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Kentucky 26, South Carolina 22
What else can be said? We've said so much already. South Carolina played about as well as you could play in the second half but they played so poorly in the first, there was zero margin for error after halftime. Perry Orth's interception and the failed two-point conversion were the kickers. It'd also be so South Carolina and so Steve Spurrier to beat Georgia this week.
No. 6 Auburn 27, Jacksonville State 20 OT
Other FCS schools have beaten FBS teams but Jacksonville State was the first FCS program to take a ranked FBS school into overtime. And it was Auburn that was forced to send it to overtime. The Tigers trailed 20-13 with less than six minutes to play. The Gamecocks punter knocked a punt just 17 yards, giving Auburn the ball at the Jacksonville State 31 with two minutes remaining. A little over a minute later, Melvin Ray's leaping grab in the end zone ties the game and gives Auburn a chance to save themselves. Peyton Barber, who had 125 yards on the day, ran his overtime score in and the Tigers escaped an embarrassing defeat. Jeremy Johnson threw two interceptions (giving him five on the year already) and both were head-scratching tosses. He insists confidence isn't the issue for his horrid play. LSU and Auburn dance next week so Johnson may have a third poor performance staring him down.
No. 17 Ole Miss 73, Fresno State 21
You want to see some hype? Just wait if Ole Miss beats Alabama for the second consecutive year. Chad Kelly has been brilliant in both starts so far, the Rebels have topped 70 points in both games and have exceeded 600 yards of total offense in both contests. The 149 points over a two-game stretch are the most in school history. If Ole Miss can take down the Tide, Ole Miss jumps in the standings and Chad Kelly enters the front of the Heisman race. (Side note: Laremy Tunsil was ruled out for the second consecutive game. The school released a statement saying Tunsil will not play until the possible NCAA matter has been resolved)
No. 10 Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 10
For a brief period of time on Saturday there was pure excitement in Nashville. The Bulldogs shanked a field goal, UGA's Lorenzo Carter was ejected for targeting, Greyson Lambert was shitting the bed and the score was 14-6 Georgia at halftime. The Bulldogs had only 25 yards passing at the break on nine pass attempts and Lambert didn't complete a pass in the first half. After a sluggish start, Georgia's talent eventually took over. Nick Chubb broke out on his way to 189 yards on the ground. Isaiah McKenzie returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown and Sony Michel burst for a 31-yard run to the house. Jordan Jenkins had three sacks and the ‘Dawgs intercepted three passes on the day. As Vandy was down just 24-14 with a little over four minutes play, having just recovered an onside kick and driving, Jake Ganus intercepted a Johnny McCrary throw in the end zone to end the ‘Dores hopes. Vanderbilt was only outgained 422-400 but Georgia outgained them 143-10 and scored 10 points in the third quarter to pull away.
No. 2 Alabama 37, Middle Tennessee State 10
Both Jake Coker and Cooper Bateman played once again but Coker did nothing to be demoted and Bateman did nothing to prove he should get a closer look. Coker finished 15-of-26 for 214 yards, a touchdown and an interception all in the first half. For the second consecutive game, Derrick Henry rushed for three scores. Bama's secondary looked much improved as the defense as a whole grabbed four turnovers. Between the second and third quarters alone, Alabama's offense gained 532 yards of total offense. A problem to note: kicker Adam Griffith missed both of his field goal attempts and is 0-of-4 on the season. The only team to beat Alabama in the 2014 regular season awaits, the Ole Miss Rebels.
Toledo 16, No. 18 Arkansas 12
Brett Bielema spends his time in front of the media last week bombarding Ohio State's schedule. His team then proceeds to go out on Saturday and lose to a MAC team without their best player on the field. That's my favorite storyline of the week. The Rockets allowed Bielema's team to score just once in five red zone trips. Arkansas held an advantage in yardage, first downs and time of possession but couldn't pull it out. Arkansas QB Brandon Allen misfired on two endzone attempts in the game's final moments but he broke career highs (marks that he set last week) with 412 yards on 32-of-53 passing. For the second consecutive game, the Razorbacks couldn't apply pressure and it effected their past defense. Toledo QB Phillip Ely threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
No. 19 Oklahoma 31, No. 23 Tennessee 24 2OT
What a heartbreaking, wretched loss for Tennessee. It extends the Vols horrid record against ranked teams - losing 28 of their last 29 games against ranked opponents. That is not indicative of where this Tennessee team is or the future the program is headed for. Jalen Hurt rushed for 106 yards in front of a sold-out Neyland Stadium on Saturday. Hurd became the first Oklahoma opponent to rush for 100 yards against the Sooners since Alabama's Derrick Henry in the 2014 Sugar Bowl. The Vols jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first 18 minutes of the game. Oklahoma's defense locked in soon after, only allowing UT to gain 110 yards of offense over the final three quarters. Tennessee's pass defense was worrisome after their opening win against Bowling Green. They played well for about three quarters but then Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield finally started to make things happen. Through three quarters, Mayfield was 8-of-25 for 84 yards and two interceptions. The Sooners were down 17-3 in the fourth until Mayfield engineered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to send the game to overtime. Mayfield found Sterling Shepard for a touchdown pass in the second overtime to give the Sooners the lead. Zack Sanchez picked off Joshua Dobbs to seal the game on the next possession. Mayfield finished 11-of-14 for 103 yards and three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and overtime. As emotionally awful as this loss was, the Tennessee fanbase should crave wins over Florida and Georgia more so than this one, despite Oklahoma's similar prominence.
