The SEC’s Week 6 report card:

OFFENSE

Tennessee: A

This was the Volunteers offense fans had been waiting to see. After suffering through three gut-wrenching losses in which it squandered double-digit leads, Tennessee flipped the narrative Saturday, storming back for a 38-31 win over Georgia. Junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs was the hero, throwing for a career-high 312 yards, running for 118 and accounting for five touchdowns. The Vols had more than 500 yards as they overcame a 21-point deficit.

LSU: A-

The Tigers’ conference-leading ground game took a half to get revved, but while Leonard Fournette was warming his engines for an eventual 87-yard touchdown burst, Brandon Harris was finding a groove. LSU let the sophomore quarterback ease into the game with some easy completions, but progressively put more responsibility on the passing attack. Harris has struggled with his accuracy and hasn’t had much help from his receivers, but the Tigers moved the ball sufficiently through the air Saturday, which loosened up the South Carolina defense and allowed the LSU running game to break loose in the second half. Fournette (158 yards) and Derrius Guice (161) were the conference’s top two rushers this week, and Harris had a career-high 228 through the air.

Missouri: D

We don’t mean to be hard on the Tigers — facing this Florida defense with a true freshman quarterback making his second career start was always a losing proposition. But Missouri’s offense was outscored by the Gators defense, totaled just 257 yards and had the ball for just 22 minutes.

DEFENSE

Alabama: A

Alabama didn’t find the end zone until an 81-yard pass to Calvin Ridley with 1:39 remaining in the third quarter, but thanks to another stellar night by the Tide defense, a great offensive game wasn’t required. Alabama stuffed Arkansas at the point of attack and harassed Brandon Allen throughout the game, yielding just 220 yards of offense and nine first downs in a 27-14 win..

Florida: A

The Gators defense continued its excellent play, racking up three sacks, two turnovers, one defensive touchdown and allowing just  257 yards of offense in a 21-3 win over Missouri. Florida was at its best when it needed to be Saturday, forcing the Tigers to go 1 of 14 on third-down conversions.

SPECIAL TEAMS

South Carolina: B+

The Gamecocks had little luck slowing down LSU, and the offense struggled to move the ball consistently, but their 45-24 loss can’t be blamed on special teams. On his first career kickoff return, Rashad Fenton went 96 yards untouched for a second-quarter touchdown. Elliot Fry also kicked his 11th field goal and Sean Kelly averaged more than 43 yards per punt.

COACHING

Arkansas: C

The Hogs were outmanned against Alabama and would’ve needed flawless execution of a flawless gameplan to win. Defensively, they were pretty close on both fronts, save for one busted coverage late in the third quarter. But Bret Bielema’s decision to fake a punt on his own end of the field while trailing by just three points late in the game can be justly second-guessed. It was the second consecutive week Arkansas attempted a fake kick and each failed. This week’s proved costly, as Alabama responded by driving for a back-breaking touchdown, aided by a third-down pass interference call.

Georgia: D

The seat under one of the SEC’s winningest coaches is getting warm, and the heat isn’t coming only from the fanbase’s fringes. The Bulldogs, who eight days ago had playoff aspirations, are now staring at the very real possibility of a third-place finish in the East. A loss against Alabama could be understood. But when an outright embarrassment against the Tide is followed by the squandering of a 21-point lead, the ire of upset fans is understandable.

OVERALL

If Week 5 was about redefining our expectations, Week 6 was about reaffirming the new status quo. Only Tennessee’s rally bucked the trends that have been established for this year’s teams. Alabama and Florida were dominant on defense. LSU ran for nearly 400 yards, and Chad Kelly and Ole Miss had their way with a lesser opponent.

The heat turns up in Week 7 as Florida and LSU meet in a battle of unbeatens and Alabama takes on Texas A&M in a game that should have far-reaching implications in the West.