2022 [W5] SEC Weekly

[Ezaco]

New feature, who dis.

 

I'm going to try and do this weekly. No promises.

 

 

Welcome to the SEC Weekly! We'll review the SEC games from the weekend and how each team did.

 

The SEC was packed for Week 5. Not a ton of good matchups, here in the middle pack of the season, but important ones nevertheless as we really swing into conference play, especially with 12 of 14 teams in action. Auburn and Ole Miss taking some time off this weekend.

 

ALABAMA

W @ Purdue Boilermakers, 40-14: (The Crimson Tide went out of conference this weekend, taking on the Purdue Boilermakers in West Lafayette. After a slow first quarter the Tide came rolling and they simply dominated the game on air and land. 219 passing yards and 291 rushing yards (led by Chris Williams with 224), the Tide simply couldn't be stopped. The defense was just as on point, intercepting the ball twice from Purdue and forcing a fumble. They held the Boilermakers to just 322 total yards and 14 points as well, in Purdue's home stadium. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, though; two interceptions by Connor Bennett are a concern, as well as a leaky offensive line that let Bennett get sacked 3 times. Alabama is legit, but they also have legit issues they need to fix.

 

Grade: B+. A win's a win. Good wins are better, especially dominant wins. But it wasn't a great win. Purdue is still not very good, and they exploited some issues with Alabama. They are better than that - this isn't the team that lost a shutout to Western Kentucky.

 

Up next: @ Tennessee (4-1)

ARKANSAS

W vs Texas A&M Aggies (neutral), 35-33: Ah, the duality of being a Razorbacks fan. On the one hand, you've won the Southwest Classic and defeated one of your biggest rivals! (Albeit in a different venue because of an administrative snafu...) On the other hand, the NCAA handed out a harsh punishment after the game due to scheme violations. Was five scholarships worth the win? Probably, honestly. You got to watch Chris Diaz throw for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Your defense sacked A&M twice. Also, haha, A&M's Ironhead Brown (what kind of name is Ironhead?) used his iron foot and missed a PAT and the difference-making field goal from just 24 yards. A strong second quarter was matched with a staunch fourth quarter to hold on to the win. But you also let the Aggie quarterback Jordan Peterson burn you both ways - running and passing for over 200 yards each, accounting for 3 touchdowns by himself. Diaz also threw two picks and your receivers fumbled the ball twice. It's a excellent win against a 3-1 (now 3-2) Aggies team that is pretty good.

 

Grade: A-. A great effort. If the Razorbacks can maintain their pace they'll be a big danger to surprise everyone and contend for the West.

 

Up next: @ Auburn (1-3)

 

AUBURN

BYE: Nothing to see here. The Tigers are sleeping.

 

Up next: vs Arkansas (2-3)

 

FLORIDA :florida

L vs Missouri Tigers, 21-31: You know, it's not often you come out of a loss feeling good. But the Gators should feel good about themselves after that loss. Yes, they lost. However it was only a loss by 10 to the fifth-ranked team in the nation. For a team that's scraping the barrel as a bottom-five team in the country that's an amazing output and a great improvement. And those 21 point now account for almost half of Florida's points on the season... against a Top 5 team! The sun is poking through the horizon for Florida. And what a clean game too - no interceptions thrown and only one lost fumble against a team that has forced 11 turnovers this season (2nd - SEC). Two touchdowns and 279 yards from QB Morgan Neal is excellent production. If the Gators missed anything it was a ground game, with only 54 yards coming from the rush. And you have to know that anything better than that could've seen the upset the Tigers, and we'd be seeing the Gators right in the mix for the East.

 

Grade: C+. You still lost. And without any production on the ground losing is the future. It's only a creep of sunshine, not a full blast.

 

Up next: vs LSU (3-2)

 

GEORGIA :georgia:

L @ South Carolina Gamecocks 3-27: Well there was a football game played at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon... I'm just not sure the Bulldogs were there. 99 passing yards. 31 rushing yards. Two fumbles. One interception. No touchdowns. It's only a first-quarter gimme field goal that prevents the Bulldogs from being shutout. Only 10 completions out of 29 passing attempts, Georgia couldn't run the ball, couldn't pass the ball, and could barely stop the ball, forcing the Gamecocks to punt a merciful six times. The game could have been much worse for Georgia... but not by much. It's not going to get any easier any time soon, either.

