Team Speed Kills - SEC Football Week 7: Mississippi State, Ole Miss Remain Undefeated; Georgia Rolls MissouriSports are just better in the SEChttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52580/tsk_fav.png2014-10-13T10:00:02-04:00http://www.teamspeedkills.com/rss/stream/67252582014-10-13T10:00:02-04:002014-10-13T10:00:02-04:00TSK Replay: Auburn-Mississippi State via Twitter
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<figcaption>Kevin C. Cox</figcaption>
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<p>We and others were watching when the Bulldogs beat the Tigers on Saturday. Here's what it looked like on Twitter. We pick up after Mississippi State takes a 21-0 lead ...</p> <p></p>
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<p>Remember two weeks ago, when we were all saying, "yeah, but it's Mississippi State"?</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521032188184498176">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Nick Saban can tell you about the perils of being comfortable with a three-touchdown lead against Auburn. But it looks bad for AU</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521034595509473282">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Fake punt interception. Dan Mullen, I really hope that wasn’t your decision</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521034922421936128">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Mississippi State, that’s what you do when you’re DOWN by 21. I understand your confusion at the situation, but still</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521035120594403328">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Fair RT <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonKirkSBN">@JasonKirkSBN</a>: You'd all vigorously disapprove of that if it had worked, I trust</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521035326408884224">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>The score is now Mississippi State 21, Mississippi State 3. I mean, technically it’s Auburn 3, but ...</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521037443358019584">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Mississippi State's red-zone defense is as good as advertised. This game could easily be 21-21 right now.</p>— ESPN SEC (@ESPN_SEC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPN_SEC/status/521041016691109888">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Auburn entered the game 21 for 21 in the red zone with 17 TDS. It's 2 for 3 today with two FGs.</p>— Michael Bonner (@MikeBBonner) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBBonner/status/521041310078472192">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>The really unfortunate thing is that as long as Mississippi State keeps winning, they’re going to keep on wearing those pants</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521042867746537473">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>MISSISSIPPI STATE: STOP THROWING THE BALL TO THE OTHER TEAM. THAT’S BAD</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521043098265452544">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>And just like that, we’re a PAT away from this being a one-possession game. Unbelievable</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521045460333916161">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Mississippi State finally answers the Auburn comeback. But it’s a different game than it was an hour ago</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521048263437615105">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>If it rains any harder in Starkville, Auburn and Mississippi state are going to come out in the Ark formation.</p>— Brad Kanning (@Brad2524) <a href="https://twitter.com/Brad2524/status/521049863493259265">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>I think Allie LaForce just drowned on air</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521050247343386624">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Forget his running and passing, we’re about to find out about Dak Prescott’s swimming abilities</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521050608724623360">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>“I wonder if the band will march.” Verne Lundquist, saying what all of us are thinking. (None of us are thinking that.)</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521051089639321601">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>That’s at least the second time this season I’ve heard Gary talk about “modern offense.” I have no idea what he means</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521062141429039104">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>That marks only the second time this game that an Auburn drive has covered more than 41 yards</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521063469588971520">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Pass interference calls in the Auburn-MSU game seem to depend on the referee’s mood</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521070407571767296">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>“Officials are trying to decide if this is pass interference. Let’s go to the coin flip"</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521071827473682432">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CLANGA?src=hash">#CLANGA</a> UBER ALLES</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521074697476505600">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Gary Danielson is the kind of person who gets nervous if someone drives down the interstate at 71 mph</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521078977910538241">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>“Nick Marshall threw that interception just like Russell Wilson.”—Gary Danielson’s inner monologue, probably</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521080989918187520">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>Mississippi State and Ole Miss currently share the driver’s seat in the SEC West. I am without words</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521081420182482944">October 11, 2014</a>
