This weekend hosted many surprises in the SEC.
Arkansas put it on 17th ranked Auburn 44-23. It was 34-3 early in the 3rd quarter when Auburn found 20 unanswered points before the 4th. This was a big surprise offensively for the Tigers who seemed to be one of the only teams in the conference to establish their identity.

Alabama took it to Ole Miss 22-3, but missed on many offensive opportunities. The Tide scored only 1 touchdown. Ole Miss held them 4 times in the red zone. This game could have easily been 42-3. The Alabama offense needs to execute more efficiently in the red zone as they face more difficult opponents.

Georgia came into the year as probably the only team who could take on the Gators in the SEC East. Their only losses to Oklahoma State in Stillwater and then a last second thriller to LSU. They put up 41 to fend off South Carolina and the 52 at Arkansas in a shootout. This weekend they were beat down by the Vols 45-19. Maybe a better question would be “Where has Jonathan Crompton been all year?” He finally broke out for a career high 310 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. Monterio Hardesty was no surprise however as he ran all over the UGA secondary.

South Carolina is one play away from being on the list of unbeatens this year. A 41-37 shootout between the hedges of Athens, GA prevents them from having the perfect record. Two weeks ago they “shocked” Ole Miss and finally cracked the top 25 last week. It was a last defensive effort that secured a home win to a mediocre Kentucky team. With a few minutes remaining SC batted down a UK two-point conversion to win 28-26. They must buckle down with Alabama and Florida still remaining on the schedule.

Vanderbilt lost to Army 16-13 in OT. I know Vandy is in the basement in the SEC but it's still Army.

A last minute call kept the Bulldogs from pulling off a shocker against a high offensive power in Houston. With a few minutes left Anthony Dixon broke an amazing touchdown run that was negated by a questionable block in the back penalty away from the play. Later, MSU fumbled in the red zone on a potential game tying drive in the 4th quarter. Houston secured the win 31-24 on the turnover. The dogs ran wild with nearly 400 yards on the ground – what doomed Houston in their lone loss to UTEP. The Dogs still have to handle Florida, Alabama, and Ole Miss with a road trip to Arkansas. By far MSU has the toughest schedule of the year. (Jackson State, Auburn, Vanderbilt, LSU, Georgia Tech, Houston, Middle Tennessee State, Kentucky, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss)

Finally, the last shocker came from Baton Rouge. LSU played well defensively but could not get rolling on offense (that’s not the shocker). I was amazed at the defensive battle it was. Any normal fan watching the ESPN ticker for scores would have thought, “What a boring game.” It was very physical and so low scoring - Three field goals and a touchdown. The only offense came from those scoring drives, all the rest of the drives seem to be 3-and-outs or stall after a first down. It’s what you expect from two top teams, but I also think it proves that LSU is better than experts call them to be – to hold Florida to 13 points and well under 100 of their rushing average.

It was a wild one in the SEC but it is what we come to expect week in and week out. It’s why it competes with the rest and boasts as one of the best conferences in college football.