SEC Week 8 in many ways looked like a return to order. It was a good week to be a favorite, because every favorite won. Still, there’s always the story inside the story, and we get all the way to the bottom of it in SEC Report Cards. We grade each team’s overall performance and then single out the best and worst offense, defense and special teams. Here’s the week that was.

SEC West

Alabama: A

Sure, there were a few rough edges. But seven minutes into this game, they led by 21, and the game was effectively over. In eight games, Alabama has yet to be legitimately challenged.

LSU: A-

A 16-point win over Mississippi State was a solid week of work, particularly on defense, where the Tigers held the Bulldogs to 260 yards and forced 4 interceptions. That offense, though — 2.5 yards per carry and 4.6 yards per pass attempt won’t work in two weeks.

Arkansas: B+

Not at all unlike LSU, the Razorbacks made their living on the defensive end. In fact, they allowed exactly the same number of total yards — 260 — to Tulsa that LSU did to State. Not unlike LSU, the win wasn’t as impressive as the score. Arkansas rushed for just 3.7 yards per carry and basically put the pass game into the deep freeze, running most of the game with their former third-team quarterback. It was fine for Saturday, but we’re not sure how many times that defense can deliver that performance again.

Auburn: B+

On the bright side, their offense reappeared. The Tigers rushed for 269 yards and passed for another 215, approaching 500 yards and scoring 31 points without a turnover. That said, if it takes playing Ole Miss for your offense to emerge, the rest of the SEC will be a troubling experience.

Mississippi State: C-

This defense has to be so depressed. If you had told them they’d hold LSU to 239 total yards, allow zero plays of more than 20 yards … and lose by 16, they wouldn’t have believed you. Not sure we feel much differently here. The passing game went from broken to painful, as Nick Fitzgerald completed 8 passes to teammates and 4 to Tigers.

Mississippi: C-

This one is on the offense, oddly enough. Yes, Auburn ripped up and down the field. But the bottom line is that given the relatively weakness of the Rebels defense, holding the Tigers to 31 was reasonable. Having a game in which 27 first downs, 447 yards and zero turnovers turned into … 16 points? Not so much.

Texas A&M: Incomplete

Gone on bye week break.

SEC East

Missouri: A-

They did what they do to mediocre nonconference competition, going for 65 points on 646 total yards. There are still some warning signs — allowing 200 yards rushing and 208 passing to mediocre competition is one, and the other is never putting games like this together in the SEC. But still, reward the good work now and puzzle over the bad later.

Kentucky: B-

Benny Snell (169 rushing yards) and the defense that held Vandy to 284 total yards and seven points? They would get better grades. The problem is that the rest of the offense might get a Z-. Holy cow, even in the history of UK-Vandy, seeing a team win with 18 passing yards is pretty peculiar. If Kentucky doesn’t find some balance, not only will Georgia destroy them in two weeks, but UGA won’t be the only ones.

Vanderbilt: C-

Likewise, for Vanderbilt to have a game in which they hold the opponent under 300 yards, essentially completely negate a passing game, allow 14 points, but lose? Doesn’t increase hope that Derek Mason will be leading the squad for much longer.

Tennessee: C-

Honestly, this could have been much worse. Go back and look at that first seven minutes again, when Alabama was stomping the gas pedal and Tennessee was befuddled. In the game’s remaining 53 minutes, it was a 37-21 Alabama margin. Keller Chryst had a nice game off the bench, and Tennessee didn’t quit, which is not as easy as it sounds. Still, this was pretty terrible.

South Carolina: Incomplete

Taking it easy this weekend.

Georgia: Incomplete

Seem to remember something about next week for the Bulldogs …

Florida: Incomplete

And for the Gators.

Honor Roll

Offense

Missouri

Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

They did what they do to nonconference teams, racking up 373 in the air and 273 on the ground. 72 total plays for 646 yards will work in most games.

Alabama

And they did what they do to everybody. 327 in the air, 218 on the ground, and they could have had more if they had pushed for it. Just another week for Alabama.

Defense

LSU

Not only do they hold Mississippi State to three points and 260 yards, but they pretty much personally won the game, returning an interception to the MSU 3 to set up the game’s only touchdown in the first quarter.

Kentucky

On a night when your offense gives you 14 points and 18 passing yards, you’ve got to bring a lunch pail. Kentucky bent a few times but refused to break against Vandy, which got the team its fourth SEC win.

Special Teams

LSU

In a game with one touchdown, special teams loom large. Cole Tracy was perfect, and the punting game was solid.

Missouri

No, the kicking game wasn’t brilliant (missed field goal, missed extra point), but they blocked a punt on the game’s opening series, which set the tone immediately, and that mattered a lot more than four points left off the board.

Summer School

Offense

Mississippi State

And this is what the passing attack which was supposed to be fearsome has come to? 8-for-24, 59 yards, 4 interceptions. No completion longer than 15 yards, only two longer than 9. Sure, LSU had something to do with this, but they had some help.

Mississippi

You pass the ball for 324 yards, move the ball up and down the field for 27 total first downs. You don’t turn the ball over, and your defense — usually awful — gives up a relatively scant 31 points. And you lose by 15 because you couldn’t turn all those yards into touchdowns.

Defense

Missouri

We said the good, we’ll say the bad. The Tigers have a tendency to drift on defense, and they did give up 208 passing yards, 200 rushing yards and 33 points to a ho-hum Memphis team. Again, Memphis turning a 21-3 lead into a 21-17 lead worked out okay. It won’t against SEC competition.

Tennessee

Yes, it’s Alabama. UT also gave up 58 points while holding Bama to 4-for-8 on third downs … that’s because Alabama made it to third down only eight times while piling up 58 points. The New England Patriots couldn’t have won with that kind of defense.

Special Teams

Kentucky

Missing a 39-yard field goal short — even on a windy night — isn’t acceptable in the SEC. Neither was the second-half opening kick return TD … that came back on a holding penalty. Sure, the offense was one-sided, but Kentucky could — maybe should — have taken firmer control via the special teams.

Auburn

Two missed field goals didn’t really hurt them in this game, but Anders Carlson is now 11-for-21 on the season.