Weekend Thoughts – WEEK 7

(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Despite fewer upsets, week 7 was still just as exciting as week 6. We had mustard bottles being thrown and Lane Kiffin getting hit in the head with a golf ball in Knoxville. LSU pulled off the upset and forced 4 turnovers against Florida, and the matchup of ‘who can get their first conference win’ in Vanderbilt-South Carolina.
12 Ole Miss 31
Tennessee 26
Ole Miss pulls out the close win in Knoxville, but that was a bit overshadowed by the delay that was caused by Volunteer fans who decided to litter the field with anything and everything they could find. When I say anything… I mean mustard bottles, beer cans, a golf ball, and much more. It would be announced that Tennessee would have to pay a $250,000 fine and fans identified will be prohibited from attending future Tennessee sporting events for the remainder of the year per The Athletic.
Getting back to the actual game, Tennessee was down by 5 with less than a minute to go in Ole Miss territory and starting QB Hendon Hooker goes down with an injury after picking up a third-down with his legs. Joe Milton III would replace him. With 0:03 seconds on the clock, Milton snaps the ball and evades the rush and rolls to his left, he decides to run instead of throwing it up to the endzone and is pushed out of bounds, thus ending the game. I’m not sure if Milton panicked or what, but I couldn’t believe the decision that I witnessed.
4 Alabama 49
Mississippi State 9
Alabama bounced back after their loss last week to Texas A&M and didn’t leave a shred of doubt that they were still one of the top teams in the country. Bryce Young diced up the State secondary, going 20-28, for 348 yards, and 4 TDs. Will Rogers did his best to keep up with Bryce, but the Bama defense forced him into 3 INTs and quickly took the Bulldogs out of the game.
Vanderbilt 20
South Carolina 21
In a battle to see who could get their first conference win, the Gamecocks won on a game-winning 75-yard TD drive. Vanderbilt choked the game away after picking off Luke Doty with only five minutes to play, already in possession of the lead. The Commodores only managed a field goal and opened the door for South Carolina. Backup QB and former graduate assistant, Zeb Noland replaced starter Doty on the final drive and led the Gamecocks to their first conference win. He finished 5-7, for 75 yards, and a TD. Someone had to win, but neither team should feel too comfortable about their performance.
19 Auburn 38
Arkansas 23
Auburn added a sixth consecutive victory over the Razorbacks on Saturday as the Tigers bounced back from their loss to Georgia. Arkansas showed fight, but ultimately it was a letdown week for them. They have now lost three in a row and are slipping in the West standings. Bo Nix silenced the haters, going 21-26, for 292 yards, 2 TDs, and a rushing TD. He did throw an interception, but overall it was an impressive day. KJ Jefferson didn’t do so bad himself despite the loss, going 21-35, for 228 yards, and 2 TDs. Arkansas has to reevaluate, especially defensively, as they have cooled off from the hot start.
15 Kentucky 13
1 Georgia 30
In the much-anticipated game that would decide the SEC East, Kentucky put up a fight but ultimately was worn down on both sides of the ball by Georgia. The SEC’s leading rusher Chris Rodriguez Jr. was held to only 7 yards on 7 carries and the Wildcats were forced to become very one-dimensional on offense. The Bulldogs mixed in the vertical passing game with consistent runs to wear down the physical Kentucky defense. Georgia TE Brock Bowers caught the ball 5 times for 101 yards and 2 TDs. Kentucky played very physical ball, keeping the margin of defeat as small as anyone has since Clemson in week 1. They need to be careful not to allow this loss to become two.
DAWWWWWWWGS on 🔝#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/mludlnXkWJ
— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) October 16, 2021
17 Texas A&M 35
Missouri 14
Texas A&M didn’t play around with Missouri, defeating the Tigers early and efficiently through the ground game. The Aggies rushed for 284 yards and 3 TDs on the ground. Mizzou’s Connor Bazelak threw for 228 yards, but the Tigers didn’t put up much of a fight.
20 Florida 42
LSU 49
In maybe the most surprising game of the week, LSU outlasted Florida on Saturday. The Tigers picked off each of the Florida quarterbacks twice, including once on the final drive to seal the game. Dan Mullen finally allowed backup QB Anthony Richardson to take control of the offense, which seemed far more efficient and smooth with Anthony behind center. Florida fans have been calling for this for a while now. Richardson went 10-19, for 204 total yards, 4 total TDs, and 2 INTs. He made a crucial error on second down of their final possession, where he tried to make a play and tossed an interception to end the game. Defense was nowhere to be found in this game on either side, despite LSU’s four interceptions. Both teams accumulated over 450 total yards of offense.
Some thought that the win would save LSU head coach Ed Orgeron’s job for another year, but that was not to be, as the two sides came to an agreement to part ways early this week.