SEC Week 11 Review – New Mexico State @ Alabama

Five 2nd quarter touchdowns helped Alabama to a comfortable 59-3 win over New Mexico State to start the SEC Week 11 Review off . After the 2nd possession for the visitors resulted in a field goal, the Bama defence forced the Aggies into a punt on every other possession. They only allowed 138 offensive yards, 49 of them on the field goal drive. The Crimson Tide offence was good against an average defence at best. All you can do is play what is in front of you and do it professionally, which quarterback Bryce Young and the offence did. Young finished with 21-23, 270 passing yards and 5 passing touchdowns, all in the first half.

He came out for the first series in the 2nd half and after fumbling the ball after being sacked, he was brought out of the firing line. Receiver Jameson Williams caught 3 of Young’s touchdown passes, with 158 receiving yards making it a good day at the office. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. added to his excellent season with another 2 touchdowns and 1 yard short of a 100 yard rushing game. The back-ups and freshmen came out for parts of the second half. Running back Trey Sanders added a touchdown in the 4th quarter before kicker Jack Martin got the chance to kick a field goal, which he completed to round off the scoring. Back to SEC action for Alabama next as they welcome Arkansas.

What happened here?? – Samford @ Florida

Florida rallied late to avoid an upset loss to FCS team Samford, with the Gators winning a thriller 70-52. It was the offence that stepped up to give Florida the win, with quarterback Emory Jones having his best game of the season. Jones finished with figures off 28-34, 464 passing yards and 6 passing touchdowns. The dual threat QB also lead on rushing with 84 yards and a touchdown. The Gators looked horrid on defence, giving up 530 yards to Sanford’s offence. 400 of those yards were through the air, as were 3 of the 6 touchdowns they coughed up.

It was one of the worst defensive performances in school history, with the Gators allowing 42 points in the first half. Luckily Emory Jones and the offence were on song. Jones had 3 passing touchdowns in the 3rd quarter to wrestle the game back in favour of the Gators. Samford brought it back to 4 point deficit early in the 4th quarter but Florida sealed the win with a Kemore Gamble touchdown and a 24 yard run from Damien Pierce. Wide receiver Gamble had 2 touchdowns on the day and also racked up 122 receiving yards. Even in victory, Dan Mullen is under more pressure, allowing a middle of the road FCS team to come the Swamp and put up 52 points. A reaction will be needed against Missouri next weekend.

SEC Week 11 in Review – Mississippi State @ Auburn

Mississippi State came back from 28-3 down to beat Auburn 43-34. It was the largest comeback in Bulldog school history and made sure they were Bowl eligible with 2 games remaining. Auburn got off to a great start, with touchdowns on their first 4 possessions. Running back Tank Bigsby then Bo Nix passed the ball to his left hand side to receiver Ja’Varrius Johnson who went 57 yards to the end zone untouched. The play went down as a run as Nix passed the ball backwards. Nix then had 2 more passing touchdowns in the 2nd quarter to tight end Luke Deal and wide receiver Kobe Hudson, extending the lead to 25. Just before the half, the air raid offence of the Bulldogs finally came alive.

Quarterback Will Rodgers sprayed the ball around, taking his team 75 yards downfield and finding Makai Polk. In the Second half the Bulldogs continued where they left off in the first. Another 75 yard drive was finished off when Rodgers this time found Jamire Calvin. It was the start of 4 possessions that ended in a touchdown for Mississippi State. The second one starting from their own 2 yard line and finishing with another Rodgers passing TD. The Bulldogs QB threw for 6 touchdowns, which was all of his teams scores on the day. He also had 415 receiving yards as the Air Raid diced Auburn up in the second half. The Bulldogs limited the Tigers to just 158 offensive yards and late Tank Bigsby touchdown. Before the Iron Bowl, Auburn will play South Carolina. Mississippi State have Tennessee State next.

Georgia Dominate again – Georgia @ Tennessee

After another relatively slow 1st quarter start, Georgia got to work to despatch Tennessee 41-17. On the first drive of the day it was the Volunteers that scored first with a 75 yard drive ending with quarterback Hendon Hooker finding Velus Jones Jr. to give the Vols the perfect start. Georgia answered straight back when running back James Cook wiggled through the bodies on the line of scrimmage and ran 39 yards to the comer of the end zone. Tennessee got back inside the Georgia redzone again but the Bulldogs made sure it was only a field goal they left with. The 2nd quarter started and it looked like we had a game on. As we have seen most weeks, Georgia were just warming up.

