The SEC Football Weekend In Review - Week 5 - McElwain, Florida Have Arrived

Missouri 24, South Carolina 10

Lorenzo Nunez and Drew Lock are the answer to a future trivia question. The Nunez-Lock battle this past Saturday marked the first time in the history of the SEC that two true freshman quarterbacks started against each other. Lock was 21-of-28 for 136 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start while his freshman counterpart was borderline horrendous. Nunez ran for a team-high 60 yards but threw three interceptions on Saturday. Pharoh Cooper had a quietly solid day, grabbing nine catches for 102 yards. David Williams even showed some nice burst for the first time this year, gaining 40 yards on nine carries but only five yards came in the first half. The Tigers rushing attack was basically nonexistent all season but the Gamecock defense was the cure. Missouri ran for a season-high 163 yards against South Carolina.

No. 25 Florida 38, No. 3 Ole Miss 10

By far the biggest surprise of the weekend was Jim McElwain and Florida dismantling Ole Miss. I felt the game would be close but the Gators dominated the Rebels from the opening kick. Hugh Freeze was UF's first choice after they fired Will Muschamp. The guy Florida ended up with just kicked his ass. Will Grier was phenomenal in the game and since the fourth quarter of the Tennessee game, his numbers are spectacular: 35-of-46, 410 yards, six touchdowns, no interceptions. Florida is the SEC's hottest team and McElwain is off to the best start for a first-year Florida coach since Steve Spurrier. The Gators defense has been suffocating, allowing just 16 points a game and coming up with the most takeaways in the SEC.

No. 13 Alabama 38, No. 8 Georgia 10

This game looked over at halftime and was completely over just a few minutes after the break. Holding a 24-3 lead at half, Alabama welcomed Georgia's offense back on the field to begin the second half. On the very first play, Eddie Jackson intercepted Brice Ramsey's pass and took it 50 yards to the house. Less than five minutes into the second half, Alabama's lead was 38-3. If you face Nick Saban with a pro-style offense, it's likely you'll get beaten, and badly. Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey both played in Saturday's loss and they combined to go 11-of-30 for 106 yards and three interceptions. The Georgia offense went three-and-out for six of their first seven possessions. Nick Chubb extended his streak of 100-yard rushing games to 13, breaking Herschel Walker's school record. Chubb got going once the game was largely over with but his sneaky good Heisman candidacy continues. Jake Coker played competently and led Alabama to the win, going 11-of-16 for 190 yards and two total touchdowns.

No. 9 LSU 44, Eastern Michigan 22

Leonard Fournette continued his terrifying pace. He ran for 233 yards and three touchdowns against Eastern Michigan, making him the first player in SEC history to rush for 200-plus yards in three consecutive games. My thoughts on LSU haven't changed though. Fournette is great but what happens when they have to pass to win? That moment is coming and the Tigers' passing attack looks pretty suspect at the moment. LSU hasn't trailed for a single second all season, wonder if South Carolina can change that.

No. 14 Texas A&M 30, No. 21 Mississippi State 17

Kyle Allen and the Texas A&M defense continue to show us what they are capable of. That doesn't mean A&M is without its potential flaws though. Allen was great, 322 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Myles Garrett tallied a sack, a forced fumble and two tackles for loss. However, the Aggies' rush defense continues to be gashed. A&M's 183 rushing yards allowed per game (4.6 per carry) is a major red flag for a national title contender. We  also aren't able to get a good read on their psyche as they have yet to play a game outside of Texas. I'm pretty sold on their opponent though, Mississippi State is a solid football team with a great quarterback. I feel like I know that. Dak Prescott hasn't thrown an interception in his last 176 attempts and he combined for 306 yards of total offense by himself at Kyle Field.

Auburn 35, San Jose State 21

A Gus Malzahn offense didn't score a touchdown for the first time in three years in Auburn's loss to Mississippi State. Peyton Barber made sure that didn't happen again. The Tigers' most consistent offensive player contributed five touchdowns in Auburn's win this past Saturday. Sean White, making his second career start, threw just 10 passes, only two of which came in the second half. Barber ended with his fourth 100-yard game of the season. The Spartans boasted the country's leader in all-purpose yards, running back Tyler Ervin. He gained 160 yards on the ground as San Jose State actually out-gained Malzahn's offense 406-342.

Arkansas 24, Tennessee 20

Arkansas' two-back system appeared to be revived this weekend in Knoxville. Alex Collins (154 yards) and Rawleigh Williams (100 yards) combined for 254 yards on the ground against Tennessee. Collins' effort was his third consecutive game of 150 or more yards. The Vols looked well on their way to a big rushing performance of their own as Jalen Hurd gained 89 yards in the first half. He carried the ball four times for a single yard in the second half. The Tennessee offense was held to three points and just 90 total yards in the second half. Tennessee held another double-digit lead and still suffered another loss. They've lost three of their last four games despite holding a lead of at least 14 points in each of those. Butch Jones has a 2-7 record in SEC home games.

Vanderbilt 17, Middle Tennessee State 13

Late Saturday night, two SEC programs rallied and overcame potentially embarrassing losses to out-of-conference opponents. The first was Vanderbilt, who was down 10 with 6:14 left on the road at Middle Tennessee State. Johnny McCrary broke from the pocket and ran for a touchdown while Ralph Webb burst for the difference moments later, a 39-yard touchdown run with 1:12 left to play. Webb ran for 155 yards on the day but Vanderbilt's defense once again got it done. The ‘Dores held MTSU's offense in check, holding their ground game to just 34 yards.  Having only\ defeated Austin Peay before Saturday, the win is Vandy's first over an FBS opponent this season.

Kentucky 34, Eastern Kentucky 27 OT

The other SEC comeback story Saturday night was Kentucky's triumph over in-state foe, and FCS program, Eastern Kentucky. With just under five minutes to play, JoJo Kemp punched in a touchdown to bring UK's deficit to just seven. With just under a minute to play, Patrick Towles found Dorian Baker for the tying touchdown to force overtime. Kentucky's offense has suffered from slow, sometimes nonexistent, starts all season. They dealt with another one on Saturday as running back Stanley "Boom" Williams was sidelined for personal reasons. Without Williams, the Wildcats ran for just 55 yards but were able to pull the win out in overtime. Patrick Towles was terrific down the stretch, throwing for 329 yards and three touchdowns.