October 10, 2021 9:57 am ET
Florida tested Alabama a few weeks ago, and Texas A&M completed the upset this week against the Crimson Tide.
Jimbo Fisher became the first of Nick Saban’s former assistants to beat him on Saturday as the Aggies won on a field goal as time expired. Georgia is set to take over as the No. 1 team in the country after the Bulldogs beat No. 22 Auburn with relative ease.
Florida had a first half to forget on defense against Vanderbilt, but the Gators still managed to shut out the Commodores. No. 17 Ole Miss and No. 13 Arkansas combined for over 100 points and only missed overtime because the Razorbacks went for the win as time expired instead of the tie.
Here are all the results from across the SEC this week.
No. 20 Florida 42, Vanderbilt 0
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Dan Mullen was brief in his halftime interview on Saturday. After allowing Vanderbilt to get 49 snaps off in the first half, Mullen called the defensive effort “awful.” A halftime speech turned things around for the team, and Florida came away with a shut-out win over Vanderbilt.
Anthony Richardson had his worst game so far at quarterback, but starter Emory Jones threw for 273 yards and a career-high four touchdowns on the day. The Commodores struggled to get any points on the board with three missed field goals. Florida has a lot to clean up before LSU.
Texas A&M 41, No. 1 Alabama 38
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They say if “you come at the king, you best not miss,” and Jimbo Fisher didn’t miss against his old mentor Nick Saban on Saturday. After a lackluster start to the year, Texas A&M upset top-ranked Alabama in College Station on a last-second field goal. Unfortunately, two conference losses still have the Aggies at the bottom of the SEC West.
Alabama is still one of the best teams in the country, but Georgia will take over as top dog now. Depending on how the season plays out, big wins over Arkansas and Auburn to close out the year could be huge for ‘Bama’s postseason placement.
No. 2 Georgia 34, No. 18 Auburn 10
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Georgia had to face a team that could run and pass the ball effectively for the first time this season, and it went the same as the rest of the Bulldogs’ games. The Georgia defense figured out how to stop Bo Nix and the Auburn offense, allowing just one touchdown on the day. Nix was sacked four times on the day.
Stetson Bennett did fine once again starting in place of an injured JT Daniels, and Zamir White led the Bulldogs’ rushing attack with 79 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia should take over as No. 1 this week, and it’s hard to argue that there’s a better team out there right now.
No. 17 Ole Miss 52, No. 13 Arkansas 51
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Matt Corral won his redemption game against Arkansas this week after throwing six interceptions against the Razorbacks a year ago. Ole Miss and Arkansas had a shootout that only missed overtime because of Sam Pittman’s decision to go for two with no time left on the clock.
As well as Corral played, Arkansas’ K.J. Jefferson made a name for himself against a Heisman contender. When both teams score 50 points, it’s hard to any blame on the quarterback. A stop here or there could have been the difference in this one.
No. 16 Kentucky 42, LSU 21
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Kentucky continued its winning ways and picked up its fourth conference win of the year with a victory over LSU. Quarterback will Levis threw for three touchdowns and ran two more in for the Wildcats. Chris Rodriguez Jr. made it easy for Levis as he drew plenty of attention on his 16 carries that went for 147 yards.
Georgia is next week for Kentucky, and the Bulldogs will be able to stop Rodriguez. As for LSU, 3-3 has to be disappointing for a fanbase that expected a turnaround season from the Tigers.
Tennessee 45, South Carolina 20
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Josh Heupel is finally getting the fast-paced offense he had at UCF to work at Tennessee. Hendon Hooker has taken over at quarterback for Joe Milton and is 3-1 so far as a starter. He threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns against South Carolina this week.
The Gamecocks fought back in the second half after going down 35-0 in the second quarter. The final score reflected that effort, but coaches do hold back at times when their teams are up big and don’t need to prove anything more.
Missouri 48, North Texas 35
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There’s good news and bad news for Missouri after a win over North Texas. The good news is that Tyler Badie is a stud at running back. He set a career-high of 217 yards on the ground and scored three touchdowns to lead Mizzou to victory. The bad news is that the victory came by only 13 points to a C-USA team.
After giving up 62 points to Tennessee last week, Missouri is looking like one of the worse SEC teams of 2021.
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