Week 7: Glance around the SEC

While Missouri was off in Massachusetts having a pretty easy go of it, the rest of the SEC had a pretty interesting week.

Here’s a look at all the scores from Saturday. All rankings are based on the AP and are post Sunday’s polls.

One week after losing to Vanderbilt and two weeks after a near three-score comeback loss against Georgia, the Crimson Tide were tested again, this time narrowly escaping the Gamecocks.

Alabama jumped ahead with rushing scores from Jalen Milroe and Justice Haynes, but South Carolina cut the lead with a 36-yard touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers to Mazeo Bennett Jr. South Carolina added a 13-yard sack of Milroe for a safety with 1:28 left in the first half, then after a fumble ended the Gamecocks’ next drive, they were able to grab an interception at the Alabama 19 with 1 second left and added a 37-yard field goal to get within 14-12 at the break.

The Gamecocks took the lead in the third quarter when Raheim Sanders ran in a score from the 1, but Alabama was able to go back in front for good when Milroe scored on the ground again with 10:42 left to play.

Milroe added a touchdown pass to Germie Bernard to seal the win with 1:54 left.

South Carolina outgained Alabama 374-313.

Sellers led the game with 238 passing yards on 23-of-31 passing for the Gamecocks adding two touchdowns and one interception, while Milroe completed 16-of-23 for 209 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Sanders was the game’s only rusher with more than 50 yards, totaling 78 on 16 attempts.

Bernard was the only receiver with more than 60 yards with four catches for 89. South Carolina completed passes to 10 players.

No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1 SEC) will face another tough test next week as it hits the road to play No. 10 Tennessee at 2:30 p.m.

South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) will play at Oklahoma at 11:45 a.m.

Speaking of Oklahoma …

The Longhorns cruised to the first SEC win in the Red River Rivalry, scoring 34 unanswered points after the Sooners hit a first-quarter field goal to open the game.

Texas scored 21 second-quarter points to take the lead.

Quinn Ewers struggled to start in his return to the field for Texas, throwing an interception and going three-and-out on the next two drives, but he settled in after that.

Ewers completed 20-of-29 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown, while throwing one interception. He also added a rushing score.

Quintrevion Wisner led the Long Horns on the ground with 118 yards and a touchdown.

Gunnar Helm had five catches for 91 yards and a touchdown for Texas.

Michael Hawkins Jr. completed 19-of-30 passes for 148 yards for Oklahoma.

Texas (6-0, 2-0) retained the No. 1 ranking for the second consecutive week after losing it to Georgia and Alabama before those teams lost the past two weeks. The Longhorns will host No. 4 Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Oklahoma (4-2, 1-2) will host South Carolina at 11:45 a.m. Saturday.

Now for a more surprising score …

Down go the top-10 Rebels for the second time in three weeks as LSU, without ever leading in regulation, was able to force overtime and needed only one sequence to secure the win.

The Tigers were able to drive with 3 minutes left and scored on a Garrett Nussmeier pass to Aaron Anderson for a 23-yard, game-tying touchdown with 23 seconds left to play.

Ole Miss got backed up 15 yards to start overtime and had to settle for a 57-yard field goal, then Nussmeier connected with Kyren Lacy for a 25-yard touchdown on the first play of the Tigers’ overtime possession.

Ole Miss jumped ahead 10-0 to start the game, then led 17-7 late in the first half before LSU cut the advantage to 17-13 going to halftime.

The Rebels extended back to a 20-13 lead, but couldn’t muster more than a field goal in the fourth quarter as LSU came back to tie.

Nussmeier completed 22-of-51 passes for 337 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Jaxson Dart was 24-of-42 for 284 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Ole Miss.

Ulysses Bentley IV was the game’s lone rusher with more than 50 yards, totaling 107 and a touchdown on 11 carries for Ole Miss.

Lacy had 111 receiving yards on five catches for LSU, while Anderson had 81 yards and a score on three catches.

Cayden Lee led the game with 132 receiving yards on nine catches for Ole Miss, while Tre Harris had 102 yards on seven catches with a touchdown.

Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2) falls from No. 9 to No. 18 and has a bye this week.

LSU (5-1, 2-0) jumps into the top-10 going from No. 13 to No. 8 and will play at Arkansas at 6 p.m. Saturday.

