Week 6 featured the cream of the SEC crop rising to the top. It also cleared the picture a little bit in the SEC East and made the SEC West a three team race. And Mississippi State finally recovered from their loss against Auburn.
Mississippi State Bulldogs 21, UAB Blazers 3
Mississippi State was down 3-0 throughout the entire first half. The Bulldogs looked like a beaten team ever since they couldn’t convert on the last play against Auburn. Backup QB Tyler Russell threw three touchdowns in relief of Chris Relf to lead Miss St. to the win. Strangely enough, the game was played in Birmingham, but that shouldn’t explain why the Bulldogs played so poorly in the first half. This could be Russell’s team for the rest of the season if he keeps it up.
Kentucky Wildcats 3, #18 South Carolina Gamecocks 54
Looks like head coach Steve Spurrier made the right decision starting QB Connor Shaw over Stephen Garcia. Shaw had a career day, throwing for 311 yards and four touchdowns. RB Marcus Lattimore also rushed over the century mark with 102 yards. After this game, I think the QB controversy in Columbia is over. Shaw proved he deserves to start. The question is, will we see Garcia again in his senior season? South Carolina finally showed the consistency they’ve missed all season. Let’s see if they can continue it.
#17 Florida Gators 11, #1 LSU Tigers 41
This was a beatdown of epic proportions that is broken down further here.
#15 Auburn Tigers 15, #10 Arkansas Razorbacks 38
In what I thought would be a shootout turned out to be a blowout. Arkansas proved it deserves to be in conversations for the SEC West with QB Tyler Wilson running their offense perfectly. Wilson ended the day with two passing TDs and one rushing TD. The real story was the Razorback defense showing up and shutting down the always dangerous Auburn offense. Arkansas got their best defensive player back in DE Jake Bequette and forced three turnovers to seal this game. Auburn may also have a QB controversy on their hands with Barrett Trotter struggling. The only good part is the other three QB’s Gene Chizik threw out there struggled just as much. This proved that Auburn won’t likely compete in the SEC this season and Arkansas is a darkhorse candidate to play for a BCS bowl once again.
Vanderbilt Commodores 0, #2 Alabama Crimson Tide 34
And the Tide keep rolling. Vanderbilt is going to surprise some teams this season. But not a team as strong as Alabama. Crimson Tide QB A.J. McCarron had a career day, throwing for 237 yards and four touchdowns in the Tide’s romp. Alabama’s defense held Vandy’s offense to 190 total yards and caused two turnovers. And RB Trent Richardson ran for 100+ yards again, coming in at 107 yards. No surprises here. ‘Bama’s good.
Georgia Bulldogs 20, Tennessee Volunteers 12
This was an extremely intriguing game. Both teams still had an outside chance at winning the East. Georgia showed that they could be a force to be reckoned with in the East, coming into Neyland Stadium and beating the Vols. Mark Richt hit a personal milestone with his 100th career victory, but I’m not sure it made his seat any cooler. But the way his team played did. Dawg’s RB Isaiah Crowell ran for two touchdowns and the UGA defense kept Tennessee QB Tyler Bray in check to win the game. If Georgia continues to play like this, then they have a chance to represent the East in the SEC Championship. And that would certainly get Richt off the hot seat.
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