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SEC Roundup: Texas goes down, but so does over-rated Oklahoma
For those of you new to the SEC, we are often a conference of surprises. Just within the past year we have seen both Oklahoma and Texas leave the Big 12 to join our ranks, John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas, and Vanderbilt beat a No. 1 ranked Alabama team in football.
Week 8 of 2024 football was actually kind of an “as expected” weekend, especially in comparison to what we have experienced in the weeks leading up to this point.
There was, however, some hostility, the usual disappointment, and even calls for coaches to be fired throughout the mass we call social media. We will look at some of these as we go through our SEC Wrap-up for Week 8.
Three Takeaway Games
(5) Georgia 30, (1) Texas 15: All we have heard for weeks is how a decent amount of Texas fans wanted to see Freshman quarterback Arch Manning take the starting spot from veteran Quinn Ewers who was returning from an abdominal strain. This group of Manning campaigners finally got their wish when Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian temporarily benched a struggling Ewers. For two offensive series, we verified what most of us already knew: Manning may be as good, but he is not better than Ewers at this point.
Sarkisian put Ewers back in, and Texas did everything they could to make a game of it in the second half; however, this game proved to be simply another validation of what we all knew. Georgia is by far the better coached and more talented team. Troy Aikman in his prime could have suited up for the Longhorns, and the outcome would have been pretty much identical.
Georgia should be at least No. 2 in the Top 25, Texas will probably drop to No. 5. Both are primed to meet for the SEC Championship and both will most likely make the playoffs.
(7) Alabama, (11) Tennessee 24: Bama fans are not happy, and they have their first two losses before the end of October since 2007. Add to that, they barely escaped South Carolina last week. Crimson Tide faithful Rob posted Alabama’s issues fall on “Mainly discipline. Saban had these dudes coached to the point of being robots. Now there [are] penalties and blown plays every series.”
Rob is not alone. Others are screaming new Bama coach Kalen DeBoer has lost the strict leadership of which those in Heart of Dixie have become accustomed.
Take nothing away from Tennessee. They are on a mission to get back to their winning ways since their upset loss at Arkansas. Only one of these teams will make the playoffs, and this game is probably the deciding factor.
(8) LSU 34, Arkansas 10: Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman’s seat moved back up on the thermometer, not because the Hogs loss, but because of how badly they loss. Even though we had mentioned this game would be decided by the coordinators, the head coach is ultimately responsible. Even though he is beloved, there are pleas for his time at Arkansas to come to an end. Keith Jackson (no, not that one – a guy who goes by ChiefKJackson) wrote on ‘X’: “Can Sam Pittman please move to Lake Hamilton for good and ride off into the sunset as the man that tried his best and liked a loud jukebox and a cold beer once in a while?”
On a plus sign for the Hogs, their fans showed they can be extremely loud and disruptive, creating countless false start penalties against the Tigers.
LSU has a solid road victory to put on its resume as an SEC Championship and playoff berth both remain in their crosshairs. The Tigers control their own destiny, and a win over A&M next week will leave them as the lone undefeated team in conference play. After that, they play a down Alabama team and a handful of “should-wins”.
Remaining Results for Week 8
(14) Texas A&M 34, Mississippi State 24: Despite a 1-6 record, with Jeff Lubby being in his first year at Mississippi State, a coaching dismissal in not even a possible mention.
The reason this game ranks 4th in relevance this week is, like LSU, the Aggies are in the driver’s seat for an SEC Championship. Their match-up against the same Tigers next week will leave the SEC with only one undefeated conference team. The difference is, A&M will still have a very tough game against Texas to close out the season.
Auburn 17, (19) Missouri 21: Closer than expected, but the challenge of having to make a comeback at home might have been a good test of guts and dedication for the Missouri players. Missouri is about where they need to be in the rankings, and, with just one loss, they are still in contention for an SEC Championship and a playoff berth.
Daylan Carnell from Missouri had one of the hardest hits I have ever seen on Auburn receiver Rivaldo Fairweather. Carnell also had a complete moment of classlessness when he taunted an injured Fairweather. Carnell had no idea the extent of the injury. Kids, this is not a knock on the good people of Missouri, it is a call for sportsmanship to be put at the forefront of a “look at me” generation.
Ball State 14, Vanderbilt 24: Closer than expected? Yes. A good non-conference test for a Vandy program on the rise? Probably not. A win closer to bowl eligibility? Yes. No matter how you categorize this game, it is good to see the progress of the Commodores as they try to leave the label of “perennial cellar dweller”.
South Carolina 25, Oklahoma 9: “They are who we thought they were,” has almost come across as cliche in the sports world since Dennis Green uttered his frustration through those words. Speaking for me, I have stated multiple times Oklahoma has more often than not come into a season overrated. The Sooners also rolled into their inaugural SEC campaign completely unprepared.
Many of the Sooner faithful state they would not fare well in any conference. Others are putting blame where they feel blame lies, and that is in the hands of coach Brent Venables’s staff. Gunner Hathcock stated on ‘X’, “Give him a year to hire an OC. If this is the same product next year, let him go.”
Kentucky 20, Florida 48: It is possible some see the lopsided victory of this game a surprise, but given the way the Wildcats have played like up-and-down like a cheap wave pool, it was probably expected by a decent minority.
Check back here next week for more SEC Wrap-up.
Sam Pittman on what happened in Hogs’ loss to LSU on Saturday night
Tigers dominate time of possession, control game to hand Razorbacks their biggest loss of season, 34-10.
Razorbacks’ Xavian Sorey, Taylen Green, Landon Jackson on loss to LSU
Coming up close on plays not much consolation for Hogs after Tigers come in and beat them, 34-10.
LIVE BLOG: Long LSU drive seals Razorbacks’ fate in 34-10 loss
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Most Arkansas fans were getting a little cocky picking a win over No. 8 LSU this week.
They turned out to be a little overly optimistic as LSU behind a methodical night of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier doing whatever it took and blasted the Razorbacks, 34-10. They dominated the Hogs more than anybody all year.
You can see how the game played out below.
Q1 10:21: LSU took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in eight plays, overcoming two penalties, one that took a touchdown off the board. Facing a second-and-22, the Tigers ripped off a 22-yard run by Caden Durham. LSU never faced a third down in the drive. LSU 7, Hogs 0
Q1 :38: The Tigers force a missed 43-yard field goal by Matthew Shipley, then get a 33-yard field goal Damien Ramos. LSU 10, Hogs 0
Arkansas ripped off a 13-yard run by Rashod Dubinion, but he fumbled after being hit by Jardin Gilber and LSU’s Major Burns jumped on it for a quick turnover as the first quarter ended.
Q2 13:04: LSU couldn’t take full advantage of the recovered fumble, but it’s still points off a Hogs’ turnover. The Tigers only go 7 yards in six plays, but get a 48-yard field goal from Ramos to extend the lead. LSU 13, Hogs 0
Q2 8:25: Taylen Green moves to his left in the pocket and finds a wide open Andrew Armstrong, who found a crease in the LSU secondary for a 25-yard score to get on the board. LSU 13, Hogs 7
Q2 3:10: LSU responds with a 10-play, 59-yard drive that ate up 5:19 of the clock before the Hogs’ defense stiffened and forced a 33-yard field goal by Ramos. LSU 16, Hogs 7
Q3 9:57: Razorbacks take second half kickoff and move methodically down the field with short passes from Green to Andrew Armstrong and Luke Hasz. They can’t get into the end zone, though, and have to settle for a 51-yard field goal from Shiple that could provide him a huge confidence boost. LSU 16, Hogs 10
Q3 4:52: LSU took the momentum awayfrom the Hogs really quickly when Green’s pass was tipped and he kept alive for the Tigers’ Whit Weeks to intercept after getting a hand on it. Durham took the ball in from the 2 to extend the lead. The Tigers added a 2-point conversion on a pass from Nussmeier to Trey’Dez Green. LSU 24, Hogs 10
Q4 11:57: Tigers put together an eight-play, 50-yard drive and Ramos kicks his fourth field goal of the night, a 47-yarder, that extends the lead to three scores. LSU 27, Hogs 10
Q4 2:20: LSU puts together an 80-yard drive in 14 plays to put a final exclamation point with Durham scoring from the 1. That brought things to the final. LSU 34, Hogs 10
Democrat-Gazette’s Bob Holt on John Calipari at SEC Media Tip-Off
With media last week, first time new coach talking primarily Razorbacks before an SEC season after spending 15 at Kentucky.
