This weekend presented some games that were very pivotal in painting the picture of what teams we will see travel to Atlanta for the SEC Championship in December. We saw a team win against an opponent they hadn’t beat since 1945.
The day started with Vanderbilt winning in Gainesville for the first time since....well, ever. i think Florida fans need to calm down with the talk of getting rid of Will Muschamp. The guy has just had his team depleted with injuries. Having depth is an important part of football, but the situation at Florida is beyond any coach’s worst nightmare.
Tyler Murphy had to throw for a season high 46 times, as Vanderbilt immediately put Florida in a bad spot from the beginning of the game. Murphy did throw for 305 yards and even completed 30 passes, but the 3 interceptions overshadowed a forced attempt to dig the the Gators out of an early 17 point deficit.
Vanderbilt has now beat 2 out of its 3 big SEC East opponents, beating Georgia and Florida. I think James Franklin has quietly put together another physical Commodore team, and he’s really changed the persona of college football in Nashville.
Missouri took care of business in all of SEC East games this year except for Connor Shaw’s heroic comeback for South Carolina. Mizzou rolled this week in Lexington with a simply dominant performance from Sophomore WR Dorial Green-Beckham. Green-Beckham caught 4 touchdowns in a game that was never really close.
The Nick Marshall and Tre Mason show continued Saturday for the Auburn Tigers in Knoxville. They combined for 331 yards on 34 carries and 5 touchdowns in a 55-23 rout of the Vols. This team really makes me excited about the Iron Bowl this year.
Arkansas remained winless in conference this weekend after giving a valiant effort in Oxford. Five years ago, it was hard to imagine the Hogs would be the worst team in the league.
The only thing that was relevant in Georgia’s 45-6 thrashing of App State was that QB Aaron Murray set the SEC All-Time TD Record by passing Danny Wuerffel in the record books.
Texas A&M hosted Mississippi State this weekend in an offensive slugfest. I was again impressed by Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott, as he ran for 146 yards. If they can find a way to make him more effective with his arm, he will be a scary threat. With Oregon losing Thursday, Johnny Manziel found his way back into the Heisman discussion. Even though Manziel threw for 5 touchdowns Saturday, he threw 3 interceptions that allowed Mississippi State to stay in the game. Texas A&M’s offense holds a streak now of 13 games with 40+ points scored, which is the longest streak in the NCAA.
The biggest matchup in the conference this week was the primetime LSU/Alabama game. This was a pretty good game until Alabama just dominated the fourth quarter. Alabama wasn’t extremely flashy in this win, but the Tide’s defense suffocated LSU’s running game, holding them to just 43 yards on 31 carries. Zach Mettenberger really did all he could do and practically had to carry himself off the field.
So no big mix-ups in the races, yet. Next weekend will help determine who Missouri’s successor will bed, should they slip against remaining SEC competition from the West, with Georgia traveling to Auburn and Florida traveling to South Carolina.
Be sure to follow me on twitter @griffaldo and check out more of my writing at chatsports.com .
No comments:
Post a Comment