Love it or hate it, SEC lives up to reputation

It was a glorious day for college football.

Once the mums and pumpkin were bought, and a quick run for groceries was in the rearview mirror, it was time to sit down for hours upon hours of watching why the rest of college football hates the SEC.

It is simply great football. So great, top to bottom, that there is no such thing as an upset.

Before getting into that more, it also was interesting watching and listening to Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema on CBS. He was quick, insightful and impressive while serving as a guest studio analyst.

It was the type of recruiting exposure any coach in America would give his right arm for, and Bielema should have opened a few doors with the way he handled himself as the head coach and No. 1 ambassador of the Razorbacks.

That said, Mississippi State’s manhandling of Texas A&M was not a shocker and doesn’t necessarily bode poorly for the Hogs, who lost to the Aggies in overtime. The Razorbacks were four mental mistakes away from winning that game, and probably by two touchdowns.

The Bulldogs controlled the game from start to finish, and it was OK that all the announcers were declaring MSU quarterback Dak Prescott is a Heisman Trophy candidate. He is if you take Texas A&M’s Kenny Hill off your list and replace him with Prescott, who ran for three touchdowns and passed for two more.

Hill, who is young and learning, had three interceptions, all by Richie Brown, which tied a school record. The Aggies must not have scouted the sophomore linebacker from Long Beach, Miss., but they won’t soon forget him.

Keep it mind the Bulldogs’ 559 yards of offense ( 270 passing, 289 running) were against the Aggies’ defense, which is improved from a year ago but still not good enough to challenge for the SEC West Division, and we may have seen the two best defenses in all of the SEC on CBS when Alabama took on Ole Miss.

From the moment ESPN College GameDay started, Oxford, Miss., received all the glory and praise it deserves. It is a quaint little city with a gentle soul and a unique personality.

And millions of viewers and all those proud Ole Miss fans who were fortunate enough to have tickets were treated to a truly great showdown.

Alabama had 307 yards of offense but only 17 points going into the fourth quarter, and seven of those points were from a fumble recovery and return for a score. Ole Miss had 203 yards and 10 points.

The Rebels’ problem — and no doubt Bielema and his staff were paying very close attention — was they couldn’t establish a running attack. Seven different guys had shared 22 carries at that point — quarterback Bo Wallace had nine of them — and totaled only 57 yards.

With 6:24 to play and the score still 17-10, Ole Miss started at its own 44. No one even thought about an early exit, and the crowd was on its feet and peeling off the final layers of their vocal chords hoping to inspire the home team.

Three plays later, Wallace passed 34 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, with 5:29 to play, the Wall of Bama appeared to be crumbling.

When Alabama fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Ole Miss recovered, it was be- coming clear that this would not be an upset. The SEC is too good this year for that.

Jaylen Walton’s reception should forever be known as The Catch after it gave Ole Miss a much deserved 23-17 lead with 2:54 left. Then again, maybe that play and Senquez Golson’s game-clinching interception with 37 seconds left should just be remembered as The Catches.

Both helped Ole Miss beat the team that was supposed to be invincible. In the end, Alabama was simply made invisible by the better team.

It’s hard not to love/ hate SEC football. It’s the best.