Take a Look Tuesday: Stayin’ Alive Edition

Welcome back to Take a Look Tuesday, a weekly look at the rest of the teams in the SEC. Losing to Alabama may not feel great, but it wasn’t the worst feeling any SEC team had. Note that Take a Look Tuesday uses AP rankings when describing teams because they come out on Sundays, not Tuesdays.

Arkansas 39 at Florida 36 OT

Arkansas was winless in the Swamp until they won this game. Florida had a chance to avoid this with a 44-yard field goal with 3 seconds left, but they missed it. They could’ve defended an Arkansas offense that had dropped the chains of Enos, but that didn’t end up working out. Arkansas scored a TD on a 33-yard fumble return TD, and they traded scores with the Gators from the 2^nd quarter on. Florida just kept kicking field goals when they needed to score touchdowns, and they didn’t get it done in the clutch. Raheim Sanders returned to the Arkansas offense for the first time since the Ole Miss game in early October and led the team in rushing with 103 yards on 18 carries. Arkansas also kept their slim bowl hopes alive with this win, and they’ll look to continue that when they host Auburn Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on SEC Network. Florida travels to face #18 LSU Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on SEC Network.

#11 Ole Miss 38 vs Texas A&M 35

This game was far closer than anybody could’ve anticipated. Ole Miss looked like they were about to go up 17-0 halfway through the 2^nd quarter, but the Aggies blocked the kick and took it back for a touchdown. It became a struggle for control that went down to the wire, but the Rebels made plays at the end that Texas A&M couldn’t. Max Johnson threw what looked like a game-losing interception, but replay showed that the interceptor didn’t get control until he was out of bounds. A&M had a 47-yard field goal attempt to try and get to overtime, but the Rebels blocked it and held on. Texas A&M isn’t bad, but Ole Miss was far better and needed this win to have hope of getting to Atlanta. They got it, though, and that’s all that matters. The Rebels travel to #1 Georgia Saturday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN while the Aggies host Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

South Carolina 38 vs Jacksonville State 28

South Carolina kept their fledgling bowl hopes alive with a win in the first ever Cock-a-Doodle Duel, but it was a tight battle. Neither flock could gain a major advantage for the majority of the game, but a late 88-yard pick-six by Stone Blanton gave South Carolina the cushion they needed to pull out the win. Spencer Rattler went 27/38 for 399 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. WR Xavier Legette balled out, catching 9 of his 13 targets for 217 yards and 2 TDs. South Carolina got lucky in this one. They were just 4/14 on 3^rd down and 0/2 on 4^th down, they had 10 penalties for 100 yards and they needed a late pick-six to seal the game. The SEC Gamecocks are having a shockingly bad year, but they have a shot at a bowl game if they win out. On Saturday, they host Vanderbilt at 11:00 a.m. on SEC Network in what could be the battle for the bottom of the last SEC East.

#19 Tennessee 59 vs UConn 3

Yes, it is a bit weird to see this kind of game in Week 10, but it happened. Tennessee forced three turnovers and took each one back for a TD, two picks and a fumble, and that helped contribute to Tennessee’s offensive efficiency. The Vols had 650 yards on 65 plays in 21:36, give or take, to smother a far overmatched Huskies defense. UConn couldn’t run the ball to save their lives, and had just 1.6 yards per carry excluding the one sack they allowed. Tennessee used four different QBs to complete passes to 12 different receivers. It was an effortless blowout of an injured team. Tennessee travels to #16 Missouri Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

#1 Georgia 30 vs #14 Missouri 21

For the second straight season, Missouri managed to play Georgia close, but this year was very different. Missouri is a serious team with a legitimate chance at a New Year’s Six bowl bid and played like it. This was a back-and-forth game until midway through the 3^rd quarter. Georgia took a 17-13 lead on a Kendall Milton TD run and never relinquished it. Georgia kept moving the ball and Missouri couldn’t, and that was the end for the Tigers. Give RB Cody Schrader a ton of credit for his performance against a very stout Georgia run defense. He finished with 112 yards on 22 carries and 1 TD, and his longest run was 13 yards. Georgia still looks like a championship team, and they look to continue that Saturday at 6:00 p.m. when they host #10 Ole Miss on ESPN. Missouri hosts #14 Tennessee Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.

Auburn 31 at Vanderbilt 15

Auburn is one win away from bowl eligibility after this win in Nashville. Jarquez Hunter had an unbelievable 1^st quarter with 121 yards on 4 carries. Two of those were long TDs, one for 67 yards and the other for 56 yards. Payton Thorne had a respectable day going 17/27 for 194 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. The Commodores are sad this year, and it’s rough to watch. They have a hard time doing anything and aren’t the fun team they were last year when they could be arbiters of chaos and ruin any team’s day so long as they didn’t watch their backs. Instead, this is a team that struggled to gain 266 yards. This is a team that had a 4^th quarter drive get to 1^st and goal at the 10 and immediately turned it into 2^nd and goal from the 21 before failing to convert 4^th and goal from the 14 at the end of a 9:04 drive. As for Auburn, this has been a decent season and a nice return to mediocrity instead of badness like under Brian Harsin last year. Auburn travels to Arkansas Saturday at 3:00 p.m. on SEC Network, a game which follows Vanderbilt’s 11:00 a.m. game at South Carolina.

Kentucky 24 at Mississippi State 3

Mississippi State scored three entire points in this offensive disaster. The drive on which they scored those three points was the most notable thing about this game. It started at the Bulldogs’ 5-yard-line and ended at the Wildcats’ 7-yard-line. It took 12:29. It lasted 20 plays. It represented 40% of their offensive yardage. It was beautiful. This game was ugly, though. Kentucky’s biggest highlight was probably their 2^nd-quarter pick-six. Mike Wright got benched for freshman Chris Parson at the end of the 3^rd quarter, and he didn’t improve the offense. Kentucky is officially bowl eligible, which should give Mark Stoops another extension on his contract, while Mississippi State needs to win two of their last three games to become bowl eligible. Kentucky hosts #8 Alabama Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN while Mississippi State travels to Texas A&M for a 6:30 p.m. clash on ESPN2.