By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Matt Smith recaps week six in the SEC.

Scores

No. 5 Georgia 14, Kentucky 3

Auburn 48, LSU 11

Ole Miss 54, Vanderbilt 21

No. 2 Alabama 41, Mississippi State 0

No. 8 Texas A&M 42, Arkansas 31

No. 10 Florida 40, Missouri 17

The Big Story

Well, Auburn certainly didnt need any helps from the men in stripes today. Despite Auburn having lost to a South Carolina team that LSU demolished by four touchdowns last Saturday night, Gus Malzahns team delivered a dominant performance against those other Tigers, putting up more than 500 yards, forcing turnovers, and taking advantage of said turnovers in a 48-11 whitewashing of the defending national champions.

This was the Bo Nix we thought we might see more of as a sophomore after an up-and-down but encouraging freshman season. Nix only threw 24 passes with the game out of hand in the second half, but connected on 18 of them, with three going for touchdowns, including a career-long 91-yard strike to Anthony Schwartz. After a pair of touchdowns attributable to the defense, one a fumble return touchdown and another a short Nix touchdown pass after an interception return to the 4-yard line, Nix led a 99-yard drive to put Auburn ahead 21-0 just before halftime and take whatever drama was left out of the game.

The orange and blue Tigers found a pass rush, registering four sacks and making LSU quarterback TJ Finleys second career start a miserable one. The purple and gold Tigers ground game was non-existent, managing just 57 yards, even with sacks not counted. The Auburn team we saw on Saturday can win three of its final four games and even land a couple big blows against Alabama, but will this performance carry over until after the idle week and a date with Mississippi State? Nix has to maintain a high level of play, which seems believable after his brilliant day.

Top Takeaways

-Its rare to go through an SEC season without one good, old-fashioned brawl. We got one Saturday night in Gainesville late in the first half, as Florida took umbrage with an unflagged late hit by Missouris Trajan Jeffcoat on Gators quarterback Kyle Trask. Both teams met in full in the middle of the field, punches were thrown, and head coaches Eli Drinkwitz and Dan Mullen had a heated discussion. Only starting defensive lineman Zachary Carter was ejected for Florida, but the Gators are not out of the woods when it comes to possible suspensions for next weeks likely SEC East title decider against Georgia. Cooler heads prevailed fairly quickly, but until the SEC office makes a decision on punishments, this will remain a story given whats at stake for Florida over the next seven days.

As for the game, Missouri used a pick-six by Jarvis Ware to jump to a 7-6 lead, but the Gators rolled off the next 28 points behind three total touchdowns from Kadarius Toney to run away from the Tigers, 41-17, and ensure the winner of next weeks Florida-Georgia game will hold a one-game lead in the division plus the all-important head-to-head tiebreaker. Holding Missouri to just 248 yards was easily the best performance of the season for the Gators defense, despite playing with a thin secondary due to COVID-19 issues.

-Kellen Mond and the Texas A&M offense continue to put together a very nice season despite some significant attrition. Facing an Arkansas defense that held Ole Miss to just 21 points two weeks ago, the Aggies put up 28 in the first half alone against the Razorbacks on Saturday night in College Station. Mond misfired on just five of his 26 throws and threw three touchdown passes to gradually pull away from a decent Arkansas team.

The 42-31 final score was deceptive, as Arkansas added a pair of late touchdowns to narrow the gap. Feleipe Franks played well again in defeat, matching Mond with a three-touchdown, zero-interception performance. Third downs swung the game in favor of the Aggies, with each team having 11 attempts, but Texas A&M converting seven compared to just three for Arkansas. Four sacks from an improving defense aided Texas A&Ms cause. Outside of an SEC West title, all of the Aggies goals remain on the table as they prepare to venture out for back-to-back long road trips to South Carolina and Tennessee.

Quick Hitters

-Georgia never was able to pull away from Kentucky in Lexington, but the 14-3 score misrepresents how dominant the fifth-ranked Bulldogs were in their tune-up for the Florida showdown next week. It was a one-score game until Zamir Whites 22-yard scamper early in the third quarter provided the days final points, but Kentucky reached the Georgia 35-yard line just once. White led the way with 136 yards on the ground, while Stetson Bennett IV threw just 13 passes. Bennett did have two of those 13 attempts land in the hands of Kentucky defenders, which is a concern for next week where a mistake or two could swing the outcome. After licking their wounds from the Alabama loss, the Bulldogs defense was back to looking like the nations best, holding the Wildcats to just 237 yards.

-Joey Gatewood got a raw deal having to make his first career start against Georgias defense, but I thought the Kentucky quarterback hung tough under difficult circumstances. He could have been sacked many times more than he was, sensing and fighting off heavy pressure from the Bulldogs. Was it enough to overtake a healthy Terry Wilson? Thats the big call for Mark Stoops after a week off prior to the Wildcats hosting Vanderbilt.

