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1. Well, it's game week, and it's one hell of an opportunity for Ole Miss.
The Rebels are 3-0, fresh and pretty healthy as they head to Tuscaloosa to face the nation's top team and top program on Saturday afternoon (2:30, CBS).
There's an expectation around the country that Ole Miss is poised to knock off the Crimson Tide, and make no mistake, I think the Rebels have a real shot to do just that. On other other hand, I still maintain this is a free shot for Ole Miss.
It's a complicated equation, really. On one hand, I believe Ole Miss has the best quarterback in the country in Matt Corral. He lit up Alabama a year ago in Oxford and he's better this year -- while the Tide's defense isn't. Lane Kiffin and Jeff Lebby are an elite offensive play-calling duo, and they'll likely have some surprises for Pete Golding and the Tide defense.
Additionally, Alabama's offense has shown signs of mortality and Ole Miss' defense is much improved.
A win would vault Ole Miss into the top 10. It would cement Corral as the Heisman Trophy leader as the middle of the season approaches. It would give Ole Miss some margin for error in its quest for its first ever trip to the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. So it's difficult to call it a completely free shot when a loss would negate a lot or all of what I just listed.
Still, I can't help but remember where this program was in late November 2019. It was the laughingstock of the country after the Piss and Miss game in Starkville, one that led to Matt Luke's firing and Kiffin's hiring. Throw in a pandemic that delayed Kiffin's recruiting plan for the better part of a year and it's incredible where the Rebels are today. I also couldn't help but notice the initial line of Alabama minus-20 that was released today. I know lines are established to get an equal amount of action on both sides, but 20-point underdogs don't often waltz into Bryant-Denny Stadium and win.
So, yes, a win elevates Ole Miss' program. However, a loss doesn't cripple it. Not even a little bit. Even with a loss, Ole Miss can still do huge things this year. The Rebels can still vault into the next echelon of the SEC even without a win over the Crimson Tide.
Ole Miss definitely has more to win than it does to lose, however. There's simply no debating that. It will be interesting to see how Alabama answers the bell Saturday; the Tide almost always answers a challenge and they've had this game circled for a bit.
For some reason, though, I have a feeling Ole Miss is going to do more than show up. With the national spotlight shining on them, I expect the Rebels will respond. Kiffin's teams always seem to.
It should be a fun week building up to a showdown in Tuscaloosa.
2. Otis Reese could only watch last season.
The Ole Miss defensive back hadn't been cleared by the NCAA to play, and he was just a fan in the stands when Alabama rolled up more than 700 yards of offense in a 63-48 win over the Rebels last October.
"It was an exciting game," Reese said. "Our guys put up a fight. We just didn't come out with a win. This year, we're ready and we're excited."
Reese admitted he wondered that night if the result might have been different had he been eligible to play.
"I'd be lying if I didn't think that. It was tough being out there," Reese said. "Our offense was doing good and our defense struggled at times. Knowing the playmaker I am, I definitely would've been excited to go out and help our defense. It's a new year. I get the opportunity and I'm going to take huge advantage of it this year."
Reese said the Rebels spent the open date week getting back to the basics.
"There are always things you can get better at," Reese said. "As these games go on, we find things on our film and our coaches find things. We're working to add more tools to our tool box to elevate our games. It's a special week for us to get better."
Reese was asked if the Ole Miss program gained confidence from playing Alabama as well as it did a year ago. The answer was a mixed bag of thoughts, but it's clear the focus this time around is on finishing the deal against the. Crimson Tide.
"We didn't win the game," Reese said. "If you win, you get confidence. If you're a loser, you're a loser. It's a whole new year. I wasn't playing last year, but we lost the game.
"It's a blessing. It's a blessing in disguise. The margin for error is small, so when you get your opportunities in games like this, we have to take advantage. As a team, there's a standard here that we as players set, and we live it every day. The guys are bonding and guys genuinely care about each other and want the best for each other. So there's a standard all the way around."
3. Throughout preseason camp, it was simply assumed Braylon Sanders would be Ole Miss' leading receiver.
Opposing defensive coordinators made the same assumption, apparently. Subsequently, Sanders has drawn intense focus from opposing defenses through the first three games of the season. He has eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns so far, as he's attracted plenty of double coverage and bracket coverage from opposing defensive backs.
That has freed things up a bit for his teammates, particularly Dontrario Drummond and Jonathan Mingo. Heading into league play, however, Sanders knows opportunity is likely going to come his way soon.
