Week 3 SEC Observations
Reactions and Overreactions
Georgia’s offensive struggles should concern fans
Georgia’s 36-straight regular season games over the last three seasons and are 3-0 early in 2024. In 2021, the Bulldogs edged Clemson 10-3 without an offensive touchdown. That team ended the season as national champions. The 2022 national championship team entered the fourth quarter at Missouri down 22-12 before coming back for the win. 2023 Georgia had a few games, most notably against South Carolina and Auburn, where the offense waited until the second half to get rolling. Last Saturday, Kentucky became the latest presumably overmatched team to give Georgia a scare with a 13-12 loss in Lexington. The Wildcats played like a team embarrassed by their showing at home to South Carolina a week before and determined to play their best game against one of the sport’s elite programs. Kentucky played its hand well against Georgia by converting on third downs and sustaining long drives. It used ace kicker Alex Raynor to kick four field goals, including a school record 55-yarder. The Wildcats defense kept the pressure on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and held the Bulldogs to less than 70 first half yards to go with a 6-3 halftime lead. Impressive for Kentucky, but everyone knew Georgia would do what it always does: get rolling in the second half. Except that’s not what happened. Georgia did enough to win the game by a point. Carson Beck finally got in rhythm late in the third quarter and lead the Bulldogs to the game winning touchdown on a 10-play, 68-yard drive. Georgia’s remaining schedule is far tougher than the previous three. The Bulldogs can’t afford multiple games this season where the offense never finds its rhythm with Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Ole Miss looming ahead. Georgia’s bend-but-don’t-break defense hasn’t allowed a TD through three games. That’s positive, but the defense won’t hold up against SEC offenses averaging 40+ points per game on the season if the offense consistently sputters. The Georgia-Alabama game in a couple of weeks will indicate if Georgia’s offensive performance against the Wildcats was a fluke.
Mark Stoops played not to lose instead of playing to win
Mark Stoops has earned most of the praise he’s received over the last 12 years as Kentucky’s head coach. Many consider him one of the best head coaches in the country because of what he’s accomplished at a program most believe will always have a low ceiling. The former defensive coordinator prioritizes a physical brand of football, similar brand as Kirby Smart’s Georgia program. But Smart unlocked the potential for a school already recruiting at a consistent top 15 clip and is in one of the most talent-rich states in the country. For the 2025 class, the state of Georgia has 12 top 100 players, according to 247Sports. Kentucky has none (highest ranked player is 109). With that context, it makes sense why Stoops, the most winningest head coach in Kentucky history, is 2-19 against top 10 teams. Kentucky doesn’t have the horses, no pun intended, to match up consistently against elite teams. So why wouldn’t Stoops “risk it for the biscuit” to potentially upset the No. 1 team at home – a team Kentucky lost to by 38 points last year – when you’re only down a point? The Wildcats faced a 4th-and-8 from the UGA 48-yard line with about three minutes left in the fourth – 15 or so yards away from a potential game-winning field goal by your automatic kicker. Stoops elected to punt the ball. To be fair, many coaches would prefer to punt the ball in that scenario if their defense had been playing as well as Kentucky’s Saturday night. But this was against one of the sport’s elite programs. Stoops had a chance to show Kentucky fans he was going to be the aggressor and take a win over Georgia instead of hoping a win falls in his lap. Kentucky outperformed Georgia in several key areas: it gained more total yards, dominated the time of possession by nearly 11 minutes, achieved 11 more first downs, and rushed for more yards. So why didn’t Stoops trust the lucky hand his team played with all night and hope for a full house at the end? Predictably, Georgia moved the ball down field on the next possession before punting it back to Kentucky with only nine seconds left. Game over and another missed opportunity for Stoops.
Stud of the Week
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
The Alabama quarterback is the ultimate definition of dual threat so far this season. In all three Alabama games, Milroe has rushed for two touchdowns. At Wisconsin on Saturday, Milroe also was privy to the big play passing touchdown, with three touchdowns of 31 yards, 26 yards, and 37 yards. With five total touchdowns, you might think Milroe accounted for 400+ yards of offense for the Tide. Instead, Milroe was an efficient 12-for-17 for 196 yards and 75 yards on the ground. Milroe played like an exemplary office worker. Came to work. Did what he needed to do to help the team win. Left with a 32-point victory. The Heisman hopeful has 14 total touchdowns in the young season and is the main reason why the first Alabama team in the post-Saban era doesn’t appear to be dropping off. Up next: Georgia in Tuscaloosa.
Best Game
LSU 36, South Carolina 33
South Carolina blew a 17-point lead to the Tigers at home with, checks notes, maybe some help from poor officiating. The College GameDay crowd wasn’t enough to help the Gamecocks maintain a fast start. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran for two touchdowns, including a 75-yarder that was longest by a quarterback in South Carolina history. Seller’s ankle injury right before half stymied his big day and is a key reason why the Gamecocks weren’t an effective offense in the second half – being outscored by LSU 20-9. LSU did make a bunch of mistakes early in the game that helped South Carolina build an early lead. LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier fumbled and threw an interception. He rebounded to throw for 285 yards and two touchdowns. The Gamecocks hurt themselves with 13 penalties, but fans on social media lamented over a few that were questionable. Officials flagged the Gamecocks for a phantom offensive pass interference and called back two pick-6s on questionable penalties. Last week I said LSU was the SEC team with the most on the line. Though sloppy, LSU did enough to steal a win on the road in the SEC and move to 2-1 going into games against UCLA and South Alabama where the Tigers should be heavily favored.
Team with Most on the Line Next Week
Oklahoma
No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma is the lone Top 25 matchup between SEC teams this weekend. One could argue that Tennessee has the most on the line in this game. It’s on the edge of the top 5, has an impressive blowout win over a ranked team (NC State), a defense allowing 160.7 yards per game, and Josh Heupel’s offense is humming. But I’m choosing to go with Josh Heupel’s alma mater in this spot because I believe no one besides OU fans believe their team is a legit contender this season. The Sooners still have Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, Alabama, and LSU left to play after matching up with Tennessee. Oklahoma hasn’t looked impressive the last two weeks in closer-than-expected wins over Houston and Tulane. OU quarterback Jackson Arnold has thrown for under 200 yards in all three games. However, he impressively rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns against Tulane. The Sooners, seven-point underdogs, have a lot to prove against Tennessee. Is it an immediate contender in its newer, tougher conference, or are the Sooners in for a rough start in the SEC?
Top 5 SEC Rankings
- Texas
- Georgia
- Alabama
- Tennessee
- Ole Miss
By Jake Thigpen (@Jake_Thigpen)
