SEC: Gators make statement against LSU

Despite losing to Ole Miss earlier this year, Florida’s players hinted they would play with a chip on their shoulder the rest of the year, as they knew they had a chance to play their way back into the national title mix. Consider Saturday’s 51-21 dominating win over LSU a statement by the Gators that they should be a serious threat.

After falling behind 17-0, LSU crawled back into the game and was down 20-14 in the third quarter. However, the Gators seemed to be in control and the Tigers never mounted a serious challenge for the lead after inching within six points. The Tigers were outgained 475 to 321, had three turnovers and managed only 80 rushing yards.

Coming into Saturday’s game, the Gators were criticized for having a sluggish offense, but rolled up 475 yards against a solid LSU defense. Quarterback Tim Tebow completed 14 of 21 passes for 210 yard and two scores, along with 22 rushing yards and a touchdown. Tebow sparked the huge victory with a 70-yard touchdown toss to Percy Harvin on the Gators’ third offensive play of the game.

The emergence of Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps in the rushing attack has removed some of the pressure from Tebow’s shoulders. Rainey rushed for 66 yards before leaving with a shoulder injury, while Demps added 129 yards and a score. The two freshmen backs have world class speed and are threats to score every time they touch the ball – just adding to coach Urban Meyer’s wish to have the fastest team in college football.

“I thought we put together a full game,” offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said. “Our guys have taken some criticism that we've been herky-jerky and have had some turnovers and made some mistakes.”

LSU expected to have an advantage in the trenches, but its defensive line was missing tackle Ricky Jean-Francois – who made a few jabs at the Gators earlier in the week. The Tigers sacked Tebow three times, but didn’t have any solution for the speed of Harvin, Demps and Rainey.

Offensively, quarterback Jarrett Lee was making his second start of the season and struggled in the early going. Lee completed 23 of 38 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns, but also tossed two interceptions. The ground game has been a key piece for the Tigers this season, but never got on track against the relentless pressure from the Florida front seven. Running back Charles Scott watched his streak of four consecutive 100-yard performances end with a disappointing 35 yards on 12 carries.

"I think a young quarterback had some issues early on, with operating the clock,” coach Les Miles said. “He just really needed to get comfortable. I don't know that he ever really did.”

Although the Tigers have to be disappointed with their performance, these two teams could meet in the SEC title – providing a chance for LSU to get a little revenge on Florida.

Scoreboard:

South Carolina 24, Kentucky 17
Mississippi State 17, Vanderbilt 14
Georgia 26, Tennessee 14
Arkansas 25, Auburn 22
Florida 51, LSU 21

Team of the Week: Florida

An all-around solid performance by the Gators in their thumping of LSU. The offense looked sharp and the defense held the Tigers in check throughout the night. If the Gators turn in a similar performance against Georgia on November 1st, they will likely play for a SEC title in December.

Disappointment of the Week: LSU

The Tigers entered Saturday’s game with a top 10 ranking, but exited with a couple of question marks. A defense that wasn’t tested in the early schedule was shaky and Jarrett Lee still has a ways to go under center. The Tigers have time to get back into the national title race, but need to find some fixes before their trip to South Carolina in Week 8.

Player of the Week: Tim Tebow, QB, Florida

A couple of Florida players could earn this honor, but Tebow clearly responded to the task of elevating his play to the next level. The defending Heisman Trophy winner doesn’t have the monster numbers from 2007, but he’s winning games and most importantly, avoiding a lot of the hits he took last year.

Freshman of the Week: Jeff Demps, RB, Florida

Just ask the LSU defense, speed kills. Against one of the top run defenses in the country. Demps rushed for 129 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. The freshman is averaging an impressive 13.3 yards per carry and should see increased chances the rest of the year.

Vanderbilt takes first loss of season

Vanderbilt will have to wait another week to become bowl eligible. Mississippi State wasn’t pretty, but did just enough on offense and cashed in on the Commodores’ mistakes to earn its second win of the year. After rallying the Commodores against Auburn, quarterback Mackenzi Adams found himself on the bench for three quarters against the Bulldogs. Senior Chris Nickson got the nod under center and completed 3 of 10 passes for 15 yards and an interception, before being pulled. Adams led the Commodores on a scoring drive in his first series, but wasn’t able to rally the Commodores to a 6-0 start. The offense wasn’t the only problem for the Commodores, as they committed an uncharacteristic 10 penalties and converted only 1 of 10 third down opportunities.