"You get frustrated a little bit, but then when you see it open the other guys up, like Drum and Mingo and those guys are making plays, you just love to see it," Sanders said. "I'm happy for those guys. Whenever my opportunity is there, I'm going to take full advantage of it.
"The ball's in the air and you're just trying to make a play. Me, Drum, Mingo and all the other guys who are playing, any time Matt throws the ball to us, we're trying to make a play."
Both Mingo and Drummond have emerged as deep threats in the early going, a scenario that figures to reap dividends for Ole Miss in the SEC.
"It's great. It gives defenses nightmares and they never know who to key on," Sanders said. "With all of us, with our ability to go deep, they can't just key on me to go get the deep ball now. They have to key on Mingo and Drum. If they key on Drum, Mingo can go get it. We have a variety of people."
Depth at receiver, however, remains a concern. Corral has focused his attention of the top three receivers and running backs Jerrion Ealy and Henry Parrish Jr. Kiffin has said repeatedly he'd like to see more receivers emerge as dependable targets. Sanders shares that hope.
"I want to see all those guys step up, honestly," Sanders said. "We've got Dannis (Jackson), Jadon (Jackson), Bralon Brown, Brandon Buckhaulter, all those young guys. Just seeing them coming along and getting the playbook down and getting out there, it'll be great. Just taxing off me and Mingo and Drum's legs, giving us a breather, it's big for us."
4. Here's my weekly ranking of the SEC:
1. Alabama -- Until the crown lays at its feet...
2. Georgia -- The Bulldogs' defense is simply elite. The offense is coming along as well. I'm not sure there's anything in Georgia's way until the SEC Championship Game.
3. Ole Miss -- The league's best quarterback heads to Tuscaloosa Sunday with a chance to become the national storyline. It was always going to be about defense. We find out in six days.
4. Arkansas -- It's time to acknowledge just how good the Razorbacks are on both lines of scrimmage. Everyone gets hung up on what Jefferson can or can't do or on Sam Pittman's ability to change culture -- and those things are real -- but football is played in the trenches and Arkansas is really strong there.
5. Florida -- This is likely too low. If the Gators had another shot at Alabama, they just might pull it off. Say what you will, but Dan Mullen is an elite-level coach.
6. Kentucky -- It's not fancy but the Wildcats just win.
7. Texas A&M -- The defense is good. Isaiah Spiller is elite. However, the Aggies' quarterback play (AND ITS OFFENSIVE LINE, FOR GOD'S SAKE; DO NOT PIN ALL OF THIS ON ZACH CALZADA) isn't up to SEC standards.
8. LSU -- I'll give a little credit here to Ed Orgeron. The Tigers aren't particularly good, but he appears to have solidified things over the past couple of weeks.
9. Auburn -- I guess the Bo Nix era is in jeopardy, but there's more to this than Nix. It's possible -- and this might get me fired in Alabama all over again -- the Tigers are just average.
10. Missouri -- The Tigers are just an OK team. They're not good, not by any measure. But they don't suck. They're fine. They're a chain restaurant having an average day on a random Wednesday. They're fine.
11. Mississippi State -- Dearest Mike, when the defense puts three on the line of scrimmage and drops eight, you run it. You punish them. You get them to bring another man or two into the box and then you do your fancy raid of the air. This isn't Pullman, kind sir. Linebackers down here actually run.
12. South Carolina -- You know what? The Gamecocks aren't good and they're going to lose a lot of games, but I'm developing a respect for Shane Beamer. He might have a chance in Columbia.
13. Tennessee -- Saturday was a long day. Carson had two soccer games and we got back to the hotel with him tired and sore. His laundry needed to be done for Sunday's game(s) and he was hungry. Thank you, Josh Heupel, for reminding me that I don't ever want to be fat again. That cheeseburger that was on my mind never made it to my lips, and for that, I thank you. GBO!
14. Vanderbilt -- Are you even trying?
5. Here's a look around the SEC West, courtesy of the Rivals network.
At Alabama, Southern Miss entered Saturday with the nation’s third-best run defense, limiting opponents to a mere 46 yards per game on the ground. On the other side of the equation, an Alabama offense ranked No. 94 in rushing offense was missing its starting running back, Brian Robinson, who was held out with bruised ribs.
While Alabama was never expected to struggle against Southern Miss, it would not have been a huge surprise to see the Golden Eagles frustrate the Crimson Tide on the ground given the circumstances. Roydell Williams and Jase McClellan had other plans.
The pair of sophomore backs combined for 207 of Alabama’s season-high 213 rushing yards on the night as the Tide averaged 6.7 yards a carry during its 63-14 blowout over Southern Miss.
