After two weeks of football, trio of teams have risen to the top of the SEC East
After two weeks of play, looks like we have a clear line of demarcation in the SEC East, Mike Leach finds you can quickly go from hot to not in the SEC West and Alabama just keeps on trucking.
On the East side of the ledger in this all-SEC season, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are all off to 2-0 starts, while Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt are all 0-2. Alabama leads the SEC West at 2-0, while every other team in the division sits 1-1.
Georgia dominated Auburn 27-6 in Saturday’s marquee matchup in the conference. The Bulldogs ran it at, over and around Auburn on the way to a 24-3 lead at the half. Georgia ended up with 202 yards on the ground, led by Zamir White’s 88 yards on 19 carries. Meanwhile, quarterback Stetson Bennett, the former walk-on making his first Division I start, was steady as she goes, completing 17 of 28 passes for 240 yards and a touchdown without an interception.
Auburn couldn’t get anything going all night. Gus Malzahn’s team was held to 39 yards on the ground after 22 carries. Bo Nix was just 21-of-40 for 177 yards with an interception. Seth Williams, who made two huge grabs in Auburn’s win over Kentucky the previous week, was held to just three catches for 34 yards.
Florida’s offense showed out again in the Gators’ 38-24 victory over South Carolina. After throwing six touchdown passes in the Week 1 win over Ole Miss, quarterback Kyle Trask was 21-for-29 for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Kyle Pitts caught two of those touchdown throws and Kadarius Toney totaled 86 yards and a score on his six receptions.
South Carolina quarterback Collin Hill did completed 28 of 47 passes for 212 yards and a couple of scores. Wideout Shi Smith made 12 receptions for 85 yards and a TD but Will Muschamp’s team is off to an 0-2 start.
The day’s biggest surprise happened in Starkville where Mississippi State went from penthouse to outhouse in a hurry. After beating defending national champ LSU 44-34 last week in Baton Rouge and in Leach’s debut as the MSU coach, the Bulldogs were upset 21-14 by visiting Arkansas on Saturday night. The win was Arkansas’ first conference victory since 2017, snapping a 20-game league losing streak.
The Razorbacks picked off Mississippi State quarterback K.J. Costello three times. Meanwhile, Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks, the transfer from Florida, completed 20 of 28 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns. De’Vion Warren caught four passes for 100 yards, including a 52-yard strike. Mississippi State’s Kylin Hill carried the ball one time for 7 yards before leaving the game with an injury.
The day’s most exciting game happened in Lexington, with Ole Miss beating Kentucky 42-41 in overtime to give Lane Kiffin his first win as the Rebels’ coach. Kentucky rushed for 408 yards, but basically lost the game when (a) its defense could not stop the Rebels in the second half and (b) it missed an extra point in overtime.
LSU rebounded from its season-opening loss to pound Vanderbilt 41-7 in Nashville. John Emery Jr. rushed for 100 yards on just 12 carries while quarterback Myles Brennan threw for four touchdowns. Brennan was 23-for-37 for 337 yards while Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals completed just 11 of his 25 passes for 113 yards with a TD and two interceptions.
Tennessee won its eighth straight game, dating back to last year, whipping Missouri 35-12 in Knoxville. Eric Gray rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Missouri’s Connor Bazelak made a case to be the team’s starting quarterback after completing 13 of 21 passes for 218 yards. He was intercepted once.
And, oh yeah, there’s Alabama. So much for those predicting Texas A&M would be the nation’s most improved team in 2020. The Aggies were steamrolled 52-24 in Tuscaloosa. Alabama quarterback Mac Jones hit on 20 of 27 passes for 435 yards and four scores. Bama led 35-14 at the half and never looked back.
SEC football schedule for Oct. 10
- Noon - Florida at Texas A&M (ESPN)
- Noon - South Carolina at Vanderbilt (SEC)
3;30 - Tennessee at Georgia (CBS)
- 4:00 - Arkansas at Auburn (SEC)
- 6:00 - Alabama at Ole Miss (ESPN)
- 7:30 - Mississippi State at Kentucky (SEC)
- 9:00 - Missouri at LSU (ESPN)
This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 10:11 AM.
