Georgia State- 3 vs (1) Alabama- 45
To no surprise, Alabama embarrassingly dominated Georgia State. After taking a 35-0 lead with 6:11 minutes left in the first half, Alabama began pulling starters, including AJ McCarron. McCarron had completed 15 of 16 of his passes for 166 yards and four touchdowns before leaving the game. His reliever, Blake Sims, added another 130 yards and a touchdown to Alabama’s passing totals. The Crimson Tide had 15 different players catch at least one pass. Alabama also had seven different ball carriers rush for a total of 181 yards on 30 carries. On defense, Alabama played up to typical SEC standards. They allowed 160 passing yards, but even more impressive was that Georgia State could only muster up 15 yards through the ground on 22 carries.
(6) Georgia- 44 vs Tennessee- 41
For the second week in a row, Georgia escapes near defeat with a stunning victory over a fellow SEC opponent. Despite completing a mediocre 54% of his passes and throwing for just under 200 yards, Georgia’s Aaron Murray threw three touchdowns accompanied by zero interceptions. Although, freshman running back JJ Green was the catalyst of Georgia’s offense. On just 17 carries, Green ran for 126 yards, which set up multiple Aaron Murray touchdown passes.
Tennessee’s offense was a mirror image of Georgia’s. Justin Worley completed 55% of his passes and threw for 215 yards. The only noticeable difference between him and Murray was that Worley only had one touchdown, as opposed to three. Through the ground, Rajion Neal made the Georgia front seven miserable as he smashed through for 148 yards and two scores.
(24) Ole Miss- 22 vs Auburn- 30
Auburn defended their home turf against the ranked forces of Ole Miss. Auburn’s Nick Marshall threw for less than 100 yards, but made up for it with his legs. Marshall scampered and scrambled around for 140 yards and two touchdowns on his 14 rushing attempts. Running back Tre Mason did little to support Marshall as he ran for a lowly 77 yards on 21 attempts. Oddly, Ole Miss’ offensive attack was the polar opposite of Auburn’s. Bo Wallace threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns, but nullified it with his two interceptions. Wallace’s success can be largely credited to Donte Moncrief. He had 122 receiving yards and both of Wallace’s touchdowns on only six receptions.
Arkansas- 10 vs (18) Florida- 30
In an ugly showing of offenses, Florida’s defense and safe offensive play locked up the win. While neither team ran the ball effectively (both teams ran for less than 125 yards), Florida was able to put together an impressive passing game. Tyler Murphy was 16-of-22 with 240 yards and three passing touchdowns. His favored receiver for the game, Solomon Patton, caught six passes for 124 yards and two of Murphy’s three touchdowns. Arkansas’ Brandon Allen was not nearly as impressive. Allen was 17-of-41 with 164 yards and an interception. He did not throw a touchdown. Well, not to his team. His interception was returned for a touchdown by Florida’s Loucheiz Purifoy.
(10) LSU- 59 vs Mississippi State- 26
LSU’s ability to finish drives and find the end zone better than Mississippi State was ultimately the reason for their success. Jeremy Hill’s dominant 157 yard and two touchdown performance, which came from only 16 carries, opened up LSU’s offense and enabled Zach Mettenberger to pick Mississippi State apart. With the defense respecting Hill, Mettenberger completed 25 of his 29 attempts for 340 yards. He also had two touchdowns, but his game record is slightly tarnished by his one interception.
Mississippi State utilized two different quarterbacks, Tyler Russell and Dak Prescott. The duo combined for 252 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Prescott’s dual threat ability is completely opposite of Russell’s pocket passing style of play. Prescott ran for 103 yards and a touchdown, while Russell had negative seven yards rushing. Behind Prescott, the next best rusher was LaDarius Perkins with 81 yards on 10 carries.
Missouri- 51 vs Vanderbilt- 28
James Franklin had an eye-popping outing against Vanderbilt, especially in terms of passing. He totaled 341 yards, 278 of which were through the air. Along with his copious amount of yards, Franklin threw four touchdowns without throwing an interception. Missouri’s top three rushers, sans Franklin, had a total of 176 yards on 27 carries, including two touchdowns (both from Henry Josey). Vanderbilt’s Austyn Carta-Samuels was able to put together a respectable game as he threw for 338 yards, two touchdowns, and only one interception. His primary target, Jordan Matthews, had 123 yards on 7 receptions, as well as one touchdown. The duo received little help from their running back corps that was averaging a measly 3.4 yards per carry.
Kentucky- 28 vs (13) South Carolina- 35
Early in the second quarter, South Carolina took a 21-0 lead and had seemed to have locked up the victory, but Kentucky fought on. Kentucky quarterback Jalen Whitlow threw for 178 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions, as well as rushing for 69 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately for him, Connor Shaw both outplayed Whitlow and had more support from his South Carolina surrounding cast. Shaw was a stunning 17-of-20 passing for for 262 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions. On top of his passing dominance, Shaw ran for 50 yards and a touchdown. Running back Mike Davis ran for over 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns.