It’s not often you can look at the SEC Football standings and see Arkansas sitting at the top. If you check out the SEC’s official website, that is where we are today.
Granted, we are one game into conference play and I am certain the list of the 1-0 teams is in alphabetical order, but I will take it with a lighthearted laugh. It is about how everyone will stack up as the season deepens, and that is another conversation for a later day.
There is a long way to go in conference play and you can already see the end results of the season may be harder to predict than normal. Yes, this week went about as expected in the wins and losses columns, but the scoreboards and on-the-field play have been somewhat unexpected. Week 4 was no different from Week 3 in that aspect.
Here are three key results followed by the rest of the results in order of importance.
Three Takeaway Games
Vanderbilt 27, (7) Missouri 30: On my agenda for today is taking time to watch this game from start to finish to get a better analysis on why it took two overtimes to provide us a winner when it should have only taken one half. Just based off the scores and the stats, it seems as though both teams’ defenses played average, both perhaps giving up too many yards per play. Each offense racked up over 5-yards a snap. In retrospect, allow me to offer my apologies for deferring watching this one in favor of other contests; however, I just honestly thought this game would be more one-sided despite the Commodores playing either at a pinnacle or at an all-time low in the first three weeks. The Tigers control their own destiny, so this does not impact their long-term goals for 2024. They will need to hope Vandy plays well throughout the season … unless the voters did what I did and put this game on the backburner, only looking for a ‘W’ or an ‘L’.
(6) Tennessee 25, (15) Oklahoma 15: The game was not as close as the score looks, and even that is not impressive. The Vols owned the Sooners in every aspect of the game. Josh Heupel’s return to OU showed two things. One, he is the better coach. And two, he has the team with the most talent, especially given the game was played in Norman. There were a couple of shining moments by the Sooners too late in the game to make a difference, but apparently none worthy of remembering the next day. Brent Venables is a good coach. He just needs to learn what it takes to lead a top-tiered, historical program like Oklahoma. Tennessee will take this upcoming weekend off while it prepares to travel to Fayetteville to play Arkansas.
Bowling Green 20, (25) Texas A&M 26: Two things to question were revealed to me in this closer than expected contest. Why are the Aggies so inconsistent, and will this carry over into their matchup with Arkansas next week? And why on God’s “Bowling Green” Earth do the Falcons not have a trace of green within their school colors? Their Ohio hometown does. I looked this up, and I learned their city was named after a city with the same name in Kentucky. Stop me now, I have to get back on track here. A&M will probably fall out of the Top 25 this week – a ranking I feel is too high – but a small percentage of voters seem to love them. Given they pull a couple of upsets and win the ones they are expect to, they are still only a bubble’s chance of being ranked high enough at season’s end to make the playoffs, and this close win at home hurts that possibility.
Remaining SEC Results for Week 4
Arkansas 24, Auburn 14: I have not looked, but the six interceptions thrown in this game may have been more than or equal to the rest of the SEC combined yesterday. I am tongue-in-cheek with that comment of course, but it is a possibility. These are two teams who struggled in the West last year and now both hope they are on the rise, but it was the Hogs who took the next step towards validating their mark in the conference. Also, I lost a lot of respect for Hugh Freeze in this game. I have frequently rooted for him in the past, yet there was far too much crying from him on the sideline, and his comments regarding Arkansas not stopping the Tigers was a bit low-rent. By the way, if you have not seen the girl singing while crying late in the game, it was very entertaining.
Florida 45, Mississippi State 28: Florida coach Billy Napier may still have his job, but his dismissal will take place. Everyone just wonders when. And Jeff Lebby will be called into the Mississippi State Athletic Director’s office tomorrow. Not to be fired, but to have the future and progression discussed. Picture Hunter Yurachek talking with Chad Morris.
UCLA 17, (16) LSU 34: Good for the Tigers. This is a quality win over a Power 4 conference member, but, outside of a sigh of relief from a few LSU fans, it was not impactful.
Akron 7, South Carolina 50: Who knows how Shane Beamer will have his Gamecocks perform next week seems to have been the running question. We may have an answer as they are playing well and could POSSIBLY crack the Top 25. They will have this upcoming weekend off before they host Ole Miss.
Georgia Southern 13, (5) Ole Miss 52: The lopsided score only signifies Lane Kiffin’s squad is a consistent powerhouse thus far in conference play as they fight to earn a berth into the playoffs.
Ohio 6, Kentucky 41: Mark Stoops may be back in the good graces of the Wildcat fans. We will find out how they will fare against another highly ranked opponent on the 28th of September when they travel to Oxford to play Ole Miss.
ULM 3, (1)Texas 51: Outside of Arch Manning throwing two touchdowns and two interceptions while starting for an inured Quinn Ewers, there was no significance to this game.
We will be back here next week on HitThatLine.com to recap the more intriguing Week 5.
