SEC football roundup: Mizzou wins a wild one; Alabama and Florida keep on trucking
Roundup of SEC football games on Saturday:
Alabama 55, LSU 17: There’s no stopping that Alabama freight train. The ever-efficient Mac Jones completed 20 of 28 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns as the Tide rolled in Baton Rouge. DeVonta Smith caught eight passes for 231 yards and three of those scores. Najee Harris rushed for 145 yards and three more scores.
In total, Alabama outgained LSU 650-352 under the watchful eye of Nick Saban, who sat out last week’s win over Auburn because of COVID-19. LSU fell to 3-5. Bama is now 9-0.
Texas A&M 31, Auburn 20: The Aggies overcame a 20-14 Auburn lead to topple the host Tigers. Texas A&M rushed for a season-high 313 yards. Isaiah Spiller rushed for 120 yards on 20 carries. And Kellen Mond completed 18 of 23 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, both to tight end Jalen Wydermyer.
Jimbo Fisher’s team improved to 7-1. The Aggies are scheduled to play host to Ole Miss on Dec. 12 before finishing at Tennessee on Dec. 19. Win both and A&M is still very much in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter, Auburn dropped to 5-4. Since winning the SEC West in 2017, Gus Malzahn is 13-12 in SEC play.
Missouri 50, Arkansas 48: Talk about a wild one in Columbia. Arkansas took a 48-47 lead with 43 seconds remaining when on a two-point conversion, Missouri appeared to have a sure interception only for the ball to bounce out of the arms of Mizzou linebacker Jamal Brooks and into the arms of Arkansas receiver Mike Woods to give the Razorbacks a 48-47 lead.
No problem. Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak calmly marched the Tigers right back down the field where freshman kicker Harrison Mevis booted his fifth field goal of the day, this one from 32 yards as time expired to make Missouri 5-3.
Arkansas fell to 3-6 by allowing 27 points in the fourth quarter. And Arkansas’ defensive coordinator just happens to be ex-Missouri head coach Barry Odom. He couldn’t stop Bazelak, who completed 32 of 49 passes for 380 yards.
Florida 31, Tennessee 19: The visiting Gators didn’t need their A-game to beat back the Volunteers in Knoxville and clinch the SEC East title in the process. Kyle Trask was 35-of-49 for 433 yards and four touchdowns as Dan Mullen’s club improved to 8-1. Kyle Pitts caught seven passes for 128 yards. Kadarius Toney made eight grabs for 108 yards and a score.
Tennessee started Harrison Bailey at quarterback and the true freshman hit on 14 of 21 passes for 111 yards. The Vols were held to 334 yards overall in falling to 2-6. Jeremy Pruitt’s club has lost six straight games.
Kentucky 41, South Carolina 18: The visiting Gamecocks brought just 46 scholarship players to Lexington and it showed. UK’s Chris Rodriguez rushed for 139 yards and three scores and AJ Rose added 101 more and another TD as the Wildcats improved to 4-6.
Kevin Harris was the bright spot for USC. The sophomore running back and SEC’s leading rusher added 210 more yards to his total on 21 carries. True freshman quarterback Lue Doty completed 11 of 25 passes for just 85 yards. After the game, news broke that South Carolina is hiring Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer, son of the legendary Frank Beamer, as its new head coach.
SEC football for Saturday, Dec. 12
- LSU at Florida
- Auburn at Miss State
- Georgia at Missouri
- Ole Miss at Texas A&M
- Tennessee at Vanderbilt
- Alabama at Arkansas