No. 16 Texas A&M 56, Ball State 23
Texas A&M finally unveiled the $485 million facelift to Kyle Field on Saturday night. The stadium's capacity was enlarged to 102,733, making it the largest stadium in the SEC and No. 4 in the nation, and high-tech advancements were implemented throughout the stadium. The Aggies first team was completely outstanding, overpowering their inferior opponent. The Aggies got out to 7-0 lead until a Ball State FG soon after made it 7-3. A&M proceeded to reel off 42 unanswered points to take a 49-3 halftime lead. Kyle Allen threw for 126 yards and three touchdowns before being taken out for good with two minutes remaining in the first half. Kyler Murray took over after Allen's departure and threw a touchdown pass to close the half. He finished 9-of-14 for 65 yards but didn't run much as he made a concerted effort to stay within the pocket during his reps. Christian Kirk caught Murray's touchdown pass and returned a punt for 56 yards as well, continuing his campaign for Spark Plug of the Year.
No. 21 Missouri 27, Arkansas State 20
Arkansas State almost did it. They almost pulled the upset. Would the Red Wolves have finished off Missouri if ASU QB Fredi Knighten hadn't left the game with a groin injury? Knighten's team held a 17-10 halftime lead and he had gained 180 yards of total offense before he was forced to the locker room. The Tigers held ASU to just 37 yards of offense in the second half and picked off Knighten's replacement twice. When Mizzou's defense tightened up, Matty Mauk stepped up as well, using his arm and his feet. He threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns but escaped for runs of 24 yards and 19 yards on the game's final drive. His last run, a 19-yard burst on third-and-13, set-up the game's winning field goal. Mizzou's best player, running back Russell Hansbrough, was limited with an ankle injury and only carried the ball five times for 15 yards. Mauk scored 75 rushing yards, over half of the team's output on Saturday. Kentrall Brothers contributed 16 tackles last week and backed it up with another 16-tackle performance this past weekend while adding a pair of interceptions this time around.
Florida 31, East Carolina 24
Entitled. Embarrassing. Selfish. That's how Florida head coach Jim McElwain described his team after beating East Carolina for the second time in nine months. After such an impressive performance in their opener, the Gators looked like Will Muschamp's group, only with a slightly improved offensive punch. They grabbed 373 yards of offense but converted just 4-of-13 third down attempts, missed two field goals, had two turnovers and worst of all - 12 penalties for 105 yards. McElwain also referred to his team's quarterback play as "very average." Will Grier got the start ahead of Treon Harris and threw two touchdowns on 10-of-17 passing for 151 yards. Despite that solid line, Harris quarterback the Gators in the fourth quarter. He engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive to take the lead in the final quarter and finished 5-of-8 for 54 yards. The game came down to the wire though as East Carolina had the ball at the UF 25 when Pirates QB Blake Kemp fumbled and Alex McCalister recovered with 12 seconds left to seal the Florida win.
No. 14 LSU 21, No. 25 Mississippi State 19
Mississippi State got off to a stagnant start on offense for the second week in a row and this time it cost them. Hosting the LSU Tigers in front of the second largest crowd in school history, the Bulldogs got down early 14-0. MSU battled back to make it 14-6 but Leonard Fournette put the Tigers up 21-6 early in the fourth quarter. Fournette ran for a career-high 159 yards and scored all three of LSU's touchdowns. Dak Presscott and the Bulldogs then rattled off two touchdowns and had an opportunity to tie the game with four minutes remaining, but a two-point conversion failed. Mississippi State was able to get the ball back one final time but missed a potential game-winning 52-yard field goal with no time remaining. With the win, LSU has now beaten MSU for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons. LSU QB Brandon Harris, making his second career start and first of the season, completed just nine passes for 71 yards. Dak Prescott threw the ball 52 (!!!) times for 335 yards and a touchdown but his legs were held in check big time, -19 yards rushing after being sacked three times and being unable to escape the pocket for much of the game.