The sole matchup between ranked teams in the SEC this week quickly turned into a laugher, as Alabama went into Starkville and eradicated any visions Mississippi State may have had of playing spoiler down the stretch.

With 13 of 14 member schools in action — Ole Miss was the only program on a bye — Arkansas made arguably the biggest statement by going into Baton Rouge and upsetting LSU. Clearly still licking their wounds after getting humbled seven days prior in Tuscaloosa, the Tigers have now dropped two straight after a 7-0 start and are no longer in the running for the College Football Playoff.

Still three weeks out from the inevitable showdown between ‘Bama and Florida in Atlanta, here is what I liked and didn’t like from the best conference in America.

What I liked

1. He’s a gamer

Florida defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard wasn’t even supposed to play Saturday at South Carolina, as coach Jim McElwain described him Wednesday as “highly questionable” with an arm injury.

But the 6-foot-3, 283-pounder looked as dominant as ever — perhaps motivated by growing up in Shelby, N.C., less than two hours from Columbia — in a 24-14 win over the Gamecocks. Bullard tied for the team lead with five tackles, shared a sack with defensive end Jordan Sherit and recorded another hit on quarterback Perry Orth.

While the Gators surrendered two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to keep it interesting late, Bullard and Co. were nothing short of suffocating in holding USC to 44 yards of offense through the first three quarters.

2. Back to the well

Georgia coach Mark Richt stuck with the formula that grinded out a win last week at home against Kentucky, running the football almost three times as much as he threw it in a 20-13 victory at Auburn. Only one quarterback saw the field this time, as Greyson Lambert — 12-of-17, 97 yards, no TDs or INTs — was sufficient if not spectacular.

Credit running back Sony Michel for being the go-to guy on offense for the Bulldogs, but the fact that he managed just 77 yards on 26 carries facing a Tigers unit ranked 11th in the SEC stopping the run tells a story.

He is much more effective as a complementary piece alongside Nick Chubb, who is still tied for the team lead in touchdowns with 8 despite missing almost all of the past five games due to injury.

The Dawgs host FBS sophomore Georgia Southern on Saturday and then travel to reeling Georgia Tech the following week, which means yet another 10-win season is very much a possibility for Richt.

3. Just a freshman

Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley, a true freshman well on his way to being the next Julio Jones or Amari Cooper, authored the juke of the year so far in the SEC.

Not only was his move of the ankle-breaking variety, but he then exploded down the right sideline — the decleating block from running back Kenyan Drake certainly helped — with rare speed. Mississippi State cornerback Tolando Cleveland had plenty of angle initially to make the play but never even got a finger on Ridley.

As amazing as it is to think that a pass catcher this polished was still in high school a season ago, the rise of 7-on-7 football in the spring across the country gives these kids more reps at a young age than ever before.

4. Book a trip to the Big Apple

Alabama running back Derrick Henry is third in the country in carries (240), second in yards rushing (1,458) and first in rushing touchdowns (19) following his 22-204-2 stat line on the road in Starkville.

The pride of Yulee (Fla.) High School got off to a shaky start, as the Mississippi State defensive front played inspired football for about a quarter — Henry only posted 14 yards on his first 6 attempts. But his seventh carry went for a 74-yard TD that displayed scintillating speed for a 6-foot-3, 242-pound battering ram.

Henry’s final 16 rushes against the beaten-down Bulldogs produced 190 yards and a pair of scores, solidifying his case as the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy.

5. Do you even work out, bro?

I was really hoping Mississippi State kicker Westin Graves had a field-goal attempt blocked Saturday against Alabama. Not to wish the young man misfortune, but it would have been fun to see the 6-foot, 163-pounder — he doesn’t weigh 163 pounds holding Bully in his arms — try to make a tackle.

The baby-faced Graves had a 50-yarder come up short in the second quarter because he didn’t appear to have the leg strength. Or he had a tummy ache. One or the other.

6. A glass case of emotion

Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason is as animated as they get on the sideline, but he’s also not afraid to smile when his club comes out on top at the final gun.

It’s hard to tell if Mason’s 21-17 win over Kentucky in Nashville says more about the rise of the Commodores or the fall of the Wildcats. On the one hand you have a Vandy program that’s suddenly won two of its past three SEC games, but on the other we’re watching a UK team take another step back on a weekly basis — that’s five conference losses in a row for coach Mark Stoops, who should be ahead of Mason in the rebuilding process.

