What an outstanding week of SEC football. Ten of the 12 SEC teams are bowl-eligible. Auburn stayed in the hunt to be in the BCS Championship Game with a come-from-behind victory over Alabama.
#2 Auburn Tigers overcame a 24-0 deficit in the second quarter in order to escape with a 28-27 victory. The comeback seals the Heisman Trophy for Tiger QB Cam Newton, who threw for 216 yards on 13-20 passing with 3 TD’s as the Crimson Tide defense were 100% focused on stopping him from running the option.
That gameplan was working out great for Alabama in the first quarter as Auburn went three and out on their first three drives while the Crimson Tide scored touchdowns on their three drives. Tide RB Mark Ingram scored the first TD on a 9 yard run. Then, Alabama QB Greg McElroy started dissecting the Tiger defense, throwing a 68 yard TD pass to Julio Jones and a 12 yard TD pass to Darius Hanks to make the score 21-0 in the first quarter.
Auburn finally got their offense started in the middle of the second quarter when Newton threw a 36 yard TD pass to Emory Blake to make the score 24-7. The Auburn defense was reeling for the entire first half because two of the defensive linemen were suspended for the first thirty minutes for fighting in their last game against Georgia. The lack of depth up front gave Alabama the ability to run their offense flawlessly.
The second half was a whole different story. Momentum moved over to Auburn’s side when Newton hit Terrell Zachery on a 70 yard TD pass on the first play from scrimmage to bring the score to 24-14 Alabama. With the entire defensive line intact for the second half, Auburn held Alabama to 60 total yards. That is quite remarkable since Alabama racked up 386 total yards in the first half.
Newton had a 1 yard TD run near the middle of the third quarter to make it 24-21 Alabama. However, a special teams blunder almost gave the game back to Alabama. Tigers return man Quindarius Carr fumbled a punt which Alabama recovered on the Auburn 31. Nevertheless, Auburn’s defense stepped up and held Alabama to a field goal to make the score 27-21 to end the third quarter.
Then, Newton led Auburn down the field on the next drive, which resulted in a 7 yard TD pass to TE Philip Lutzenkirchen to give Auburn its first lead of 28-27 with 12:15 remaining in the game. Auburn’s defense remained stout since 28-27 was the final score. The key play by the Tiger defense was when they knocked McElroy out of the game with four and a half minutes to play with a concussion because McElroy was scorching Auburn (27-37, 377 yards, 2 TD’s). That injury meant that Alabama had to attempt to win the game on the final drive with their backup freshman QB AJ McCarron. After four incompletions in the last minute, Auburn was able to secure the victory. No Bammer Jammer today!
With this Iron Bowl victory, Auburn’s hopes of playing in the BCS National Championship Game remains alive. Auburn will play South Carolina in a rematch next week in the Georgia Dome in the SEC Championship Game. You don’t want to miss that game because their game earlier in the season was one of the most exciting games this season, a 35-27 Auburn victory.
Tennessee Volunteers 24, Kentucky Wildcats 14
After starting their season amidst turmoil and a 2-6 record, many Tennessee fans thought that new head coach Derek Dooley was the wrong man for the job. However, those doubts have been erased as the Volunteers finished the regular season with a four-game winning streak, capped off with a 24-14 victory today over Kentucky. Coach Dooley’s decision at midseason to go with freshman QB Tyler Bray at starter has paid off dividends.
Bray passed for 354 yards on 20-38 passing with 2 TD’s and 2 INT’s. His two touchdowns came in the second quarter after Kentucky scored a TD in the first quarter. Because of his stellar passing, the Volunteers finish 6-6 and are now bowl-eligible.
The Volunteer defense also played well. Even though Kentucky ran 17 more plays on offense, Tennessee outgained the Wildcats 441-379. The Volunteer defense did not fatigue even though they were on the field longer. The Vols kept Kentucky’s potent offense from making big plays throughout the game, as Kentucky’s longest play from scrimmage was only 37 yards.
Kentucky also ended up 6-6 and is bowl eligible as well. You have to call this season sort of a disappointment for Kentucky since they upset South Carolina earlier in the season, but somehow lost to Mississippi. Many Wildcat fans thought that this would be the year in which the misery would end because this loss was the 26th straight loss to Tennessee.
#22 Florida State Seminoles 31, Florida Gators 7
It’s been seven years since Florida State has beaten Florida in football. Fortunately, Seminole fans scratched that seven-year itch in a big way when Florida State defeated Florida 31-7 in Tallahassee.
People who have been rooting for Florida State have been wondering when would Seminole QB Christian Ponder eliminate errors in a big game. Well, after four years of inconsistency, Ponder finally engineered a flawless game, throwing for 221 yards on 16-24 passing with three TD’s. More importantly, he did not throw an interception against Florida’s talented secondary.
The only difference between the two teams today was turnovers because Florida could never get on track because of four turnovers during the game, while Florida St. did not commit any. Because of the surprising play of the Seminole defense, Florida was unable to score after taking a 7-3 lead early in the first quarter.
Florida State’s CB Xavier Rhodes recovered two fumbles in the first half as the Gators could not get on track offensively all game even though Gator Coach Urban Meyer is one of the best offensive geniuses in college football. This loss caps off a disappointing season for Florida, as they finish 7-5 when many experts picked them to play in the SEC Championship before the season started. Florida State ends up with a 9-3 record which means that the Seminoles are finally closer to becoming the powerhouse it once was in the eighties and in the nineties.
#12 Arkansas Razorbacks 31, #6 LSU Tigers 23
Playing too many close games finally caught up with LSU as Arkansas held on for a 31-23 victory. The Razorback offense torched a rather good LSU secondary for 320 yards today behind the passing of QB Ryan Mallett (13-23, 3 TD’s, 2 INT’s). Arkansas also controlled the running game behind the rushing of Knile Davis (30 rushes, 153 yards).
However, the player of the game was Arkansas WR Cobi Hamilton. Hamilton caught 3 passes for 164 yards and 2 TD’s. However, those two touchdowns were critical because it kept momentum on the Razorback sideline in the second quarter. His first TD reception of 85 yards came with seven minutes remaining in the quarter, which put Arkansas ahead 14-7. After LSU tied the game at 14 on the next drive, Mallett connected with Hamilton again for 80 yards with three seconds remaining to put the Razorbacks ahead 21-14 at halftime.
Even though Arkansas outgained LSU 462-297, LSU did not have to gain that many yards because it seemed like the Tigers were in good field position the entire game. Arkansas achilles heel of special teams reared its ugly head in a huge fashion this game. For some unknown reason, Arkansas did not direct their kickoffs away from LSU’s Patrick Peterson, one of the best return men in college football. As a result, Peterson returned four of those kickoffs for 169 yards.
The special teams became a big problem for Arkansas in the third quarter after Peterson returned the opening kickoff of the second half to the Arkansas 46 yard line. However, LSU could only put a field goal on the board to make it 21-17 Arkansas. On the next Arkansas possession, a botched punt allowed for LSU to have the ball on the Razorback three. After three plays, LSU had to kick a field goal to make it 21-20 Razorbacks. That drive ensured that LSU would lose the game because the Tigers only needed three yards to take the lead, but the execution was missing for another monumental comeback.
Because of this victory, it appears that Arkansas will end up ranked higher than LSU when the BCS standings are announced tomorrow night. Arkansas would receive a BCS berth if Auburn defeats South Carolina next week or if South Carolina defeats Auburn and the BCS puts Arkansas ahead of Auburn. LSU will more than likely go to the Cotton Bowl or the Capitol One Bowl.
#18 South Carolina Gamecocks 29, Clemson Tigers 7
It appeared South Carolina was peeking ahead to next week when Clemson scored on the initial drive of the game to put the Tigers ahead 7-0. After that score, South Carolina made sure that Clemson did not score for the rest of the game as the Gamecocks scored 29 unanswered points in the next three quarters.
The game was so out of hand that South Carolina chose to be sportsmanlike and did not run up the score on Clemson as neither team scored in the fourth quarter. South Carolina’s defense was so dominant throughout the game that Clemson only passed the 50 yard line three more times after the first drive.
For both offenses, each team’s bright spot was at wide receiver. Clemson’s freshman WR DeAndre Hopkins caught seven passes for 124 yards and one TD, while Gamecocks WR Alshon Jeffrey caught five passes for 140 yards and one TD.
