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The SEC West continued to dominate the SEC East in Week 10, improving its record to 9-1 this season.
That’s a season-long disappointment for the East, but each week there are some individual performances that leave plenty to be desired.
Here’s what disappointed us the most over the weekend.
Florida: One week after defeating Georgia and getting a step closer to locking up the division, Florida stumbled in a big way against Arkansas. The Gators could do very little offensively, rushing for just 12 yards on 14 carries, and failed to sustain drives against Arkansas’ defense.
Florida’s only touchdown came on an interception return near the end of the first quarter. The Gators’ defense allowed the Razorbacks to rush for 223 yards, which is the second-most they’ve allowed this season.
Fortunately for the Gators, Kentucky failed to take advantage of the opportunity. Florida still has a chance to clinch the SEC East in Week 11 (a win and Tennessee loss against Kentucky does it), but it will need to play much better against South Carolina.
LSU offense: In another classic defense battle between LSU and Alabama, the Tigers’ offense managed to do very little. LSU gained only 125 yards, including 35 yards from star running back Leonard Fournette, and failed to score any points.
Quarterback Danny Etling averaged just 3.8 yards per pass and had several poorly thrown passes to open receivers. LSU converted four of its 15 third down attempts and gained six first downs throughout the entire game.
The Tigers’ offense has come a long way since Ed Orgeron took over as interim head coach, but Saturday’s loss did little to reflect that.
Texas A&M: Less than a week after appearing at No. 4 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, Texas A&M lost at Mississippi State. The Aggies have had some brilliant moments this season, but that loss eliminates them from the Playoff conversation.
Trevor Knight left the game due to injury and is now done for the regular season, but he was largely ineffective up to that point. Knight gained 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground but completed only 5 of his 14 passes for 43 yards before exiting in the second quarter.
Backup quarterback Jake Hubenak played fairly well as Knight’s replacement, but the Aggies couldn’t overcome their slow start and now are left on the outside looking in.
John Franklin III: Auburn’s much-hyped JUCO quarterback recruit got a chance to start against Vanderbilt as Sean White reportedly nursed a shoulder injury. Franklin has had some strong moments for the Tigers this season, but this game was not one of them.
Auburn has been one of the hottest offenses in the SEC in recent weeks, but it mustered 124 yards and 10 points in the first half. Franklin completed only two passes for 9 yards before halftime, and the Tigers opted to send White out for the second half despite his injury.
Franklin is a solid weapon in some of Auburn’s packages, but he didn’t appear ready to run the show by himself.
