THE SEC REPORT

The SEC Report: LSU emerged victorious; Georgia and Florida are lurking

The SEC Report: LSU emerged victorious; Georgia and Florida are lurking

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

Obviously the biggest story out of the SEC last weekend is the outcome of the LSU vs Alabama game. LSU winning in such decisive fashion is not only impressive for Joe Burrows but for LSU as a whole. It's important for Burrows because it does help elevate his Heisman hopes and increases his profile nationally and all while Tua was opposite him, which is even better. LSU now sits No. 1 in the country and after their wins Georgia and Florida are hoping for a little more chaos.

THREE STARS OF LAST WEEKEND

Joe Burrows, quarterback of LSU, threw for 393 yards and 3 touchdowns. This is the exact game he needed to play and the exact stage it had to happen on to give him his Heisman moment and now this kid is cruising as the front runner on the highest ranked team in the country.

Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback of Alabama, who in a big game in a big moment, stepped up and had a hell of a game coming off an injury where people were wondering about him and his ability. He answered all of those questions and yes it's a losing effort but honestly its 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, most NFL quarterbacks would kill to lose that bad.

Rakeem Boyd, running back of Arkansas, whose season is over essentially, especially after dropping a terrible game against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (yikes) but Rakeem had himself a monster of a day putting on 185 yards and two touchdowns. It's important to recognize who is still trying to win when things go bad.

THINGS TO WATCH FOR

Honestly there are lots of games to watch this weekend. Texas A&M hosts South Carolina, Alabama travels to Mississippi State to try and regain some control over their season. Georgia travels to Auburn, Florida is at Missouri and LSU travels to Ole Miss. While there isn't a bigger game than last week's headliner there are tons of solid games and with LSU beating Alabama last week, it feels like lots of things are up for grabs and all the weekend's games contribute to the story in some ways.

THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH

D'Andre Swift, runningback of Georgia, Alabama losing doesn't happen often and it feels like an opportunity for Georgia to maybe gain ground and score a big win but all of that starts with Swift doing better than he did last week.

Kyle Trask, quarterback of Florida, somehow Florida's season isn't over and they are a top ten team playing a game of national relevance. Trask has work to do.

Bo Nix, quarterback of Auburn, the season hasn't gone as planned for these guys but Nix might still have some magic in him yet and this is Auburn's last big chance to move up and score love nationally.

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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Astros lose to Braves, 6-2. Composite Getty Image.

Reynaldo López struck out seven over six scoreless innings, Orlando Arcia homered and the Atlanta Braves won their third straight, 6-2 over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

López (2-0) allowed four hits and walked one in his third straight sterling outing to start the season.

“It’s like I’ve always said, for me, the important thing is to focus,” López said through an interpreter. “To have the focus during the outings and then, to be able to locate those pitches.”

He has given up one run in 18 innings for an ERA of 0.50.

“He threw the ball really well against a really good hitting club,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “Another solid one.”

Arcia hit a solo home run to left in the second and a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Luis Guillorme and backup catcher Chadwick Tromp each hit a two-run double in the ninth to put the Braves ahead 6-0.

“Tromp has done a good job ever since we’ve been bringing him in these situations and filling in,” Snitker said. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him back there. ... He’s an aggressive hitter. He’s knocked in some big runs for us in the limited time that he’s played.”

Kyle Tucker homered for the Astros leading off the ninth against Aaron Bummer, and Mauricio Dubón had a two-out RBI single to cut the lead to four. After Bummer walked Chas McCormick to put two on, Raisel Iglesias induced a groundout by Victor Caratini to end it and secure his fourth save.

“They pitched well, and our guys are grinding out at-bats,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “Even in the ninth inning there, we’re grinding, fighting until the end.”

Hunter Brown (0-3) yielded two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in six innings. Brown allowed nine runs in two-thirds of an inning in his previous start, last Thursday against Kansas City.

Brown said he executed better Tuesday than he had in his previous two starts.

“He mixed all his pitches well,” Espada said. “The breaking ball was effective. He threw some cutters in on the hands to some of those lefties. He mixed his pitches really well. That was a really strong performance.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Braves: 2B Ozzie Albies was placed on the 10-day injured list with a broken right big toe. IF David Fletcher had his contract selected from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Albies’ place on the roster.

Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (right shoulder inflammation) threw a side session Tuesday, but Houston will wait until Wednesday to see how Verlander feels before deciding whether he will make his first start this weekend against the Nationals, Espada said. ... RHP Luis Garcia (right elbow surgery) threw around 20-25 pitches off the bullpen mound, and RHP José Urquidy (right forearm strain) also threw off the mound, Espada said. ... LHP Framber Valdez (left elbow soreness) played catch off flat ground.

UP NEXT

Atlanta LHP Max Fried (1-0, 8.74 ERA) starts Wednesday in the series finale opposite RHP J.P. France (0-2, 8.22).

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