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Published Oct 20, 2024
Week 8: Glance around the SEC
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Kyle McAreavy  •  Mizzou Today
Senior Editor
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@kyle_mcareavy

Missouri beating Auburn wasn’t the only interesting game in the SEC this week.


Here’s a look at all the scores from Saturday. All rankings are based on the AP poll going into Week 8.


GEORGIA 30 TEXAS 15

Nobody gets to stay ranked No. 1 for long!

The top of the SEC continues to eat itself alive as the No. 5 Bulldogs end the run at No. 1 for the Longhorns.

Georgia got on the board near the end of the first quarter when Trevor Etienne ran in a 2-yard touchdown, then the Bulldogs hit a 33-yard field goal to extend to a 10-0 lead in the second.

Etienne added a 15-yard touchdown to create a 17-0 margin.

The Longhorns brought it down to a one-score margin with two third-quarter touchdowns. A 2-yard Quinn Ewers pass to Isaiah Bond and a Ewers to Bond two-point conversion, then a Ewers 17-yard pass to Jaydon Blue.

But the Bulldogs extended out to the final margin in the fourth.

Ewers was 25-of-43 passing for 211 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Arch Manning replaced Ewers for the final two drives of the first half, but Ewers came back out after halftime.

Carson Beck was 23-of-41 passing for 175 yards and three interceptions. It was his worst statistical performance of the season.

Etienne rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns, bringing him to seven touchdowns this season, all in the past four games.

Matthew Golden led the game with three catches for 75 yards for Texas.

Texas (6-1, 2-1) will play at Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

Georgia (6-1, 4-1) is on a bye next week.


Now onto the other top-ranked matchup of the week …


TENNESSEE 24, ALABAMA 17

The No. 7 Crimson Tide prove they are beatable for the third consecutive week. After losing to Vanderbilt, they barely beat South Carolina and then lost to the No. 11 Volunteers in Knoxville, Tenn. on Saturday.

Alabama jumped ahead with a second-quarter touchdown pass from Jalen Milroe to Ryan Williams, but that was the only score in the first half.

Tennessee came back to tie at 7 in the third quarter when Dylan Sampson run in a 2-yard touchdown, then took a 14-10 lead when Sampson ran it in again, this time from the 3.

Justice Haynes put Alabama back in front with a 7-yard touchdown run with 13:56 left in the fourth, but Nico Iamaleava found Chris Brazzell for a 16-yard touchdown with 5:52 left to play, putting Tennessee up for good.

Milroe completed 25-of-45 passes for 239 yards and a touchdown, but threw two interceptions. He now has 12 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

No Alabama rusher had more than 42 yards and standout freshman Williams led the receiver group with eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. The 17-year old is up to 567 receiving yards and six touchdowns this year.

Iamaleave completed 14-of-27 passes for 194 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Sampson rushed for 139 yards and two scores on 26 attempts.

Sampson is up to 838 rushing yards and an astounding 17 rushing touchdowns this year.

Alabama (5-2, 2-2 SEC) plays host to No. 19 Missouri next Saturday at 2:30 p.m..

Tennessee (6-1, 3-1) is on a bye next week.


Speaking of teams at the top of the SEC standings …


TEXAS A&M 34, MISSISSIPPI STATE 24

The No. 14 Aggies earned their sixth consecutive win Saturday.

The Bulldogs jumped in front initially when Michael Van Buren found Davon Booth for a 14-yard touchdown, but Texas A&M responded when Conner Weigman connected with Noah Thomas on a 20-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7 after the first quarter.

Le’Veon Moss then ran in a 9-yard touchdown and Amari Daniels added a 6-yard touchdown in the second quarter to build a 21-17 halftime advantage.

Moss added another touchdown in the third quarter to add some insurance to the Aggies’ lead.

Weigman was 15-of-25 passing for 217 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Moss had 65 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, while Daniels had 47 yards and one score.

Moss is up to 674 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground this season.

Jabre Barber led the Aggies’ receiver room with six catches for 92 yards.

Van Buren was 22-of-41 passing for 242 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Booth led the Bulldogs with 79 rushing yards on 12 carries, while Kevin Coleman had 89 yards on eight catches with a touchdown.


Texas A&M (6-1, 4-0) hosts LSU at 6:30 p.m. next week.

Mississippi State (1-6, 0-4) hosts Arkansas at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.


In a matchup of one team lower in the standings than expected against one higher than expected …


SOUTH CAROLINA 35, OKLAHOMA 9

Oh boy do I love this game. Can’t stand OU.

South Carolina jumped ahead with a 3-yard touchdown run from Raheim Sanders, then Demetrius Knight strip sacked Michael Hawkins and Tonka Hemingway returned the fumble 36 yards for a touchdown.

Hawkins then threw an interception to Nick Emmanwori, who returned it 65 yards to put the Gamecocks up 21-0 in the first six minutes of the game.