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https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/13/6968161/auburn-tigers-vs-mississippi-st-bulldogs-twitterBrandon Larrabee2014-10-13T08:00:02-04:002014-10-13T08:00:02-04:00SitRep: Mississippi Strong; Running Games Struggle
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<figcaption>Scott Halleran</figcaption>
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<p>A little bit more on each SEC team after the weekend that was in college football</p> <p><b>Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Arkansas, 14-13.</i> The win against Arkansas -- and a narrow win it was -- still continued a couple of trends that should be disturbing to Tide fans. The first one is that the once vaunted Alabama running game has been slowing down to an enormous extent -- perhaps more than can be accounted for by the strength of schedule. Alabama averaged at least 5.9 yards a carry in the first three games of the season; then averaged 4.3 against Florida, then 3.8 against Ole Miss, then 2.1 against Arkansas. Florida and Ole Miss are very good rushing defenses, but Arkansas is 10th in the SEC on a per-carry basis. The second trend is an absolute implosion against Ole Miss and Arkansas on third-down offense. The Tide converted almost 63 percent of their third-down attempts in the first four games of the season, but have managed only 32.3 percent over the last two weeks. Ole Miss is fifth in the SEC in that category, but Arkansas is 11th.</p>
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<p class="caption"><i>Nelson Chenault -- USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<p><b>Arkansas Razorbacks (3-3, 0-3 SEC):</b> <i>Lost to Alabama, 14-13.</i> Count me among those truly befuddled as to why Bret Bielema didn't go for two points after his team took a 12-7 lead late in the third quarter. Full disclosure: It didn't really strike me as odd at the time (my attention was split between that game and LSU-Florida), but when I thought back on the game later, I thought: "Hmm, that's weird." It's not like either team was on pace to score a lot of points, and the only way that getting to 13 instead of 12 would have helped the Razorbacks was if Alabama successfully kicked two field goals -- which, yeah. If you <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/17586/bret-bielemas-2-point-decision-irks-brewster">go for two points with your team up by 25</a>, you should probably do the same thing with your team up by five -- especially if you're going for your first SEC win against a team like Alabama and playing with house money.</p>
<p><b>Auburn Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC):</b> <i>Lost to Mississippi State, 38-23.</i> To give you an idea on how uncharacteristically turnover-prone the Tigers were on Saturday, they almost doubled the number of times they've given the ball to the other team -- in a single game. Auburn had a total of five turnovers coming into the game, before throwing a pair of interceptions and fumbling the football away two more times. Even so -- and in part due to the generosity of Mississippi State -- the Tigers still have a plus-four turnover margin for the season. Reversion to the mean it might not have been, but Auburn doesn't want to get into the habit of handing the ball to the other team right now.</p>
<p><b>Florida Gators (3-2, 2-2 SEC):</b> <i>Lost to LSU, 30-27.</i> The Gators just about personified a boom-or-bust offense against LSU this week, and there was far too much bust and far too little boom. Florida had four explosive plays in the game (a run of 15+ yards or a pass of 20+ yards; some go with runs of 12+ yards, but it doesn't make a difference in this instance) that totaled 149 yards. Their other 53 plays covered 157 yards, for an average of 2.96 yards a play. That's just not a sustainable way to win a game, even when you're going up an opponents as offensively-challenged as LSU.</p>
<p><b>Georgia Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Missouri, 34-0.</i> How's that running game doing without Todd Gurley? Good but not great might be the best way to categorize it. The Dawgs still churned out 210 yards -- but on 58 carries, for an average of 3.6 yards a rush, the lowest average of the season by almost two full yards. The total yardage was also the lowest mark of the year (followed by the 217 yards in the South Carolina game and the 243 yards in the Vanderbilt game; in no other game did Georgia rush for less than 250 yards). And even the long rush of the game, 18 yards, was by far the smallest of the season in that category. Winning the next three games would almost lock up the SEC East for the Dawgs -- they would need Missouri to take on an extra conference loss, which seems likely -- but the sooner Gurley gets back, the better. (I know, #analysis.)</p>
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<p class="caption"><i>Denny Medley -- USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<p><b>Kentucky Wildcats (5-1, 2-1 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Lousiana-Monroe, 48-14.</i> It looked for a quarter or so like Kentucky was going to experience the letdown games to end all letdown games -- but then the Wildcats turned it on and were no worse for the wear. Lousiana-Monroe jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter, gaining 119 yards and seven first downs in the first 15 minutes. But they would only gain 145 yards and eight first downs in the other three quarters of the game combined, and Kentucky ended up cruising to within one win of bowl eligibility.</p>
