SEC Week 9 Review

The SEC East was blown wide open again with yet another huge upset while the West continued to be dominated by the Tide.

Missouri was living a dream season, with everything that could possibly go right going right. They were 7-0 and up 17-0 in the fourth quarter against their biggest threat in the SEC East. What Missouri didn't plan for was Connor Shaw. Shaw came in late in the 3rd for the Gamecocks, and threw for 201 yards and 3 TDs to lead South Carolina back. He threw a huge touchdown to Nick Jones with 42 seconds left to tie the game at 17. He then threw a 15 yard TD in the first OT, which led them to the win, 27-24. South Carolina is now right back in the SEC East race, with just two conference losses. Missouri still holds the lead with only one loss in SEC play, but it still has to face a very tough challenge against Texas A&M.

Alabama continued to dominate the conference with a 45-10 win over an improved Tennessee team. quarterback AJ McCarron looked great, throwing for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns, before relying on a heavy run game to finish it off. The defense played the same as they have in every game since the A&M game, giving up just 14 first downs, and forcing Tennessee QB Justin Worley to throw 2 interceptions. Alabama now has a bye week before the big game against LSU, the first time LSU will be in Tuscaloosa since that 9-6 OT game of the century two years ago. Tennessee suffered a major setback with the loss. They had thought that it was starting to look like a team that was going to contend for and SEC championship in the near future, after a close loss to Georgia and a win over South Carolina, but the Tide proved that Tennessee still has some work to do.

Johnny Manziel and Texas A&M rolled over Vanderbilt on Saturday, 56-24. They looked the same as always, with Manziel throwing for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Texas A&M might not be able to get to the SEC title game, but their BCS chances are still very much alive. Vanderbilt played a great game last week in the big fourth quarter comeback against Georgia, but that will go down as the high point in their season. They won't be able to accomplish anything near that big of a win the rest of the year.

Lastly you have LSU and Auburn, who both cruised to easy victories against inferior non-conference opponents. LSU had some trouble early, but came away with a 48-16 win, thanks to Zach Mettenberger's 328 yards and 3 TDs. Auburn dominated Florida Atlantic from the opening kick, winning 45-10, although they did lose quarterback Nick Marshall with a shoulder injury. If that injury is serious, it could really hurt Auburn's chances in the future.