SEC football roundup: What happened to Georgia’s once stingy defense?
SEC football roundup from Saturday:
Florida 44, Georgia 28: So much for Georgia’s defense being one of the best in the country. The Bulldogs gave up 474 yards through the air and another 97 on the ground in falling to 4-2 and probably out of the SEC East race. Florida would have to lose twice more for Georgia to have a shot at going to Atlanta.
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask hit on 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards and four touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Running back Malik Davis caught five passes for 100 yards. The Gators scored 24 points in the second quarter, then held Georgia to just a touchdown in the second half.
Georgia’s quarterback problems continued. Stetson Bennett suffered a right shoulder AC sprain during the game. He completed just five of 16 passes for 78 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Over his last three games, Bennett is 32 of 69 with three touchdowns and six interceptions.
Why did Georgia go to quarterback D’Wan Mathis in relief instead of Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels?
“Right now, we feel like the other two give us a better shot,” Georgia Coach Kirby Smart said. “They have more of a body of work. I don’t think, necessarily, that he has anything with his knee. He doesn’t wear his brace anymore. He reps. He takes reps with the scout team and gives us a good look. He’s still rolling and getting better in the offense.”
Texas A&M 48, South Carolina 3: The Aggies are trying to make the case they deserve consideration for the College Football Playoff. The Texas A&M defense held South Carolina to just 150 total yards in Columbia. USC was 15 of 27 for 100 yards passing while running the football 25 times for just 50 yards.
A&M quarterback Kellen Mond completed 16 of 26 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns. Isaiah Spiller rushed for 131 yards on 18 carries as a balanced Aggies attack rushed for 264 yards and threw for 266 more.
“The Aggies held the Gamecocks to 2 yards or less on 34 of 53 plays,” wrote Robert Cessna of the Bryan/College Station Eagle. “While A&M scored 48 points mainly because of its offensive line, South Carolina looked stuck in the mud because its line couldn’t keep the Aggies’ defensive front from applying pressure. The Gamecocks couldn’t run between the tackles and didn’t have speed to get wide. South Carolina was 12 of 28 passing for 100 yards with two interceptions. It had only two plays gain more than 19 yards.”
South Carolina Coach Will Muschamp on being booed at home: “I hope they’re pissed off.”
Arkansas 24, Tennessee 13: Down 13-0 at the half, the Razorbacks rallied to shock the Volunteers with 24 points in the third quarter. Arkansas quarterback Feleipe Franks was 18 of 24 for 215 yards and three touchdowns passing. Over his last two games, Franks is 41 of 55 for 454 yards with six touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Tennessee struggled after quarterback Jarrett Guarantano left the game with an injury. Coach Jeremy Pruitt used two different quarterbacks without much luck. Brian Mauer missed on all four his pass attempts. Harrison Bailey, a true freshman, was six of nine for 65 yards and two interceptions.
The Vols have now lost four straight games since beating Missouri 35-12 on Oct. 3. And they have Texas A&M next week. Pruitt is now 15-16 overall and 9-13 in the SEC as the Tennessee coach. After winning two games each of the last two seasons under Chad Morris, Arkansas is now 3-3 under first-year coach Sam Pittman.
Knoxville News-Sentinel headline: “Tennessee football is in the toilet, and this season needs to be flushed.”
“Freshman running back Dee Beckwith didn’t bother with the carefully selected words when he fired off a tweet shortly after the game ended.
“’This s--- doesn’t make any sense!’ Beckwith wrote in a since-deleted tweet.”
Mississippi State 24, Vanderbilt 17: Mississippi State carried a 17-0 lead into halftime and held on to beat the winless Commodores. MSU Coach Mike Leach went with freshman Will Rogers at quarterback. Roger was 35 of 46 for 226 yards passing with one touchdown.
Vanderbilt actually outgained the Bulldogs 458-204 and sacked Rogers three times for 31 yards in loss. But the Commodores were done in by turnovers. Quarterback Ken Seals was 31 of 46 for 336 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted by three times. That negated a 115-yard rushing effort from Keyon Henry-Brooks on 20 carries. He also caught 11 passes for 97 yards.
According to Adam Sparks of the Tennessean, the Commodores continue to experience COVID-19 players. They had only 58 scholarship players available Saturday.
SEC games Saturday, Nov. 14
- 12:00 - Georgia at Missouri (ESPN)
- 12:00 - Vanderbilt at Kentucky (SEC)
- 3:30 - Texas A&M at Tennessee (ESPN)
- 4:00 - Auburn at Mississippi State (SEC)
- 6:00 - Alabama at LSU (SEC)
- 7:00 - Arkansas at Florida (ESPN)
- 7:30 - South Carolina at Ole Miss (SEC)
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 10:24 AM.
