SEC RECAP - WEEK 3

Saturday morning started out great. It was beautiful weather in the morning so I worked out and ran, then got breakfast and came home to catch the last hour of College Game Day, which was at Auburn this week. Second straight week in the SEC! After Game Day I got to watch the first half of the UGA v Arkansas game before I had to leave to go to a wedding. The wedding was great, but the reception last until around 9pm, so I missed most of the college football day. However, I did catch the second half and overtime of the Auburn v Clemson game, and what a game that was! We'll start with this one...

Auburn v Clemson

After being down 17-0, the Auburn Fig Newtons finally woke up and started to play. They scored 3 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter and ended up taking the game into OT. In OT, Auburn kicked a field goal to take a 27-24 lead. Clemson's Offense then came out and redshirt freshman kicker Chandler Catanzaro thought they had answered, only to find out that his made field goal was negated by a penalty. He missed his second try, and the celebration began in Auburn.

The SEC prevailed in this one but I have to give some big time props to Clemson's QB Kyle Parker. That dude is a BIG TIME athlete. He has an absolute cannon and he took some serious shots to the head during that game. This guy has a lot of heart, and I admire the fact that he came back to play one more season of football before going to play baseball for the Colorado Rockies. (They drafted him in the 1st round and he is entitled to a 1.4 million signing bonus).

Overall, I would say Game Day was a success in Auburn and I know the students had fun this weekend.

Georgia v Arkansas
Arkansas 31 UGA 24

Arkansas was up 24-10 in the 4th before the dogs made a roaring comeback to tie the game at 24 with 4 minutes left. UGA ended up getting the ball back with 2 minutes left, but could not seal the deal. When Ryan Mallett got his chance to win the game, he did not disappoint.

Last week UGA couldn't stop the run @ South Carolina (aka could not stop Marcus Lattimore). Yesterday, UGA couldn't stop the pass. Ryan Mallett connected on 21-33 for 380 yards and 3 TD's against Todd Grantham's D. In addition, the Dogs gave up numerous big plays against Petrino's offense. UGA's D also only sacked Mallett 1 time. Didn't we hire Grantham to bring "relentless pressure" and limit big plays?? He didn't do it Saturday. However, it's only game 3 of his tenure. I still don't think the D has completely figured out how to run his 3-4 scheme the way he wants it done. Have to give him some more time.

Two other observations about the UGA/Arkansas game...
1. Ryan Mallett is more mobile and even better than I thought. He proved me wrong saturday. He moved well in the pocket and rose up to the road challenge in Athens.
2. UGA and Aaron Murray are desperately missing AJ Green. AJ was needed during that game. They are now 0-2 in the SEC without him. Bet he wishes he had kept that lousy Independence Bowl jersey right now. More on Richt and UGA later this week...


Florida v Tennessee

Florida won their 6th straight over Tennessee in Knoxville on Saturday, 31-17. However, the Gators started out slow for the 3rd game in a row. I agree with Tony Barnhart aka "Mr. College Football", Florida is a team that is still trying to find its identity. Here's the scary thing, they are far from playing their best football, but they are still 3-0 and 1-0 in the SEC. They are finding a way to get it done and they will only improve as they move forward.


Alabama v Duke - Bama 62 Duke 13

Mark Ingram came back and ran for 151 yards and 2 TD's as Bama rolled. Here is why Bama is so good...At halftime, Saban was asked about the first half and he called out his guys saying that their defense in the first half was unacceptable and that guys were not doing their job. The football game was already over, but Saban wasn't happy. He is NEVER satisfied, and he doesn't let his players ever be satisfied either. He treats every possession like it is the most important possession of the season, and his players buy in.


Vanderbilt 28 Ole Miss 14

The Commodores beat Ole Miss between a battle of two of the SEC's worst teams. The year continues to be a nightmare for the Rebels, who threw away a good opportunity to win an SEC game at home. It is only going to get harder from here, as the REb's still have to play Bama, Auburn, Arkansas, and LSU. OUCH! Props to Vandy.


LSU 29 - Miss. St 7

LSU improves to 2-0 in the SEC while Miss. St falls to 0-2. Good thing LSU took care of business in this game, because the rest of their season may not be so great. Miss. St. sets the stage next week to play the 0-2 team in the cellar of the SEC East, UGA. Sounds weird to say UGA is in the cellar in the SEC, doesn't it?

In other games...
Kentucky rolled over Akron 47-10. South Carolina beat Furman 38 - 19, and yes, Spurrier still hates Garcia.

That'll do it for this week. Excited about next week...Alabama at Arkansas at 3:30 on CBS. Can't wait to hear Vern Lundquist say "WOW" 100 + times during the game. I have been looking forward to his commentating all season. At night, South Carolina travels to Auburn. Seems like Auburn plays more night games than any other team in the Country. Going to be a big test for South Carolina and Garcia, assuming Spurrier doesn't punch him in the face and give him a concussion this week at practice.


The Urban Peach SEC Player of the Week:

Ryan Mallett - Arkansas. Mallett was 21-33 for 380 yards and 3 TD's, including a game winning drive and touchdown pass.