Biggest Surprises of Week 14
Week in and week out, players and teams surprise us with their performances. We saw several surprises this weekend with an incredible slate of conference games.
Who or what made our cut of the biggest surprises of Week 14?
Another fourth quarter comeback for Mizzou: When will we learn to stop betting against Gary Pinkel and the Tigers? Arkansas held a 14-6 lead through three quarters, and dominated the game until the scoreboard turned to the fourth quarter. Maty Mauk and Missouri then did what its seemingly done all season, outscoring the Razorbacks 15-0 in the fourth quarter to grab the 21-14 win, a second consecutive SEC East title and another trip to Atlanta.
SEC East lays an egg vs. ACC: The inter-conference rivalries are a great part of the SEC, however on this Rivalry Saturday, the ACC dominated its SEC counterparts. The ACC is widely regarded as the weakest Power 5 conference in the country, but made a good showing going 4-0 against the SEC East. Kentucky’s defense had no answer for Louisville, South Carolina invented ways to lose to Clemson, a questionable squib kick call coupled with a Hutson Mason interception sealed the win for Georgia Tech over Georgia and the Gators came up empty in Tallahassee in Will Muschamp’s final game.
Amari Cooper goes off … again: The best player in the SEC was held in check through the first 30 minutes in Saturday night’s Iron Bowl, but exploded after intermission, posting five catches for 141 yards and two score in the third quarter alone. Cooper totaled Iron Bowl records of 13 receptions for 224 yards and three touchdowns. Cooper earned himself a plane ticket to New York City in two weeks for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Ole Miss has a run game?: For 11 games, the Rebels’ rushing attack was nowhere to be found, however Jaylen Walton and company burst onto the scene Saturday afternoon against a good Mississippi State front seven. Ole Miss amassed 205 yards on the ground, 148 of which came on the legs of Walton. His afternoon was highlighted by a video-game-like 91-yard touchdown run.