THE SEC REPORT

The SEC Report: A&M wins huge, Georgia shuts down the Gators,  Arkansas packs it in and it's showdown time with Alabama-LSU

Tua Alabama
Getty Images

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

Texas A&M finally had the offensive explosion fans have been waiting for all season. Putting 45 points on poor old UTSA, the Aggies showed promise and gave boosters a glimpse of what Jimbo Fisher can build if given enough time. Georgia meanwhile crushed the playoff hopes of Gator fans nationwide by dominating Florida through the first three quarters before winning 24-17. Mississippi State finished off what is left of Arkansas' season stomping them 54-24.

THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND

Jake Fromm, Quarterback of Georgia, finally coming closer to pulling it all together in a tough game that they had to have, threw for two touchdowns and over 250 yards in a game that Swift couldn't get going Fromm stepped up big.

Kylin Hill, Runningback of Mississippi State, this guy went ahead and had a monster game, putting over 230 yards and three touchdowns in the stat box.

Isaiah Spiller, Runningback of Texas A&M, ran for 217 yards and also scored three touchdowns in a game where they looked like they just couldn't be stopped. He literally averaged over 10 yards a carry, that's pretty good if you're curious.

THIS WEEKEND

This coming weekend there is one game the entire nation will be watching, the 2:30 game in Bryant-Denny Stadium on CBS amidst The Red Tide, No. 1 LSU comes to No. 2 Alabama. This feels like the big second act of a movie, where the two forces clash for the first but probably not last time this year. The winner is going to the SEC conference championship game and the playoffs, barring an upset between now and then, but the loser if they finish strong enough is possibly still in the top 4 of the country depending on how it all shakes out and therefore still alive for the playoffs. Missouri comes to Georgia, it's amazing how much a few weeks changes things, from leading their division and in control of their own destiny to 2-2 in conference Missouri can still make things interesting with a win against current division leader Georgia. Vanderbilt comes to Florida in a game that Florida can't afford to lose in order to keep pace with the winner of the Georgia-Missouri game.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Joe Burrow, Quarterback of LSU, here it is. This is the focus of the entire country and if the kid who is proving himself to be The Man has anything to say about it LSU walks away a winner and sealing up the season and all doubters.

Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback of Alabama. In some ways even after everything I just said about Joe Burrows this game will be about Tua. If he doesn't play then that's going to hang over this game regardless of the outcome. If he does play and they lose then it'll be questioned, if he plays and they win then he's a legend of unimaginable proportions. So yes this is Joe Burrow's game to win, but it's Tua's story that gets written this weekend.

D'Andre Swift, Runningback of Georgia, he literally can run Missouri out of the building this weekend if he performs like he usually does. He's averaging almost 6 yards a carry against SEC teams and Missouri might not be able to stop him from raising that average this weekend.

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.

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
That was hard to watch. Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images.

C.J. Stroud couldn't believe it. Neither could his Houston Texans teammates.

They were frustrated after a 21-13 loss to the New York Jets on Thursday night when they couldn't get much going against a team that was seeing its season spiral after losing five straight games.

“It’s embarrassing to come out here in a prime-time game and get embarrassed like that is never fun,” Stroud said. “We have to be better in a lot of areas, and that starts with me. There are plays I've got to make, throws I've got to make.”

Stroud completed just 11 of 30 passes for 191 yards for the Texans (6-3), who played without injured receivers Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins. Stroud was also sacked eight times.

“If we want to win, this is not the recipe for it,” Stroud said. “We've got to learn how to dominate and stop learning to just go with the flow.”

It was the first of three consecutive prime-time games for Houston, with a Sunday night home matchup against the Lions on Nov. 10 next and a Monday night meeting at Dallas on Nov. 18.

“We just have to honestly just play football better, execute better, stop pointing the finger and realize at the end of the day this is not winning football,” Stroud said. "We can’t keep squeezing our way by. We are a really good football team. Once we buy into the systems and what is being coached, we have to have leadership to take over.

“This isn’t the end, but it’s definitely a great wake-up call for us to tighten up the ship.”

The Texans got on the scoreboard first on Joe Mixon's 3-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter. They also led 10-7 through three quarters, but couldn't close it out as Aaron Rodgers and an eye-popping catch by Garrett Wilson helped lead the Jets to a victory that stopped their skid.

“The most frustrating part is that we were the better team,” right tackle Tytus Howard said. "We let that game get away from us, especially in the second half. We didn’t come back out with the same intensity we had in the second quarter.

“We let a team steal a win from us.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was particularly concerned with the offensive line after Stroud was hit 11 times. The second-year quarterback was on the turf for a few moments and was slow to come off the field after being sacked by Solomon Thomas shortly before halftime.

“Not sure what’s happening up front,” Ryans said. “We’ll watch the film. We gave up eight sacks and every drop back or pass situation looks like we’re in scramble mode. It’s just not good enough. We can’t operate on time. We've got to get that fixed.”

Stroud has been sacked 30 times this season, a total that ranks second in the NFL to Cleveland's Deshaun Watson, who's out for the season.

“We don’t want our quarterback getting hit as many hits as he took," Ryans said. "It’s not good enough. We've got to adjust, change things moving forward.”

After a slow start on offense, the Jets found a rhythm in the second half. Wilson's acrobatic, one-handed grab put New York in front 14-10 early in the fourth quarter. Rodgers' 37-yard TD pass to Davante Adams made it 21-10 with 2:56 left.

“When the passes went up in the second half, we didn’t win those passes,” Ryans said. “It was the same matchup we had in the first half. They made plays in the second half and we didn’t.”

_______________

Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Tickets are $75 for VIP and $50 for General Admission. For a limited time, we’re giving you $10 off; use code SPORTSMAP at checkout. Get your tickets now!

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome