Last week in the SEC, Alabama handed Kirby Smart his seventh loss to the Crimson Tide, while Ole Miss’s backup quarterback strengthened his case to become the full-time starter. Mississippi State showed in defeat that it is far removed from the 2-10 team of 2024. Texas A&M continued to build momentum, whereas Auburn continued to slide. And one head coach delivered a career-ending performance.
Let’s break down the key stat or performance from each Week 5 SEC matchup that highlights why each team won or lost.
Alabama – 24-21 win over No. 5 Georgia
Ty Simpson accounted for three first-half touchdowns. The Tide QB finished with 280 yards through the air with a pair of passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown. Simpson completed his first 17 passes of the game. His strong first half was critical, considering Alabama was shut out in the second half. Alabama was able to protect Simpson throughout the game. He completed the game-sealing first down on a well-executed play action pass to running back Jam Miller. Simpson is proving to be a steady hand when he has time in the pocket.
Arkansas – 56-13 loss to No. 22 Notre Dame
Notre Dame rolled up 420 yards and 42 points by halftime. The Razorbacks cut Notre Dame’s lead to 14-10 early in the second quarter. Then everything fell apart. The Irish proceeded to score five touchdowns on five consecutive possessions before halftime. Notre Dame has been one of the top programs in the country for some time now. Arkansas losing to the Irish was expected, but losing by 43 at home is unacceptable. Sam Pittman’s six year run as Arkansas’ head coach ended Sunday morning.
Auburn – 16-10 loss at No. 9 Texas A&M
Tigers were held to 52 yards rushing. For the second straight game, Auburn’s rushing attack was non-existent. Auburn averaged 242 yards on the ground in its first three games. It averaged 59.5 rushing against Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Basically, the Tigers ran all over unranked teams but were shut down in the two games against ranked SEC teams. A scary trend, as the Tigers’ next two opponents are No. 12 Georgia and No. 19 Missouri.
Florida – Bye
Georgia – 24-21 loss to No. 17 Alabama
Georgia was 2-for-8 on third down. Alabama kept drives alive – 12-for-19 on third down – while Georgia did not. Despite Georgia’s defense tightening after halftime to hold the Crimson Tide scoreless in the second half, the offense failed to capitalize on multiple chances to tie or move ahead. Georgia went for a fourth-and-one on the Alabama eight-yard line early in the fourth instead of attempting a game-tying field goal, but running back Cash Jones was tripped up for a loss and a turnover on downs. The loss continues a pattern from last season, with Georgia starting slow in the first half of SEC games.
Kentucky – 35-13 loss at South Carolina
Wildcats were sacked six times. The two defensive touchdowns by South Carolina that evaporated a 10-7 Kentucky lead were brutal. But Kentucky’s inability to protect its young quarterback stalled momentum that appeared to be building after jumping out to an early lead. Cutter Boley must take better care of the ball. The freshman QB threw a pick-6 and had a fumble run back for a TD.
LSU – 24-19 loss at No. 13 Ole Miss
Tigers only rushed for 57 yards, and the offense wasn’t explosive. Ole Miss outgained LSU by 226 yards. The Rebels forced LSU’s offense to be one-dimensional and try to match Ole Miss’s explosiveness with a passing game that has looked average against power conference teams thus far. Another win for reporter Michael Cauble, who angered Brian Kelly by asking him about the offense’s struggles.
Mississippi State – 41-34 OT loss to No. 15 Tennessee
The Bulldogs gifted the Volunteers two defensive touchdowns (a pick-six and a fumble return). For a team like Mississippi State, which has been exceeding its low preseason expectations, you simply can’t hand a top 15 opponent two scores and expect to win. In a game decided in overtime, turnovers often prove to be the difference. Mississippi State also did a poor job handling Tennessee’s pass rush, allowing five sacks.
Missouri – 42-6 win over UMass
QB Beau Pribula completed 21-straight passes, setting a Missouri school record. UMass was a nice warm-up before Missouri is on a bye this week. Pribula and Missouri’s dominant rushing attack (rushed for 200+ yards in all five games) have this Tigers team looking like a legit contender. Last season, the narrative outside CoMo was that Missouri’s 10 wins were inflated by one of the weakest SEC schedules. The Tigers play four teams currently ranked in the AP top 16, including Alabama in two weeks, in their final seven games. Missouri can beat anyone if Pribula is playing well.
Oklahoma – Bye
Ole Miss – 24-19 win over No. 4 LSU
Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss contributed 385 total yards of offense. Chambliss is him in Oxford, Mississippi, until further notice. I said last week that Chambliss could play his way into the starting role long term with a win against LSU. So far, Lane Kiffin has not confirmed if Chambliss will remain the starting QB indefinitely. But the Division II transfer has sparked this team. Chambliss wasn’t perfect against the Tigers – one INT and had a few passes batted down at the line of scrimmage – but he was a playmaker with his arm and legs when the Rebels needed it to close out the win.
South Carolina – 35-13 win over Kentucky
Gamecocks scored two defensive touchdowns within just a few plays of each other. Those two scores flipped a 10-7 second-quarter Kentucky lead. QB LaNorris Sellers and the offense found its footing from there. If South Carolina is to play competitively in the upcoming murderous row of games against LSU, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M, the defense needs to be an opportunistic unit.
Tennessee – 41-34 OT win over Mississippi State
Joey Aguilar overcomes mistakes by passing for 335 yards with a TD pass and a rushing TD. The two defensive touchdowns highlighted by Mississippi State were crucial to the outcome. But the Vols had their own turnover issues in Starkville, including two interceptions by Aguilar. The Tennessee QB remained poised and was able to deliver the game-tying touchdown run that sent the game to overtime.
Texas – Bye
Texas A&M – 16-10 win over Auburn
Auburn was 0-for-15 on third and fourth down conversion attempts. The Aggies should’ve beaten Auburn by more than six points. The offense put up over 400 yards while the defense kept Auburn’s rushing attack in check and only gave up 177 total yards. In the previous game, Notre Dame put up 400+ yards and 40 points against the Aggies, but the defense held the Irish to a respectable 3.5 yards per carry. The signs are there for the Aggies’ defensive unit to be a force in SEC play.
Vanderbilt – 55-35 win over Utah State
Diego Pavia totaled 400 yards and scored six touchdowns. Pavia is a special college football player. He’s not the most talented QB in the country, but he might be the most valuable QB for his team. Utah State kept the game close in the first half before Vandy outscored it 17-0 in the third quarter. Pavia shouldn’t be expected to score six touchdowns against Alabama next Saturday, but he will need to continue playing like a Heisman favorite for the Dores to pull the upset against the Crimson Tide with revenge on their minds.
By Jake Thigpen (@Jake_Thigpen)
