Alabama once again solidified its place atop the SEC -- not to mention national -- power rankings, dominating previously undefeated Mississippi State, 38-7. For its effort, the Crimson remained on top of the BCS standings.
Elsewhere across the conference, the Georgia Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels both secured thrilling wins to set up a pivotal showdown in Athens this weekend.
The Crimson Tide keeps on rolling. They brushed aside previously undefeated Mississippi State like it was a FCS team and weren’t caught looking ahead to this week’s showdown at No. 5 LSU. Alabama has trailed only 15 seconds this season and is winning by an average of 32.5 points a game.
The Tigers were off last week, but you can be assured they weren’t relaxing. They took advantage of the extra time to prepare for No. 1 Alabama, knowing that a victory would help send them back to the SEC Championship game. Freshman Jeremy Hill has been the Tigers’ go-to back the past two victories, rushing for 251 yards and three TDs.
The win over Florida was uglier than a Halloween mask, but the Bulldogs will take it. Thanks to that win, Georgia is the favorite to win the East, with conference games remaining against Ole Miss and Auburn. But this season has shown that the Bulldogs tend to play down to the competition, so they can’t afford letdowns the next two weeks.
Six turnovers and Georgia’s Jarvis Jones ruined Florida’s undefeated season, leading Gators coach Will Muschamp to reiterate how close they’ve lived on the edge. “I’ve said all season long, we’re not a team that has a lot of margin of error,” he said. Florida should be able to figure out its offensive problems against Missouri this week.
Folks have been wondering if the Bulldogs would be able to stand up against tough competition. They failed miserably in the ultimate test, but could redeem themselves against Texas A&M this week. Tyler Russell was predictably ineffective for the first time this season, joining a list of QBs who have struggled against Alabama.
Johnny Manziel bounced back like a Super Ball after being held in check by LSU, adding to his stunning numbers and growing legend in the rout of Auburn. It wasn’t Manziel’s best day, but he still had 350 yards of total offense. The Aggies have been throttled by the defenses of Florida and LSU and must face Mississippi State and Alabama the next two weeks.
The Gamecocks held off Tennessee on Saturday, but suffered a huge loss when star RB Marcus Lattimore, the heart and soul of the team, was lost for the season with a gruesome injury to his right knee the school said was dislocation with damaged ligaments. The key: The Gamecocks must rebound from his loss for the second straight year.
Hugh Freeze has made believers out of Rebels fans. He’s wasted little time turning Ole Miss into a growing threat in the West. Bo Wallace is a dual threat QB who used his arm to lead the Rebels past Arkansas for consecutive SEC wins for the first time since 2009. Ole Miss can spoil Georgia’s season this week.
The Commodores have won two in a row, and with games remaining against Kentucky, Tennessee and Wake Forest, could be on the way to a bowl – GASP – for the second consecutive year. Vandy has been blown out in only one game, but needs RB Zac Stacy to bounce back from the ankle injury he suffered on Saturday.
The Tigers well, albeit against Kentucky, so they go ahead of Arkansas. Starting QB James Franklin came off the bench to lead the Tigers past the Wildcats, even though they threw for only 87 yards. Hope they enjoy their first-ever SEC win. They run into a bunch of angry Gators this week.
It looked like the Razorbacks were shaking off their poor start with consecutive wins over Auburn and Kentucky, but Ole Miss showed them that they still have a lot of defensive issues. That’s not what coach John L. Smith needs since Arkansas has tough games against Tulsa (7-1), South Carolina, Mississippi State and LSU.
Derek Dooley’s seat is getting hotter by the moment. The Vols were 0-for-October for the second straight year under Dooley, but if they can win out – which is possible considering the remaining schedule – Dooley’s job might be saved. This is the third straight year that Tennessee has opened 0-5 in the SEC.
Joker Phillips is another coach who might be looking for work in the next couple of months. Injuries have certainly robbed the Wildcats of cohesiveness and some of their most talented players, but they had only 179 yards of offense against Missouri – only 64 after their first two drives -- and had three turnovers.
If it couldn’t get any worse for the Tigers after they allowed 671 yards to Texas A&M, the most in school history. They are off to their worst start since 1952, and with Georgia and Alabama remaining, could be faced with going winless in the SEC. Auburn might turn to freshman QB Jonathan Wallace to help salvage the season and rescue an offense that is 120th out of 120 FBS teams.
