SEC Football Takeaways of Week 6

[caption id="attachment_269066" align="alignnone" width="600"] Photo: Getty Images[/caption]

Another week has come and gone in the college football season. The SEC consistently gives the sport amazing games, moments, and players. Here are my five biggest takeaways in the conference from week six.

1. Auburn Is Just LSU From Last Year

Well, Bo Nix had a good run while it lasted.

The bottom finally fell out for Nix and the No. 7 Tigers on Saturday in Gainesville. Despite Auburn building up a solid month of hype, they laid an absolute egg against No. 10 Florida.

Nix looked like a true freshman at quarterback and played his worst game of the season against a good Gator defense. However, it was the defense of the Tigers that was most disappointing on Saturday.

Giving up 150-plus rushing yards to a lethargic Florida ground game is very uncharacteristic for Auburn. Most of those yards were given up on an outstanding run from Lamical Perine.

https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1180615707924422656?s=20

Is it just me, or is this Auburn team just LSU from last year? Think about it. Both teams had great starts, both had solid game-managing quarterbacks, and both suffered their first loss of the season in Gainesville before placing third overall in the division at the end of the regular season.

That feels like what’s going to happen to the Tigers this year. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are a good team. They are just obviously still just a bit over-ranked right now, and they are obviously the third-best team in the West this season.

Nix could prove me wrong with a miraculous performance later in the season, but it really feels like this Auburn team is another year away from contending with Alabama and LSU.

2. Florida’s Miraculous 6-0 Start

On the flip side, people will one day write about how this blatantly above-average Florida team started the 2019 season 6-0.

The truth is that they are simply a handful of plays away from losing to Miami, Kentucky, and Auburn. But, Coach Dan Mullen and company are good enough to find ways to win those kind of ugly football games.

Quarterback Kyle Trask has done a pretty nice job filling in for the injured Feleipe Franks. Sure, Trask isn’t that great of a quarterback, but he is being an ideal game-manager by not turning the ball over.

https://twitter.com/ThomasGoldkamp/status/1180470262342541312?s=20 https://twitter.com/BenMurphyTV/status/1180887293005053953?s=20

Of course, I think that the Gators will finally be humbled next week by LSU and later on by Georgia, but it seems like Florida should win all their other games.

It doesn't seem that believable, but I think there is a scenario where this team finishes the season 11-2.

3. Another Week, Another Blowout for LSU

It was business as usual for Joe Burrow and company against an average Utah State team. Yes, the 42-6 blowout was something that everyone saw coming.

But I still firmly believe that the biggest story in college football this year has been LSU’s new pass-happy offense. Burrow was just a game manager last season. Now he has almost 2,000 yards passing, 22 touchdowns, and just three interceptions in just five contests. His 91 QBR is good for fourth-best in the entire country.

https://twitter.com/LsuFBallTruth/status/1180882199261921280?s=20

I personally cannot wait for Burrow to play Alabama. This seems like the perfect offense and quarterback to take down the Crimson Tide this season. But we all know how bad the Tigers have struggled with Nick Saban this decade.

I know they won’t play until November 9, but I still have that showdown in Tuscaloosa marked on my calendar.

4.  The Kelly Bryant Situation

Missouri was cruising to yet another big victory over Troy when the unthinkable happened to quarterback Kelly Bryant.

https://twitter.com/YahooSportsCFB/status/1180600740143779840?s=20

Let’s not sugarcoat this: That was an unbelievably dirty play. I could care less what the situation was or who the defender is. The fact is that the kid made an incredibly dirty play that injured one of the SEC’s best quarterbacks.

Bryant wouldn't return to the game, and his injury status is still not determined yet at the time of this post. This is just the type of play that makes it so hard for defensive players to play defense. All it takes is one cheap, dirty play like this and that’s exactly why garbage “roughing the quarterback” penalties exist.

Overall, you got to think that all of Missouri is holding its breath right now. Yes, that opening loss to Wyoming was terrible, but now the Tigers have won four straight.

If the injury isn’t that bad, Bryant could easily lead his team into its showdown with Georgia with a 7-1 record. He seems like a good guy so for his sake, hopefully the injury isn't that bad.

5. A New Quarterback In Oxford

My fifth takeaway is always my most “underrated” take of the week. However, I’ll be honest here. I didn’t have a lot to pick from for the second straight week, so I will go with the play of backup quarterback John Rhys Plumlee of Ole Miss.

After their starter got injured, the Rebels turned to Plumlee. He has made the most of the opportunity as he ran for 165 yards during Ole Miss’ win vs. Vanderbilt yesterday.

https://twitter.com/ftbeard_17/status/1180633670152900608?s=20

That puts his rushing total up to 327 yards in just two games. Look, we all know that the Rebels aren’t very good this season.

However, that’s a pretty big win over Vanderbilt. At 3-3, Ole Miss may just have a chance at a bowl game appearance now. While they will easily beat New Mexico State, they have to find a way to win two out of Missouri/Texas A&M/Auburn/ LSU/Miss. State.

It will be very difficult, but if they beat Missouri next week (especially if Bryant is out) then I think Plumlee could lead this team to a 6-6 record and a bowl appearance if he keeps running like he is now.