Hawkins was benched for Jackson Arnold, who had been benched for Hawkins a couple of weeks ago, but Oklahoma was unable to get closer than three scores the rest of the way.

LaNorris Sellers completed 16-of-24 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown for South Carolina.

No Gamecock rusher had more than 33 yards and no receiver had more than 43.

Arnold completed 18-of-36 passes for 225 yards and a touchdown for OU. Hawkins was 3-of-5 for 18 yards and two interceptions.

Jovantae Barnes led the Sooners with 70 rushing yards and Jacob Jordan led the team with 86 receiving yards on six catches.

I am fascinated by what OU is going to do at quarterback moving forward.

South Carolina (4-3, 2-3) is on a bye next week.

Oklahoma (4-3, 1-3) hits the road to Ole Miss for an 11 a.m. matchup next week.


Back to a team in the rankings …


LSU 34, ARKANSAS 10

The No. 8 Tigers jumped ahead early and stayed ahead in a dominant performance against the Razorbacks.

Caden Durham got the Tigers on the board with a 22-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, then LSU added a 33-yard field goal to take a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.

LSU extended the lead with a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter but Arkansas was able to cut the lead when Taylen Green threw a 25-yard touchdown to Andrew Armstrong with 8:30 left before halftime.

LSU kicked another field goal to take a 16-7 lead into halftime.

Arkansas kicked a field goal to cut the lead to six in the third quarter, but Durham ran in a 2-yard touchdown and Nussmeier threw a two-point conversion to Trey’Dez Green to put LSU up 24-10 with 4:52 left to play in the third.

LSU added on in the fourth.

Nussmeier completed 22-of-33 passes for 224 yards, while Green was 21-of-31 passing for 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Durham ran for 101 yards and three scores for LSU. He is up to 382 yards and six touchdowns on the ground to go with 10 catches for 148 yards and two receiving scores in his impressive true-freshman season.

CJ Daniels led LSU with 86 receiving yards on seven catches, while Armstrong caught seven passes for 94 yards for Arkansas.

LSU (6-1, 3-0) hits the road to play at No. 14 Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Arkansas (4-3, 2-2) plays at Mississippi State at 11:45 a.m.


Onto a game with no ranked teams …


FLORIDA 48, KENTUCKY 20

Florida scored 21 unanswered second-quarter points to build the lead it would not give up, then added another 21 unanswered points for good measure in the fourth.

The Gators have won three of their past four games and went to overtime with Tennessee in the one loss.

DJ Lagway was 7-of-14 passing for 259 yards and an interception for Florida, while adding 46 rushing yards. Jaden Baugh led the Gators with 106 rushing yards and five touchdowns, his first five career touchdowns.

Elijah Badger had three catches for 148 yards for Florida.

Brock Bandagriff was 12-of-26 passing for 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Kentucky.

No Wildcat rusher had more than 40 yards and no receiver had more than 60.

Florida (4-3, 2-2) is on a bye next week.

Kentucky (3-4, 1-4) will host Auburn at 6:45 p.m.


Finally …


VANDERBILT 24, BALL STATE 14

Whew, Vanderbilt was worrying me there for a second. Gotta keep the now three-game winning streak alive.

The Commodores will likely enter the top-25 this week for the first time since 2013 when they were No. 24 in Week 17.

Ball State jumped ahead with a first-quarter touchdown, but Diego Pavia found Eli Stowers for a 41-yard touchdown with 2:39 left in the second quarter to send Vanderbilt into the break up 14-7.

Ball State came back to tie at 14 in the third, but the Commodores outscored Ball State 10-0 in the fourth to take the win.

Pavia completed 17-of-31 passes for 275 yards and a touchdown, mostly to Stowers who had eight catches for 130 yards and a score. Pavia also led the rushing attack with 82 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Pavia is up to 1,391 yards and 11 passing touchdowns to go with only one interception. He also has 470 rushing yards and three scores.

Vanderbilt (5-2, 2-1) hosts Texas at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.


Ole MIss was on a bye in Week 8.


Here’s a look at the SEC standings after Week 8

SEC Standings
TeamOverall recordOverall win percentageConference recordConference win percentrage

Texas A&M

6-1

.857

4-0

1.000

LSU

6-1

.857

3-0

1.000

Georgia

6-1

.857

4-1

.800

Tennessee

6-1

.857

3-1

.750

Missouri

6-1

.857

2-1

.667

Texas

6-1

.857

2-1

.667

Vanderbilt

5-2

.714

2-1

.667

Alabama

5-2

.714

2-2

.500

Arkansas

4-3

.571

2-2

.500

Florida

4-3

.571

2-2

.500

South Carolina

4-3

.571

2-3

.400

Ole Miss

5-2

.714

1-2

.333

Oklahoma

4-3

.571

1-3

.250

Kentucky

3-4

.429

1-4

.200

Auburn

2-5

.286

0-4

0.000

Mississippi State

1-6

.143

0-4

0.000

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