<p><b>LSU Tigers (5-2, 1-2 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Florida, 30-27.</i> If this was the game where Leonard Fournette had the light go on, then the rest of the SEC might want to watch out. Fournette's 140 rushing yards were the most logged by any Tiger on Saturday, and he averaged 5.2 yards a pop over hist 27 attempts. Fournette also had two of the Bayou Bengals' four touchdowns in Gainesville. Whether or not he can keep that up against a schedule that still includes Ole Miss and Alabama is a legitimate question, but he's finally beginning to look like someone who will have a reason to strike a Heisman pose in a few years.</p>
<p><b>Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Auburn, 38-23.</i> Looking to hear a few more milestones for the Bulldogs? Here are some: This is the fifth time in history that Mississippi State has been 6-0, and only the third time since 1944. (Note: that doesn't include the 1940 team, which went 10-0-1 but picked up the tie in its third game.) The other two times in the postwar era were in 1999 -- when Mississippi State went 10-2, the second-best record in school history -- and 2012, when Dan Mullen's Bulldogs ended up 8-5. The latter seems exceedingly unlikely to repeat itself this year, but that's the shadow hanging over this program. If State can win games at Kentucky, against Arkansas and at Alabama, it can reach 6-0 in conference for the first time in school history.</p>
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<p class="caption"><i>Spruce Derden -- USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<p><b>Missouri Tigers (4-2, 1-1 SEC):</b> <i>Lost to Georgia, 34-0.</i> Mauktoberfest appears to have been canceled this year. Coming off of his worst game of the season at South Carolina, Maty Mauk had a game that was arguably worse. (And only "arguably" because he had a higher completion percentage against Georgia than against the Gamecocks.) More important than the dates on the calendar might be that Mauk has been thoroughly unimpressive or even dreadful in his first two outings of 2014 against SEC defenses: the Missouri quarterback has a 38.2 percent completion rate and a 58.61 passer rating over those two games. He threw for 14 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, and has thrown for zero since. The other other Tigers still have a good chance to make the postseason -- they just need to knock off Vanderbilt and get one more win somewhere -- but it could get dicier if they can't fix Mauk.</p>
<p><b>Ole Miss Rebels (6-0, 3-0 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Texas A&M, 35-20.</i> There's no question that the Rebels ran the Aggies out of the building Saturday night, but they did it with a rather pedestrian night offensively, at least by the statistics. Ole Miss gained a total of 338 yards and converted just 17 first downs. Of course, when the opponent turns the ball over three times, and you get 14 points off of those turnovers, you don't have to put up huge numbers on offense to win the game. The good doctor, Bo Wallace, accounted for 228 of those total yards, by the way, so surgery appears to be going swimmingly right now.</p>
<p><b>South Carolina Gamecocks (3-3, 2-3 SEC):</b> <i>Bye.</i> The Gamecocks were the only team to take their bye this week, and no team in the conference needed a break more. With home games against Furman and South Alabama still on the docket, South Carolina can clinch bowl eligibility with one win among the following games: Tennessee, at Florida, at Clemson. (We're going to dispense with any notion that they might defeat Auburn, for obvious reasons.) That's doable, but it's far from certain, and it's long way down for a team that was talked about as playoff contender in the preseason.</p>
<p><b>Tennessee Volunteers (3-3, 0-2 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Chattanooga, 45-10.</i> There's nothing to cure the bad feelings from a three-game losing streak quite like opening the cupboard to find an FCS cupcake there, and Tennessee had a feast. Sort of. The Volunteers' rushing offense, already ranked dead last in the conference, once again struggled to get going against the Mocs. In fact, Tennessee didn't gain much of anything on the ground until the fourth quarter; the Vols had seven yards on 11 carries in the first quarter, 35 yards on eight carries in the second and 10 yards on 10 carries in the third. That's an average of 1.8 yards a carry. They did gain 71 yards on 13 rushes in the fourth quarter, for 5.5 yards a carry, but they still ended up with an average of just 2.9 yards per rush for the day.</p>
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<p class="caption"><i>Jim Brown -- USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<p><b>Texas A&M Aggies (5-2, 2-2 SEC):</b> <i>Lost to Ole Miss, 35-20.</i> The Aggies' best chance to make this a game came in the second quarter, which they entered trailing, 14-0. Texas A&M drove into Ole Miss territory twice in the quarter, but came away with no points. On their first possession, TAMU got down to the Ole Miss 45-yard line before Kenny Hill threw what ended up being a pick-six for Cody Prewitt. and on their third drive of the quarter, A&M decided to go with a fake field goal on 4th-and-8 from the Ole Miss 27. The Rebels blew it up, and could pretty much coast to the win. That and some garbage-time yardage is how you outgain an opponent by 117 yards and still lose.</p>
<p><b>Vanderbilt Commodores (2-5, 0-4 SEC):</b> <i>Defeated Charleston Southern, 21-20.</i> The good news? Vanderbilt avoided the ignominious fate of losing to Charleston Southern out of the FCS. The bad news? The Commodores only beat the Buccaneers by one point, which might be worse. The Bucs gained 1.5 yards more per carry and 3.2 yards more per pass completion than Vanderbilt did, and had 19 first downs to the Commodores' 11. (Hey, at least Vanderbilt gained 0.6 more yards per pass attempt! Ha!)</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/13/6967835/sec-football-week-7-notes-statsBrandon Larrabee2014-10-12T16:19:18-04:002014-10-12T16:19:18-04:00Polls Still Matter: An Historic New No. 1