“We broke some runs,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. “I think our consistency in the running game is something we still need to continue to work on and continue to improve. Again, we played a team that moves a lot up front and sometimes that gave us problems but for the most part, we got a hat on a hat and thought guys did a really good job. I see progress being made and I see improvement.”
Williams, who entered the game as the team’s fourth-leading rusher, became the first Alabama back to reach the century mark this season, running for a career-high 110 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. The Hueytown, Ala., native picked up a big chunk of that on a 57-yard run in the first quarter but also ripped gains of 14 yards and 16 yards on the evening.
“He’s very explosive,” Saban said. “He’s got great speed. He’s a good receiver. He’s got power for his size. We’ve always thought Roydell could be a great asset to our offense as a change-of-pace guy because of the speed that he has. He certainly played well tonight.”
McClellan, who started in place of Robinson, nearly reached the century mark as well, rushing for 97 yards on 12 carries. He also added a 9-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Young.
Like Williams, McClellan also broke off a couple of big gains, recording a 27-yard run in the first quarter and a 25-yard run in the third quarter. Heading into Saturday, Alabama had just two runs of 20 or more yards on the season.
At Arkansas, He may have been hobbled, but KJ Jefferson got back on the field and helped No. 16 Arkansas close out a massive victory Saturday afternoon.
After missing about a quarter of play because of a knee injury, the redshirt sophomore returned to action for the Razorbacks’ final two possessions and helped them burn most of the last seven minutes in their 20-10 win over No. 7 Texas A&M.
Jefferson crashed into the bench when he was pushed out of bounds on the first play of the second half and bruised his knee in the process. Although he finished that drive and another, Arkansas eventually pulled him because he was noticeably limping.
It took multiple trips into the injury tent and some time on the stationary bike, but the numbing gel on Jefferson’s knee finally kicked in midway through the fourth quarter.
“I was just waiting on the medicine to kick in, that was just the main thing,” Jefferson said. “I knew I had to come back in and fight with my team, so that was my whole mindset.”
His presence on the field couldn’t have come at a better time for the Razorbacks.
Without him, Arkansas’ offense sputtered and couldn’t get much going. In fact, even on the field goal drive that gave them a two-possession lead, the Razorbacks looked clunky with Malik Hornsby in the game.
The redshirt freshman never looked comfortable, but did flash his speed and athleticism on a few runs and completed his first career pass for positive yards. Hornsby would have thrown his first touchdown, too, had tight end Blake Kern been able to hang on to a pass in the end zone.
Although Hornsby’s three possessions resulted in only three points and five first downs, Jefferson said he was proud of the way his backup played.
“I was in his ear and just telling him to be smart, play ball and play your game,” Jefferson said. “And I was cheering him on from the sidelines. It was awesome to see him go out there and take advantage of the opportunity that was handed to him.”
It was a small sample size for Hornsby and it didn’t always go well, but he still managed to make an impression on the Texas A&M players tasked with trying to stop him and Jefferson throughout the game.
“Those two guys are amazing QBs,” defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal said. “I’d say they have good speed. As QBs, you don’t really see that speed as much, so props to those guys from coming out and balling.”
Even with a banged up knee, Jefferson sealed the victory with his legs. After a big third-down completion to extend the previous drive, he lowered his shoulder and ran through a Texas A&M defender for a first down on the final possession.
The run came after the Aggies had used their second timeout and Pittman told the team during break that one more first down would be enough to ice the game. Before heading back on the field, Jefferson told his coach that he’d get it for him.
“When Coach called it, I knew it was a quarterback run the whole way,” Jefferson said. “I knew I had just had to go get it basically. Just put my head down and just drive and just go get the first down.”
At Auburn, it started with him watching from the sidelines. It ended with him and Aubie leading the student section in a postgame celebration
It was quite a performance and quite a day for T.J. Finley.
“It was amazing,” said Finley. “The fanbase is such a vital piece of our team, and they come out every Saturday and they support us. To have them there with me was a very good experience for me personally. I think the team, as a whole, loves it as well.”
Finley stepped in for Bo Nix at quarterback late in the third quarter with Auburn trailing Georgia State 24-19 and struggling to do much of anything on offense.
He led the Tigers on four drives — one that ended on a missed field goal, a 3-and-out, one that ended with a fumble in the red zone and a final one that covered 98 yards and resulted in a thrilling touchdown that came on 4th down with 45 seconds remaining.
Finley started the final drive by telling his teammates, “Let’s do it. Let’s have a 98-yard touchdown drive. It was simple as that. I told everybody to do their job. They told me, ‘T.J., we got you.’ I told them, ‘I got y’all.’ It was as simple as that. We got together and we got the job done.”
