And after that there were 2.
Alabama and Georgia stand alone atop the SEC as the conferences just 2 undefeated groups after Saturday. And guess what? They meet each other in a week.
Tom Herman is 1-4 against Oklahoma. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) More.
Texas coach Tom Herman: Hermans record versus Oklahoma is now 1-4 in four seasons after his teams 53-45 loss to the Sooners. The only win for Herman against OU was available in 2018 but the Longhorns then lost to the Sooners in the Big 12 title video game.
Its been rough for Herman in Texas given that Texas was supposedly back after beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl after that 2018 season. The Longhorns were 8-5 in 2019 and are now 2-2 in 2020 after a loss to TCU heading into the Oklahoma game. Texas is a crazy return over Texas Tech from being 1-3 on the season and the Texas fanbase being much more unhappy with Herman than it already is..
Floridas defense: The hype about Floridas offense– specifically the connection between QB Kyle Trask and TE Kyle Pitts– has actually been justified. There were likewise concerns about the Florida defense, concerns that were magnified in a 41-38 loss to Texas A&M on Saturday. The Aggies gashed the Gators for 543 yards in the win– 338 through the air from Kellen Mond and 205 on the ground. Through 3 video games, the Florida defense has permitted a total of 100 points. Floridas 2019 defense didnt surrender its 100th point until its 8th game. Yikes.
Louisville: Louisville was a group some had actually pegged as a possible dark horse in the ACC entering 2020. And after winning their opener over Western Kentucky, the Cardinals were ranked No. 18 getting in a primetime matchup against Miami. Ever since, though, the Cardinals have lost 3 consecutive video games to drop to 1-3. UL lost to Miami 47-34, Pitt 23-20 and then to Georgia Tech 46-27 on Friday night. While the UL offense devoted three turnovers, the defense allowed Georgia Tech to score three fourth-quarter goals, flipping what was a 27-26 Louisville cause a 19-point loss. Bad..
Western Kentucky: WKU won 9 games in 2019 and appeared like a legitimate Conference USA contender getting in 2020. Far, that has actually not been the case. Not at all. The Hilltoppers have been unpleasant offensively and that continued in a 38-14 loss to Marshall. On its very first 10 possessions, WKU mustered 106 yards of offense and no points. By that point, Marshall had actually built a 35-0. The Hilltoppers put together two scoring drives in the 4th quarter to make it look a little more respectable, but it was smoke and mirrors from a team that lost to Liberty and barely beat Middle Tennessee.
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The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs took care of company on Saturday as Florida lost at Texas A&M. And boy, did Alabama and Georgia win in various ways..
Alabama provided up a staggering 646 lawns of offense to Lane Kiffins Ole Miss Rebels in a 63-48 win. Kiffin, whose group has actually scored at least 35 points in each of its first 3 video games this season, offered Alabamas defense whatever it might handle and then some.
How effective was Alabamas offense? The Crimson Tide had 723 overall backyards as Mac Jones threw for 417 lawns and Najee Harris hurried for 5 goals and 206 lawns on simply 23 brings. Oh, and both DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle had 100 yards receiving. The battle of former USC offensive coordinators and head coaches in Kiffin and Alabama offending planner Steve Sarkisian led to the most total yards of any SEC game in conference history (1,367).
Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak threw for 4 TDs in the Tigers upset of LSU. (AP Photo/L. G. Patterson) More.
Kansas State and Iowa State: On a day where Texas and Oklahoma played a four-overtime classic and No. 10 Oklahoma State had a bye, Kansas State and Iowa State quietly provided wins that put them atop the Big 12 standings with best 3-0 conference records..
K-State opened the season by losing to Arkansas State however has actually reeled off three straight Big 12 wins considering that then over Oklahoma, Texas Tech and the Horned Frogs. Brock Purdy tossed for 302 backyards and two TDs while Breece Hall hurried for 135 backyards and 2 scores of his own.
Arkansas: Arkansas may have lost to Auburn (in questionable fashion) on Saturday, but it still should have some love for how much better it looks up until now in 2020. The Razorbacks got in 2020 with a 19-game SEC losing streak, a streak that was reached 20 in a Week 1 loss to Georgia. Arkansas has actually shown so far that its competitiveness in that loss to UGA was not a fluke. The Razorbacks followed that up with a 21-14 upset win over No. 16 Mississippi State before Saturdays near-upset over No. 13 Auburn– a team that has ex-Arkansas head coach Chad Morris as offending coordinator. It has been just three video games, however its safe to state that Sam Pittman is an upgrade over Morris. A huge one..
While quarterback Devin Leary was the story in last weekends upset win over Pitt, this time it was the running video game and defense. While the offense went for 179 hurrying lawns, the defense required four Virginia turnovers.
This is in my column however Florida has enabled 100 points this season. Last year, the Gators offered up their 100th point in game 8.– Pat Dooley (@pat_dooley) October 10, 2020.
LSUs defense: We all understood that LSUs offense was going to take a step back in 2020. However nobody pictured just how much worse the defense was going to be in 2020 under new planner Bo Pelini. The former Nebraska coach changed Dave Aranda after Aranda went to Baylor and his scheme is getting torched up until now this season. Mississippi State and K.J. Costello ripped apart LSUs defense to start the season and the Tigers provided up over 580 total backyards to a Missouri group that got in Saturday 0-2. LSU is clearly not a title competitor– or perhaps an SEC West contender– and Pelinis defense is the most significant factor why..
