Momma warned us there would be days like this.

How bad was Saturday for Ole Miss, Arkansas and Mizzou? Matt Corral’s Heisman bid ended, along with any hopes the Rebels had at winning the SEC West. Arkansas committed as many penalties on one play (3) as times it crossed midfield against Georgia. Mizzou entered Saturday allowing a league-worst 271 rushing yards per game — and Tennessee ran past that mark in the opening half on its way to 458.

As bad as that was, what Florida did somehow was worse.

Those are among the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 5 in and around the SEC.

10. Arkansas isn’t that good, but it isn’t that bad, either

Saturday was supposed to be a statement game for Sam Pittman and his Hogs.

What, exactly, was the statement? Well, instead of calling the Hogs the most overrated team in the top 10, I’m going to give them a bit of a pass.

Georgia is really, really good. And the Dawgs are especially good at stopping what Arkansas typically does really well. Georgia’s strength simply was superior to Arkansas’ strength. Sometimes it’s that simple. That dynamic played out on just about every down, on both sides of the ball.

I still think the Hogs will go 2-2 in this brutal 4-game stretch against ranked opponents. Not too many teams in America would do better than that. Now, if the Hogs fall to Auburn and go 1-3, that’s a different conversation.

9. It’s easier to win Media Days than it is to win SEC football games

Eli Drinkwitz is learning this lesson in real-time. He was the main attraction at Media Days, following 1-liners with big smiles.

He wasn’t smiling so much Saturday. And I doubt many of his 1-liners would be fit for print in a family publication.

Saturday was an absolute beatdown, at home, no less. You could see it coming, too. If Georgia-Arkansas was a test of best-on-best, Tennessee-Mizzou was an example of best-on-worst. We knew Mizzou wouldn’t be able to stop the Vols’ running game, but I didn’t see these numbers coming:

  • Tennessee hadn’t topped 50 points in an SEC game since it hung 63 on Missouri in 2016.
  • The Vols became the 4th team this century to rush for 400+ yards against a Mizzou defense.
  • This was the first time Tennessee topped 400 yards rushing this century.

The jokes and personality are great — as long as you’re winning. Mizzou is now 0-2 in the SEC and 0-3 this year against Power 5 teams.

8. Don’t mess with the king, part 32,288

Ole Miss was a trendy upset pick, which had to make Nick Saban smirk.

Matt Corral had shown through 4 weeks that he was the best QB in America. And he had a huge game against Alabama last season.

This just in: Nobody likes a challenge more than Saban, a’ight.

Ole Miss had no chance Saturday. Alabama made the high-flying Rebels look pedestrian.

That doesn’t mean everybody can. Most teams in America absolutely cannot. It just means Alabama is still Alabama.

The Tide eliminated big plays and shut down the Rebels’ running game. Corral’s longest completion through 3 quarters was 18 yards. That’s remarkable, considering the Rebels were among the SEC’s best in explosive passing plays when they walked into Bryant-Denny.

In terms of lasting significance, the takeaway is this: Alabama is really, really good, too, and a bunch of Ole Miss’ upcoming opponents are going to pay for what transpired Saturday afternoon.

7. 7 quirky questions that popped into my head Saturday

  1. What do I do with all of this leftover popcorn, Lane?
  2. Do you believe in Iowa? I don’t. Penn State will beat the Hawkeyes by double-digits next week in Iowa City.
  3. Is Coastal Carolina the best team in South Carolina?
  4. Is Cincinnati the best team in Ohio?
  5. Was Nick Saban secretly hoping the Tide would come up short on 3rd down just so he could show Lane Kiffin that the Tide can and will convert on 4th down, too?
  6. Considering how often Miami benefitted from those Wide Rights and Wide Lefts vs. FSU, can the Canes really complain about losing when their chip-shot FG doinked off the upright against Virginia?
  7. Is the Big Ten East the best division in college football?

6. Coaches gone wild …

Why do football coaches get to absolutely go off on officials without ever being flagged or tossed? Did you see Mark Stoops? He lost his mind over a call. Sure, the SEC is going to fine him, but if he’s a baseball manager or basketball coach, he would have watched the rest of the game from the locker room.

Heck, if he were a player, he would have been ejected, suspended and probably forced to go to class.

5. What’s the record for most false starts on a single Saturday?

Whatever it was, the SEC broke it Saturday.

Florida had 8 false starts at Kentucky. Mississippi State had 3 costly false starts that took it out of field goal position when it was trying to put away Texas A&M. Arkansas’ first 2 plays from scrimmage at Georgia were false starts. The Hogs finished with 4 false starts. Ole Miss had multiple false starts at Alabama.

It’s almost as if the players have forgotten how to handle crowd noise.

4. The 4 Playoff teams are …

1. Alabama, 2. Georgia, 3. Cincinnati, 4. Ohio State

I warned y’all 3 weeks ago that Oregon was overrated. Saturday was the official confirmation day.

I also drove Cincy’s Playoff bus last year. Now, it’s on cruise control. If the Bearcats run the table, there’s no way to keep them out, not after going 2-0 on the road against Power 5 programs, including Notre Dame, a Playoff regular.

Finally, I’m well aware that Iowa and Penn State are undefeated and ranked ahead of Ohio State. They’re not better than the Buckeyes, though, because they can’t score like the Buckeyes can. And that’ll be proven over the next month.

3. 3 things happened Saturday that I hadn’t seen before …

1. Arkansas was called for 3 penalties on the same play. That’s oddly impressive.

2. Florida and Kentucky had kicks blocked on back-to-back plays. Kentucky blocked a field goal attempt and returned it 78 yards for a TD. Then Florida blocked the extra point attempt.

3. This catch.

One-handed? Seen that. Fighting through contact, twisting in mid-air? Seen that. Ridiculously athletic toe-tap? Seen that.

Ole Miss’ Braylon Sanders did all of that on the same play. This 18-yard reception also was Ole Miss’ longest gain until the 4th quarter.

2. If you’re a Gators fan, you should be livid with Dan Mullen

This was as avoidable as it was inevitable.

And it’s solely on Dan Mullen.

Anthony Richardson should have started Saturday at Kentucky. Instead, Richardson mostly watched Emory Jones and the Gators’ offense struggle to get anything going. One offensive touchdown. Eight false starts. A long gain of 22 yards.

Jones’ last drive was particularly galling. His final pass on 4th-and-goal with a chance to tie was deflected, but even if it hadn’t been touched, it was 3 yards off target.

Losing is one thing.

Losing with your best offensive weapon sitting on the bench is head coaching malpractice. And it just cost the Gators a shot at getting back to Atlanta.

1. I want Alabama-Georgia I and II …

But I am fearful that we’re in for a 20-17 punt-fest in Atlanta, followed by a 24-17 national title game rematch.

Where have you gone, Joe Burrow?