Well, what do you know? We still have a race in the SEC East and wouldn’t you know it it’s because the Head Ball Coach refuses to go quietly into that good night.
When you are trailing 17-0 in the fourth quarter with just under 12 minutes to play, you are supposed to be dead in the water. But not Steve Spurrier. The Gamecocks’ comeback and overtime victory over fifth-ranked Missouri will be the stuff of future legends, especially if somebody else will help the Gamecocks out by beating Missouri again.
“It was a game that I thought we were dead,” said Spurrier. “About three quarters of the game anyway. Connor Shaw brought us back, guys made some catches, the defense stopped them and somehow Elliot Fry made the field goal and their guy missed. We’re very fortunate and we’re very appreciative. I’m happy myself, as it’s my first overtime win as a college coach. I was 0-3 prior to this one. I thought for many seconds there I was going to be 0-4. We’re very fortunate and we’re ready to move on, and get ready for Mississippi State.”
Assuming that South Carolina can run the rest of its SEC table against Mississippi State and Florida, Spurrier and the Gamecocks will be the biggest fans of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ole Miss, Missouri’s SEC opponents the rest of the way. It might be a long shot because it is not likely that Missouri is going to get caught coasting late in a game with a big lead again. Of course, that is not to discount South Carolina’s comeback and Connor Shaw’s heroics but there is no excuse for Missouri letting that one get away.
Around the rest of the SEC, things went pretty much as expected.
As usual, Auburn had another strong day running the football. Tre Mason, Cameron Artis-Payne, Corey Grant and quarterback Nick Marshall have been strong enough to make Auburn the most productive rushing offense in the SEC. The Tigers are averaging 315.4 yards rushing, 91 yards better than second place Missouri in the SEC, and are ranked fifth nationally. Mason, Payne, Grant and Marshall get most of the credit, but the big guys up front are definitely clearing the way.
So when you are handing out kudos for the Auburn rushing success, don’t forget the work of fullback Jay Prosch and offensive linemen Greg Robinson, Alex Kozan, Reese Dismukes, Chad Slade and Patrick Miller/Avery Young. When the running backs look for open lanes to run through, it’s because the guys up front are creating the lanes.
“Any time you can spread the ball around, it’s a good thing,” said Gus Malzahn. “The offensive line came out and played well. Our running backs did a good job and any time you can run the football, usually good things happen.”
Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss posted easy wins over outmanned teams.
“Second half, the offense took control, and the defense played like they were supposed to and looked like they were supposed to,” said Les Miles, whose team down Furman by 32 points. “We put 672 yards of offense on them, and they gained 198 yards of offense. Again, to me, there were too many penalties. We cannot turn the ball over. It’s that simple.”
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze sounded much like Miles even though his Rebels won by 45 points over Idaho.
“The first half was a bit sloppy and undisciplined,” said Freeze. “The first six or seven minutes were really good, but the rest of the first half we were going through the motions. I was disappointed at halftime, but I felt like we played a pretty solid second half. It was great to get everyone in and to come out injury-free.
“The second half was more of what I would hope for. I’m a realist and I don’t think it is a realistic expectation for them to be emotionally charged after the stretch of games we’ve been through. I expect them to focus, catch and protect the football, and play penalty free, and we didn’t live up to it in the first half. I feel better with the way they played in the second half though.”
Alabama won by 35 points over Tennessee. But it seemed like Nick Saban was thinking more about what’s ahead for the Crimson Tide than he was the win over the Vols.
“You get defined by what you do every week,” said Saban. “It’s going to important for us to be able to focus on this bye week to try and improve and to try and get more players to play winning football. Certainly, in this time of the year when you start getting guys injured and banged up, you lose a few guys and it creates an opportunity for a lot of other people. I was especially pleased with the way some of those guys stepped up today and played really well for us and we really just need to get better week to week.
“We’ve got some big challenges and some stiff competition against some very good teams coming up here. This bye week comes at a really good time for us. We’ve got a lot of guys nicked up, could use the rest, and also use the time to help some of our players improve. That’s going to be our focus for this week.”