The SEC took center stage as the Big 12 played their way out of a second CFP team and Oregon floundered around. 31 Georgia Tennessee 17: This was one of the Bulldogs’ best and most comprehensive performances of the season. Carson Beck had a running score and passed for 347 yards and two touchdowns. The fact that he did not throw an interception, something he had done 12 times in the six games prior, may be the most astounding thing. After 15 minutes, the Vols had a 10-0 lead, but they lost the second half. UT’s longest throw play of the game was 17 yards long. Nico Iamaleava lost a fumble, was sacked five times, and only managed 167 yards of passing. It seems likely that he played with a concussion, but we might not know for 20 years. Florida 27 LSU 16: The Gators played some really good football in response to DJ Lagway’s return at center. Elijhah Badger caught six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown during a spectacular game. Similar to his performance against Alabama, Garrett Nussmeier was dominated early and often despite having 260 yards passing and a touchdown. The LSU quarterback was sacked seven times by the UF defense. Texas 20 Arkansas 10: The Longhorns did not exactly put up a strong show. When Arky eventually got on the scoreboard with a 12-play, 75-yard drive halfway through the third quarter, UT was ahead 13-0. The Hogs took it the opposite way for a field goal to make 13-10 after Texas replied with a 3 & out. However, the Burnt Orange scored from one yard out after their first strong drive of the second half. Another strong drive by the Razorbacks was cut short by a fumble inside the Texas 30. 34 South Carolina Missouri 30: Palmetto State hosted one of the week’s most exciting games. In the fourth quarter, Mizzou overcame a 21-6 deficit to take a 22-21 lead. With five minutes remaining, the Gamecocks would score a touchdown, but they would miss the 2-point attempt, making the score 27–22 Cocks. At 1:10, the Tigers would respond with a spectacular 37-yard pass from Brady Cook to Luther Burden. The first play from there was a strange call of a Sellers quarterback pull up the middle that got six yards with the time down to 22. LaNorris Sellers brought SC back the other way and connected with Dalevon Campbell for 39 yards down to the Mizz 21. With 16 seconds remaining, Rocket Raheim Sanders zigzagged into the end zone after the ‘Cocks ran a shovel pass to him following a time out, making it 34-30. With runs up the middle to set up his kicker for a game-tying field goal and hope for the best in overtime, Shane Beamer seemed to be playing it safe. However, I might be totally wrong. SC has struggled to score points in the ground game alone. 109 yards of rushing with a meager 3.0 ypc average. On the other hand, Sellers had 5 touchdowns and 353 throwing yards against the Tigers during the game. With the game at stake, why attempt to advance the ball up the middle? Although the shovel pass and quarterback draw were successful, those plays appear to be low-percentage plays for any team in that situation. 52 Mercer 7 Alabama These Bears are ranked #9 by FCS standards, but I will not pretend that they are the ’85 Bears. This was a fairly comprehensive butt-whupping. Auburn 48 UL Monroe Aubie’s 14–507 yards puts them at 4-6. To advance to a bowl, they must defeat visiting Texas A&M AND defeat Alabama. 48 Kentucky Murray State 6: A hard man is humbled after a night in Lexington. Texas A&M 38 Go on, New Mexico State 3. There is nothing to see. CUPCAKES VS. BIG 10 Wrigley Field hosted the Ohio State 31 Northwestern 7 game. Before 90% of the crowd arrived in red, this undoubtedly seemed like a good idea. The Boilermakers (1-9) only triumphed once in fall, against the Indiana State Fightin’ Larry Birds, at Penn State 49, Purdue 10. They are challenging FSU for the title of worst “Power” team.
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