Best SEC Weekly Recap Out There

by Chris Paschal

The SEC finished this past weekend with a bang, placing eight teams inside the top 25. Heck, the SEC West division has more (5) than any other entire conference. The Big Ten (4) is the only conference with more ranked teams than the SEC East division (3). September was a fun month of football, but October is where it really starts to get interesting, and this past Saturday demonstrated that.

(5) LSU 19 at (22) Florida 27

This game was exactly what I thought it would be: fast, physical, and won in the fourth quarter. I still think LSU is a really good football team, but Florida reasserted itself into the upper echelon of the SEC. This offense is not going to blow you away, but it has improved game after game. Feleipe Franks is a competent, game manager at quarterback, and he showed off his arm with some great throws down the stretch. The Gators have some weapons at wide receiver with both Josh Hammond and Van Jefferson having solid outings, and they also have a stable of backs that run the ball well. Lamical Perine, Jordan Scarlett, and Kadarius Toney all averaged over 4.5 yards per carry against a stout LSU defense. Florida’s offensive line also played their best game (especially in the redzone), which helped wear down the LSU defense late in the fourth.

But let’s talk about why the Florida Gators are winning football games – their defense. 15 months ago when I was writing the 2017 Gator Preseason Preview, I was looking at this roster and felt myself getting excited. It wasn’t one specific player, but instead the sheer number of players that were highly recruited out of high school. Four-stars were backing up four-stars who were backing up four-stars. And then I realized all of those guys were sophomores and juniors and that they would all be back the following year. I said right then and there that this 2018 Florida Defense would be something straight out of Homer’s Odyssey. Let’s run through the stats so far. The Gator’s Defense has sacked the quarterback 20 times, which ranks third nationally. The Gators also rank fourth nationally in defensive efficiency, sixth nationally in pass yards allowed per game, eighth nationally in points allowed per game, and nineteenth nationally in yards allowed per game. And oh yeah, the Gators are the top defense in the entire country in fumbles recovered. This is a fast, opportunistic, talented defense that forces turnovers (returning one of them for a game-clinching touchdown) and stymies legitimate offenses. Think about this for a second, Cece Jefferson played like a man on the perimeter of this defense but didn’t show up on the stat sheet. If players are willing to do their jobs and allow others to make the plays, this defense will only continue to get better. The Gators have only one true test left which comes in the form of the second ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville. These Gators could very well finish 9-3 if not 10-2.

Lamical Perine runs the ball hard. Image from Sporting News.

As for LSU, we knew this was going to be the schedule from hell. The good news is that Joe Burrow is too mature and too much of a gamer to hang his head and roll over. This defense and run game will keep them in every game they play. Really, the only difference in the Florida game was a pick six. Besides that and the score is about as even as it could be without tying. I expect the Tigers to come out firing against Georgia. This is going to be the kind of atmosphere that this team relishes in. Underdog at home is a dangerous time to catch LSU.

(13) Kentucky 14 at Texas A&M 20

This game highlighted two key points, one for each team. First, that Texas A&M has a pretty solid football team. We have discussed ad nauseam about how Jimbo Fisher is establishing a new culture for this program. The fact he is having this kind of success with players he did not recruit is actually surprising me a little bit. I thought we could see this in 2020 or 2021, but not in 2018. Kellen Mond is playing well within the system, and the Aggies are riding on the back of Trayveon Williams deep into ball games. This defense also has shown up throughout the season. To hold Kentucky to merely 70 yards rushing was astonishing. If the Aggies come into Williams-Brice Stadium and whip the Gamecocks, I would not be surprised if this team finishes second in the SEC West behind Alabama.

Trayveon Williams (5) is a key player for Texas A&M. Image from USA Today.

Second, we learned that Kentucky has the mental and intestinal fortitude to compete in the SEC. Nothing seemed to go right. The Wildcats couldn’t get the run game going, and at times looked to abandon it all together (how do you not hand the ball off to Benny Snell Jr. in overtime??), but they hung in there. Terry Wilson proved that while he isn’t going to go out and win a game for the Wildcats, he also isn’t going to lose one. This Kentucky defense also showed a lot of resolve, hanging in there and fighting when the Kentucky offense showed no life. The defense could have rolled over and had a defeatist mindset due to the offense’s inability to get in the endzone, but they didn’t. In fact, in remarkable fashion, the defense was able to score some points of their own late in the fourth quarter off of a fumble return for a touchdown. Kentucky isn’t beating Georgia, but 10-2 is not unrealistic.