“All the things we were doing when we won five games, we didn’t do a very good job with today,” coach Bobby Johnson said. “That’s just the difference between winning and losing, especially when we take on teams with a lot of talent like Mississippi State. We had too many penalties, dropped balls and too many missed tackles.”

Mississippi State quarterback Tyson Lee turned in a solid game, completing 12 of 22 for 81 yards and a touchdown. Since replacing Wesley Carroll as the starting quarterback, Lee has brought stability to the offense. Running back Anthony Dixon rushed for 107 yards on 27 carries and coach Sylvester Croom would like to get him more touches the rest of the year. The Bulldogs have a ways to go before getting bowl eligible this season, but are headed in the right direction.

Georgia handles Tennessee

Georgia needed a momentum booster after their 41-30 whipping against Alabama and Tennessee proved to be the right medicine. Volunteer quarterback Nick Stephens made his second start and showed he has a ways to go. Stephens completed 13 of 30 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns, but got zero help from the ground game. The Volunteers were held to one rushing yard and dominated in time of possession: 42:04 to 17:56.

The Bulldogs got quality performances from their two key offensive players, quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno. Stafford completed 25 of 36 passes for 318 yards and a touchdown while Moreno added 101 yards. The offense didn’t convert on a couple of opportunities, but against a struggling Tennessee offense, a perfect effort wasn’t needed. The Georgia defense turned in one of their best performances of the season in Saturday’s win over the Volunteers. The one rushing yard posted by Tennessee was the lowest in the Mark Richt era, and the fourth time this season the Bulldogs held an opponent to under 60 rushing yards in a game.

Garcia ignites Gamecocks

The South Carolina faithful have been getting small doses of talented redshirt freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia, but it looks they’ll be getting an extended look at him in the coming weeks. Starter Chris Smelley was an ineffective 9 of 23 for 105 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. After Smelley struggled to get the offense going, Garcia rallied the Gamecocks to a 24-17 victory in Lexington, as he completed 10 of 14 passes for 169 yards and a touchdown. Neither team was particularly impressive on offense, as Kentucky managed 218 total yards and both defenses notched a touchdown.

Not only was the loss difficult for the Wildcats, but they lost top receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. to a torn MCL. With Lyons Jr. out for a significant time, quarterback/receiver Randall Cobb will likely take a bigger role within the offense.

Tough week for Auburn continues, Petrino gets first SEC win

Auburn spent most of the week answering questions about the firing of offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and after Saturday’s loss to Arkansas, the questions will continue for coach Tommy Tuberville. The Tigers came into Saturday’s contest ranked 104th in total offense, 103rd in scoring and passing offense – and those numbers weren’t any better after Week 7. The Tigers managed 193 total yards and quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd struggled to find their rhythm.

Arkansas got a big effort from running back Michael Smith, who added 176 yards and a score against a solid Auburn front seven. Turnovers were a problem for the Razorbacks going into this game and they didn’t fare much better, but the Tigers tossed three interceptions. The Razorback defense also held the Tigers to four third-down conversions on 15 attempts.

“It's been a tough week,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. “I put our guys in a tough situation. I thought they fought hard, real hard. We didn't have a lot obviously on offense. Defensively, we couldn't get off the field. They did an excellent job. You can't take anything away from them. It was just a tough night and a tough week overall. I feel really tough for our players. We struggled in every area. We can look at offense, but it wasn't just offense. We struggled on offense. We struggled in a lot of different areas.”

“It was a hard fought game and we're happy with the outcome,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “I can't say enough about how hard our assistant coaches and players prepared for this game and the attitude and character we showed all week long in practice and the way we kept fighting in the game. A lot of things happened in this game that could have made it turn the other way, we didn't play great special teams, but I think our offense did great, we moved the ball very well."

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds