Stellar secondaries ruled the day of SEC football on Saturday
SEC roundup:
Alabama 41, Georgia 24: Down 24-20 at the half, the Crimson Tide blanked Georgia 21-0 in the second half to knock off the third-ranked Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa. Bama quarterback Mac Jones had another big night, completed 24 of 32 passes for 417 yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver DeVonta Smith caught 11 balls for 167 yards and running back Najee Harris rushed for 152 yards on 16 carries.
Meanwhile, Georgia Coach Kirby Smart might have a decision to make. Stetson Bennett, the former walk-on quarterback who played well in the Dawgs’ first three games, struggled against the Tide defense. Bennett completed just 18 of 40 passes and was intercepted three times. Just 5-foot-11, Bennett had at least four passes knocked down at the line of scrimmage.
Smart indicated after the game he was sticking with Bennett. “I think Stetson has gotten better,” said the coach. “When the level of competition changes, you don’t change your evaluation. The experience he gained tonight will be invaluable through the rest of the run on the road.”
But Smart does have options in Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels and redshirt freshman D’Wan Mathis, who started the opener against Arkansas. And Georgia has an off week before visiting Kentucky on Oct. 31.
The win capped quite a week for Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday but received three negative tests between then and Saturday morning, allowing him to coach on Saturday night. Saban was asymptomatic. He’s also now 22-0 against his former assistants.
Kentucky 34, Tennessee 7: The Wildcats had not won in Knoxville since 1984, but Mark Stoops’ streak-busters returned two Jeremy Guarantano interceptions for touchdowns in the second quarter on the way to their largest margin of victory over the Volunteers since 1935.
LSU transfer Kelvin Joseph (41 yards) recorded the first pick-six, followed by linebacker Jamin Davis (85 yards) followed suit. Kentucky also intercepted backup J.T. Shrout and have nine interceptions over their last two games after picking off six Mississippi State passes the week before. In those two games, the UK defense has allowed just seven points. Both Kentucky and Tennessee are now 2-2.
Texas A&M 28, Mississippi State 14: Mike Leach is finding that life is not so easy in the SEC, after all. It has been all downhill since Mississippi State upset LSU in Baton Rouge to start the season. Arkansas beat MSU in Starkville. Kentucky held Leach without an offensive score for the first time in his career. And Saturday, Texas A&M held State to just 217 yards of total offense to improve to 3-1.
Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond completed 13 of 23 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Isaiah Spiller rushed for 114 yards on 18 carries. And Chase Lane caught two 35-yard passes, one for a touchdown.
Texas A&M defensive tackle Jayden Peevy summed up the SEC blueprint for taking down Leach’s “Air Raid” scheme: “Put three down front and get at the quarterback.”
South Carolina 30, Auburn 22: Will Muschamp’s defense picked off Auburn quarterback Bo Nix three times on the way to the win over the Tigers. Nix completed just 24 of 47 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown to go with the three interceptions.
Meanwhile, Gamecocks quarterback Collin Hill was 15 of 24 for 144 yards and one touchdown, with one interception. And South Carolina junior cornerback Jaycee Horn made two picks. “If there’s a better corner out there, I wanna see him,” Coach Will Muschamp said of Horn. “The guy’s an outstanding football player.”
Auburn rushed for 209 yards and outgunned the Gamecocks 481-297, but the turnovers were killers. It was South Carolina’s first win over the Tigers since 1933. And after an 0-2 start, the Men of Muschamp have won two straight. Auburn dropped to 2-2.
“We’re just going to have to be big boys, and we’re going to have to man up and put it behind us and go on to next week,” Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn said. “And find a way to win and get that good feeling back and get some momentum.”
Arkansas 33, Ole Miss 21: After winning just two games all of last season, Arkansas improved to 2-2 under new head coach Sam Pittman with it win over the Rebels. Pittman’s best move was hiring ex-Missouri coach Barry Odom to be his defensive coordinator. The Razorbacks picked off Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral six times.
Corral was 20 of 38 for just 200 yards for Coach Lane Kiffin, who saw his high-powered offense manage just 21 points despite gaining 442 yards. Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks was 21 of 34 for 244 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Wide out Treylon Burks gained 137 yards on 11 catches, including a spectacular one-handed grab in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Great headline on Bob Holt’s story for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: “Picks lead to grins for Hogs.”
SEC football schedule for Oct. 24
12:00 - Auburn at Ole Miss (SEC)
3:30 - Alabama at Tennessee (CBS)
4:00 - Kentucky at Missouri (SEC)
7:00 - South Carolina at LSU (ESPN)
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 8:33 AM.