Freshman Kyle Shurmur took over for redshirt sophomore Johnny McCrary under center and finally breathed some life into the ‘Dores passing game, going 13-of-26 for 166 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

7. Murray-to-Kirk a work in progress

Ridley isn’t the only true freshman wide receiver in the SEC who looks like a finished product on the outside already.

Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk topped the 100-yard mark in three of his first four games, although he had been held to 15 catches for 97 yards combined against Ole Miss, South Carolina and Auburn the past three weeks. His production took a hit just about the time coach Kevin Sumlin made the switch to Kyler Murray — another youngster straight out of high school — at quarterback.

While Kirk was explosive again Saturday in a 41-17 win over Western Carolina, reeling in 9 passes for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns, it’s worth noting that 65 of those yards and one of those TDs came from former starting QB Kyle Allen late in relief of Murray.

8. More mountains to climb

Courtesy of Pat Forde from Yahoo! Sports, Alabama hasn’t scored a first-quarter touchdown in the past 15 contests it has played immediately following the LSU game — Mississippi State went toe to toe with the Tide through the first period and change. It’s only natural that there would be some sort of hangover for Big Al with the Bayou Bengals finally in the rearview mirror.

Even for a future Hall of Fame coach like Nick Saban, it’s tough to get 20-year-old kids to focus on a smaller peak in the distance after they just conquered Mount Everest.

9. High on the Hogs

Arkansas was left for dead, as four losses in five games — noted by a 16-12 head scratcher Sept. 12 at home to Toledo — had Hogs fans wondering if coach Bret Bielema was indeed on track to turn around the program.

But the Razorbacks have now won five of six, with the lone defeat coming Oct. 11 at the hands of resident SEC West titan Alabama.

Saturday’s 31-14 pummeling of LSU in Baton Rouge was an eye opener, as Bielema and Co. silenced Death Valley with a stunning series of big plays.

Instead of puckering up when the Tigers cut a 21-0 deficit to 21-14 early in the third quarter, Arkansas finished the game on a 10-0 run — a 69-yard score by wide receiver Jared Cornelius was the third of three long-distance TDs — and secured a bowl invite.

10. Signs of life in K.C.

Maybe Missouri just needed to get out of tumultuous Columbia for a while, as by far the worst offense in the SEC moved the ball quite well in a 20-16 win over BYU at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.

While the point total on the scoreboard wasn’t overly impressive, Missouri racked up 434 yards of offense, converted on 13 of 20 third-down opportunities and possessed the pigskin for 39:04. Mizzou threw for 244 yards and ran for 190 more, with quarterback Drew Lock connecting on more than half his throws for the first time since Oct. 3 and running back Russell Hansbrough — a potential draft pick — finally topping triple digits.

Nobody deserved it more than coach Gary Pinkel, who handled a stressful week with grace and added to his school record with victory No. 118.

What I didn’t like

1. Going nowhere fast

While Florida’s defense continues to be one of the most impenetrable in the land, its offense is the most anemic among the genuine contenders for the College Football Playoff.

Quarterback Treon Harris struggled to complete 50 percent of his throws against a South Carolina pass defense that came into the game ranked 10th in the SEC.

Running back Kelvin Taylor’s average of 3.9 yards per attempt is dead last in the conference among players with 100-plus carries.

Leading receivers Antonio Callaway and Demarcus Robinson combined to catch just 7 passes for 88 yards and failed to find the end zone.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine the Gators putting up a legitimate fight against the Crimson Tide — their D is just as good, plus they have Henry in the backfield — next month in the SEC Championship Game.

2. War Eagle grounded

Auburn went right down the field on its first possession hosting Georgia, driving 75 yards on 11 plays in 4:36 to take a 7-0 lead. Coach Gus Malzahn’s up-tempo offense was in full effect, as quarterback Jeremy Johnson completed 4-of-4 passes, wide receiver Ricardo Louis got 10 yards on a jet sweep and running back Kerryon Johnson scored on a 7-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat.

But the Tigers never found the end zone again in a 20-13 loss to the Bulldogs that has them teetering on the edge of bowl eligibility.

Former coach Gene Chizik went from national champion to the unemployment line in the blink of an eye, as his 11-14 record two seasons after hoisting the crystal football was not acceptable for War Eagle. Malzahn is now 13-10 following his appearance in the BCS title game two years ago, and that’s after beginning each of those campaigns ranked No. 6 in the AP poll.

How many Heisman voters are wearing a bag over their head after picking Johnson — 14-of-22, 61 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT — in the preseason to win the trophy?

3. (Yawn)

During its 1-9 death march so far this season, North Texas has surrendered 62 points to Iowa, 49 to Southern Miss, 66 to Portland State, 55 to Western Kentucky and 56 to Louisiana Tech.

