THE SEC REPORT
LSU gets a big win, A&M comes up short, Georgia proved themselves, Tennessee lost again
Sep 10, 2019, 5:09 am
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Joe Burrow
Born with a comic book in one hand and a remote control in the other, Cory DLG is the talent of Conroe's very own Nerd Thug Radio and Sports. Check out the podcast replay of the FM radio show at www.nerdthugradio.com!
Georgia proved themselves, Tennessee failed again and Clemson submitted Texas A&M.
LAST WEEK
The second week of college football is in the books and there was even more good, bad and surprising. The good was LSU going into Austin and knocking off the Longhorns in a battle of highly ranked teams. More good was Georgia's second quarter, 35 points and a game-destroying 15 minutes of football proved #3 Georgia is as good as advertised. The bad was yet again Tennessee, ending their season basically by losing to BYU in second overtime, while expectations weren't high there is now no need for them at all and essentially they are playing out this season now for an invite to a low level bowl game. The ugly was the Clemson game, where the game wasn't as close as the end score showed. The fourth quarter started 24-3 and it never really felt close from there. The Aggies could not muster enough offense against the defending champs.
THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND
Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU: Threw for 471 yards and 4 touchdowns on 31 completions against a top ten opponent in their house. It was an amazing game.
Scottie Phillips, running back, Ole Miss: Had two touchdowns and almost 150 yards on 26 carries. He averaged over 5 yards a carry in the game against Arkansas.
Ty Chandler, running back of Tennessee: They may have lost but this guy also averaged over 5 yards a carry and put 154 yards up on the board, the big problem which is really the Vols problem is he didn't score.
GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK
This weekend, there are a lot of interesting, potentially close games on the schedule. Kansas State will be at Mississippi State in a good competitive early game and in the afternoon Colorado State will be at Arkansas. In the evening Florida will be at Kentucky and that should be a great game to enjoy as well, with a whole Saturday of close competition lined up.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kellen Mond, quarterback, Texas A&M: This is a big week for him in a game they should expect to win pretty big and pretty fast but only if he bounces back.
D'Andre Smith, running back, Georgia: This week he had a quiet 60 plus yards on 6 carries, but I expect he'll see more playing time in a game that will be over early and need rushers to put it to bed.
Joe Burrow, quarterback, LSU: One thing every coach tries to prepare you for is coming back to an "easy" game after winning a close big game. This would be the "let down" game if you're underprepared, so it's up to Joe Burrow to go out there and keep up the pressure and the attacking that's worked for two weeks.
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The Houston Texans won their second straight AFC South title Sunday with a victory over the Dolphins and a loss by the Colts.
It’s the eighth division title in franchise history with each of them coming since 2011.
Coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud are the only coach/quarterback duo in NFL history to capture division titles in their first two seasons together.
“Clinching the AFC South is huge for us,” Ryans said Monday. “Great accomplishment by all of our guys. It’s always our goal. You want to make it in the postseason, you have to win your division, it starts there. And so, we’re just thankful for everyone who played a part in us reaching a first step of our goal and that’s getting in.”
It's the fourth time the Texans (9-5) have won consecutive division titles and the first since 2018-19. This success comes after they won just 11 games combined in the three seasons before Ryans and Stroud arrived.
The Texans got the 20-12 victory Sunday thanks to a dominant outing by their defense, which forced four turnovers. Tua Tagovailoa lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Will Anderson Jr. and the Texans intercepted him three times, which tied his career high.
Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. secured the victory with two interceptions in the fourth quarter, with both coming on passes intended for star receiver Tyreek Hill.
“Just defensively our guys stepped up and did a really good job closing out the game the way we needed to,” Ryans said. “Stingley is playing just unbelievable football right now. Ask him to cover, man coverage, to go and get two picks versus a really good offense, that was huge for us.”
Stingley also had two tackles for loss Sunday to become the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a game.
Stingley, who was the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, has five interceptions this season with four of them coming this month.
What’s working
Houston is third in the NFL with a plus-13 turnover differential after forcing four turnovers Sunday while losing the ball just once. The Texans are second in the NFL with 19 interceptions and are tied for seventh with nine fumble recoveries.
On offense, Stroud has thrown nine interceptions and Houston has lost just six fumbles.
What needs help
The Texans got the win Sunday by taking advantage of turnovers on a day the offense mustered a season-low 181 yards. Stroud threw two touchdown passes, but his 131 yards passing were the third fewest of his career.
But he wasn’t the only one who struggled offensively against the Dolphins. Joe Mixon, who has seven 100-yard rushing games this season, was held to just 23 yards on 12 carries after being shaken up on a hard hit early.
“I feel like we definitely could have been better in a lot of ways, but happy with the win and got to just move on,” Stroud said.
Stock up
LB Henry To’oTo’o had one of his best performances of the season Sunday, finishing with 11 tackles, half sack and a forced fumble. The Texans needed him to elevate his play to make up for the loss of fellow linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who served the first of a three-game suspension Sunday for his violent hit to the head of Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence.
Stock down
WR Tank Dell had just 26 yards receiving against the Dolphins after he had 23 yards receiving against Jacksonville before the bye. He’s had one 100-yard game this season after having three as a rookie last season.
Injuries
Ryans brushed off a question about Mixon’s health Monday saying: “he’ll be fine.” … Houston TE Cade Stover missed the game after having an emergency appendectomy Saturday night. … DT Foley Fatukasi injured an ankle in the second quarter and didn’t return.
Key number
45 — The Texans had three sacks Sunday to give them 45 this season, which ranks second in the NFL entering Monday and is one shy of the franchise record of 46 set last season.
Next steps
The Texans visit the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday before hosting the Ravens on Christmas Day. Houston has won just one of the past five meetings with the Chiefs. That includes a divisional round playoff game in the 2019 season that they lost 51-31 after racing to a 24-0 lead.