Week 9 in the SEC didn’t deliver much chaos. It delivered a lot of control.
Georgia made the clearest statement of the day, handling Florida 27-8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in the rivalry formerly known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” Gunner Stockton didn’t need a huge passing day to keep the Bulldogs rolling, throwing for just over 100 yards while Georgia piled up 217 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Ole Miss followed a different script but ended in the same place: a comfortable win. Trinidad Chambliss and No.
12 Ole Miss were only up five at halftime against Auburn, then the Rebels took over after the break and scored four touchdowns on the way to a 45-15 victory. Chambliss accounted for three combined touchdowns in the win.
Texas also kept moving in the right direction. No.
11 Texas beat Mississippi State for its second straight win, the Longhorns’ first back-to-back victories since the first month of the season. Arch Manning was sharp, completing 16 of 20 passes for 220 yards and three touchdowns.
Mississippi State was playing its first game without Kamario Taylor.
South Carolina added another result that turned heads, using a dominant second quarter to beat Oklahoma on the road. The crowd response included chants of “Fire Arbuckle,” and the result may have raised tougher questions about the man leading the program.
A handful of SEC teams had the week off. Kentucky, Alabama, LSU and Tennessee were all on bye in Week 9, along with Vanderbilt.
Those results fed directly into the latest rankings. In the US LBM Coaches Poll, Miami stayed at No. 1, followed by Georgia at No.
- Indiana, Utah and UCLA rounded out the top five.
The SEC’s ranked teams in that poll were Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee.
The AP Top 25 looked a little different near the top. Miami remained No. 1 there as well, with Georgia at No.
2, Utah at No. 3, Notre Dame at No. 4 and UCLA at No.
- The SEC teams in the AP poll were Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, South Carolina and Florida.
In Other News...
Dabo Swinney Blasts Fan Stunt He Says Crossed The Line
Clemsons win over Florida State ended with an ugly aftertaste, as Dabo Swinney took aim at a banner that flew over the stadium calling for the firing of coach Mike Norvell and trustee Peter Collins. The message, which was reportedly crowdfunded by a fan and cost $3,550, even misspelled Norvells name, and Swinney made clear he was disappointed by what he saw as a step too far.
For a program that already lives under a microscope in the ACC, the episode was another reminder of how quickly frustration can spill past the normal bounds of fan criticism. Swinneys point was simple enough: support the players, not public calls for people to lose their jobs after a loss, and he drew a firm line between passion and something he believed crossed it. [Read more 🡒]
Nitro Tuggles South Carolina Absence Says Plenty About His Standing
Nitro Tuggles absence from South Carolinas trip to Oklahoma stood out because it was his first missed game of the season, and it came at a time when the Gamecocks were making clear choices about who could help them most on the road. Shane Beamer said the receivers who traveled were the ones who gave the team the best chance to win, with away-game roster limits also shaping the decision.
For Tuggle, the message was hard to miss. He has seen limited playing time this season and has not been a major factor on special teams, so being left behind suggests his place on the depth chart is still very much in flux as South Carolina continues sorting out its receiver rotation. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Is Suddenly Right On The Edge Of Something Bigger
A third straight SEC win has South Carolina suddenly in a much better place than it was a few weeks ago, with the Gamecocks climbing to No. 26 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 23 in the AP Poll after knocking off Oklahoma. LaNorris Sellers was the engine again, accounting for five total touchdowns while piling up 301 passing yards and 96 rushing yards in a performance that helped keep the momentum rolling.
Now the challenge gets a little more interesting. South Carolina is set to host Texas A&M on November 7, and the Gamecocks are carrying both a rising ranking and a growing sense that this stretch could mean more than just a nice run in the standings. The question is how far this surge can carry them once the next SEC test arrives. [Read more 🡒]