Mississippi State- 16 vs South Carolina- 34
Just when it appeared as if Dak Prescott may be able to take full control of this Mississippi State team, he throws three interceptions and zero touchdowns in a disgusting loss to South Carolina. In his defense, he ran for a pair of touchdowns. Nonetheless, he failed to be an effective passer, which is the quarterback’s main responsibility.
Reversely, South Carolina’s Connor Shaw proved that he is a legitimate leader. He may have only completed half of his 20 passing attempts, but four of them went for touchdowns.
To no surprise, Mike Davis of South Carolina shredded another defense. His 15 carries went for 128 yards; an average of 8.5 yards per carry.
Georgia- 23 vs Florida- 20
As it often is, the Florida-Georgia game was a thriller that came down to the wire. At the half, Georgia led 23-3 and it seemed as if Florida had no chance. All of the sudden, Florida stepped up their play on both sides of the ball. Their defense shut out Georgia in the second half and their offense was able to string together a couple of scoring drives. In the end, Florida’s offense, with no thanks to offensive coordinator Brent Pease, could not finish the game with a touchdown to take the lead and Georgia’s offense kept their drive alive long enough to end the game. In what seemed like a repeat of last year, Todd Gurley slaughtered the tough Florida defense. On his 20 total touches, carries and receptions combined, Gurley totaled 187 yards and two touchdowns and was ultimately the game changer for the Bulldogs. His skillset along with Florida’s lack of competent linebacker play and containment of the second level allowed Gurley to have a field day.
(11) Auburn- 35 vs Arkansas- 17
Auburn’s offensive attack was completely lopsided in favor of running the ball, but as the saying goes, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” Auburn did just that. Nick Marshall only threw eight passes. Seven of his eight passes were completed and went for 118 yards and a touchdown. The real difference maker was Tre Mason. Mason’s 32 rushing attempts went for 168 yards and an amazing total of four touchdowns.
Identical to every week prior, Arkansas heavily favored their deadly rushing attack. Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams split 33 carries to accumulate 196 yards. Their total was 84 yards more than quarterback Brandon Allen passed for. Shockingly, he was able to play a turnover-free football game. Although, his performance was not commanding enough to vault Arkansas’ offense over that of Auburn’s.
Tennessee- 3 vs (9) Missouri- 31
Tennessee came in with high hopes for freshman quarterback Josh Dobbs, but he played as should have been realistically expected: like a freshman. He was not able to throw for a touchdown or even lead his team down the field well enough for the running backs to plow into the end zone. Not only that, but he surrendered two interceptions to Missouri.
The other freshman quarterback, Missouri’s Maty Mauk, played like a seasoned veteran. His three passing touchdowns were not accompanied by any interceptions. To add to his dominance, Mauk had 13 carries that went for 114 yards.
Once again, Missouri slipped past another SEC opponent and raised their conference record to 4-1, raising their chances to be the SEC East champion.
Alabama State- 14 vs Kentucky- 48
Kentucky’s Jalen Whitlow flashed his athleticism as he ran for 101 yards and two touchdowns to accompany his 186 passing yards and pair of passing touchdowns. Kentucky’s only other offensive touchdown came via Jojo Kemp on a seven-yard run into the end zone.
Alabama State’s Isaiah Crowell, formerly at Georgia, only had 12 carries, but he made the most of them. He ran for 84 yards, as well as finding the end zone once for a touchdown.
UTEP- 7 vs Texas A&M- 57
Johnny Manziel took advantage of UTEP and used them as a stat-padder for his Heisman campaign. Manziel scored six touchdowns, four passing and two rushing. Although, he only totaled 340 yards due to good field position that can be credited to the defense.
To no surprise in a game against UTEP, Texas A&M’s defense actually dominated their opponent. They have been struggling all year long, but last Saturday, the Aggies defense allowed just under 200 yards and forced four turnovers, three of which were interceptions.