 

Grade: D. And that's because you made them punt just over a handful of times.

 

Up next: @ Missouri (4-0) rip

 

KENTUCKY :kentucky:

W vs Vanderbilt Commodores, 26-7: This is a flip of Florida: You don't often come out of a win feeling bad. But the Cats have a few questions to answer coming out of this one. Vanderbilt is not just the worst team in the SEC, but the entire country. Why was this so close? Alabama creamed this team 63-0 just a week ago. Why is Kentucky allowing touchdowns? Even South Carolina didn't let Georgia score a touchdown! Even more concerning, Kentucky allowed two sacks and threw an interception. To Vanderbilt. It's a tough one to swallow, but maybe Kentucky just isn't as good as everyone feared. Is it Freshmen yips from their new quarterback, which could ruin the best year of their top running back? Or is there more? Still, Kentucky did manage over 500 yards of offense, and the did win the game, which is the point. But Kelvin Dupree failed to score at all. Kentucky needs to do more, has to do more to claw their way back into the playoff.

 

Grade: B-. You still won. And the numbers were great. But the red zone performance needs to elevate.

 

Up next: vs South Carolina (2-3)

 

LSU :lsu:

W vs Mississippi State Bulldogs, 24-3: Is there a quieter team to lead a conference than LSU? No one's talking about them. Maybe no one should, but also after today maybe more attention should be paid. When's the last time you saw a spread option offense pass for over 280 yards? (Rhetorical). RB Elijah Lopez followed that up on the ground with over 150 yards and two touchdowns. Giving up two sacks to a team you beat 24-3 (to none of your own) is a concern for the O-Line, but it won't completely mar the game. And no penalties either! A job well done to take their place atop the West.

 

Grade: A. What's there to complain about? Plug the holes on the offensive line and... score more?

 

Up next: @ Florida (1-4)

MISSISSIPPI STATE:missisippistate:

L @ LSU Tigers, 3-24: Oh we're going to just do this one back-to-back? Uh... you're bad. Maybe it's a Bulldog thing. But Mississippi State, like Georgia, simply could not - and did not - do anything. They could've stayed on the bus and played better. 70 passing yards and 39 rushing yards. No touchdowns. I guess... you didn't turn the ball over? Well done. At least De Los Santos made the game difficult for the Tigers with punting for over 56 yards on average.

 

Grade: F. No good, very bad day.

 

Up next: @ Texas A&M (3-2)

 

MISSOURI :missouri:

W @ Florida Gators, 31-21: After praising the Gators so much, what praise is left for Missouri here? Plenty, really. Aaron Leamon continued his great season with 268 yards and 3 touchdowns, complemented by his running back Ron Lucas for 155 yards and a touchdown of his own. A clean sheet on turnovers is a great day, win or lose. If there's anything to complain about it's the same as Kentucky's concern - why is a game so close against a bottom-ranked team? At least for Missouri that answer is easier: The Swamp is a hell of a place to play. Regardless the Tigers were stopped a lot - 7 punts, in addition to having to settle for a field goal 4 times. I don't know what the Gators put in the secret sauce of the Tiger's locker room to slow them down, but it'd be nice if they shared with the rest of the conference.

 

Grade: B+. A big day for the Missouri offense is slightly diminished by a head scratcher from the defense.

 

Up next: vs Georgia (2-2)

 

OLE MISS :olemiss:

BYE: Nothing to see here. The Rebels are sleeping.

 

Up next: @ Vanderbilt (1-3)

 

SOUTH CAROLINA :southcarolina:

W vs Georgia Bulldogs, 27-3: A clinic. Simple beatdown, that's what South Carolina did. And they couldn't have done it to a nicer team than their rivals, Georgia. With 255 yards in the air and three touchdowns, you'd've liked to see the Gamecocks do even more from the ground, where they only accumulated 105 yards. But that's also, simply, not their offense. QB Kemoko Allard did, however, throw one interception, which isn't... great. Even still if you're a Gamecocks fan there's nothing to really complain about this weekend.

 

Grade: A-. Well done, all around game.

