SEC Football Winners and Losers After Week Three

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It was another eventful weekend around the SEC football landscape with several teams impressing while others are in depression already.

Toledo came to Starkville and annihilated Mississippi State which was quite the surprise considering its home field advantage. Texas and Tennessee continue to dominate while Alabama might have figured things out in its first true test on the road.

WINNER: Tennessee Offense

The Volunteers’ offense is humming right now and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. It was a record day in Knoxville as Tennessee scored a program record 37 points in the first quarter and led 65-0 at halftime over Kent State.

Josh Heupel’s offense recorded 740 yards of take offense and scored 71 points for the game to pickup win No. 30 of his Tennessee tenure. This Volunteers offense is electric and will take a masterful defensive effort to slow them down.

Defensively, Tennessee has yet to allow and offensive touchdown. As a team, the Volunteers have outscored opponents by a total of 178 points through three weeks.

LOSER: SEC Officiating in Columbia

All that needs to be said is the unnecessary roughness penalty when South Carolina’s defender wiped LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier during an interception return was junk.

Nussmeier had already made a move towards the action before being met with a crushing block. Like former coach Will Muschamp said ‘it just means more sometimes depending on what your logo is.’

WINNER: Alabama Blows Out Wisconsin

It was a slow offensive start in Camp Randall for the Crimson Tide in a 42-10 win. Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Van Dyke suffered a knee injury in the first quarter and didn’t return.

Jalen Milroe entered the game with nine total touchdowns which led the nation. He padded onto his lead with another five scores Saturday. Four of Alabama’s six touchdowns were of 20+ yards and proved to be one of the more explosive offenses in college football.

LOSER: Billy Napier’s Job Security

Another week, another power conference opponent and another loss for Florida. The Gators were out-coached and outplayed for the second time this season with the final score not indicative of how Texas A&M dominated the matchup.

Saturday’s loss is the Gators seventh straight loss against power conference opponents dating back to last season. Instead of blaming his school’s fans, team and other excuses, Napier places some blame on himself for Florida’s shortcomings.

“When we don’t have success and we don’t play quality football on Saturdays, it’s my responsibility,” Napier said after the loss. “Everything that happens within our organization from top to bottom is under my direction and control. Certainly, I take full responsibility for that.”

WINNER: Ole Miss Takes Care of Business

After a 40-6 victory in its first road game of the season, the Rebels beatdown Wake Forest so bad that the school decided to ‘buy out’ a return trip to Oxford next season.

“These guys during the week called over and [Wake Forest athletic director] John Currie said ‘we’re not playing next year’ and bought out of the game,” Kiffin said after Saturday’s win. “So I thought that was a good message for our players, that somebody would want to pay money not to play them. Says a lot about where our program is right now.”

That’ll cost the Demon Deacons $1 million to cancel. Ole Miss rolled up 649 yards of offense Saturday pounding Wake Forest for 272 yards rushing.

LOSER: Cowbell State

Holy Toledo! The Rockets were picked by College Gameday analyst Nick Saban to upset Mississippi State at home and that they did, 41-17.

Booed out of its homefield three games into Jeff Lebby’s tenure, things aren’t looking too great for the Bulldogs right now. Mississippi State cannot run the ball and quarterback Blake Shapen was sacked five times.

“We’ve got to be able to find the right five [offensive linemen], Lebby said after the loss. “Then, we got to be able to find the next sixth and the seventh to give us a chance to play seven guys inside a game to go win.”