Tennessee, which got a lot of love back at SEC Media Days to make it all the way to the conference title game, only scored 24 on the Mean Green in front of a less-than-capacity crowd at Neyland Stadium.

The Volunteers don’t deserve much credit for pitching a shutout either, as North Texas came to Knoxville ranked 119th nationally in total offense and 124th in scoring offense.

4. Spend less time painting checkerboards in the end zones

There is no excuse whatsoever for a program with as much money to spend as Tennessee does to have a playing surface that’s a torn ACL waiting to happen.

5. I’ve got a fever…

I’m all for tradition, as it’s one of the things that makes college football special and separates it from the corporatized monolith that is the NFL.

However, cowbells belong at Pop Warner games. They’re on par with orange slices, candy drives and participation trophies.

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the cowbells were oddly appropriate Saturday while hosting Alabama, as the Mississippi State offensive line looked like Pop Warner kids trying to contain the waves of future pros that make up the Crimson Tide front seven.

6. Achilles’ heel

Alabama seemingly has 21 of 22 spots figured out on offense and defense, yet quarterback Jake Coker continues to do little more than ride the coattails of the four- and five-star talent around him.

Still in the first quarter of a scoreless game, Coker was pressured and essentially threw a prayer deep into the Mississippi State secondary that resulted in an easy interception — the proverbial “arm punt.” As I’ve been writing all season long, the 6-foot-5, 232-pounder is unpredictable in the face of the rush and subjects his teammates to too many negative plays as a resut.

Remember that Coker’s game-winning drive Oct. 24 at home against Tennessee featured five handoffs to Henry on the last six plays, so there is little reason to believe he can win a close game with his arm despite an enviable supporting cast.

7. Where’s the flag?

Mississippi State was playing Alabama tough until punt returner Cyrus Jones delivered the first of three second-quarter touchdowns for the Tide that covered 60-plus yards.

However, ‘Bama cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick was guilty of a block in the back on the return that failed to be flagged by officials. CBS showed a replay from every angle imaginable, and in each one of them he clearly shoved a would-be Bulldog tackler from behind — right in the middle of the play, not 20 yards across the field — and helped spring Jones to paydirt.

The quick-strike score completely changed the momentum of the game, as the sky began to fall at Davis Wade Stadium shortly thereafter.

8. It’s a team game

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott threw the ball 43 times and ran it 26 more, all but proving that he simply doesn’t have enough difference makers around him to beat a school like Alabama.

Ignore the fact that he compiled 300 yards through the air, as he was forced to chuck and duck most of the day once the Crimson Tide raced to a 21-3 advantage at intermission. Those 26 carries produced a meager 14 yards — sacks count as rushing attempts in the the college game, and Prescott was taken down an alarming nine times behind his Swiss cheese offensive line.

Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen will likely never have another signal caller as good as Prescott in Starkville, yet he’s still lost six games the past two seasons, meaning he may have taken Hail State as far as it can go in the weekly Red Wedding that is the SEC West.

9. Getting loose in the bullpen

It’s time for Stoops to bench quarterback Patrick Towles and see if freshman Drew Barker can right some of the wrongs for Kentucky’s woeful offense. Towles, who hasn’t connected on 50 percent of his passes for three consecutive games, has gotten the hook in favor of Barker each of the past two weeks.

Eleven is the magic number for the ‘Cats, as they are 11th in the SEC in rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense. They catapult up to seventh in passing offense for one reason: They’re always behind and forced to throw in the second half.

Like Towles, Barker was the No. 1 recruit in the state of Kentucky coming out of high school and turned down offers from better football programs in order to stay home. Unlike Towles, Barker offers some genuine hope for happier times ahead in Lexington.

10. It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish

There is an old adage on the PGA Tour that goes something like this: You can’t win a golf tournament on Thursday. You can only lose it on Thursday.

Something similar can be said for the Heisman Trophy: You can’t win it in September. You have to win it in November.

LSU running back Leonard Fournette was stopped dead in his tracks a week earlier in hostile Tuscaloosa, and his performance Saturday in a home loss to Arkansas was pedestrian at best with 19 carries for 91 yards and a touchdown. After rushing for at least 150 yards in each of his first seven games in September and October, he has just 122 yards combined in two November outings.

While he may still lead the nation in rushing by a narrow margin over Henry, Fournette probably needs a pair of 200-yard days against Ole Miss and Texas A&M to close out the regular season if he wants to win one of the most coveted awards in all of sports.