The defence limited the Tennessee offence to just 27 offensive yards on 5 possesions and also had an interception, with Derion Kendrick picking off Hooker. While the defence were playing lights out as we have been accustomed to seeing, the offence made the most of seeing the ball alot. Stetson Bennett had a 9 yard run and James Cook had another rushing touchdown, adding to the earlier field goal from Jack Podlesny.

The Damage was already done

The 3rd quarter was tight, with a 3 and out first from Georgia, Velus Jones fumbled the ball on the punt return but luckily it was recovered by Tennessee. From their own 44 yard line they managed to get into the redzone again, but this time they decided to go for it on 4th and 4. Hooker’s pass fell incomplete and Georgia had the ball again.

Georgia added a field goal in the 3rd quarter, then they added two touchdowns in the 4th. James Cook grabbed his third touchdown of the day, then after Hooker fumbled the ball when inside the opposition 7 yard line, which Georgia recovered, Kenny McIntosh made it 41-10. Tennessee added a consolation touchdown when back up QB Joe Milton found Cedric Tillman. Georgia keep on rolling and have two cupcake games to finish the season, the first being Charleston Southern. Tennessee should also win their last two games. Next up is South Alabama.

SEC Week 11 in Review – South Carolina @ Missouri

Missouri held off a late fightback from South Carolina to win 31-28. The game started with both quarterbacks throwing interceptions on their opening drives. First Gamecocks QB Jason Brown threw a pass that was intercepted by DB Kris Abrams-Draine at the Missouri 44-yard line. Four plays later and Tigers QB Connor Bazelak gave the ball back to South Carolina. This time they put points on the board when running back Kevin Harris ran in a 2-yard touchdown. After a Missouri 3 and out and a muffed punt, it was the Gamecocks who turned the ball over once again. This time MarShawn Lloyd fumbled inside the opposition redzone.

Missouri went 79 yards in 12 plays to tie the game up, with Bazelak finding Daniel Parker Jr. in the end zone. Both teams added further touchdowns in the 2nd quarter, both passing touchdowns from the quarterbacks. Just before the half the Tigers had a 70-yard possession that ended with a field goal.

Failure to break the goaline leads to loss

Missouri had 3 chances inside the opposition 7 yard line but failed to punch it home. The Tigers extended their lead to 10 points, when Gamecocks QB Brown was hit hard and lost the ball. The ball bounced into the end zone and was jumped on by Trajan Jeffcoat for the defensive touchdown.

On their next drive running back Tyler Badie got himself a touchdown to go with his 206 rushing yards on the day. That is the 4th time Badie has had a 200 yard game this season. It looked like the game had been settled but two 4th quarter touchdowns from ZaQuandre White, a rushing and receiving one, brought the score to only 3 points. South Carolina did not get the ball back as Missouri ran down the clock to give them the victory. Both teams go to 5-5 on the season, with Missouri playing Florida next and South Carolina at home to Auburn.

SEC Week 11 in Review – Kentucky @ Vanderbilt

Kentucky got to the magic 6 win mark with a 34-17 win over Vanderbilt. All the damage was done in the first half, especially in the 2nd quarter. On Kentucky’s first possession they went 85 yards down field, where quarterback Will Levis found Wan’Dale Robinson for the touchdown. Most of the yard on the play came from Robinson or running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. both having good days again for the Wildcats. Vandy answered back with a field goal, then the 2nd quarter onslaught began. Three touchdowns and a field goal gave Kentucky a 31-3 lead going into half time. Will Levis got his second touchdown pass of the day finding Izayah Cummings on the 3rd play of the drive.