The drive ended with Finley stepping up in the pocket to avoid two blitzing players and find Shedrick Jackson from 10 yards out for the game-winning score.
“I saw some pressure coming from the left side; I’ve never done this before, but I spun off the tackle and Shed did an amazing job coming open and catching the ball and coming down with it,” said Finley.
Finley connected with Kobe Hudson for a 2-point conversion and Smoke Monday returned an interception for a touchdown to give AU the final margin of 34-24.
The question now moves ahead to whether or not Finley will be the starter at LSU next Saturday. He started five games for LSU last fall before transferring to AU in the offseason.
“I just want to focus on being the best teammate I can be,” said Finley. “I came in—unfortunate situation, but I came in at halftime, and like I said earlier, I just did my job. So, from here on out, I want to focus on being a better teammate to my guys and make sure they know I got their backs no matter what happens.
“And the same thing with Bo; I talked to him before I came in here, and I told him, ‘Look, whatever happens, I got your back.’ That’s all. I just want to be a better teammate to my players—to my teammates.”
At LSU, last year, a record-setting Mississippi State onslaught called LSU's defense into questions that lingered all the way into this season.
But that much-maligned group had more than enough answers Saturday in Starkville, Miss., to stymie the Bulldogs and set Max Johnson, Kayshon Boutte and the Tigers' offense up for enough big strikes to open SEC play with a 28-25 victory.
"Good team win," coach Ed Orgeron said. "I'm proud of our football team, and I'm proud of our coaching staff. They worked very hard this week. We've been working on this Air Raid (offense) ever since last year."
LSU bent, but wouldn't break defensively — and, ultimately, on the scoreboard.
Orgeron, defensive coordinator Daronte Jones and company went heavily to a 3-2-6 defensive look the coach said had been, in some ways, a year in the making.
"We've been thinking about that since the Sunday after our game last year," Orgeron smiled. "And really we watched Arkansas and what Arkansas had done to 'em. We really studied Arkansas' film a lot.”
Mississippi State racked up a season-high 486 yards, including 371 through the air, by the time the late morning kickoff wound to its mid-afternoon conclusion.
But the Bulldogs had surpassed the 620-yard mark in each of those categories to open the 2020 season
"(Coaches) told us: 'Just keep the ball in front you. That's the biggest thing,'" senior linebacker Damone Clark said. "No explosive plays. Don't bite on the cheese. Keep the ball in front you. And, I mean, it worked well."
And, even losing Derek Stingley Jr. and Andre Anthony during the past week, LSU held Mississippi State to just a field goal until the final seconds of the third quarter.
Cordale Flott and Damone Clark did their best to pay homage to their injured teammates in setting the tone.
Stingley upended a receiver after a first-possession catch the week prior to force a fumble that Anthony returned 33 yards to the end zone and send the Tigers off and rolling.
Seven days later, Flott was the junior defensive back to free the ball bouncing to the grass for Clark to scoop and dash 35 yards the other direction.
At Texas A&M, AggieYell.com's Mark Passwaters was critical of a lot after the Aggies’ 20-10 loss to Arkansas, but he saved his harshest barbs for the coaching staff.
Passwaters said the offensive game plan Saturday The offensive game plan today was “terrible.”
“It was predictable and ineffective. Granted, you're limited when you are missing a lot of players and your line is not doing its job, but still, there were no new wrinkles or anything to keep Arkansas off balance. The Hogs, on the other hand, had plenty of wrinkles to confound Calzada.
“Defensively, Mike Elko does what he does: made good adjustments at the half. The problem is the game was lost in the first 15 minutes. The defense missed tackles, played without purpose and seemed as lost as the offense did. They have the advantage of experience, though, and that got them back into things.
“After the game, Sam Pittman told his team "we kicked (A&M)'s ass." And they did. They were ready for this game, had the better game plan and didn't make self-defeating mistakes. A&M can't say the same.
“This loss stings. It should sting. It's embarrassing. And from top to bottom, there's work to be done between now and when Mississippi State shows up next Saturday night.”
6. Here's a look around the SEC East, courtesy of the Rivals network:
At Florida, the Gators are running the football better than any team in the country. Through four games the Gators have 1,290 rushing yards, which leads the country through one month, yet you can't really point to one person that makes the offense go.
"Our running backs, right, I mean, 25 carries, get 150 yards and two touchdowns. So if we didn't rotate them as much that would be a pretty good day for the running back," Dan Mullen said after the win over Tennessee. "So I think those guys doing a pretty good job running the ball as well."
