Three Top 25 vs Top 25 matchups were on the SEC slate this week. None of them turned out to be nail biters, but we learned a lot from each game. If you read my piece on the “Most Overrated Teams in the Top 25” last week, this will also be known as the apology edition of this column.
Alabama doesn’t make this week’s column because it is simply a step ahead of the rest. After its victory over Texas A&M, it continues to be the team to beat. Let’s focus on everybody else this week, including some newly awakened challengers to the Tide…..
Missouri is going to need some time
A lot of people were left scratching their head when Missouri was announced as an addition to the SEC. Three years later, the Tigers had become a legitimate contender for the SEC East Championship every year.
Now, they are essentially the laughingstock of the league, having just lost to Middle Tennessee State. Games against Kentucky, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt (teams more on Missouri’s level this season) will ultimately decide the Tigers season, but it doesn’t look good.
When Missouri chose Barry Odom as their coach, the thought was that it would continue to build without a hitch. That hasn’t happened. Year one isn’t the time to panic, but it is a time to worry about where the Tigers are headed.
Arkansas read too many positive press clippings last week
Will the real Hogs please stand up?
Last week, I threw bouquets at Bret Bielema and the job he had done building this Arkansas Razorback team. It looks like Bielema and the coaching staff let the team rest on their laurels, because they got destroyed against Auburn on Saturday.
Saturday was a lesson in humility for Arkansas. No matter how good you think you are, there is always a team that is going to stand up and slap you in the mouth if you don’t put your best foot forward.
Ole Miss can’t win the big one
The most impressive victory Ole Miss has this season is against the Georgia Bulldogs. Those same Bulldogs then lost to Vanderbilt.
When Ole Miss has stepped up in competition, it has lost. The Rebels have losses to Florida State, Alabama, Arkansas and now LSU.
This year’s version of the Rebels simply can’t win the big one.
A healthy Leonard Fournette makes LSU a legit contender
The LSU Tigers are peaking at the right time. They just rolled over Ole Miss and despite this being their first “quality” victory of the season, they have put themselves in contention for the SEC West Title.
Leonard Fournette simply ran over the Ole Miss defense. With him in the lineup, it changes what the Tigers can do on offense. Last week, I wrote that LSU was one of the most overrated teams in the AP Top 25….and they were. Now that they have Fournette back, they may be one of the most underrated.
Auburn…..WOW!
This week, Auburn is the recipient of the….WOW award. The Tigers went out and unexpectedly curb stomped Arkansas. Everything Auburn wanted to do worked.
The Tigers, along with the other Tigers (LSU), now have as much momentum as anybody in the SEC. Gus Malzahn and staff are flying high. Rumors of his demise seem to have vanished after this win. Now is the time for the Tigers to be careful (not in play calling, but in being too excited about what they accomplished on Saturday). They can’t do what Arkansas did this week and come out and think they can simply show up and get a win.
On Saturday, Auburn looked like the team of a few years ago. A team that could score on any play and could get into the end zone anytime it wanted. That Auburn is a team to fear. Can Malzahn and staff keep it up for the rest of the year? If they can, SEC defenses should be running for cover.
