Week 6 SEC Game Grades

 Hey there guys,

I promise I'm trying to get better at posting every day. It's tough. I have things. School. My job. My other job. Laundry. A girlfriend. It never stops. Anyway, I'm doing my best to be more disciplined.

I'm going to preface my game grades by saying that yes, the team that won the game was the better team that day. My grade does not reflect that. My individual game grade for each team is based off of expectations, my Top30 performance numbers, what their opponents allow and what they average themselves. Essentially it's a comparison of what is expected and what happens.




Arkansas 24, Auburn 7

My Pick: Auburn 31 - 24
Whoops. This is the beginning of a long week for me. If you just met me this week you probably think I know nothing about football and it all started with this game. This was going to be the week where it all got turned around for Auburn. You could see it. They were close against LSU, a huge moral victory. They were facing the worst defense in the country and an offensive line that let defenders through like osmosis. Instead Auburn threw in the white towel. I'm not trying to take anything away from Arkansas. Their defense came to play, sacking Auburn quarterbacks EIGHT times before the game was finally over.

But look at this game. These were teams at the beginning of the year that were projected to have huge season's offensively. The Hogs out-gained Auburn 372 to 321. They combined for seven turnovers and double-digit sacks. It was ugly.

I give Arkansas a B for playing their best defense of the season, and for taking care of business on offense, even if it was against arguably the worst team in the SEC. Auburn gets a D, avoiding failing only because of an average defensive performance 

No. 20 Miss State 27, Kentucky 14

My Pick: Miss State 31 - 17
Well, I kind of came close here. The truth is that MSU dominated this game, controlling the ball for approximately 36 minutes and out-gaining the 'Cats 427 to 228. And that is with two turnovers.

That said, Kentucky played State closer than expected. Yes, MSU hasn't faced very many tests so far this season, but at the end of the game, with only one scholarship QB left, Kentucky was still within striking distance. That is something the Bulldogs need to be worried about. They were in a similar situation against Auburn earlier this season.

The Bulldogs get a C, for making mistakes, not finishing drives and letting Kentucky hang around in the game. Joker's 'Cats get a B. It seems a little high right off the bat, but look at the expectations for this team. Now take away three of their four scholarship QB's leaving them with the OTHER true freshman. That's worthy of a decent grade.

No. 10 Florida 14, No. 4 LSU 6

My Pick: LSU 24-23
See, what did I tell you? I don't know anything. I thought LSU would finally show their true colors and be the national championship caliber program I believed them to be at the outset of the season.

What we got instead was Florida's real coming out party. They are for real ladies and gentleman. Hey, go ahead and latch on to the sentiment that LSU is a bad offense. They are. I'm not denying that. But I wasn't looking for Florida's defense to dominate more than I already expected. I thought LSU would get it's points because it was set up by it's defense and special teams. But what was really special was Florida's offense. Driskel's numbers aren't dazzling, but his 8 for 12 was efficient enough and Mike Gillislee almost out-gained the LSU offense.  Their numbers aren't pretty, but after only putting up 20 on Texas A&M, their ability to put up 14 on the LSU D is quite impressive.

Florida gets the top grade of the week, pulling in an A. They're defense, expected to play well, did better than that. Holding LSU to just 200 yards and eight first downs. Look, LSU didn't play awful. Their offense was awful thought. The Bayou Bengals get a C.

Vanderbilt 19, Missouri 15

My Pick: Missouri 28 - 17
This isn't going so well for me. It's going worse for Missouri. They were supposed to be the better of the two first-year teams that joined the SEC. Oh, how wrong I was. This is a common theme. You'll get used to it.

What's incredible about Mizzou's loss is that they out-gained the 'Dores by 100 yards. They just couldn't complete two long drives to open the game, settling for field goals. Also, with Franklin going out with an injury early in the game, Corbin Berkstresser took over and from there the Tigers offense became inefficient and worthless. Things are only going to get worse from here, too.

For the upset road win Vandy gets a C+, because their performance wasn't exactly admirable, but it was good enough for a win. Missouri also gets a C+, because the offense was decent, albeit inefficient and their defense held the 'Dores to below 300 yards and made them work for every point.

Texas A&M 30, Ole Miss 27

My Pick: Texas A&M 38 - 24
Texas A&M was expected to come into this game and roll right on through. Yes, the Rebels were expected to play pretty well. Hell, some even thought they could bring the game within a couple possessions. The reality was that A&M overlooked the Rebels and if not for a controversial fourth down call by the home team, the Aggies probably would have left Oxford with a loss.

Look at the numbers for a minute and they'll tell you something. Texas A&M is a lot better than Ole Miss. They out-gained the Rebels by 17 yards (481 - 464) despite going -4 in the turnover battle. The Rebels should not have been in this game, but A&M kept them around.

In the end the Aggies get a C-. They were careless with the football and the defense was scorched for nearly double what they were allowing on the season. They struggled stopping the Rebels on third and fourth down. If they weren't that much better they would have gotten blown out. Ole Miss, continuing to improve from a year ago, gets an A-, because their defense held the Aggies below average, their offense took the opposition to task, all despite being a double-digit underdog.

No. 6 South Carolina 35, No. 5 Georgia 7

My Pick: South Carolina 24 - 23
I got this right, but only in winner. South Carolina is for real. Connor Shaw is a good QB, Marcus Lattimore is the best back in the country and their defensive line is scary good.

I don't have much else to say other than this: South Carolina out-gained Georgia 392 - 242, out-first downed the 'Dawgs 20-1 and stopped Georgia on both of their fourth down attempts.

'Cocks get an A-, only because their offense didn't BLOW them away. Georgia gets a C, which might be because I feel jaded for believing in them too much