SEC Wrap-Up: The love/hate relationships continue in week-six league action

OXFORD, Miss. – For the first time this season, all 14 Southeastern Conference teams were in action Saturday – against each other.

There were no cupcake out-of-conference games nor any intersectional matchups, but league brother against league brother.

This also gave SEC fans a chance to ramp up their fervor. More passionately than any other college football conference, these fans express not only undying love for their team, but also extreme hatred for their rivals.

It is truly a love/hate relationship. Here is how that concept played out in the SEC Saturday.

TENNESSEE 40, LSU 13

Tennessee loves wearing those smokey gray uniforms. LSU hates 11 a.m. kickoffs.

Tennessee was smoother than a smokey whiskey in Baton Rouge. Hendon Hooker passed and ran for nearly 300 yards while Jabari Small rushed for a game-high 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The offense did not turn the ball over, and defensively the Vols harassed the LSU backfield all day with Bryon Young leading the way with 2.5 sacks.

LSU’s roster apparently has no morning people on it. Kicking off before noon instead of having a Tiger Stadium Saturday night, the Tigers were groggy from the start. LSU fumbled away the opening kickoff and trailed 7-0 before it could hit the snooze bar on the alarm clock. The Tigers did throw for 300 yards as they were forced to the air after falling behind early and could only muster 59 yards on the ground.

MISSISSIPPI STATE 40, ARKANSAS 17

Mississippi State loves its newly-found balanced offense. Arkansas obviously hates rushing the passer.

State’s Will Rogers continues to be impressive while somehow flying below the national radar. He threw for 395 yards and three touchdowns. The Bulldogs complemented the passing attack by running the football at will against the Hogs. Dillon Johnson ran for an even 100 yards and as a team, MSU averaged 4.7 yards per carry.

Again, Arkansas seems to hate pressuring the quarterback. Mississippi State attempted 48 passes and the Razorbacks’ three-man rush not only never recorded a sack, but they were only credited with one quarterback hurry.

GEORGIA 42, AUBURN 10

Georgia loves its quarterback. Auburn hates the second half.

Georgia’s Stetson Bennett keeps adding to his legacy in Athens. The senior, who is about to turn 25 – the age most people are looking forward to their car insurance premiums being reduced instead of playing college football – passed for just 208 yards. But he had a highlight-film play using his legs, scrambling for a 64-yard touchdown.

Auburn led LSU last week in the first half and Saturday got through the first quarter with a scoreless tie. From there, well, Auburn was Auburn. The Tigers surrendered 14 points in the second quarter, seven in the third and 21 in the fourth. Quarterback Robby Ashford led the team in passing and rushing, but each with pedestrian numbers.

FLORIDA 24, MISSOURI 17

Florida loves playing to the level of its competition. Missouri must hates its fans because, well, the Tigers keep teasing them.

Florida might want to stop looking at the rankings and records of its opponents. After whipping highly-ranked Utah in the season opener, the Gators have narrowly escaped with wins over South Florida and Missouri. Saturday, Anthony Richardson threw for only 66 yards and the Gators could only muster 231 yards on the ground against the 2-4 Tigers.

Missouri just keeps flirting with success only to see it die late. Two weeks ago, Mizzou literally fumbled away a game to Auburn, then followed that by throwing a scare into Georgia. Saturday, the Tigers had the game’s leading rusher (Nathaniel Peet), leading passer (Brady Cook) and leading receiver (Mookie Cooper). What Mizzou didn’t have was the ability to win a close game.

OLE MISS 52, VANDERBILT 28

Ole Miss loves seeing Jonathan Mingo with the football. Vanderbilt hates its schedule maker.

Jonathan Mingo set a school record for receiving yardage in a game by catching nine passes for 247 yards and a couple of touchdowns. He was one of seven Rebels to catch a pass from Jaxson Dart who was 25-for-32 and a career-high 448 yards.

Vanderbilt is looking for the person who scheduled the No. 9 team in the country for its homecoming game. Memorial Stadium looked like a neutral site as there were as many fans wearing Ole Miss red as there were in black and gold. 

Those who did attend got to see Vandy take a halftime lead, but those fans emptied the stadium long before the final whistle as the Commodores surrendered 35 second-half points.

SOUTH CAROLINA 24, KENTUCKY 14

South Carolina loves keeping its opponents thinking. Kentucky hates having all its weapons on the field at the same time.

South Carolina kept the Wildcats defense guessing Saturday. The Gamecocks rushed for 179 yards and passed for 177. It is hard to be more balanced than that. MarShawn Lloyd ran for 110 yards and continues to be a beast for Carolina.

Kentucky was missing quarterback Will Levis to an injury and Chris Rodriguez, Jr., missed the first four games of the season due to suspension. Rodriguez ran for a game-high 126 yards, but backup quarterback Kalya Sheron was just 15-of-27 passing. After being ranked in the top ten just a couple of weeks ago, the Wildcats have now dropped two games in a row.

ALABAMA 24, TEXAS A&M 20

Alabama loves showing off its depth. Texas A&M hates this season.

Alabama was without Heisman winner Bryce Young Saturday but trotted out his backup Jalen Milroe who was a tidy 12-of-19 through the air — and he ran for another 83 yards. Of course, it helps a reserve quarterback when he can turn around and hand the ball to Jahmyr Gibbs who turned in a 154-yard rushing performance.

Texas A&M hates the way this season is developing after all the preseason hype it received. Although the Aggies’ breakout year should be 2023 with all the recruiting classes they have signed, the fans were looking for success this season. Instead, they have losses to Appalachian State, Mississippi State and Alabama. 

In August, fans thought App State and the Bulldogs were easy wins and believed A&M had a shot against the Tide. Ironically, the Aggies did have a shot against Bama, but like this season, it just didn’t work out for Texas A&M.