Mercy. What a day. What a sport.

It never ceases to amaze me what a college football Saturday can provide. From Georgia flexing on the Tennessee offense like no team has in the past year to MSU somehow winning a bananas game in overtime to fend off Cadillac Williams and resurgent Auburn, it was a wild day.

Oh, and Alabama lost for the 2nd time. In the regular season. That’s just the 3rd time that has happened since Year 2 of the Nick Saban era.

It was an insane day in which we learned a ton, so let’s attempt to put some perspective on that:

Alabama — There was only so much superhuman strength in Bryce Young’s cape

Because finally, Alabama playing with fire proved too costly. Young, after another slow start, again looked like he was poised to lead the Tide back on a comeback drive to keep Playoff hopes alive. The play he made to escape pressure and find Ja’Corey Brooks for 6 will be on any future NFL Draft highlight reel for Young. Ridiculous. And even the touchdown drive in overtime, which may or may not have featured a tipped pass on a potential pass interference play, wasn’t enough.

Saturday night marked the 10th time in 14 SEC games since the start of 2021 that Alabama was in a 1-score game in the 4th quarter. The Tide won 7 of those games. You aren’t supposed to go 10-0 in games that are that close, that late. We saw the defense collapse in overtime both on the Jayden Daniels scramble and on the 2-point conversion. Breakdowns. Penalties. A lack of separation downfield. These things have all plagued Alabama at inopportune times, and against a worthy foe in a hostile atmosphere, it caught the Tide. There’ll be no national championship for the overwhelming preseason No. 1 team in America.

Young’s college career will likely end without him winning a title as a starter, which was and is unfathomable.

Arkansas — Corner turned? Not for the Arkansas offense

Inexcusable. That cannot happen. I don’t care if Liberty was an AP Top 25 team with a rock-solid defense. At home, coming off consecutive blowout victories on the road, the Hogs crapped the bed offensively. Sorry, but that’s reality. That would’ve been reality even if KJ Jefferson’s 2-point conversion attempt had crossed the goal line. PFF’s highest-graded offensive line in America got its lunch taken. Rocket Sanders and Jefferson combined for 96 yards on 33 carries, and as a result, the Hogs were held out of the end zone for the first 51 minutes.

That was the worst loss of the Sam Pittman era because of how clear it was that Arkansas wasn’t ready to play. It wasn’t physical up front, and Hugh Freeze’s team took advantage. Or when the Hogs did take care of business up front, Jefferson telegraphed passes. He wasn’t at 100 percent, but that’s still not an excuse for falling behind 21-0 to Liberty at home. There was no home cooking to be had for the Razorbacks’ offense. There aren’t any gimmes on that remaining schedule with LSU, Ole Miss and a road trip to Mizzou.

Auburn — That was some response for Coach Caddy

I was darned impressed with Auburn’s 2nd-half response for Cadillac Williams. The interim coach/Auburn legend was a ball of energy on the sideline, and his team fed off that. That’s what allowed the Tigers to erase a 21-point deficit and force overtime. You cannot say enough about the poise Auburn showed on both sides of the ball, especially Derick Hall, who harassed Will Rogers in Starkville.

Auburn nearly pulled off what MSU did at Jordan-Hare last year. If not for a questionable pass interference call to set up the walk-off touchdown run for MSU in overtime, well, who knows? Maybe Williams would’ve celebrated Auburn’s 1st SEC road win since Oct. 16, 2021. Still, though. That team showed it had fight, and even though this year had been a total disaster under Bryan Harsin, Saturday felt like a chance to feel good about a victory for the 1st time in a long time. But that wasn’t in the cards for Auburn. On the bright side, Williams looks like he has a team with more fight than anything we saw the last month with Harsin.

Florida — No Brenton Cox Jr., but there’s still life left in the Florida defense

We found out earlier in the week that Cox, who led Florida with 8 tackles for loss, was dismissed from the team. So how would Florida’s already thin defense respond? All things considered, pretty darn well. The Gators couldn’t stop a nosebleed in the 1st half, but once Devon Achane was no longer featured by A&M, Florida pinned its ears back and got after Haynes King. Antwaun Ryland-Powell Jr. was excellent, as was Princely Umanmielen. It was exactly the type of defensive line performance that the short-handed Gators needed without Cox.

