THE SEC REPORT

The SEC Report: A&M continues its points explosion, Alabama’s championship run takes a hit and Georgia is in the playoff conversation

Cory De La Guardia
Nov 19, 2019, 6:59 am
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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!

LAST WEEKEND

The Aggies continued their offensive expressions of dominance against South Carolina, who went home trying to figure out who they made so angry to cause a 30-6 game and how do they apologize? Georgia beat Auburn in a good game and has slowly crawled its way into the top 4 nationally giving the Bulldogs a shot at the playoffs as the season winds down. Alabama's season took a turn for the worst as state treasure Tua Tagovailoa's season ended abruptly and painfully Saturday with a dislocated hip. LSU continued its reign of terror over the SEC as they scored 58 against Ole Miss.

STARS OF LAST WEEKEND

Christopher Rodriguez Jr, Runningback of Kentucky: Nn a game Kentucky needed desperately their stud running back ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries. Moby Dick couldn't be a bigger monster than this kid last weekend.

Georgia's Defense: Seriously they were playing Auburn and held them scoreless through three quarters of football and then after Auburn got a little momentum going, they were able to rally and get a couple of late stops in the game to help keep the lead late and secure the victory.

John Rhys Plumlee, quarterback of Ole Miss: OK obviously, Ole Miss lost and Joe Burrow continued his Heisman hunt with five passing touchdowns but I feel like if I don't act least acknowledge Plumlee's 212 yards and four, yeah, FOUR touchdowns on 21 carries then it's a crime against good football. So Burrow was great, but Plumlee was amazing.

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND

This week Texas A&M takes on the role of heartbreakers looking to stop Georgia's low-key end around past Alabama in the rankings. Georgia got the biggest gift in the world with Tua going down and now the rankings aren't as in love with Saban's Crimson Tide as they were a week ago. The Aggies are on the road but they can ruin The Bulldogs perfect storm of a season. Also worth watching is West Carolina coming to Alabama, now before you say anything, hear me out. Alabama's defense hasn't been up to championship standards all year and the team has looked vulnerable for the first time in a while, heck they lost a regular season game! They need a good game to remind themselves that they are Alabama, this is either going to be a masterpiece in coaching and head games or actually tough to watch. LSU hosts Arkansas and unless the Razorback offense can hold the ball for 30 minutes themselves this game, the Tigers will probably hang 50 on them.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Isaiah Spiller, Runningback of Texas A&M: So this season Kellen Mond was supposed to be the leader but by now it looks like they need someone else on crucial downs and plays and a great running game can control the tempo of a game and keep the other team on their heels. Long drives, touchdowns to finish and then defensive stands are how A&M can bury the Bulldogs.

D'Andre Swift, Running back of Georgia: This is the week where they don't want mistakes or turnovers. All they want to do is go out there and in their last big test of the season just execute the plays and rack up the yards and the scores.

Joe Burrow, Quarterback of LSU: Honestly by now this is almost just personal, I like this kid and would like to see him win the Heisman. LSU is having a magical run and he's hitting 78.6% of his throws, he's making great reads and handling the rising pressure week after week as the spotlight intensifies.

Feel free to check out my brand-new comic book Another Day at the Office or buy a shirt from Side Hustle Ts where some proceeds help people struggling with cancer or listen to Nerd Thug Radio. Thoughts, complaints, events and comments can be sent to corydlg@gmail.com.

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Houston couldn't keep up

Astros fall to Blue Jays as Toronto gets homer-happy

Houston's bats couldn't keep up with Toronto's Saturday night. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

With an offensive clinic in the opener on Friday night, which helped them handily defeat the Blue Jays, the Astros returned to Minute Maid Park Saturday with a chance to secure another series. Toronto had other plans, though, reversing roles with Houston by getting big home runs to even the series.

Final Score: Blue Jays 8, Astros 4

Astros' Record: 17-16, third in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Steven Matz (5-2)

Losing Pitcher: Cristian Javier (3-1)

Toronto flips the script and turns on their offense against Javier

Toronto flipped the script from the night before early in this middle game of the series, dealing damage to Cristian Javier, who so far in 2021 had been able to limit his amount of earned runs. After retiring the first four batters he faced, a one-out walk in the top of the second set up the Blue Jays' first hit of the night, a two-run home run by Cavan Biggio, giving them a 2-0 lead over Houston.

After a leadoff home run made it a 3-0 score, Javier would deal with the fallout of more walks in the top of the third, issuing two to set up a two-out two-RBI double to give the Jays a commanding 5-0 advantage. Javier would battle back and complete five full innings, getting one out into the sixth before a walk would prompt Dusty Baker to make the call to the bullpen. His final line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 91 P.

Alvarez keeps mashing as Houston tries to claw back into it

Javier would exit with at least some runs on the board in support of him, with Yordan Alvarez hitting a two-run opposite-field homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to three runs. Alvarez accounted for another run in the next inning, coming through with an RBI-single to make it 5-3, which is where the game stood as Andre Scrubb would take over in the top of the sixth.

Scrubb finished that inning for Javier and returned for a 1-2-3 seventh to keep it a two-run game. Bryan Abreu was the next reliever, and he, too, was able to retire the Blue Jays in order in the top of the eighth. The Astros continued to chip away at Toronto's lead, getting another run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI by Yuli Gurriel to make it 5-4 heading to the ninth.

Toronto evens the series

Brooks Raley entered to try and keep it a one-run game with a clean inning, but instead, two runners would reach on a walk and error before Joe Smith would enter to try and strand them. Instead, a two-out home run put the game back out of reach at 8-4, with Houston coming up empty in the bottom of the inning, setting up a rubber match in the finale.

Up Next: This series's third and final game will be an afternoon start of 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Zack Greinke (2-1, 3.76 ERA) will try to add more wins to his record for Houston, while Nate Pearson will be making his 2021 debut for Toronto.

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