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<figcaption>Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The SEC has five teams in the Top 10 but is down to six overall in the polls, tied with the Pac-12. The SEC West is still widely believed to be the best division in the nation</p> <p>Much of the conversation about the Top 25 polls yesterday focused on two questions: Would the voters be less stubborn than they have in the past and move Mississippi State and/or Ole Miss past Florida State, and which one would get the top spot. The Bulldogs won that argument, with Ole Miss clocking in at No. 3, behind the Seminoles. Mississippi State <a href="http://www.clarionledger.com/story/mississippistatesports/2014/10/12/msu-ranked-no1-in-nation/17152637/">has never been ranked No. 1 before</a>.</p>
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<colgroup> <col width="30"> <col width="100"> <col width="100"> </colgroup>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"AP"]'>AP</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Coaches"]'>Coaches</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,1]">1</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Mississippi State"]'>Mississippi State (45)<br>
</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Mississippi State"]'>Mississippi State (26)<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,2]">2</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Florida State"]'>Florida State (12)<br>
</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Florida State"]'>Florida State (31)<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,3]">3</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Ole Miss"]'>Ole Miss (3)<br>
</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Ole Miss"]'>Ole Miss (5)<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,4]">4</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Baylor"]'>Baylor</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Baylor"]'>Baylor</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,5]">5</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Notre Dame"]'>Notre Dame</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Notre Dame"]'>Notre Dame</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,6]">6</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Auburn"]'>Auburn</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Michigan State"]'>Michigan State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,7]">7</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Alabama"]'>Alabama</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Alabama"]'>Alabama</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,8]">8</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Michigan State"]'>Michigan State</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Auburn"]'>Auburn</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,9]">9</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oregon"]'>Oregon</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oregon"]'>Oregon</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,10]">10</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Georgia"]'>Georgia</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Georgia"]'>Georgia</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,11]">11</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oklahoma"]'>Oklahoma</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oklahoma"]'>Oklahoma</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,12]">12</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"TCU"]'>TCU</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"TCU"]'>TCU</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,13]">13</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Ohio State"]'>Ohio State</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Ohio State"]'>Ohio State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,14]">14</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Kansas State"]'>Kansas State</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Kansas State"]'>Kansas State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,15]">15</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oklahoma State"]'>Oklahoma State</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Oklahoma State"]'>Oklahoma State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,16]">16</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Arizona"]'>Arizona</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"East Carolina"]'>East Carolina</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,17]">17</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Arizona State"]'>Arizona State</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Arizona"]'>Arizona</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,18]">18</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"East Carolina"]'>East Carolina</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Arizona State"]'>Arizona State</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,19]">19</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Nebraska"]'>Nebraska</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Nebraska"]'>Nebraska</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,20]">20</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Utah"]'>Utah</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Stanford"]'>Stanford</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,21]">21</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Texas A&M"]'>Texas A&M</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Texas A&M"]'>Texas A&M</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,22]">22</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"USC"]'>Southern Cal</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Clemson"]'>Clemson</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,23]">23</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Stanford"]'>Stanford</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Utah"]'>Utah</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,24]">24</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Clemson"]'>Clemson</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Marshall"]'>Marshall</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td data-sheets-value="[null,3,null,25]">25</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"Marshall"]'>Marshall</td>
