Around the SEC: How the Rest of the League Fared in Week Three

Whacky is a good word to describe week three of the SEC slate. Only two teams remain undefeated after Florida and Tennessee went down on Saturday, while Auburn was lucky to escape against Arkansas with a win and LSU is 1-2 for the first time since 1996.

When the dust settled from the weekend, the two teams that have dominated the SEC for the past four years rose to the top: Alabama and Georgia. They’re now set for a titanic showdown next Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

With 30% of the season in the books, let’s wrap up week three.

Texas A&M (2-1) 41, Florida (2-1) 38

A lot of the talk after the game centered around how bad Florida’s defense is. The Gators gave up over 13.5 yards per reception, 5.5 yards per rush, and over 500 yards of offense. So, yes, the Gators defense is bad, but, this was arguably Kellen Mond’s best game as an Aggie.

Mond completed 69% of his passes, throwing for nearly 340 yards, and three touchdowns while committing no turnovers.

What was most impressive was his ability to throw accurately under pressure. He repeatedly stood in the pocket with free blitzers running at him and delivered accurate throws to pass catchers in single coverage.

Isaiah Spiller was just as impressive, gashing Florida for 174 yards and two touchdowns.

For Florida, this game should serve as a wake-up call for a defense that is going to hold back what is on track to be one of the best offenses in Florida history. Kyle Trask threw for over 300 yards and didn’t turn the ball over either. If the defense doesn’t even become just okay, it’s going to render Trask’s Heisman-caliber season futile.

Next up: Florida vs. LSU (1-2), Texas A&M @ Mississippi St. (1-2)

Missouri (1-2) 45, LSU (1-2) 41

What a moment for Eli Drinkwitz. The first-year Missouri head coach picked up his first Power-Five win by defeating the defending national champions in a shootout that saw his back-up quarterback Connor Bazelak throw for over 400 yards. Not to mention, Larry Rountree, who was tabbed as a top-three SEC running back a season ago found his groove, picking up 119 yards on the ground and over 6.5 yards a carry.

However, the bigger story might be how bad LSU’s defense is. That side of the ball for LSU looks disinterested and like they’d rather be anywhere else. The unit is allowing over six-yards a play through three games, and that’s with the Vanderbilt cushion.

Not to mention, Mississippi State has scored 14 offensive points in their two games since dropping 44 on LSU in week one, and Missouri hadn’t broken 20 points since Saturday. When head coach Ed Orgeron said the defense looked better under first-year defensive coordinator Bo Pelini, I don’t think this is what he meant.

The offense is very, very good for LSU as Myles Brennan threw for 430 yards, four touchdowns and seemed to find solid chemistry with freshman stud tight end Arik Gilbert throughout the game (6 rec, 97 yards, 1 TD), along with returning receiver Terrance Marshall (11 rec, 235 yards, 3 TD).

Next up : LSU @ Florida (2-1), Missouri @ Vanderbilt (0-3) in week 5.

Georgia (3-0) 44, Tennessee (2-1) 21

For the first 30 minutes of this game, it looked like Tennessee was legitimately back. After Jarrett Guarantano found Josh Palmer for two quick touchdowns in the second quarter, the Vols got a goal-line stop as time expired in the 1st half, and it was 21-17 Tennessee at the half, I thought they’d hang around.

Alas, it was not to be. The Georgia defense dug its heels in and allowed 39 yards on the ground taking away sack yardage. They also forced two massive turnovers, stripping Guarantano twice and returning one for a touchdown that solidified the blow-out win.

They sacked Guarantano five times and allowed only 22 minutes of total possession for the Volunteers.

Stetson Bennett was steady, throwing for just under 240 yards and made important, accurate throws when need be. He rebounded well after a shotgun snap on the opening drive went into the endzone that Tennessee recovered and used to go up 7-0 early.

Georgia looks like the class of the SEC East again, and unless Florida fixes its defensive issues, it’s all but a lock the Dawgs will be Atlanta bound once again.

Next up: Georgia @ Alabama (3-0), Tennessee vs. Kentucky (1-2)

Auburn (2-1) 30, Arkansas (1-2) 28

One could argue Sam Pittman is the best first-year head coach in the SEC with what he’s doing at Arkansas. He hung with Georgia in the season opener, knocked off Mississippi St and Mike Leach, and arguably should have beaten Auburn on Saturday.