ANDY’S PICKS: LSU not perfect, but then neither are Hogs this year
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Let’s not get overly cocky ahead of Saturday night’s game against LSU on Saturday night.
Sure, the Tigers haven’t looked particularly impressive on their way to a 5-1 record but you might want to look a little deeper. After opening with a loss to USC that was more understandable than you’d think, the Tigers have done about what a team ranked No. 8 in the country should do.
This year, teams aren’t particularly putting up whopping scores. The rising tide across college football has raised all boats.
LSU hasn’t finished out of the Top 10 in the 247Sports composite of rankings since 2022 and that was No. 12. They have a lot of good players. Watching replays of their 29-26 overtime win over a very good Ole Miss team, the Tigers figured it out about halfway through.
And don’t forget, the Tigers weren’t dominating at all in 2007 and the Razorbacks beat them in Houston Nutt’s last game. LSU went on to win the national championship and the Hogs hired Bobby Petrino, lost Darren McFadden and Felix Jones and had about three good years for the next 17 years. We don’t know the result of this season yet.
Now we come to this season and Arkansas fans are on the equivalent of a sugar high after a 19-14 win over Tennessee. Fans and the media are confident right now by their reasoning that it’s a game they will win. I heard a lot of the same things in 2006 and 2011. Everybody was talking about getting rid of Nutt in 2007.
Maybe the most concerning thing to me is LSU isn’t dominating. The Hogs aren’t, either, despite that win. Having Taylen Green back at quarterback probably still doesn’t give them an edge on paper. The Tigers’ Garrett Nussmeier has been around longer than some professors.
He is like a lot of quarterbacks that win games and championships. He usually doesn’t make mistakes and finds ways to win games while doing noting particularly impressive, which is a lot like the quarterbacks that have won the most at Arkansas. Greg Thomas has won the most games as a Razorback quarterback and was the first African-American starter. Bill Montgomery was second.
Both just knew how to win games by the bunches. Green may be able to do that, but that’s assuming facts not in evidence at this time.
Coming off that injury that forced an early exit from the win over the Vols, he’s not on the availability report and the assumption is he’ll start and play. how he holds up to get hit by an LSU defense that has faced some good teams and even managed to slow down the Rebels’ high-flying offense enough to win.
For whatever reason, I just don’t see the Hogs coming out on top in this one. LSU 31, Hogs 27
Pete Morgan sent me his picks from last week and he needed the week off. Since I have some cushion, he will have a chance to catch up a little this week.
Auburn at (19) Missouri – For whatever reason, teams all across the league tends to play close games. The entire league is better and everybody has some really good players now. A surprising number of games are coming down to the last possession. Missouri by 6.
South Carolina at Oklahoma – Pete somehow thinks the Gamecocks aren’t that bad this year. They are just good enough to get folks iterested, but they probably still aren’t convinced they can win big games. They have looked good and really bad at times. The Sooners aren’t a championship team, but not that bad this year. They probably will by the time they land on the Hogs’ schedule. Sooners by 4.
