There are officially four SEC football undefeated teams left in the country. While they are still perfect enroute to the SEC Championship, three deserve honorable mention this week while the fourth well . . . dishonorable for many reasons.
If you are just an SEC Football fan, you would want every team to win as they almost all did to start 2018. But sadly we all know that can never be the case. As the number of SEC undefeated teams winds down after Week Four, we must now root for those worthy of the conference title and the College Football Playoff.
These are the three undefeated teams who have earned honorable mention this week.
Honorable mention: Alabama
Nick Saban extended his streak of teacher vs pupil to 13-0 lifetime, outlasting Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies 45-23. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 387 yards and five total touchdowns (one rushing) as A&M QB Kellen Mond was sacked six times.
Trayveon Williams, who once led the SEC in rushing, was well contained by the Bama defense, limited to 31 yards on eight carries. That leading honor now belongs to Kenny Snell Jr (540). Mond and the Aggies looked to hang with the Tide early in the game, until safety Donovan Wilson was ejected for targeting.
Tua’s performance helped earn Bama the biggest SEC football honorable mention this week.
Honorable mention: Georgia
While Kirby Smart‘s Bulldogs dominated the turnover battle, the win in Columbia was not so pretty. Georgia was 3-12 on 3rd Down and had seven penalties for 66 yards, which nearly disrupted their flow including another near drop at the goal line for a touchdown.
Missouri didn’t fade away as they put on a show in the third quarter thanks to their rushing attack. Drew Lock was limited in the air and had to rely on the running game to help bail him out, but not enough to come back for the upset.
Even with some sloppy moves during the games, Missouri did prove to be a true contender for the SEC football Championship. Georgia gets a B- and I am deadly sure Kirby will make his players do more than run laps to get it all right.
Honorable mention: Kentucky
Mark Stoops and his Wildcats were well on a roll since finally beating Florida two weeks ago, and used it as inspiration at home against Mississippi State.
Psychologically, they used it perfectly during a huge rain which helped mess with Nick Fitzgerald‘s head along.
Benny Snell Jr scored all four times and set the school record for most career touchdowns previously held by Randall Cobb (now 39). The Bulldogs committed 16 penalties for 139 yards (six false starts and four unsportsmanlike conducts if not more. Seriously, after so many I’ve lost count).
The Wildcats earned an A+ and Snell should be SEC football Offensive Player of the Week if he’s not already.
SEC football Dishonorable Mention: LSU
After you upset two ranked teams in the country in 2018, you should be held to a higher standard against smaller teams. Unfortunately, LSU did not showcase that this week against Louisiana Tech.
Joe Burrow was only 191 yards against La. Tech’s J’mar Smith (330 yards, three TDs). Even with an undefeated record, you must have stronger performances from your quarterback. After four weeks, Burrow has not even eclipsed 1,000 yards yet. In fact, Burrow is no where near those stats.
Thankfully Ed Orgeron and the Bayou Bengals have a good running back in Nick Brosette (409 yards, five TDs), but defense and rushing alone will not keep them perfect for long. Guess who they have next? Ole Miss on the road.
Thankfully for Brosette: D-.
For one of these SEC teams next weekend, their streak could come to a crashing halt quickly. Kentucky will be tested once again when South Carolina visits. Georgia and Alabama have what you call “cupcake games”.
But as I always try to point out, which is never easy: never underestimate anyone.