 

Up next: @ Kentucky (4-1)

 

TENNESSEE :tennessee:

L @ Liberty Eagles, 20-14: Tennessee... are you okay? Do you wanna talk about it? This was supposed to be a cupcake game for the Volunteers. Easy W on the schedule, raise some money, impress some recruits... instead the nightmare simply never ended on Saturday. A passing offense that couldn't pass (158 yards and no touchdowns). Tennessee's ground game did everything it could with 182 yards and 2 touchdowns, but when the best quarterback recruit in the country can't throw the ball what else do you do? Even there a fumble by RB Aldrick Ynoa isn't a good look, and luckily it led only to a 3-and-out by the Liberty offense. So where to go from here? That's what the Volunteers need to ask themselves. Because that can't happen.

 

Grade: F+. Bad beat, but with some bright spots. The run game can save Tennessee without Savage if they have more options.

 

Up next: vs Alabama (4-1)

 

TEXAS A&M :texasa&m:

L vs Arkansas Razorbacks (neutral), 33-35: Denied. The Aggies did everything they could, but couldn't overcome the nightmare of their kicker. That missed extra point could have changed the entire game. So could have the missed field goal. But it simply wasn't to be as Arkansas kept Texas A&M at bay. The Aggies did manage to take the lead, briefly, late in the 2nd Quarter but that only lasted for a drive as the Razorbacks simply wouldn't be denied and immediately marched back down for a touchdown. Still the Aggies did take the ball away three times, with two interceptions and a fumble recovery, and moved the ball effectively on both the ground and in the air with 515 total yards of offense. They even stopped the Razorbacks, forcing 10 punts out of them - less than they had to punt themselves. Unfortunately the goal of football is to score more than the other team... and the Aggies couldn't make that part happen.

 

Grade: B. It was a great game, one they should have won.

 

Up next: vs Mississippi State (3-2)

 

VANDERBILT :vanderbilt:

L @ Kentucky Wildcats, 26-7: Maybe there's some spunk in the Commodores after all. Vanderbilt, the worst team in the country (ever?) consistently at the bottom of everyone's list. Kentucky the clear-and-above favorite to win the SEC and contend for the national title again. Vanderbilt goes into Lexington and scores a touchdown and holds the Cats to 26 points. What? Now look, the Commodores still didn't play well. And they still lost by quite a bit. But they still threw for 244 yards, sacked Kentucky's Michael Oliveros twice, and took away an interception. That's a lot of bright spots if you're looking for them (and to be a Vanderbilt fan you're begging for them). With 146 receiving yards with a touchdown from WR Matt Toliver there's a recipe for Vanderbilt to be not-the-worst-team-in-the-SEC if they can pull it together.

 

Grade: D+. Which is a lot better than they could've expected walking into the weekend.

 

Up next: vs Ole Miss (0-4)

 

 

ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (2-3): 35

TEXAS A&M (3-2): 33

 

This game had it all, from back and forth action, to good football, to on the field drama, to off the field drama. Many might consider this an upset, but the Southwest Classic - as with any rivalry - doesn't care about records. It does care about beating each other. If I'd paid any money to watch a game in person this weekend it would've been this one. Just... next time... let's play it in Arlington again, shall we?

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

RB Chris Williams, Alabama: 29 rush attempts, 5 catches, 224 rushing yards, 31 receiving yards, 2 rushing touchdowns (W @ Purdue)

 

Special mention to Arkansas' QB Chris Diaz who, if not for 2 interceptions, would be POTW.

 

CONFERENCE GRADE: C-

The SEC wants - no demands - to be the best conference in the country. This week didn't show that. Alabama went out of conference and ran Purdue off the field, but Tennessee went out of conference and embarrassed the entire group. And with lopsided victories inside the conference with some terrible football played, that won't make up for excellent football games out of Arkansas/TexasA&M and Florida/Missouri. Do better, be better.

Edited August 15, 2022 by Ezaco

[Ezaco]

Forgot player of the week. Edited in.

[Sarge]

H8 feeds the dog. Excellent write up dude! Big big props.

[Weeze]

Grade: C+. You still lost.

 

:thisisfine:

[Gigemags]

ARKANSAS

You got to watch Chris Diaz throw for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Your defense sacked A&M twice.

 

Wow, it's almost like that team was defending the run instead of being prepared for.....47 passing attempts....

[TheProfessional]

3-7 atm the moment; {Fans screaming in the back round} DEM HOGS!

[Gigemags]

Should be 2-8.... Edited October 1, 2022 by Gigemags