-In another game that went according to the script, Ole Miss picked apart a porous Vanderbilt defense for 645 yards and 54 points in a 54-21 thumping of the Commodores in Nashville. Matt Corral delivered perhaps the non-Vanderbilt adjusted stat line of the season for an SEC quarterback by completing 31 of 34 passes for 412 yards and six touchdowns. The defense still stinks, as evident by Vanderbilts Ken Seals hitting on 31 or 40 attempts for 319 yards, but it didnt matter on Saturday. The coming week off probably wont change things, so it will continue to be on Corral to not make mistakes and avoid any scoring lapses. Thats Ole Miss football in 2020. Its living on the edge, but it certainly provides plenty of excitement.

-It was a productive 69th birthday for Nick Saban, as his Alabama defense delivered a shutout in a 41-0 stomping of woeful Mississippi State. The Bulldogs managed just 200 yards of offense, while the Crimson Tide forced three turnovers. As it is now November, I guess I can mention the cHd word that I try to avoid for as long as I can every season. Mac Jones threw four more touchdown passes to give him 16 on the season, and sits just shy of an 80 percent completion percentage. No Alabama quarterback has ever won the Heisman Trophy, but Jones enters the back half of the season as the favorite.

Around The Nation

-Oh, Michigan. I dont think Saturdays 27-24 home loss to clittle brotherd Michigan State, fresh off of a home loss to Rutgers a week ago, was the worst defeat in Jim Harbaughs six seasons in Ann Arbor, but its in the top two or three for sure. The Spartans were far improved from their seven-turnover meltdown last Saturday, as a long-dormant Spartan passing attack came to life. Rocky Lombardi and Ricky White combined for two significant long passing plays on third downs that propelled a 92-yard touchdown drive to extend the Michigan State lead to two scores in the fourth quarter. Michigan State has now won five of its last seven games in Michigan Stadium. The 1-1 Wolverines must quickly regroup before a tough road test next Saturday at 2-0 Indiana. A loss there, and Harbaughs future, even in 2020, becomes murky.

-The game of the day, per usual, came in the Big 12. Texas took down the leagues final undefeated team with a 41-34 overtime win over Oklahoma State in Stillwater. The Cowboys had a much easier time moving up and down the field, amassing a 530-287 total yards advantage, but four turnovers leading to 18 Texas points and an All-American caliber day from Longhorns linebacker Joseph Ossai (three sacks, six TFLs, one forced fumble, game-ending sack) allowed Texas to get its biggest win since 2018. Yeah, CFP hopes are on life support for the Big 12 with Oklahoma State the only team without multiple losses, but this is going to be a heck of a title race with Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and West Virginia all very much alive for a Big 12 Championship Game berth.

-The most newsworthy item of the day came after No. 1 Clemsons 34-28 comeback win over Boston College, as head coach Dabo Swinney announced that Tigers star quarterback Trevor Lawrence will miss next weeks game at No. 4 Notre Dame while recovering from a positive COVID-19 test. True freshman D.J. Uigalelei filled in admirably in Lawrences absence against the Eagles, helping the Tigers outscore Clemson 21-0 in the second half after the Tigers dug themselves a big hole, thanks in large part to a 99-yard fumble return touchdown by Boston College. Clemson is as thin as a team that recruits as well as that program has can be heading to South Bend. Despite the revolving door on the field, the Tigers again displayed the heart of a champion to fend off a spunky ACC foe and increase their winning streak against ACC teams to 29.

-The Big Ten Game of the Year between Ohio State and Penn State lost some luster last week after Indiana upset the Nittany Lions. The third-ranked Buckeyes had the good fortune of playing in an empty Beaver Stadium on Saturday night and took full advantage, jumping to a 21-6 halftime lead behind a pair of Justin Fields touchdown passes and just 75 yards given up by the defense. There were plenty of mistakes for the three-time defending conference champions, including a clock gaffe that allowed the Nittany Lions a field goal right before halftime. Penn State closed to within a score in the third quarter, but Ohio State quickly extended the lead and never looked back. Jawan Dotson had a brilliant game in defeat for Penn State, making three highlight-reel catches as part of a 144-yard, three-touchdown day. Even on a night with some silly mental mistakes, Ohio State clearly handled what could be the second-best team in the Big Ten.

A Peek at Next Week

The Big One

No. 8 Florida vs. No. 5 Georgia, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Ive already touched on the implications of this title fight. Both teams have fairly cushy final four games, so its hard to paint a scenario where the winner of this game isnt in Atlanta on Dec. 19. Florida has lost three straight in this series. With a clear advantage at quarterback, the Gators have to feel like this might be the best opportunity they have had and will have in the next few seasons to take down the Bulldogs. Is this the year Dan Mullen and Florida finally figure out Kirby Smarts defense?

Dont Miss

Vanderbilt at Mississippi State, 4 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

No. 7 Texas A&M at South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Tennessee at Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

Flip Around

Arizona State at No. 20 USC, Noon ET (FOX)

No. 23 Michigan at No. 13 Indiana, Noon ET (FS1)

No. 14 Oklahoma State at No. Kansas State, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)

No. 1 Clemson at No. 4 Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)

Washington at California, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)