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The SEC’s Week 8 report card:
OFFENSE
Mississippi State: A
Led by an outstanding game from Dak Prescott, the Bulldogs rolled up nearly 600 yards of offense in a 42-16 win over Kentucky. Prescott cemented his folk hero status with 348 passing yards, 117 rushing yards while accounting for six touchdowns. De’Runnya Wilson had 91 yards and a score on four catches, and the Bulldogs made smart use of the diminutive but dynamic Brandon Holloway, who finished with 134 yards of total offense.
LSU: B+
What the Tigers’ passing game lacked in consistency against Western Kentucky, it made up for with explosiveness. Brandon Harris completed 11 of 20 passing for a career-high 286 yards and three touchdowns, while Leonard Fournette ran for 150 and a score on 26 carries.
Missouri: F
Bad just got worse for Missouri. The Tigers were stymied by Vanderbilt in a 10-3 defeat, their third consecutive loss. Missouri finished with just 188 total yards and failed to score a touchdown for the third consecutive game. By the time they take the field next Nov. 5 against Mississippi State, it will have been more than a month since a Tigers player hit paydirt.
DEFENSE
Ole Miss: A
A week after the Rebels were powerless to stop Memphis, they made one of the SEC’s top offenses look like an utter mess. Ole Miss held Texas A&M to fewer than 200 total yards and prevented the Aggies from scoring a touchdown for just the second time in the past five years.
Tennessee: B
Ultimately, the Vols couldn’t keep Derrick Henry out of the end zone or prevent Alabama from hitting timely plays downfield in the passing game. But Tennessee played inspired defense, led by Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who posted 11 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. The Vols finished with five sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
Auburn: C-
The Tigers actually performed fairly well in the middle stages of Saturday’s game at Arkansas; it’s the beginning and end that will haunt them. The Hogs jumped out to a 14-0 lead, running and passing at will. Auburn stiffened thereafter but couldn’t prevent Arkansas from making play after play in overtime. Three times the Tigers had the Hogs in do-or-die situations, and each time Arkansas found ways to stay alive.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Alabama: B+
Special teams have been one of Alabama’s few soft spots this season, but the unit came through when needed against Tennessee. Adam Griffith made both of this field goal attempts, JK Scott averaged nearly 50 yards per punt, and the Tide avoided getting burned by Evan Berry, one of the SEC’s most dangerous return men..
COACHING
Vanderbilt: A
Midway through his second season, Derek Mason finally has his first SEC win, and it came in fitting fashion. Mason took over as defensive coordinator this season and has the Commodores playing well on that side. In a 10-3 win over Missouri, they were at their best, holding the Tigers to 188 yards and zero third-down conversions in 14 attempts.
Arkansas: B+
Multiple times in Saturday’s four-overtime epic, it seemed that Gus Malzahn and Auburn had the Hogs on the ropes. The dominant emotion for Arkansas fans — who have seen their team fall short in close situations often in recent years — was one of dread. Credit the Arkansas coaching staff for making sure that feeling never permeated the sideline. The Hogs let a 14-point lead slip slowly away in regulation, but battled back from numerous near-loss experiences in overtime to emerge with a much-needed victory.
OVERALL
As much as Alabama and LSU look like the class of the conference, Ole Miss served notice Saturday that the Rebels aren’t dead yet. Far from it, in fact. Already holding the tiebreaker over Alabama and with a matchup against LSU still to come, Ole Miss remains very much in control of its fate.
While the race in the West could come down to the final week of the season, the East could be very nearly decided next weekend if Florida defeats Georgia. On the other hand, a Bulldogs win will leave no team in the East with fewer than two losses and will invite the kind of chaos that might take a full November to figure out.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