Clemson had a very tough time running the ball as they were held to 74 rushing yards for the game. Tiger star RB Andre Ellington rushed the ball one time for one yard in the first half. He was unable to play for the rest of the game due to a turf toe injury that had him sidelined for the past three weeks. There was no need to play him tonight because Clemson had already qualified for a bowl game. I think that Tiger Coach Swinney should not have put his player in jeopardy of further injury. However, Coach Swinney was forced to see if Ellington could play injured or not due to the lack of depth on the team because recruits don’t want to play there because the state of South Carolina flies the Confederate Flag in front of its State Capitol Building. Take the flag down in order to obtain more recruits. http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/take-down-confederate-flag/
Because of that lack of depth, the Cocks were able to pound the Cats mercilessly this evening. South Carolina will now prepare for its rematch against Auburn in the SEC Championship Game next week.
#25 Mississippi State Bulldogs 31, Mississippi Rebels 23
Mississippi St. held on after a furious fourth quarter rally by Ole Miss in order to win their second straight Egg Bowl by a score of 31-23. Usually, Bulldog QB Chris Relf defeats opponents with his running, but his arm was the difference tonight as he threw for 294 yards on 13-20 passing and 3 TD’s. All three TD passes occurred in the second quarter.
Relf pretty much had free reign to do anything on offense tonight since the Rebel defense specifically focused on Vick Ballard (22 rushes, 45 yards, 1 TD). It’s great that Ole Miss stood up to stop one person, but unfortunately for the Rebels, there are ten other people on the field that must be contained as well. That neglect of other players allowed for RB LaDarius Perkins to have the game of his life.
Perkins ran 13 times for 94 yards to keep the Bulldog running attack strong throughout the game. However, his biggest contribution tonight was catching passes out of the backfield because he caught three passes for 140 yards and two TD’s. By the end of the third quarter, Mississippi St. was ahead 31-9.
They almost called the dogs off too late because Ole Miss did not quit as they have in previous games this season. Ole Miss scored two TD’s in the fourth quarter. However, their last minute drive remained stalled in their own territory. Ole Miss finishes the season 4-8, which proves that the Masoli experiment did not work. Coach Houston Nutt deserves to be fired for choosing not to lose with the players he had.
Mississippi State experienced a marvellous turnaround season, ending 8-4 after having a losing record last season.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 34, Vanderbilt Commodores 13
During the week, Commodore interim coach Robbie Caldwell stated that he was resigning at the end of the season. For Vandy players, that meant that it was the second time this year that a coach bailed on them. That lack of emotion showed on the field as the Demon Deacons defeated Vanderbilt 34-13.
(If you don’t know what a demon deacon is, then go to a Baptist church that sucks on a Sunday.)
Fortunately, the season is over for Vanderbilt. Now, the Commodore fans no longer are in misery as the season has finally ended because it was a miracle that Vandy even won two games.
Georgia Bulldogs 42, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 34
Georgia avoids having its first losing season since 1996 by defeating the Yellow Jackets 42-34. This rivalry game in the state of Georgia was a barnburner from start to finish. Even though Georgia Tech did not have the lead at any point within the game, the Yellow Jackets always answered back by tying the game twice and bringing it to a 35-34 Georgia lead with five minutes to go until Georgia’s final drive of the game when Bulldog RB Washaun Ealey scored on his second TD run of the game with 1:35 remaining. Georgia’s defense then recorded a huge interception with 35 seconds left to seal the victory.
This topsy-turvy game was filled with many turnovers as both teams had butterfingers. Georgia Tech lost four fumbles, while Georgia lost three. Despite of all of the turnovers, this was an exciting game based upon the offensive statistics for both teams. Bulldog QB Aaron Murray threw for 271 yards on 15-19 passing and 3 TD’s. (78.9% is rather good!). Ealey ran for 118 yards on 13 carries to go along with the two TD’s.
For Georgia Tech, the triple option attack was in full force on the ground. RB Anthony Allen ran 29 times for 166 yards and 1 TD and QB Tevin Washington ran 23 times for 74 yards and 2 TD’s. Yellow Jacket fans wanted Georgia to lose even more this season because the loss would have put Georgia at 5-7. Now, both teams will more than likely go to a bowl after they both finish 6-6 for the season.