A 2nd-half shutout was monumental for morale, especially with 3 winnable games remaining on the schedule. As crazy as it sounds for a team that entered the day at 4-4, the combination of an improving Anthony Richardson with a defense that clearly still cares could absolutely get Billy Napier an 8-4 mark in Year 1.

Georgia — Oh … that defense is that defense

Incredible. Truly incredible. The defense that lost 8 players to the NFL Draft entering the season was also without captain/top pass-rusher Nolan Smith … and it held the nation’s No. 1 offense without a touchdown for 55 minutes. That, for my money, was the best defensive performance of the Kirby Smart era. Heisman Trophy favorite Hendon Hooker entered having led the Vols to 34 or more points in 11 consecutive games, and he was held to less than half that. Hooker had taken only 12 sacks in the first 8 games, but on Saturday against a Smith-less Georgia defense, he took 6.

The nation’s most explosive and prolific offense couldn’t connect on the chunk plays that fueled that No. 1 ranking. Kelee Ringo picking off Hooker in single coverage on Cedric Tillman felt like a pivotal moment. It really told the story of the day. UGA was 1 step ahead all day. That defensive staff deserves immense credit for making as loud of a statement as we’ve seen all year.

Kentucky — The Cats can indeed win ugly … and that was ugly

If I told you that Kentucky would allow 6 sacks, commit 12 penalties and miss 2 kicks, would you assume Mark Stoops’ squad found a way to win? I certainly wouldn’t. That doesn’t even include that bizarre botched punt attempt that ended in a miraculous roughing the kicker penalty. It was ugly. Will Levis’ mobility is clearly limited, which certainly hurts this offense.

But on Saturday against a Mizzou team with its own offensive issues, that didn’t matter. What did matter was that Levis was excellent in the red zone, including a 3rd-and-11 pass to Dane Key for the go-ahead touchdown on a play in which Key split a pair of defenders and dived into the end zone. Levis didn’t start forcing throws, which was the difference in the game. And, well, Kentucky’s defense played its tail off once again. For the 1st time since the Florida game, the Cats won an SEC game without their best showing. As a result, they’re bowl eligible for the 7th consecutive season.

LSU — Brian Kelly’s, um, ‘guts’ are SEC-ready and then some

What a call, man.

Going for that 2-point conversion in overtime to beat Alabama was beyond gutsy. Putting the ball in Jayden Daniels’ hands to make that play on the run was by no means a layup. Then again, when you miss an extra point to force overtime like LSU did earlier in the year against Florida State, well, perhaps that decision is a little easier. But there was nothing easy about that win. LSU had to fight against some vintage Young plays — Harold Perkins was incredible — and perhaps some bizarre officiating (I still don’t fully understand how that fumble out of bounds by Cameron Latu was ruled like that).

Kelly entered Year 1 with all these questions about “being a culture fit” and whether he could truly handle the SEC as a guy with 1 career win vs. an AP Top-5 team. It’s safe to say he answered those questions on Saturday night by taking over control of the SEC West in dramatic fashion.

Mizzou — Eli Drinkwitz isn’t going anywhere, and neither are Mizzou-like losses

On a day when we found out that Drinkwitz and defensive coordinator Blake Baker were both awarded with extensions, Mizzou lost as only Mizzou could. First, there was the Chris Rodriguez Jr. fumble in the red zone that was overruled. That led to Will Levis hitting Dane Key for the go-ahead touchdown. With Mizzou set to get the ball back, a snap sailed over the Kentucky punter, who then attempted to punt the ball from roughly 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage. And, well, this happened:

If a punter goes outside of the tackle box, he can be hit. But apparently if he stays in the tackle box 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage, he can’t be hit. Who knew? That’s a silly rule, and I don’t blame Drinkwitz for being upset. If that doesn’t happen, Mizzou gets the ball in plus territory, and it still needs to put together a touchdown drive in the final 2 minutes. But no, once again, Mizzou lost a conference game by 1 score for the 4th time this year and the 6th time since the start of 2021. Once again, the Tigers played a solid defensive game and had nothing to show for it because of a mostly inept offense. Rinse, repeat. Drinkwitz’s extension hopefully came with a requirement that he hire an offensive play-caller.