The running back room was one of the most intriguing groups in the offseason. Florida has two redshirt seniors and a redshirt sophomore in Nay'Quan Wright but also two former five-star transfers. The older statesmen should be thinking about their draft stock and impressing scouts for their future. Instead, they become each other's biggest cheerleaders.
"His touchdown is my touchdown. My touchdown is his touchdown. We’re all happy for each other. We’re all brothers in that room," Dameon Pierce said. "Yeah, naturally human nature you want to be selfish, you want all the reps. But we’re all team-oriented guys. We know what’s best for the team. We rotate through.”
It's an impressive dynamic, one that if it were being faked would be evident but when you talk to these players you truly get a sense that they are happy whenever one of the other running backs has success, even when it means that they're watching from the sideline.
Pierce had just 18 carries through the first five games. He was making the most of a smaller workload finding the end zone five times but he wasn't playing as much as Malik Davis. Davis, on the other hand, had nearly doubled Pierce's carries but found the end zone just twice. Wright had the fewest of the three and was yet to score before a beautiful 23-yard touchdown run in the second quarter on Saturday night.
The carries aren't only being split by the running backs either. Until tonight backup quarterback Anthony Richardson was the Gators' leading rusher. Emory Jones takes that throne after his career-best 144-yards on the ground against Tennessee.
Jones had easily his best game in Orange and Blue and admitted that he doesn't. think he'd ever rushed for that many yards, even in high school. Pierce, who is wonderfully colorful in front of a camera told reporters that Jones is just scratching the surface, to which the quarterback agreed.
“I’m definitely just warming up," Jones said. "I’m just trying, I mean everything I’m doing I’ve done before. All my teammates have seen me do all this and more for us. They are confident in me. They trust and believe in me. Like I said, I’m just trying to get better week to week and keep pushing these guys and keep this thing rolling.”
At Georgia, the Bulldogs’ offense had a decidedly younger flair to it on Saturday afternoon against Vanderbilt.
Two players in their first year as contributors—true freshman tight end Brock Bowers and redshirt freshman receiver Ladd McConkey—combined for five touchdowns on the afternoon. Their efforts sparked a furious early start en route to a 62-0 victory over the Commodores.
"They’re just real tough, hard workers that believe in the process of working really hard," head coach Kirby Smart said after the game.
Entering the day as Georgia's leading receiver, Bowers contributed four receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns. McConkey also reeled in four catches, tallying 62 yards and finding the end zone for the first time in his career.
"It really just comes with practice reps and just building my confidence and preparation," McConkey said. "Going against the defense every day, the way we practice really sets us all up for success."
Bowers got the scoring started in a somewhat unconventional way on Georgia's first possession. He took a handoff from quarterback JT Daniels and scampered 12 yards into the end zone to put the Bulldogs on top 7-0.
That's just the latest in a string of Bowers highlights in 2021. He's shown a little bit of everything, from speed to power to strong hands.
That ability has been present dating back to fall camp. Outside linebacker Nolan Smith, who calls Bowers his "son" as part of a good-natured rivalry with the tight ends, recalled competing with Bowers during punt reps at practice.
"I said, ‘All right son, this is where we make our money,'" Smith said. "He stayed with me every rep. I tend to work hard, try to push the envelope. He stayed with me."
Receiving touchdowns of 25 and 29 yards rounded out Bowers' day.
His running mate McConkey had his first big game in red and black. He entered Saturday's tilt with four catches for 56 yards, just surpassing those totals against the Commodores.
McConkey came on late in the recruiting process. He didn't jump off the screen with a high ranking or lots of stars, but Smart and the staff liked him enough to offer him a scholarship.
"I said, ‘This guy’s fast, he’s smart, he’s athletic. He competes, he’s tough,'" Smart said. "To me, that’s a little bit what’s missing in football. Don’t tell me how good you are, show me. He’s done a really good job doing that."
At Kentucky, the Wildcats are re-writing the rulebook when it comes to turnover margin in football.
The Wildcats entered Saturday's game at South Carolina tied for last in the FBS with a minus-6 turnover margin for the season. They added three more to that total at Williams-Brice Stadium, yet somehow walked off the field with a 4-0 record and a 2-0 mark in SEC play after defeating the Gamecocks 16-10.
"Anytime you win an SEC game on the road, it's a great credit to our coaches and our team," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "We did not make it easy. I would certainly like that one time... The turnovers are definitely hurting us."