<td data-sheets-value='[null,2,"USC"]'>Southern Cal<br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br><i><a target="_new" href="http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/10/12/6964715/college-football-rankings-week-8-2014-ap-top-25">For a composite Top 25 college football ranking, visit SBNation.com</a></i>
<p>Just how impressed were voters with Mississippi State's win against Auburn? The Bulldogs picked up 43 first-place votes in the AP poll, meaning roughly 72 percent of the overall voters in the survey didn't vote for Mississippi State as the No. 1 team last week and did this week. A lot of those votes probably came out of the hide of Auburn, which had 23 ballots last week and none this time around, but FSU lost 23 -- and some of those went to Mississippi State. Ole Miss picked up three after having none the week before.</p>
<p>For at least the second time this year, the coaches poll gives Florida State the most first-place votes and places them at No. 2. There is still a subset of voters not putting the Seminoles in the top two places on their ballots. It's only a one-point win for Mississippi State, and the gap between the Bulldogs and Florida State in No. 1 votes is narrow, so it might not be a particularly large subset of voters. There's likely a number of voters who have Ole Miss and Mississippi State in the top two spots with FSU following at No. 3, and that might make the difference right now.</p>
<p>Auburn falls four spots in the AP poll and six among the coaches after the loss to Mississippi State, while Alabama stands pat at No. 7 after an uninspiring win against Arkansas. That means that there are still four SEC West teams in the Top 10 -- or, actually, four SEC West teams in the Top 8. It's still viewed as far and away the best division in college football, at least among the poll voters.</p>
<p>Georgia's decimation of Missouri apparently didn't impress the coaches, who kept the Dawgs at No. 10, but it convinced the sportswriters to move them up three spots and make Georgia consensus Top 10 team. I still wonder if they're a bit of a Paper Bulldog here -- I think Georgia is a very good team this year, but I'm not sold on Top 10 good just yet -- but, with a road game against an Arkansas team that's more impressive than its record coming up this Saturday, we'll find out soon enough.</p>
<p>Texas A&M plummets seven spots after the loss to Ole Miss, meaning the Aggies have now lost a total of either 14 or 15 positions in the last two weeks, depending on the poll. Missouri, unsurprisingly, is gone entirely after the face-plant against Georgia, which is now the only ranked team in the SEC East. The conference as a whole is down to six teams in the poll, which I believe is the lowest mark of the season.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, Ohio State has managed to work its way back up to No. 13 after losing to Virginia Tech, a team that has gone 2-2 since knocking off the Buckeyes in Columbus. I realize you could say something similar about Georgia after the South Carolina loss (though that was at least in Columbia), but it's always odd to see voters ignore what happened to a team's previous opponents when ranking them. If you're wondering, Ohio State's wins since then have come against Kent State, Cincinnati and Maryland, with only the later being a road game for the Buckeyes.</p>
<p>Notre Dame moves up a spot in the AP, making their game this weekend against Florida State a consensus Top 5 showdown. Clemson also moves back onto the board -- more firmly in the coaches poll, which had them at No. 25 last week -- helping Georgia's strength of schedule argument should the Bulldogs need it at some point.</p>
<p>The Pac-12 has six teams in the poll, tying the SEC. UCLA falls completely out after an impressive two-week implosion against Utah and Oregon which will shock fans of Jim Mora's Atlanta Falcons teams not at all. The Big 12 isn't far behind with five teams among the Top 25. Something both of those conferences are likely to point out: That amounts to half of their leagues in the Top 25, while the SEC is slightly below that level.</p>
<p>The most interesting undercard to watch might be East Carolina vs. Marshall. Assuming that the Top 25 tracks fairly close to selection committee rankings -- and, as we've said numerous times before, there's no way to be sure how close the match will be -- the battle for a higher ranking between those two teams could be for a spot in one of the bowls seeded by the selection committee. Right now, ECU (another puzzling victim of South Carolina) has the edge, but watch this space.</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/12/6965989/college-football-rankings-top-25-mississippi-state-ole-missBrandon Larrabee2014-10-12T07:00:02-04:002014-10-12T07:00:02-04:00Topics for Discussion: Who's No. 1? And No. 2?
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<figcaption>Wesley Hitt</figcaption>
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<p>We're also asking for your help in putting together the SEC Power Poll ballot and figure out which game Arkansas might win</p>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3608425/mustreads.css">