(7) Alabama at (11) Tennessee – This is the type game that proves my whole point about the parity of the league. Both teams are coming in with questions. The Crimson Tide lost to Vandebilt and the Vols got beat by the Hogs. Neither one of those things were supposed to happen in anybody’s preseason projections. In my view, though, it feels like Tennessee is not on the verge of imploding. Vols by 2.
(14) Texas A&M at Mississippi State – The Aggies are one of the most surprising teams in the league this year, but probably shouldn’t be. A&M didn’t lose everybody they rounded up when Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban had their whole little hillbilly feud a couple of years ago. Mike Elko is a good coach and has never had a team with this much talent. The Bulldogs have some players, but can’t figure out how to get it all together early. Aggies by 9.
Ball State at Vanderbilt – This is Pete’s “Good Grief Game”: This is one I agree with this time. The only surprise is if it is close at halftime. Vandy by 30.
GAME OF THE WEEK
(5) Georgia at (1) Texas – This is not the same Bulldogs’ team we’ve seen the last couple of years. It’s also not the same group of Longhorns, either. There is no shortage of talent at Texas and this one is big enough to get their full attention this week. They should be completely focused and the Bulldogs will go join the group hoping two losses can still make the playoffs. Longhorns by 6.
Kentucky at Florida – Considering the way this season has gone, we’ll probably have a game going like everyone expects. Florida is actually favored this week and I think they cover the 1.5-point spread. You may wan tot put that Billy Napier fired talk on hold for at leasta week. Gators by 5.
PETE’S PICKS: What will be keys for Razorbacks to pull out win Saturday
Ask most football fans, and there are two things that really get under their skin at a game. One is someone in the seats in front of them standing up and still right before an important play. The next is the person sitting with them asking them something completely irrelevant to the game that could wait until the car ride home.
Here is the good news for all of you attending this weekend when Arkansas hosts LSU in Razorback Stadium. You will all be standing.
The excitement sounds good, right? In recent seasons one might have thought a game against a Top Ten team would end up with plenty of seats available starting at halftime, and those in attendance sitting on their hands.
That’s not the case this year.
Unless a complete letdown happens, Arkansas is a contender this season and should play like one Saturday. Granted, LSU has a solid defense and a fantastic offensive scheme. This will be a battle not so much between LSU coach Brian Kelley and Head Hog Sam Pittman as it will between the four coordinators.
Scheme will go against scheme. Adjustments will square off against adjustments. The better staff will prevail.
I feel like I just wrote a tagline for a gladiator movie.
Regardless, Arkansas does not want to make this a high scoring affair. Quarterback Taylen Green will need to spend as much time on the field and keep the Tigers defense standing on the sidelines as long as possible. Clock control will be key.
If the Hogs can manage that, they can send roughly 80,000 screaming fans home happy with tired feet.
Arkansas, 31 – 24
Random Thoughts
I am probably so far off on that score that my own mother will deny knowing me.
TRIVIA QUESTION: Which former Arkansas player created the Golden Boot?
With as many upsets as Arkansas has had over LSU since the Battle of the Golden Boot started, you would think the series would be closer. The Tigers lead 17-9.
High school football in Arkansas is at a fever pitch. Get out on Friday night and support your local teams.
TRIVIA ANSWER: Former Razorback linebacker David Bazzel created the trophy awarded to the winner of the Arkansas and LSU series. He is quoted as saying he wanted to make it as “big and gaudy” as possible so it would have value and mean something. It is also the heaviest trophy in all of college football.
If you are in Fayetteville on Saturday night, stand up and stand out. Make some noise and make a difference. Do not let your tickets go to waste, and give them away if you have to.
Do not block everyone else’s view for the sake of making the game a social event.
Be certain to listen to the game Saturday at 6 p.m. via HitThatLine.com and on the air at ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs, and 104.3 in Harrison-Mountain Home.