On the 4th play of Vanderbilt’s next drive, quarterback Ken Seals had his pass intercepted by Jalen Geiger, who ran it home 31 yards for the pick 6. Rodriguez then got a touchdown on a 5 yard run, then kicker Matt Ruffolo slotted over a 25 yard field goal. Even Will Levis being picked off on the last play off the half when he attempted a hailmary from the Vandy 45 yard line couldn’t dampen the Wildcats first half performance. Back up Commodores QB Mike Wright came in for Seals and threw two touchdowns late on, finding Chris Pierce Jr. and Amir Abdur-Rahman for something for the home crowd remaining to cheer about. A good win for the Wildcats after last weeks agonising loss to Tennessee. They play New Mexico State next that should see them move to 7 wins. Vanderbilt are on the road to face Ole Miss next.

SEC Week 11 in Review – Arkansas @ LSU

Arkansas kicked a OT winning field goal to beat LSU 16-13 in Baton Rouge. Good defence from both sides limited the teams to just one touchdown and 2 field goals each in regular time. LSU also had 3 turnovers that didn’t help, 2 of them interceptions from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Nussmeier was poised to split reps with Max Johnson nut ended up taking full control when he came in.

Both teams exchanged field goals in the 1st quarter, then the first touchdown came 8 seconds into the 2nd. Nussmeier found Jack Bech on a 29 yard pass. A few possesions later after a bad Arkansas punt, LSU had possession on the opposition 44 yard line. 4 plays later they were on the 18 yard line but after running back Tyrion Davis-Price found himself in a wildcat formation but dropped the snap, which was then recovered by Razorback player Greg Brooks Jr.

Points left on the field that would cost them the win. In the second half Tigers kicker Cade York missed a 55 yard field goal that handed Arkansas possession at their own 37 yard line. KJ Jefferson levelled the score up when he found Dominique Johnson for a 43 yard touchdown. Both teams exchanged field goals again and the game sleepwalked into overtime. Nussmeier had his 2nd interception of the game when he tried to work the ball into the end zone and had it picked off. Arkansas needing just a field goal to win, worked it to the LSU 19 yard line where Razorbacks kicker Cam Little chipped the field goal through giving the Hogs the win. LSU need to win both games to have a .500 season. First they play Louisiana-Monroe. Arkansas have number #2 ranked Alabama.

AP Poll Battle heats up – Texas A&M @ Ole Miss

#15 ranked Ole Miss beat #12 ranked Texas A&M 29-19 to go second in the SEC West. The Rebels offence led by quarterback Matt Corall had too much for the Aggies defence, one of the best in the college. Ole Miss had a good defensive performance of their own, especially in the first half.

They shut out A&M and limited them to just 75 offensive yards and stuffing Aggies running back Isaiah Spiller inside the end zone for a safety. That topped off a first half that saw 2 successful field goals from Ole Miss kicker Caden Costa. Both times the Texas A&M stopped the Rebels offence inside their redzone to keep the score within reach. They also stopped them on a 4th and goal at their own 1 yard line, finishing off a goal line stand that started at 1st and goal at the 1 yard line.

They did manage to penetrate the Aggies end zone once in the first half. After going 94 yards downfield for a touchdown. Matt Corrall found receiver Dontario Drummond for the score. Texas A&M came out in the second half looking like a different team. They added 13 unanswered points bringing it to a 2 point game. Field goals from Seth Small either side of a Devon Achane 24 yard rushing touchdown had Ole Miss on the ropes.

Turnovers costs points

Wedged in-between the Aggies points was another turnover on downs from the Rebels again, this time at the A&M 22 yard line. After the second field goal, Ole Miss punted again. Then just when it looked like the momentum had swung in favour of the Aggies, it faded. Texas A&M quarterback Zach Calzada saw his pass bounce of the receivers hands and into the grasp off Ole Miss linebacker Ashanti Cistrunk at the Aggies 14 yard line.

On his second attempt, running back Snoop Connor got into the end zone. Next possession Calzada this time was picked off by AJ Finley. This time they didn’t need the offence on the field as Finley went 52 yards for the touchdown. Calzada composed himself on the next drive and helped get the offence into a scoring position, where Devon Achane got his second touchdown of the day. The damage was done and the game finished without another score. Achane and Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy both had over 100 yards rushing. A big win for Ole Miss who have a much easier task against Vanderbilt next week. The loss for Texas A&M blows any slim chance of catching Alabama. They play Prairie View A&M next weekend.

SEC Week 11 Review, written by Jordan Merritt @Jordm87