The Razorbacks showed a lot of fight, rallying from 17-0 down and again once down 27-18. They had a chance to secure a 28-27 win after taking over after an Auburn missed field goal with two-and-a-half minutes left to play, but couldn’t pick up a first down and punted back to the Tigers. Controversy ensued after a Bo Nix spike ended up being a fumble, but the play was called dead before Arkansas ended up recovering the fumble.

Feleipe Franks played fantastic, completing 70% of his passes in the pouring rain, throwing for over 300 yards and four touchdowns. Arkansas also may have found another weapon in running back Trelon Smith, who had two scores and 150 yards of offense.

Auburn is still concerning. Yes, they ran the ball very well with Tank Bigsby, who had 146 yards, but Bo Nix was once again a liability. He struggled under pressure and wasn’t able to consistently sustain drives.

Next up: Auburn @ South Carolina (1-2), Arkansas vs. Ole Miss (1-2)

South Carolina (1-2) 41, Vanderbilt (0-3) 7

This was the game Will Muschamp and South Carolina badly needed. They handled Vanderbilt with ease, rushing for 289 yards as a team and scoring all five touchdowns on the ground.

Kevin Harris has been the most consistent player for the Gamecocks through the first three games of the season, averaging over 100 yards a game and nearly six yards a carry.

For Vanderbilt, it’s going to be a long season. After they played Texas A&M close in week one, they’ve been outscored 82-14 in their last two games.

It was going to be a rough year for Derek Mason and the Commodores, COVID-19 adjusted season or not, but there’s a strong possibility they go 0-10. One bright spot could be the defensive line, which tallied eight tackles for losses, two sacks and seven QB hurries.

Perhaps this was the game for South Carolina to get back on track and be a competitive team in the SEC East going forward.

Next up: South Carolina vs. Auburn (2-1), Vanderbilt @ Missouri (1-2)

Alabama (3-0) 63, Ole Miss (1-2) 48

Maybe the most fun game of the day. The two offenses combined for the most yards in a single SEC game in history with 1,370 combined, offensely.

Alabama quarterback Mac Jones threw for over 400 yards again, Najee Harris had 206 rushing yards and five touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide didn’t score on only two drives, with one ending on a fumble at the Ole Miss one-yard line.

The Rebels defense is really bad, but their offense is explosive. Matt Corral played a fantastic game, throwing for 365 yards and averaging 13 yards per attempt. He didn’t turn the ball over and routinely got out of pressure, making clutch throws on the move.

The ground-game was also dynamic for Ole Miss. Snoop Conner and Jerrion Ealy each ran for over 120 yards and two touchdowns and averaged over six yards a carry.

The only question is, does this tell us more about the Ole Miss offense, or the Alabama defense? The Tide did give up a lot of yardage to Texas A&M prior to the week despite a blowout win, and they looked very poor in the open field making tackles. The run defense is going to have to tighten up with Georgia coming to town next week.

Next up: Alabama vs. Georgia (3-0), Ole Miss @ Arkansas (1-2)

Kentucky (1-2) 24, Mississippi State (1-2) 2

Mississippi State has taken the biggest fall from grace over the past three weeks of any team in the league. They knocked off LSU on the road to open the season, then give Arkansas their first SEC win since 2017, and followed that by failing to score an offensive point against a Kentucky defense that was allowing over 30 points a game.

KJ Costello went from being arguably the conference's best quarterback to one of the worst. He’s thrown nine interceptions in three games, including four against Kentucky. His backup Will Rogers threw two interceptions as well.

The Bulldogs moved the ball at times and got deep into Kentucky territory numerous times. But, Costello and Rogers each through red-zone picks. One of Costello’s interceptions was returned for a walk-in touchdown and another was returned to the two-yard line.

Kentucky didn’t do much on offense, picking up a mere 157 yards in total. They had only 25 minutes of possession and were 4-14 on third down. Yet, they found a way to win and pick up their first win of the season.

Next up: Kentucky @ Tennessee (2-1), Mississippi State vs. Texas A&M (2-1)