1ouU85Zf
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) November 4, 2023
According to Seth Emerson of The Athletic, Smart said Dumas-Johnson appears to have a fractured forearm. It remains to be seen what his status will be moving forward. One would think a forearm injury is different for a linebacker than an offensive skill player. At the very least, Smart watched a true freshman rise to the occasion. “Next man up” is the Georgia way.
Kentucky — The wheels haven’t totally fallen off
Hey, when you don’t win a game in October, I’m well within my rights to question that. I wondered if we’d see a mistake-filled Kentucky game with the cowbells rocking in Starkville, where the Cats hadn’t won since 2008. But finally, that drought is over. UK had its best offensive day in Starkville since 2006, and more importantly, it clinched bowl eligibility. Devin Leary didn’t look quite as good as he did against Kentucky, but he was effective enough to get the Cats out to that all-important early lead.
The pick-6 from D’Eryk Jackson was the dagger. Fitting, it was, that Kentucky’s defense outscored Mississippi State’s offense. They had 5 sacks and they forced 6 3-and-outs. In that way, it felt like a vintage Mark Stoops showing. Never mind the fact that it was his first win in Starkville in his career. Clinching bowl eligibility and stopping the 3-game skid will set up for a much more optimistic crowd on hand to host Alabama next week in Lexington.
LSU — Jayden Daniels is as tough as they come, but even he has his limits
When the LSU quarterback took this hit from Dallas Turner, I assumed he’d be out the rest of the night.
My goodness, this Dallas Turner hit on Jayden Daniels was violent. pic.twitter.com/KN6ygcxgI7
— Connor O’Gara (@cjogara) November 5, 2023
Daniels sat 1 play, then tried to re-enter and then spent the rest of the game in the injury tent. It was an anticlimactic ending after he was phenomenal for most of the night. Instead of watching the LSU quarterback rally the troops with a late comeback like we saw after he briefly left the Mizzou game with a rib injury, we were reminded that he’s not made of steel. How that hit wasn’t reviewed for targeting, I don’t know. Turner appeared to not only meet Daniels with his helmet, but he drove him into the ground with the crown of the helmet. By the letter of the law, that’s targeting. Either way, Daniels wasn’t going to be able to return and for an LSU team that didn’t have a great margin for error in Tuscaloosa, that was all she wrote.
Mizzou — This team has “New Year’s 6 bowl” written all over it
If you didn’t come away from Saturday incredibly impressed with Mizzou, you were watching a different game than I was. Teams don’t just go into Athens and have an opportunity to take the lead in the 4th quarter. And it wasn’t as if Mizzou had some out-of-body performance. Luther Burden III had that first touchdown, but he was held to just 2 catches for 14 yards outside of that play. Brady Cook didn’t play his best game, either. But the Tigers played a 4-quarter game because of how well they played against that loaded Georgia offensive line, and they established the ground game with Cody Schrader.
Eli Drinkwitz and plenty of Mizzou fans probably felt like the officiating crew was working against them, and of course, there are no moral victories. But consider this. Since the start of Georgia’s run in 2021, there have been four instances in SEC play in which Georgia trailed in the second half. Two of those instances belong to Mizzou. This was not a game in which Eli Drinkwitz’s team was “exposed.” It was a game in which that No. 12 ranking was legitimized. A 10-2 regular season feels very much in play.
Mississippi State — History couldn’t save this dreadful offense
Mississippi State entered the night having not lost to Kentucky at home since 2008. The road team hadn’t won this matchup since Dak Prescott led the Bulldogs to a victory in Lexington in 2014. So naturally, against a Kentucky team reeling having lost 3 straight, Mississippi State didn’t muster a touchdown. Well, unless you want to include the pick-6 that Mike Wright threw.
Wright struggled in place of Will Rogers once again, and eventually, he gave way to true freshman Chris Parson, who took 3 sacks and was held to 67 passing yards on 6-for-14 passing. It didn’t matter who was out there. Mississippi State isn’t built to overcome a 2-score deficit with Rogers, much less with his backups. Playing without Woody Marks, as well, the Bulldogs needed to start fast and get that crowd going. Instead, they went into the break down 21-3 with the game virtually over. That’s now 2 offensive touchdowns in the past 3 games. That’s not ideal for the short- or long-term future of OC Kevin Barbay in Starkville.