Kentucky fumbled the ball four times, losing two of them, and also threw an interception. South Carolina (2-2, 0-2 SEC) did not commit a turnover. Since the 2000 season, teams that were minus-3 in SEC play had a record of 8-102.
But the Cats' defense rose to the occasion each time, forcing a punt and coming up with two fourth-down stops after the offensive miscues.
"We always have the mentality that, when some sudden change happens, we say 'Good,'" said UK senior linebacker DeAndre Square. "It's just a mentality that our whole defense has that it's not a bad thing. We're going to go out there and show our talents. When stuff like that happens, we get excited... We get a chance to go do what we do."
The significance of the fourth-down stops was magnified as both came in UK territory; one at the 25-yard line and the other at the 40.
"You have to give credit to (defensive coordinator Brad) White and the defensive coaches and players for stepping up time and time again," Stoops said. "The fourth-down stops after turnovers and getting the ball back, only giving up seven points to that team with those weapons."
South Carolina was held to 216 total yards and only 58 yards rushing. The Gamecocks went 3-for-12 on third down and 0-for-3 on fourth down.
At Missouri, when Harrison Mevis’ 56-yard field goal cleared the crossbar, sending Missouri’s matchup with Boston College into overtime on the final play of regulation, the Tiger sideline erupted. Some players leapt up and down in celebration, while others ran onto the field to mob Mevis.
Less than 30 minutes later, head coach Eli Drinkwitz slumped behind a table with his head in his hands, waiting for his postgame press conference to begin. Chants of “let’s go Eagles” drifted through Alumni Stadium as Boston College fans who had rushed the field continued to celebrate their team’s 41-34 victory.
A roller-coaster game ended with Missouri in free fall. A Tiger defense that couldn’t get off the field all day surrendered the go-ahead touchdown on the first possession of overtime, and an offense that had to play with a razor thin margin for error as a result couldn’t hold serve. On the first play of overtime, Boston College cornerback Brandon Sebastian came down with a Connor Bazelak pass that was intended for Keke Chism, ending the game and dropping Missouri to 2-2 on the season.
Two weeks after he left Kentucky saying Missouri simply needed to make one more play to pull out a road win, Drinkwitz found himself repeating that same message Saturday.
“Exact same feeling,” Drinkwitz said. “I think we scored with five minutes, maybe six minutes left in the game to go up four, and had multiple third downs to stop them and couldn’t get off the field. And then in overtime, didn’t get a chance to stop them there, and then offense comes up short with a turnover. So, can’t turn the ball over. At the end of the day, that’s the difference in the game, two turnovers.”
While Drinkwitz bemoaned the two giveaways by Missouri’s offense, the Tiger defense once again struggled, particularly to stop the run. Boston College’s experienced offensive line consistently blew Missouri’s defensive front off the line of scrimmage. The Eagles rushed for 275 yards as a team — the third game in a row the Tigers have given up that many yards on the ground. Excluding sacks, Boston College averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Fittingly, its go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter came when Travis Levy carried the ball up the middle and trucked Missouri safety Jaylon Carlies on his way into the end zone.
Asked whether the defensive woes stemmed more from schematic errors or issues in execution, Drinkwitz said he would have to watch film of the game. But he made clear that something has to change.
“We have who we have, and we have to adjust our scheme to make it match,” he said. “We can’t repeatedly give up 275 yards and be successful.”
At South Carolina, the first drive of the game couldn't have gone worse for South Carolina's defense.
The Gamecocks let Kentucky march 75 yards, slicing through the defense like butter, for a touchdown but things changed after that.
After Kentucky scored on the first drive of the game, South Carolina did not allow a touchdown again the rest of the game. Instead they gave up three field goals, one per remaining quarter.
"We got to the sideline, we talked about it with our coaches and we saw what we did wrong that first drive and we fixed it," Jaylan Foster said.
Coming into the game Kentucky quarterback Will Levis had thrown for 800 yards, 500 of which had come in the first half. The Gamecocks held Levis to 60 passing yards in the first half, over 100 yards less than his first half per game average.
The highlight of the first half defensively was Foster's SEC-leading fourth interception of the year which came halfway through the second quarter. Levis went deep and Foster picked the ball off, landing at the USC one yard line.
"Coach Gray does a great job helping us fine tune the route concepts and things like that," Foster said. "I just follow those keys that they give us and I just try to make a play."
While many likely had flashbacks to last weeks one against Georgia, the offense was able to prevent a safety but only put together a six play drive that lasted 37 yards and ended in a punt.