MSU — Mike Leach still hates running the football, even when it couldn’t be more obvious

I know, I know. MSU won in overtime, and it survived against a reeling Auburn team. But how in the world did MSU run the ball only 10 times against a team that was dead last in FBS with 302 rushing yards allowed per game in October? That was a total failure on Leach’s part, and it was 1 of the reasons Auburn climbed back into the game after falling behind by 21. This should’ve been a chance to feed Dillon Johnson and Jo’Quavious Marks, but Leach insisted on letting Hall and that Auburn pass rush pin its ears back and get to Rogers, who was sacked 5 times.

But the good news? MSU’s lack of a rushing attack coming off the bye week didn’t cost the Bulldogs win No. 6. They’re bowl-eligible. The bad news? That Georgia defense is coming to Starkville next week.

South Carolina — DK Joyner is in fact still capable of playing offense

If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve assumed the Mayo Bowl MVP was out for the year. He entered Saturday’s contest with 2 scrimmage touches for 2 yards. To say that he wasn’t part of Marcus Satterfield’s offensive plans would’ve been an understatement. But finally, we got to see Joyner sling it. And don’t you know it? It worked out. He was 3-for-4 for 82 yards and 1 touchdown, including a fake-read option that led to a 68-yard touchdown to Juice Wells:

For a South Carolina offense that was getting dogged on College GameDay after a miserable showing against Mizzou, Saturday at least quieted some of the angst surrounding Satterfield. Against a porous Vandy pass defense, the Gamecocks put together their best passing day since the Arkansas game, thanks in part to the versatile Joyner, who returned to South Carolina to play receiver instead of playing quarterback elsewhere. It was nice to see him finally featured.

Tennessee — This offense is stoppable

I didn’t think I’d see the day. But here we are. Yes, Tennessee’s offense was held without a touchdown for the first 55 minutes. As in, the No. 1 offense in America, which had scored 34 points or more in 11 consecutive games dating back to the Georgia game last year. Needless to say, Smart might be a step or 2 ahead of Josh Heupel and Alex Golesh. Hooker was overwhelmed by Georgia’s pressure, which got him 6 (!) times after he’d been sacked only 12 times all year. He was pressured on 20 of 47 dropbacks. As a result, the Vols had no explosive plays to be found.

The interception Hooker threw was trying to catch Tillman in single coverage, but Ringo ran the better route and caught the overthrown ball. That was the story of the day. Hooker was just slightly off on the deep balls, and Georgia did a tremendous job forcing him into spots that he didn’t want to be in. Did it cost him the Heisman Trophy? Time will tell. Did that cost the Vols a Playoff spot? Time will tell, as well. For now, though, all that matters is that Tennessee regains its offensive mojo for this stretch run. Something tells me not having to face that Georgia defense in Athens will be just what the doctor ordered.

Texas A&M — Not anywhere close to full strength, the Aggies had no chance

I mean, this is just insane.

On top of that, the Aggies lost starting corner Jaylon Jones to a targeting call in the 1st quarter, which meant that 11 A&M starters were unavailable because of either flu, injury or suspension. Goodness. It was a deflating day for an Aggies offense that was asked to do more than it was capable of. Achane was phenomenal early, but with the Aggies unable to get any stops, obvious passing situations made it a long day for King.

Oh, that’s right. I forgot to mention that Conner Weigman was 1 of those players out with the flu. King was hobbled late, and without his mobility, it was obvious that Florida was going to win the battle up front. That’s 5 consecutive A&M losses. That hadn’t happened since 1980. Woof. Now the Aggies need to win out just to make a bowl game. I wouldn’t bet on it.

Vanderbilt — Another game, another instance of multiple QBs being used (but because of an injury this time)

Poor AJ Swann. Just when it looked like the true freshman was ready to take over the Vandy offense and give the program some hope in early October, he struggled and watched Mike Wright share reps with him. And most recently, he got hurt. In a favorable matchup against South Carolina, Swann went down in the 1st half and didn’t return. Wright led a couple of touchdown drives, but he’s not the threat with his arm that Swann is. That hurt Vandy’s comeback attempt, as did a defense that still can’t stop much of anything.

Clark Lea said afterward that there wasn’t an update on Swann’s injury, and that they’d have one on Tuesday. The true freshman needs reps, even if it means taking more hits behind a banged-up offensive line. Vandy’s best chances to pick up an SEC win in 2022 might’ve just come and gone in the last 2 weeks, especially if Swann is going to be out any length of time.