<p><b>Magnolia State Madness.</b> We all seem to agree that the best college football in the country is being played in Mississippi right now, which is kind of weird. What there seems to be less agreement on is whether Ole Miss or Mississippi State should be the No. 1 team in the polls. It really makes very little difference; even if they go into the Egg Bowl undefeated, it's going to be settled on the field, and regardless of how much weight the selection committee gives to polls, an undefeated SEC champ (and probably a one-loss titleholder) will get its place in the bracket. That said: Who deserves to be No. 1 in the country right now? And do you think that both of these teams can keep rolling along until what would be the biggest Egg Bowl ever?</p>
<p><b>Georgia's got the SEC East -- right?</b> By blanking Missouri and seeing Florida lose to LSU, the Bulldogs are now in a position where their most viable competitor for the SEC East might be Kentucky. And while Mark Stoops has done great work at Kentucky, the possibility that the Wildcats can maneuver a schedule that includes Mississippi State and Georgia (among other teams) without taking on at least one more loss seems rather unlikely. So do we finally have a lock-down favorite in college football's most dysfunctional division? Or is there still a chance for more turmoil that could be put someone else in Atlanta, and who would that be?</p>
<p><b>Will you lend your humble correspondent a helping hand?</b> My latest musings on having to submit an SEC Power Poll ballot this week:</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>So here’s what it looks like right now:
1. Mississippi State
2. Ole Miss
3-13. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
14. Vanderbilt</p>— BRANDISHING SCARILY (@TeamSpeedKills) <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamSpeedKills/status/521147968557441024">October 12, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p>Again, there should be pretty much unanimous agreement that the top two are the top two (in some order), and there's no reason to believe that anyone differs with No. 14. But what would your order be for the other 11 teams in the conference?</p>
<p><b>Will Arkansas get its first SEC win under Bret Bielema this year?</b> The remaining SEC games are against Georgia, at Mississippi State, against LSU, against Ole Miss and at Missouri. The Razorback fans appear to have been patient (for them) with Bielema, but we're now closing in on two straight years without a conference victory. Is one of those games going to finally do the trick for the Hogs? Or does Bielema start the 2015 season with an 0-16 mark against the conference?</p>
<p><b>What do you make of Alabama?</b> The Tide got the one-point win against Arkansas this week, but it wasn't pretty and it relied at least in part on several errors by the Hogs. Are the Tide in even more trouble in the SEC West than the loss to Ole Miss would indicate? Or is Nick Saban going to rebound and reassert himself in the fight for the division title?</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/12/6964189/sec-football-week-7-recapBrandon Larrabee2014-10-12T01:09:43-04:002014-10-12T01:09:43-04:00Ole Miss Makes Its Own Case for No. 1: Waxing A&M
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<figcaption>Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Ole Miss exorcised the demons of heartbreaking losses the last two years to Texas A&M in dominating fashion</p> <p>Two years ago this weekend, Ole Miss won its first SEC game in over two seasons. After this weekend, the Rebels have a case to be the No. 1 team in the country.</p>
<p>After rival Mississippi State stated its case with a 38-23 win over Auburn earlier in the day, Ole Miss responded in kind with a dominating win at Texas A&M 35-20 in front of an SEC-record crowd of 110,633. The Rebels jumped out to a 14-0 first-quarter lead on the back of two <span>Bo Wallace</span> touchdown runs and got a pair of defensive touchdowns to hand Kevin Sumlin's Aggies their largest home defeat. A pair of <span>Kenny Hill</span> touchdown passes in the fourth quarter (along with a <span>Senquez Golson</span> interception in the end zone) made the score closer than the game was, but the 14 points scored by Texas A&M match the total given up by Ole Miss' first-team defense so far this season.</p>
<p>Ole Miss averaged over 9 yards per play in the first quarter en route to a 14-0 first quarter lead. Bo Wallace rushed for both of the first-quarter touchdowns for his first rushing scores of the season. The beleaguered Ole Miss rushing game had seven rushes of seven yards or more in the quarter, including one of Wallace's scores, a 10-yard rush. Ole Miss found success on the left side as Jaylen Walton's sweeps often went to the left and were picking up chunks of yardage. The first half was capped with a 75-yard interception return by <span>Cody Prewitt</span> to give the Rebels a 21-0 halftime lead.</p>
<p>Kenny Hill passed for more than 400 yards for the second time this year, but the offensive statistics were largely the result of the early lead. Hill passed for 401 yards while going 42-of-53 with the two touchdowns, two interceptions and an unforced fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Ole Miss' Keith Lewis.</p>
<p>The Ole Miss offense this year has largely not been the HUNH scheme that Hugh Freeze became known for at Arkansas State and his first two years in Oxford. Instead, the Rebels continued to try to use the run to set up the pass. After run plays on six of eight plays, Wallace delivered a 33-yard touchdown pass to slot receiver Quincy Adeboyejo, Wallace only attempted 19 passes, completing 13 for 178 yards and a touchdown. Wallace led the Rebels with 50 rushing yards and the two touchdowns.</p>