In another surprising outcome …

The Commodores are on a winning streak! That overtime win is starting to look a lot better for Missouri.

Vanderbilt jumped ahead when Diego Pavia continued his hot streak with a 20-yard touchdown pass to AJ Newberry in the first quarter, but Kentucky was able to tie the game in the second quarter with a Demie Sumo-Karngbaye 1-yard rushing touchdown.

Pavia sent the Commodores into the break ahead with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Richie Hoskins, then Vanderbilt hit a third-quarter field goal to take a 17-7 lead into the fourth.

The Commodores added a field goal with 8:47 left to play and held off a Kentucky comeback by getting a turnover on downs with 1:02 left to play on the Kentucky 41.

Vanderbilt (4-2, 2-1) was the first team out of the top-25 with 68 votes. Navy received 84 votes to earn the No. 25 spot. This is the best six-game record Vanderbilt has had since 2008 and if the Commodores win hosting Ball State at 6 p.m. next week and get into the top-25, it would be their first AP ranking since 2013.

Kentucky (3-3, 1-3) will play at Florida at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Onto a less surprising outcome, but still a surprising game …

The Volunteers survived a scare by a team that was discussing firing Billy Napier weeks ago.

Florida scored the only first-half points with a field goal with 3:15 left in the first quarter, then went up 10-0 after Graham Mertz tossed a 13-yard touchdown to Arlis Boardingham with 7:18 left in the third quarter.

But Tennessee scored the next 17 points to go up 17-10 with 9:42 left to play.

DJ Lagway, on in relief for Mertz who got hurt on touchdown pass in the third quarter, threw a 27-yard touchdown to Chimere Dike with 29 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

Florida missed a field goal on the first drive of overtime and Dylan Sampson scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown to win the game for Tennessee.

Florida starting running back Montrell Johnson also left the game with an injury. An update on Mertz is expected this week, but he was on crutches on the sideline after returning from the locker room in street clothes.

Mertz was 11-of-15 passing for 125 yards and one touchdown, while Lagway was 9-of-17 for 98 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Florida.

Nico Iamaleava was 16-of-26 passing for 169 yards and an interception for Tennessee.

Johnson was Florida’s leading rusher with 85 yards on 12 carries, while Sampson led the Volunteers with 112 yards and three touchdowns on 27 attempts.

Tennessee (5-1, 2-1) dropped from No. 8 to No. 11 and hosts No. 7 Alabama at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Florida (3-3, 1-2) will host Kentucky at 6:45 p.m.

Finally …

Georgia scored 27 points in the first half to build its lead, then held off a comeback attempt late.

Mississippi State took the initial lead with a field goal, but Georgia answered with a kick of its own, then Branson Robinson scored a 5-yard rushing touchdown to put Georgia in front with 2:13 left in the first.

Georgia extended to a 13-3 advantage, but Mississippi State cut it to 13-10 when Michael Muren Jr. found Kelly Akharaiyi on a 24-yard touchdown.

But Georgia was able to add two Carson Beck passing touchdowns in the final 7 minutes of the second quarter to take a 27-10 lead into halftime.

Beck extended the lead to 34-10 when he tossed a 42-yard touchdown to Arian Smith with 13:48 left in the third.

Mississippi State scored twice in the third quarter to bring the game within 10 points, but a Trevor Etienne 1-yard touchdown, 2 more yards than his brother got for my f****sy team this week, sealed the win for Georgia as Mississippi State had to punt on its next drive and could only get one more chance after that.

Beck completed 36-of-48 passes for 459 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Van Buren Jr. was 20-of-37 for 306 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

No rusher had more than 60 yards.

Smith led the game with five catches for 134 yards for Georgia, while Kevin Coleman Jr. had eight catches for 103 yards for Mississippi State.

Georgia (5-1, 3-1) stayed at No. 5 and will play at No. 1 Texas at 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Missouri fans, root for Georgia.

Mississippi State (1-5, 0-3) will host No. 14 Texas A&M at 3:15 p.m. Saturday.

Texas A&M, Arkansas and Auburn had byes this week.

Here’s a look at the SEC Standings

Head on over to the Tiger Walk to discuss this week’s action and so much more.