Missouri 35 at South Carolina 37

This might have been the most wild game I have ever attended. During the first half, I thought the stadium might burst into flames because it was so hot. I was in the shade and still dying. Then, out of nowhere, the heavens opened up. It was hard to see the field at times in the second half due to the rain. Then there was close to an hour long lighting delay with just 2 minutes left in the game.

Somehow, through it all, South Carolina was able to kick a late field goal to win it. Michael Scarnecchia started his first ever game for the Gamecocks as a fifth year senior (one of the last Spurrier-era players left on the roster) and performed remarkably. He threw for 249 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. On the other hand, Missouri’s Drew Lock had a rough outing throwing more incompletions than completions and two interceptions, including one that was taken back for a touchdown. Missouri did look great on the ground, however, gashing South Carolina multiple times throughout the game. Part of that was due to one of the more horrific tackling performances I have ever seen, but part of that was also due to great blocking schemes and talented backs. Missouri has now lost three straight to South Carolina. This was an important game not in terms of 2018, but more so in terms of 2019 and beyond. By winning this game, South Carolina was able to stop the bleeding and continue showing resolve and toughness week in, week out. The Gamecocks will have to figure some things out before taking on Texas A&M, but going into that game 3-2 instead of 2-3 is massive.

Michael Scarnecchia became a cult figure in Columbia this past Saturday. Image from Orlando Sentinel.

(8) Auburn 9 at Mississippi State 23

I have a tradition of re-watching every SEC game I wasn’t able to watch on Saturday. I almost ended that tradition with this game. I think my eyeballs started bleeding at one point. Hats off to Nick Fitzgerald for breaking Tim Tebow’s record for most career rushing yards by a quarterback, but Tim Tebow also threw the ball a little bit. The Mississippi State rushing attack showed up and ran on a solid Auburn defense, but they also threw for less than 70 yards and an interception. That’s why it’s tough for Mississippi State to compete in the West. There has to be some balance. That being said, there are a lot of future NFL Draft Picks on the Auburn defensive line, so rushing for over 300 yards was impressive.

Auburn is in a bad spot right now. This offense has regressed and the defense is starting to wear. Jarrett Stidham is not having the season I thought he would have, and besides a few flashes from JaTarvious Whitlow, this rushing attack is a shadow of what it was last year. Auburn still has a lot of football ahead, but 8-4 looks like it might be the ceiling for the Tigers this season. Ryan Davis and Darius Slayton can’t be the only weapons. For the Tigers to play better this offensive line needs to wake up and Whitlow, Asa Martin, and Chandler Cox need to start playing Auburn football.

This picture pretty much summarizes the entire game. Image from Montgomery Advertiser.

Alabama and Georgia

I think these are two playoff contenders. Just that simple. Both of these teams handled business against inferior opponents. Both offenses are dynamic and balanced. Both Jake Fromm and Tua Tagovailoa are two of the best quarterbacks in the country. Both have tremendous backups. Both have excellent athletes on defense. You get my point. Georgia has a tougher road ahead of them with trips to Baton Rouge and Jacksonville still left on the schedule. Alabama has a trip to Baton Rouge, as well, but Mississippi State and Auburn don’t look to be the types of teams that can challenge for the West.

Jake Fromm is a top tier quarterback. Image from Getty Images.

Arkansas

 The Hogs scored 31 on Alabama. Flashes of what Chad Morris can do for this Arkansas offense were seen in Tuscaloosa this weekend. Even better news, the Hogs are killing it on the recruiting trail. The Razorbacks are stockpiling 4-stars at wide receiver (crucial for Chad Morris’s offense) and along the defensive line (crucial to compete in the SEC). Hudson Henry might be the final piece in what would be an incredible first recruiting class for Chad Morris.