<p>Entering this week's game, Kevin Sumlin challenged the Aggies to leave last week's Mississippi State loss behind them. On the back of this performance, either they failed to do that or this Aggie team is, in fact, what was predicted of them before the season by many prognosticators. For Ole Miss, the Rebels move to 6-0 for the first time since 1962 and will continue to have the pressure ramp up in an apparent race to the Egg Bowl for SEC West supremacy.</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/12/6963835/ole-miss-rebels-vs-texas-a-m-aggies-final-scoreAlex Dusza2014-10-12T00:54:18-04:002014-10-12T00:54:18-04:00LSU Mileses Its Way to a Win Against Florida, 30-27
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<figcaption>Rob Foldy</figcaption>
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<p>Les Miles was involved in another weird and slightly wacky game. But it's doubtful that the outcome really changes that much</p> <p>There are games when it's really hard to come up with a succinct recap, a quick way to wrap up what happened and why. Most of those games involve Les Miles. As did LSU's weird, three-point win against Florida on Saturday. It wasn't always a thing of beauty, but it was entertaining in its own way, and it continued the trend of the SEC West beating the SEC East in head-to-head match-ups.</p>
<p>There was the initial unexpected outburst of points -- 21 of them in the first quarter of a game that drew some predictions of about that many points for the whole thing. About four minutes into the second quarter, Florida had a 17-7 lead. But LSU, powered in large part by ballyhooed freshman running back <span>Leonard Fournette</span>, reeled off 13 straight points to take a 20-17 lead into the fourth quarter.</p>
<p>Which is where things got weird. If you count ties, there were four lead changes in the fourth quarter. A 53-yard punt return by <span>Andre Debose</span> set up a short touchdown drive for Florida. LSU then drove the ball 75 yards, including a pass and penalty that netted 54 of those on a single play, to retake the lead, 27-24. Florida responded with a 73-yard reception by <span class="sbn-auto-link"><span><span class="sbn-auto-link">Demarcus Robinson</span></span></span> to set up the game-tying field goal.</p>
<p>LSU then went three and out. <span>Jeff Driskel</span> and Florida drove into LSU territory, looking for all the world like they might put up the winning points or at least get the game to overtime at home. And then Driskel threw another one of his too-frequent interceptions and a nice return set LSU up for a 50-yard field goal to win the game (that almost didn't happen because of clock-management issues by LSU -- shocking, I know -- and Florida players who tried to keep the ball on the ground longer than the officials would let them).</p>
<p>Even beyond the strange back-and-forth at the end, there were some notable things about the game. Leonard Fournette is beginning to look like the game-changing player we heard of in the offseason; he had 140 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries, marking his first 100-yard game against a team not named New Mexico State and the first time he's run for more than 42 yards against SEC competition. If you're an LSU fan, take that as a hopeful sign for the future.</p>
<p>Florida did try to compensate for Driskel's well-documented problems throwing the ball -- he was 14-of-25 for 183 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in this one -- by using his legs more. Driskel ran 21 times for 71 yards, both season highs, and a touchdown. Still, it's clear that any already-slim hopes of Will Muschamp having a future in Gainesville rest on having <span>Treon Harris</span> helm the Florida offense.</p>
<p>But even those things tell you what this game largely was: a sideshow. With LSU coming into the game with two losses and Florida leaving it with the same number, there's little to no chance that either team is going to win its respective division. Had the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.alligatorarmy.com/">Gators</a> gotten a win, it was possible to see them getting through with a MacGyver-style SEC East championship and getting Will Muschamp another year or two in the Swamp. That's gone now. Likewise, there's little hope that even this win is going to allow LSU to get back into the race for the rough-and-tumble SEC West. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.andthevalleyshook.com/">Tigers</a> might have reversed the scoreboard on Saturday, but their deficit in the division looks too big to overcome.</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/12/6964039/lsu-tigers-vs-florida-gators-final-scoreBrandon Larrabee2014-10-11T23:29:00-04:002014-10-11T23:29:00-04:00Alabama 14, Arkansas 13: Tide Escape in Sloppy Win
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<figcaption>Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Alabama avoided losing back-to-back SEC games for the first time since 2007 by the narrowest of margins</p> <p>Alabama escaped Fayetteville, Ark., with a 14-13 win over Arkansas in a sloppy game. Alabama would get a fourth-quarter touchdown to take the lead for good, but the game was far from comfortable for the Tide.</p>
<p>Throughout the game, both teams were untidy. The Tide bungled three punt returns and lost two, with <span>Christion Jones</span> losing a first-quarter punt for his second special teams fumble in the last two weeks. On the ensuing Arkansas drive, the Razorbacks drove to the end zone before Kody Allen fumbled diving toward the end zone. The ball would go out of the end zone for a touchback, keeping the game scoreless.</p>
<p>The special team woes continued as <span>Adam Griffith</span> missed a 30-yard field goal on Alabama's opening drive of the second quarter. For all of the special teams mistakes for Alabama, however, the eventual winning margin would come from a positive special teams play, when <span>Jonathan Allen</span> blocked Arkansas' second-quarter extra point.</p>
