What we learned
The conventional wisdom that the race for the SEC Eastern Division title would be a three-way run among Georgia, Florida and South Carolina was toppled on Saturday in Athens.
Missouri’s upset of Georgia, combined with Florida’s loss at LSU on Saturday and South Carolina’s loss to Georgia last month, leaves only one SEC East team unbeaten in league play: Missouri.
So now the road to the SEC Championship game in Atlanta runs through Columbia, Mo.
Who saw that coming?
“Last year, a lot of people said we didn’t belong in the SEC and we’ve been dealing with that criticism,” Missouri defensive end Shane Ray told reporters after the win in Sanford Stadium. “To be able to come out and beat a great team like Georgia, it’s epic.”
The Tigers (6-0, 2-0 SEC) are atop the East heading into a three-game homestand against Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee, in that order.
The bad news for Missouri is that it will be without starting quarterback James Franklin for that key stretch and beyond.
Franklin left the Georgia game with 10 1/2 minutes remaining due to a separated right shoulder. Missouri led 28-26 at the time and went on to a 41-26 victory behind redshirt freshman backup quarterback Maty Mauk (3-for-3 passing) and a trick play (a lateral from Mauk to wide receiver Bud Sasser, who threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver L’Damian Washington).
Missouri’s victory signals a fluid race for the SEC East title. Georgia, Florida and South Carolina are all 3-1 in SEC play, having played two more league games apiece than Missouri at this point. The other three teams in the division — Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt — are a combined 0-8 in SEC games.
Whatever happens from here, Missouri already has gained some credibility in its new league and exceeded last season’s five overall wins. The Tigers went 5-7 (2-6) in their inaugural SEC season.
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/12/3055093/upset-in-the-making-as-missouri.html#storylink=cpy
Poll chatter
Saturday’s outcome in Athens had a big impact on this week’s Associated Press poll: Missouri, which was No. 25 last week, soared to No. 14. And Georgia, No. 7 last week, plummeted to No. 15, falling behind two SEC teams that lost to the Bulldogs earlier this season (LSU and South Carolina).
In all, eight SEC teams were ranked in the AP poll released Sunday, the most ever from a single conference.
Unbeaten Alabama remained an overwhelming No. 1 with 55 of the 60 first-place votes. Also in the Top 10: LSU at No. 6 and Texas A&M at No. 7.
South Carolina was No. 11. Florida dropped to No. 22 after losing at LSU. Auburn moved into the poll at No. 24.
Missouri’s jump of 11 spots was the largest by any team this week.
TV chatter
A game matching two teams coming off losses to Missouri — Georgia vs. Vanderbilt at noon Saturday — will be nationally televised by CBS. Meanwhile, oddly, Missouri’s home game against Florida will be relegated to the SEC’s syndicated TV package.
CBS made its choice before Missouri’s win at Georgia. Vanderbilt, which had an open date last week, lost to Missouri 51-28 on Oct. 5.
Sound bites
"I remember sitting with Johnny (Manziel) over on the bench and we just started laughing when (Ole Miss) scored. Not because they aren't a good team, but because we knew we had to score again. We knew it was going to be a shootout. But I don't think we were ever worried." — Texas A&M wide receiver Travis Labhart on Ole Miss taking a 38-31 lead midway through the fourth quarter before the Aggies, led by Manziel, stormed back for a 41-38 victory.
"I do feel badly for Arkansas. It's no fun getting your butt beat like this, at home on homecoming and all that." — South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier after a 52-7 win at Arkansas.
"A win is a win. We'll take it." — Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen after his team escaped with a 21-20 homecoming victory over Bowling Green of the Mid-American Conference.
"I want to make this clear: Nick Marshall is our starting quarterback. When Nick is 100 percent, he will be back. We feel very good about Jeremy (Johnson) and it was great to get him some in-game experience. … I think we proved today we have two very capable quarterbacks and I think that will do nothing but help us moving forward." — Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, who started Johnson, a freshman, in a 62-3 victory over FCS opponent Western Carolina because of Marshall's knee injury. Johnson completed 17 of 21 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns.
"We all want to get to Atlanta and we still have a chance to do that." — Florida wide receiver Trey Burton after the Gators' 17-6 loss to LSU.
By the numbers
4
Career games in which Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has had 300-plus yards passing and 100-plus yards rushing, the most such games by any player in NCAA major-college history.
668
Yards of total offense by Alabama in its 48-7 rout of Kentucky, including two 100-yard rushing performances (T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake) and a 300-yard passing performance (A.J. McCarron) in the same game for the first time in Crimson Tide history.
43:25
Time of possession by South Carolina’s offense against Arkansas as the Gamecocks piled up 537 yards on 89 plays vs. the Razorbacks’ 248 yards on 37 plays.
105th
Georgia’s ranking among FBS teams in scoring defense, allowing an average of 33.7 points per game.
13
Consecutive SEC games in which Florida has held its opponent to fewer than 20 points, including Saturday’s 17-6 loss to LSU.
Twitterati
@MarkRicht
I want to thank the DawgNation for being there today and supporting our boys. You all were awesome. Sorry we came up short. We be back!
@Todd_Blackledge
After watching Manziel on tape vs BAMA earlier, and again last night, I think he is the most difficult to defend player I’ve seen in 20+ yrs
@CollegeGameDay
Have you recovered from #UpsetSaturday yet?
Taking stock
Thumbs up: LSU's adaptability. The Tigers scored 28.5 points below their average of the previous six games and quarterback Zach Mettenberger passed for only 152 yards. Yet the Tigers defeated Florida with a stellar running game and a stingy defense.
Thumbs down: Georgia's defense. Compounding its problems, Georgia forced no turnovers by Missouri. In fact, for the season, the Bulldogs have forced (or been given) only five opponent turnovers, which is tied for 117th in the nation, better than only Troy and Temple. Georgia has intercepted just one pass and recovered four opponent fumbles.
Saturday schedule
- Georgia at Vanderbilt, noon, CBS
- South Carolina at Tennessee, noon, ESPN
- Florida at Missouri, 12:21 p.m., SEC TV
- Auburn at Texas A&M, 3:30 p.m., CBS
- Arkansas at Alabama, 7 p.m., ESPN
- LSU at Ole Miss, 7 p.m., ESPN2
SEC standings
EAST / Conf. / Overall
Missouri / 2-0 / 6-0
Florida / 3-1 / 4-2
Georgia / 3-1 / 4-2
South Carolina / 3-1 / 5-1
Tennessee / 0-2 / 3-3
Kentucky / 0-3 / 1-5
Vanderbilt / 0-3 / 3-3
WEST / Conf. / Overall
Alabama / 3-0 / 6-0
LSU / 3-1 / 6-1
Auburn / 2-1 / 5-1
Texas A&M / 2-1 / 5-1
Ole Miss / 1-3 / 3-3
Arkansas / 0-3 / 3-4
Mississippi State / 0-2 / 3-3
Compiled by Tim Tucker
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