“Whenever we go out there, our mindset it always to score. We did everything possible, put everything possible to go out there and score and we came up short," Doty said. "That goes back to me going out there and doing my job and making those plays when they need to be made.That’s just on the offense as whole. We’re going to come back tomorrow, get those things corrected and we’re going to move on.”
Foster continued his dominance throughout the game, leading the team with 12 total tackles.
South Carolina forced three turnovers total in the game, two fumbles came at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth quarter on back-to-back possessions. On the three drives after the turnovers, South Carolina only average 3.9 yards per play and found themselves with no added points on the scoreboard.
The two fumbles put South Carolina in plus territory but they found themselves unable to capitalize again. On those two drives South Carolina averaged 2.4 yards per play.
Head coach Shane Beamer said post game that it was disappointing that they weren't able to leave the field with a victory after wining the turnover battle.
"When you win the turnover margin, which we've done now two games a row with Georgia and Kentucky and we've lost both of them, that is disappointing for sure," Beamer said. "When our defense is playing like they're playing and getting turnovers for you and making big stops, not just making turnovers, but getting us turnovers and good field position, we've gotta capitalize.”
At Vanderbilt, there’s little to say or write after a 62-0 conference loss, so VandySports.com's Chris Lee did the smart thing and attacked how the Commodores got this bad, noting that it happened off the field as much as on it.
From Lee:
Downward spirals seem impossible to escape when you're inside them. Past history and a bad culture are always working against you. Right now, the fan base doesn’t feel good about much. As a wise friend once told me, you don’t usually run a car into a ditch with one dramatic turn, it’s a series of small, uncorrected turns instead.
In a nutshell, that’s a history of Vanderbilt football since 1960. But that plays out in other ways, too.
The fan experience must have been miserable for the 6,000 or so Vandy fans there today. I get texts from fans basically every game about something with the game-day experience—parking costs that more than doubled, nobody knowing where to find the game on radio (or not being able to hear it once they do), the play clock going out, etc. And while I can understand the decision to increase basketball ticket prices given that tickets are cheaper than most places combined with departmental revenue needs, there’s also a glaring lack of self-awareness when that’s done following four-straight last-place SEC finishes.
Some of these things, to one degree or another, happen other places. And sometimes they aren’t big deals other places, because there's winning at those places, and winning cures about everything.
I keep hearing about how chancellor Daniel Diermeier is sincere about changing things, and I don’t doubt that he is. Diermeier has a terribly tough task there, with many things working against him for his willingness to take that on, and there should be grace for that. But that same downward spiral is going to cast doubt on his efforts, too, until he gives folks something that's tangible improvement. (To Diermier's credit, he took the plunge of change with what was probably an expensive coaching change, and that's at least something, but whether that's improvement or not remains to be seen.)
And this isn’t a shot at everyone who works in the AD—it’s got good, hard-working people there in places for sure—but if you took an audit: How many folks there have seen how things work at functional, Power Five programs? How many have worked in organizations known for world-class customer service?
The implications from that aren’t hard to follow. The question is whether Diermeier has the guts to push for a cultural change at a place where hiring decisions are almost always guided by the concept of “the best person for Vanderbilt,” and longevity guided by one’s ability not to rock the boat.
7. I could never be an Associated Press voter, not with my uncontrollable biases, but if I were, my ballot would look like this today:
1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Oregon
4. Iowa
5. Penn State
6. Cincinnati
7. Ole Miss
8. Notre Dame
9. Arkansas
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida
12. BYU
13. Ohio State
14. Michigan
15. Michigan State
16. Kentucky
17. Texas A&M
18. Fresno State
19. Wake Forest
20. Oklahoma State
21. UCLA
22. Boston College
23. Coastal Carolina
24. Baylor
25. Maryland
8. It's the final week of the Major League Baseball regular season, and there's not a lot of real drama remaining.
In the National League, Milwaukee and St. Louis are deciding the Central Division. The loser will be the second wildcard team. The Cardinals are baseball's hottest team, having won 15 straight games as of this writing, but their odds of catching the Brewers are essentially nil.
The Giants and Dodgers are headed to the playoffs, though the West remains undecided with just a few games left. Atlanta leads Philadelphia, as of this writing, by just two games.
In the American League, Tampa Bay and the White Sox have clinched division titles and Houston is awfully close to doing the same thing in the West, as the Astros lead Seattle by six games. The wildcard race remains a very good one, as Boston and the Yankees entered play Sunday tied at 88-67 each. Toronto is just 1.5 games back of a spot, while Seattle and Oakland are three and and four games back, respectively.
I'll give playoff predictions in this space next week. Today, I'll predict who wins MLB's individual awards.