<p>Bret Bielema is still seeking his first SEC win at Arkansas, but after the defensive efforts in the last two SEC games, it can only be a matter of time before that win comes. Arkansas held Alabama to only 227 offensive yards, including 66 rushing yards on 32 carries. Alabama's longest rush was only a 12-yard carry by T.J. Yeldon, who was held to 45 yards on 16 carries.</p>
<p>That is not to say Alabama's defense did not come up big as well. The Tide defense held the SEC's leading rushing team to a season-low 89 yards. <span>Brandon Allen</span> did pass for nearly 100 yards more than his season average, but those passing yards came on a completion percentage of 53 percent. Fifty-four of Allen's 246 yards came on a third-quarter touchdown to AJ Derby to give Arkansas a 12-7 lead, but Bielema elected to kick an extra point rather than attempting a two point conversion. Alabama's defense made a big play to finish the game off with a <span>Landon Collins</span> interception of Allen with two minutes remaining to finally allow the Crimson Tide to escape.</p>
<p>Bielema's building of the Arkansas program has been slow to progress and a statement win over Alabama would have been massive, but the improvement shown this year so far looks like it will pay off soon with the long-awaited SEC win.</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/11/6963475/alabama-crimson-tide-vs-arkansas-razorbacks-final-scoreAlex Dusza2014-10-11T23:20:10-04:002014-10-11T23:20:10-04:00Georgia Knocks off Missouri in a Shutout
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<figcaption>Kyle Rivas</figcaption>
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<p>What happened on the next possession? Maty Mauk threw an interception. And after stopping the Bulldogs and forcing a punt, they got the ball back and guess what happened. Maty Mauk threw another interception.</p> <p>With <span>Todd Gurley</span> out, Georgia wasn't going to win. No Keith Marshall or <span>Sony Michel</span> either, so no chance at all. Analysts took the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.dawgsports.com/">Georgia Bulldogs</a> out of the SEC East race and Vegas took the game off of the board. But Mark Richt knew this was a game he needed to win -- Gurley or not -- and his team made that happen.</p>
<p>Coming into Saturday, Missouri QB Maty Mauk had completed 56 percent of his passes, thrown for 14 touchdowns and four interceptions, and led the Tigers to a comeback at that other Columbia (against South Carolina). But Saturday, he played the worst game I've ever seen a quarterback play.</p>
<p>Georgia began the game and dominated on both lines of scrimmage in the early possessions. <span>Nick Chubb</span>, Georgia's freshman running back and fill-in for Todd Gurley, ran the ball seven times on their first drive, leading to a 47-yard kick from <span>Marshall Morgan</span>.</p>
<p>What happened on the next possession? Maty Mauk threw an interception. And after Missouri stopped the Bulldogs to force a punt, they got the ball back and guess what happened. Maty Mauk threw another interception. With 5:42 left in the 1st quarter, Maty Mauk boasted a zero-completion percentage on 0-of-4 passing with two interceptions. Stellar, I know.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p><span>Maty Mauk's</span> passer rating is -100.</p>
— <span>David Morrison</span> (@DavidCMorrison) <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidCMorrison/status/520976580362121217">October 11, 2014</a>
</blockquote>
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<p>But the Tigers' defense stayed in it like every Missouri fan would've hoped. That was until Mizzou allowed a 56-yard touchdown drive capped off by a <span>Hutson Mason</span> -- yes, the unanimously selected slowest quarterback in the SEC -- 11-yard touchdown run. By the end of the first half, it was 20-0, Georgia, and it was cold, and Missouri fans were filing out.</p>
<p>As the second half resumed and Missouri fans regained hope after a 24-yard pass to <span>Jimmie Hunt</span>, Mauk threw yet another interception and the rest was history. Missouri lost 34-0 in arguably the worst performance by a team with expectations that I have ever seen.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p>Missouri ran four plays in Georgia territory today. Three were turnovers. Never got closer than UGA 34.</p>
— Dave Matter (@Dave_Matter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Dave_Matter/status/521030287015174146">October 11, 2014</a>
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<p>"I'm very disappointed in how we played and it all starts with me," Gary Pinkel said in his post game press conference. "Everything looked right up until kickoff. Is there a sense of urgency? That's an understatement." <span>Bud Sasser</span>, Missouri's senior receiver said: "That's a pathetic job by the offense. Period. We should never play that bad. Ever."</p>
<p>It was an embarrassing performance, but there was a really bright spot for Georgia, a team that's struggled over the last few weeks. This was a game Richt needed to win. He did it with defense, he did it with great play-calling from Mike Bobo, and he pulled out a win in a crowd that was the largest -- announced at 71,168 -- at Mizzou since 1983.</p>
<p>Nick Chubb ran the ball 38 times -- for a freshman, that's a pretty good bit -- and covered 143 yards on the ground. Georgia looked really good, and with hopes that Gurley can return, they'll be in the running for the East for sure.</p>
<p>For Missouri, Gainesville next week will be difficult. For Georgia, at Arkansas won't be much easier. Look for the Tigers to bounce back, and look for Georgia to continue to rally as a team. This was only Week 7. This was only the beginning of divisional match-ups in the gauntlet that is this year's SEC.</p>
https://www.teamspeedkills.com/2014/10/11/6963567/georgia-bulldogs-vs-missouri-tigers-final-scoreAlec Lewis