Mississippi State: Perhaps we all got a little too worked up over Mississippi States Week 1 win over LSU. Yes, MSU had 3 times as numerous interceptions as it did points. Its a 2nd straight ugly outing for Mike Leachs offensive system after that surprising Week 1 win and the Bulldogs get a Texas A&M team off a big win against Florida next week.
— Nick Bromberg.
Here are the rest of this weeks losers and winners.
Winners.
The No. 8 Tar Heels ground game was extraordinary in a 56-45 win over No. 19 Virginia Tech. UNC hurried for 399 backyards on simply 43 carries as Michael Carter had 17 brings for 214 lawns and 2 scores and Javonte Williams had 20 carries for 169 lawns and two TDs.
Missouri QB Connor Bazelak: Bazelak got his very first career start on Saturday against LSU in less than perfect circumstances as Missouri was missing 3 of its leading 5 pass receivers due to the fact that of positive coronavirus tests and contact tracing. Envision if Bazelak had a complete variety of offensive alternatives..
The redshirt freshman was 29-of-34 passing for 406 lawns in Mizzous 45-41 upset win over No. 17 LSU. Bazelak was unflappable in the pocket and did a terrific task discovering open receivers in LSUs haphazard defense. After seeing part-time playing time the very first 2 weeks as Shawn Robinsons backup, its hard to see how Bazelak isnt the starter for Mizzou the remainder of the season..
Fourth-and-inches, and Mississippi State takes a shot down the field.
Doesnt work, and UK has the ball at Miss St. 34.– Jon Hale (@JonHale_CJ) October 11, 2020.
Tennessee QB Jarrett Guarantano: Saturdays game versus Georgia was a big opportunity for Jarrett Guarantano. The talented senior quarterback has been plagued by disparities throughout his profession and looked great early, tossing two excellent goal passes. Guarantano fumbled 3 times in the second half and lost two of them.
He missed his very first three efforts of the year before linking on 6 straight field goals entering Saturdays game against Boston College. Against the Eagles, Kessman missed out on from 55 and 49 lawns before drilling a 58-yarder with 40 seconds left in policy to require overtime. In overtime, Kessman would have moved the game into a second additional duration with an extra point.
Alabama running back Najee Harris scored 5 TDs versus Ole Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) More.
Georgia, meanwhile, used a stifling defense to throttle Tennessee in the 2nd half. The Vols got the benefit of a couple of breaks in the first half and brought a 21-17 lead into halftime. But Georgia scored 27 points in the 2nd half as its defense imitated a vise grip on the Vols offense..
Saturday nights game in between Miami and Clemson was our first matchup of top-10 teams in this wacky college football season. But the Hurricanes were 14-point underdogs getting in the game and were just able to spend time against Clemson since they obstructed three field goal attempts..
Weve got a feeling that next week will be a far much better marquee college football game.
Alabama and Georgia are 2 of the three finest groups presently playing in college football. And, at this moment, theyre the clear two best groups in the SEC. We thought Florida was up there with them, but the Gators lost by three on Saturday to a Texas A&M group that was burnt out in Tuscaloosa a week earlier.
The Crimson Tide will enter this game as a favorite. And probably rightfully so. Alabama will have home-field benefit and Saturday nights win over Kiffin was Nick Sabans 21st win over a previous assistant. Hes never lost to a coach who worked for him. And as you understand, Georgia coach Kirby Smart is a former defensive planner at Alabama.
Georgia looks more than geared up to hang with Alabama. The Bulldogs have held opposing quarterbacks to just 6.5 backyards per pass while allowing just 322 hurrying yards through 3 games. Yeah, that hurrying stat is pumped up by Tennessees -1 hurrying backyard on Saturday, but its hard to quibble with a defense thats enabled simply 30 points through three video games..
” Well clearly were going to need to play defense a lot much better since they have a truly good defensive team,” Saban informed ESPN Saturday night.
The Bulldogs arent struggling on offense either. Georgia has been really effective ever since Stetson Bennett IV ended up being the teams quarterback midway through that opener versus Arkansas.
Although the Big Ten and the Pac-12 still have not begun their seasons yet, its not hyperbolic to say that next weeks game in between Alabama and Georgia is the regular seasons game of the year. And if both groups keep winning after next week, were most likely to see it occur again in December in Atlanta in the SEC title game..
Story continues.
The Crimson Tide had 723 total yards as Mac Jones tossed for 417 backyards and Najee Harris rushed for five touchdowns and 206 backyards on just 23 brings. The battle of previous USC offensive planners and head coaches in Kiffin and Alabama offensive planner Steve Sarkisian resulted in the most overall backyards of any SEC game in conference history (1,367).
Pitts defense has actually been strong so far in 2020, but BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec, a Pittsburgh-area native, was able to gash the Panthers secondary for 358 yards and 3 goals. Zay Flowers accounted for all three of those scores.
The Cougars had 476 backyards to Tulanes 211 and held the Green Wave to 1.6 backyards per bring and just 11 completions on 25 passing attempts. Star broad receiver Marquez Stevenson had 5 catches for 118 yards and Mulbah Car rushed for 2 scores as Houston tries to construct off of what was a tanking year in 2019.
Losers.
The Bulldogs have held opposing quarterbacks to just 6.5 yards per pass while allowing simply 322 hurrying lawns through 3 games. UNC rushed for 399 yards on simply 43 carries as Michael Carter had 17 carries for 214 lawns and two scores and Javonte Williams had 20 carries for 169 lawns and two TDs. Brock Purdy tossed for 302 yards and 2 TDs while Breece Hall hurried for 135 backyards and two ratings of his own.