SEC Picks for Week 8
Andy Hodges showed me a great courtesy in letting me have last week off to attend to a family matter. As a token of my appreciation, I have opted to not annihilate him with my picks this week; therefore, if any of the following do not come to fruition, you can know full well it was only me doing a good deed.
Auburn at (19) Missouri – Missouri’s loss to A&M really took the Tigers farther down in the polls than many expected, and their blowout of UMass did nothing to make it better.
All is not lost on the season for Missouri, however. If they can pull off some key wins over top opponents, they will still have a great shot at the playoffs. Oh, I should mention they play Auburn this weekend. Missouri by 14.
South Carolina at Oklahoma – Maybe I am biased, but I still see some greatness in the Gamecocks. They travel to OU this weekend, which would normally seem like a lock for the Sooners; however, the home team is reeling, I do not think South Carolina Head Coach Shane Beamer has his team prepared to play well enough to win this weekend. It will be close late, but the end result will be a two-score victory. Oklahoma by 15.
(7) Alabama at (11) Tennessee – Someone will be getting their second loss and will be on the outside of making the playoffs. The Vols are hosting, so that gives them an advantage. The game is early in the afternoon, and Bama has better talent, so that gives them two advantages. If it were played at night in front of a Neyland Stadium filled with inebriated Volunteer fans, I would give the home team the edge. It is not. Crimson Tide by 10.
(14) Texas A&M at Mississippi State – Who knew the Aggies would make this run when the season started? There were times they looked like they would miss Jimbo Fisher. They are doing fine on their own now, and the Bulldogs are an easy win. A&M by 28.
Ball State at Vanderbilt – “Good Grief Game”: We have seen Vandy be tagged for the “AH GGG” tribute game, probably even multiple times, but never as the victor. The Commodores are doing something special as of late, and the Cardinals are not even listed as a 10% probability of winning. ‘Dores by 24.
(8) LSU at Arkansas – Keeping the Tigers on their heels will be the difference in this game. You can call me crazy, and you can believe all the things Andy says about me, but this is not a homer pick. I promise … Well, you will just have to believe me. Hogs by 7.
GAME OF THE WEEK
(5) Georgia at (1) Texas – Ewers or Manning? Manning or Ewers? Texas coach Steve Sarkisian says there is not quarterback controversy, and a healthy Quinn Ewers will start over freshman (phenom?) Arch Manning.
Ewers should stay healthy throughout the game if he can get protection in the pocket and avoid any forearm shivers by Georgia coach Kirby Smart. You may have to “Google” that.
The Bulldogs would love nothing more than to knock of the top-ranked Longhorns in Austin, propelling them back into the Top 3. I truly feel Georgia is more talented than Texas. I could be off by a mile, but, as of late, the Bulldogs rarely lose one in the regular season. They’ll be damned before they lost two. Georgia by 7.
Kentucky at Florida – Both of these teams play with the same consistency as four-day old hummus. No doubt fans from both schools say the same thing, “Play great in big games. Play horrible against lesser opponents.” Well, maybe not in Gainsville. I am certain they only say, “We will not win until Napier is gone.” This game is a toss-up. Lucky coin, please?… Wildcats by 3.
Stand next to the ones you love and never take time with them for granted.
Go HOGS!!!
104.5 ESPN in Baton Rouge’s Hunter Palmer on LSU coming to Fayetteville
What Razorbacks can expect from Tigers in Saturday night’s game that is big for both teams in various ways.
Eastside Liquor Halftime Podcast: 10-18-24
Matt and Phil visit Pinnacle Groves Senior Living Community and talk the importance of tomorrow’s matchup with rival LSU, recap the exciting finish in last nights CLE vs NY playoff game, and meet a radio veteran.
Guests: Neal Atkinson.
Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: 10-18-24
Arkansas vs LSU tomorrow. The Battle for the Golden Boot. A bowl appearance could hang in the balance for the hogs. Need we say more?
Guests: Shawn Brasuell/The Fence Man and Hunt Palmer.