American League
Rookie of the Year: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays
Manager of the Year: Kevin Cash, Tampa Bay Rays
Cy Young Award: Max Scherzer, Los Angeles Dodgers
Most Valuable Player: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
National League
Rookie of the Year: Jonathan India, Cincinnati Reds
Manager of the Year: Gabe Kepler, San Francisco Giants
Cy Young Award: Robbie Ray, Toronto Blue Jays
Most Valuable Player: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
9. It's time to eat. Here's our resident Parisian chef, Burton Webb, with Taste of the Place, Lesson 105 — Raspberry Muffins with Cognac Butter.
With the seasons changing, changing up your muffins for Saturday morning is a must. There is nothing better than adding raspberries to your muffin mix along with dipping them into some cognac butter. You have been warned…extremely tasty.
Tidbit #1: Go ahead and have the butter you will be using for the Cognac butter sitting out at room temperature for an hour. It is easy to make this way.
Tidbit #2: For the crumble on top, you will need to let this mixture chill in the fridge for 10 minutes before crumbling over the top. Use your microwave to melt the butter before adding it to your small mixing bowl of ingredients.
Tidbit #3: You can make everything the night before and then cook the following morning. It’s a lot easier this way and you won’t be running to the store early in the morning.
Things you will need:
6 People
Glass of milk
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cook time - 15/18 minutes
Utensils needed:
Worksurface and chef’s knife
Microwave
Measuring cups
Large and small mixing bowls
Whisk
Spatula
Ice cream scoop or big spoon
Muffin Tin (12)
Spray grease
Oven
Wire rack
Ingredients needed:
Muffins
1 Stick Unsalted Butter, Melted in Microwave for 45 seconds
3/4 Cup White Sugar
3/4 Cup of Milk
1 Large Egg
1 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Table Salt
2 Containers of Raspberries
Juice of half of a lemon
Crumble
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp White Sugar
Pinch Salt
3 Tbsp Butter, Melted
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Baking Powder
Butter
1/2 cup Cognac
6 Tbsp Butter Room Temperature
Mise en Place
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 360°F and then melt the butter for your crumble and then whisking with a fork all of the “crumble” ingredients in the small bowl. Set in the fridge to set for 10 minutes.
Step 1.2: For the muffins, add in the large mixing bowl all of the dry ingredients followed by your wet ingredients. Mix using a whisk and then fold in the raspberries at the end using the spatula. Grease the muffin tin and then scoop or pour in the batter equally. Take the crumble from the fridge and sprinkle over the top. Cook until golden brown on the tops of the muffins, around 16 minutes.
Mise en Place Part 2
Step 2: While your muffins are cooking, use the small bowl to add in the cognac and room temperature butter. Whisk using a fork until completely combined. Set to the side.
Step 3: Once the muffins come out of the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes inside the muffin tin. Then place them on your wire rack. Serve warm or room temperature with the butter. Again, mighty tasty.
From the Mississippian in Paris, Bon Appétit!
10. We'll have coverage of Ole Miss football, football recruiting, basketball and more this week on RebelGrove.com. Until then, here are some links of interest to me -- and hopefully, to you -- for your reading pleasure:
Eli Manning admits New York Giants’ losing wore on him
Clemson loss to NC State gives college football jolt of parity - Sports Illustrated
Professor Pays College Athlete to Promote NCAA Overhaul Paper
10 mid-majors to watch for the 21-22 season - College Hoops Today
Packers' Aaron Jones recovers necklace with dad's ashes lost in win over Lions - The Athletic
MLB To Experiment With Pre-Tacked Baseball During Triple-A Final Stretch
Cubs front office has clear top priority this winter: Adding starting pitching
NBA Anti-Vaxxers Are Pushing Around the League--It's Working - Rolling Stone
JJ Redick announces his retirement after 15-year NBA career - The Athletic
Jazz: TV reporter chats with Jordan Clarkson, doesn’t realize it’s him
Photographer behind controversial photos speaks exclusively to KTSM
New report alleges Hunter Biden sought millions from Libya
Study Finds More Later-Stage CRC Diagnoses During Pandemic | MedPage Today
Howard Stern Slams Podcast Star Joe Rogan: "We Don't Want You Here" - Trish Regan's Intel
We won’t eradicate covid. The pandemic will still end. - The Washington Post
FBI tactics criticized in Beverly Hills safe deposit box raid - Los Angeles Times
"I'm still alive," says pope, "though some wanted me dead" | Reuters
Is Sports Writing a Fun Job? - by Ethan Strauss - House of Strauss