Ole Miss — Tre Harris is a cheat code
Here’s all you need to know. Jordan Rodgers said on the broadcast that the Ole Miss receiver was un-guardable following a downfield catch. Rodgers said that before he realized that Harris hauled this pass in like he was Odell Beckham Jr.:
Holy Tre Harris? pic.twitter.com/b48SjbP9iP
— Cole Cubelic (@colecubelic) November 4, 2023
Yep. That’s a cheat code. The Louisiana Tech transfer was the best player on the field. He had a career-high 213 yards on 11 catches with a score for an Ole Miss offense that had an impressive performance against a talented A&M defense. Even though he basically missed 2.5 games, Harris hit the century mark 4 times at Ole Miss. He’s having an All-SEC season, whether he gets that type of recognition or not.
Ole Miss might need a few grabs like that next week in Athens.
South Carolina — Now Xavier Legette is back
The South Carolina receiver was back to his early-season self, and boy, it was fun to watch. A week after an A&M game in which he looked limited coming back from injury, Legette was the best player on the field for the Gamecocks. As in, the home Gamecocks. Without Legette’s game-high 217 receiving yards and 2 scores, the visiting Gamecocks of Jacksonville State might’ve ended South Carolina’s bowl hopes on the first weekend of November. The shiftiness has always been there, but becoming someone who can get separation anywhere on the field has been a revelation, especially as South Carolina has been without Juice Wells.
Maybe throwing a 40-yard fake punt to him wasn’t the best idea, though.
South Carolina tries a fake punt and has Kai Kroger try and throw a 40-yard jump ball. It never had a chance pic.twitter.com/pA9IUeCtMu
— Jordan Kaye (@jordankaye_23) November 4, 2023
Oh well. South Carolina has that much faith in Legette. I can’t say I blame Shane Beamer for that.
Tennessee — That’s all we get from Nico Iamaleava??
With all due respect to Joe Milton and 3rd-string Tennessee QB Gaston Moore, the quarterback that many of us wanted to see in a favorable UConn matchup was Iamaleava. As in, the 5-star true freshman that Tennessee fans have been wanting to see for over a year. Iamaleava was only 2-for-5 on 16 offensive snaps entering the day. Even in a 59-3 blowout, he only got 2 series. He started the first series of the second half, but because of a pair of pick-6s, Tennessee’s lead ballooned to 49-3 by the time Iamaleava got his second series. That was all we got. We did, however, see Iamaleava’s first touchdown pass:
The first touchdown in the college career of Nico Iamaleava finds McCallan Castles. #Vols @nico_iamaleava8 | @McCallanCastles pic.twitter.com/jJwxcB1bR7
— John Sartori (@JohnSartoriTV) November 4, 2023
Iamaleava, who got a hearty celebration from his teammates after that play, looked excellent in those limited reps. It’d be surprising if he surpassed that 4-game redshirt threshold, which would mean he could appear in 1 more regular season game. Tennessee fans will have to wait another year to get anything close to a full dose of Iamaleava reps.
Texas A&M — Without Evan Stewart, A&M’s offense showed a ton of fight
What a bummer that had to be for the Aggies to not have their star receiver. ESPN’s Katie George reported that he went through pregame warmups and wasn’t able to go. It was fair to wonder if that was going to limit the Aggie offense on the road against a top-10 Ole Miss team that lived in opposing backfields this season. It might not have netted a win, but Max Johnson was as gutsy as they come without his top weapon. He hung tough in the pocket and delivered time and time again to set up a potential game-tying field goal attempt. Deantre Prince’s block prevented overtime, and obviously, A&M fans were frustrated to lose on the road for the 9th consecutive time.
But man, with a backup quarterback, an overmatched offensive line and Stewart on the sideline, Bobby Petrino’s offense showed its versatility. The 457 yards of total offense were A&M’s best against SEC competition since last year’s Ole Miss game. Who knows how that game would have turned out without that miscommunication on Johnson’s interception in the end zone. As it stands, the path to 8 wins only exists if A&M can get more offensive showings like that.
Vanderbilt — Without CJ Taylor, those chunk plays are inevitable against Clark Lea’s defense
Taylor has been sidelined since his interception return against Georgia, and it’s obvious that he’s been missed. He might not have been able to help Vandy stop the bleeding against Auburn, but a Taylor-less defense didn’t stand much of a chance. Vandy allowed 3 scoring plays of 50 yards against an Auburn offense that had 3 such plays all season. It was a mix of poor tackling and busted coverage that opened the door. The aforementioned Jarquez Hunter ran wild, and while Vandy took advantage of 1 bad decision by Payton Thorne on a pick-6, it wasn’t nearly enough.
Vandy’s regular-season over/under of 3.5 wins is now a loss from hitting the “under.” Not ideal.