Biscuits & SEC Week 3 game-by-game recaps 2024
Not a week of chaos like Week 2, but plenty of takeaways from multiple nail biters in primetime.
By: Bossman Slim, Hammer, Waco Kid
Week 3 delivered as always. Not quite as many wild upsets as we saw in Week 2, at least in the games we picked so the crew fared well in our straight-up picks. As usual, picking against the spread was another story, as The Waco Kid was the only one to go above .500 in that department. I’m starting to think the folks in Vegas know what they are doing or something.
Here’s how the B&S crew fared with their picks in Week 3:
Things are looking much better in the straight-up column after three weeks, but still abysmal in the picks against the spread. Hopefully, we can turn it around as the season wears on. Right now, I still don’t know what to think about half the SEC so predicting who can cover a spread week to week is challenging (looking at you Georgia).
One thing to call out before we hop into recaps because we didn’t preview this game. Mississippi State lost at home to Toledo. And they didn’t just lose, they got shelled 41-17. TOLEDO. Let that sink in. Toledo, from the MAC, came into Starkville and won by 24 points. The Bulldogs got some MACtion on Saturday night, that’s for sure. And Toledo got paid $1.2 million to do it. Thanks for a good time. What is going on? I know it’s Jeff Lebby’s first year, but come on dude it’s Toledo at home. Looks like it is going to be an ugly season in Starkville.
With that out of the way, let’s dive in.
Bossman: Screw the refs!!! That’s been the cry out of Columbia since the fat lady sang in this game. And honestly, they have a point. That was a WEAK call against the Gamecocks that wiped away a likely game-sealing pick-six with six minutes to go in the game. Absolutely atrocious call. At the end of the day, it’s tough to give up over 400 yards of total offense, lose the turnover battle, and expect to win. LSU just kept chipping away and eventually overcame a 17-0 deficit, taking the lead back with one minute to play. While it wasn’t pretty, that’s a gritty win for Brian Kelly and the Tigers. As for South Carolina, that one hurts to lose, but it shows they can play with most teams in the SEC. Get LaNorris Sellers healthy and keep pounding. It looks like the Cocks will be pesky all season.
Hammer: Son of a gun. I need to quit betting against Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks. I didn’t think they’d be able to score enough to cover this spread, but I was wrong yet again. South Carolina really should have won this game. Nick Emmanwori picked off Garrett Nussmeier with under 6 minutes remaining in the game and returned it over 80 yards for a touchdown to put South Carolina up 39-29….only there was a flag. The Gamecocks got called for unnecessary roughness due to a blindside block on Nussmeier so instead of scoring a TD, they got the ball on their own 10-yard line. Like a storybook ending for Tiger fans, the defense forced a three-and-out and LSU proceeded to score on the next drive to go up 36-33. To add insult to injury, South Carolina missed a 49-yard field goal attempt as time expired. Just brutal, especially because LaNorris Sellers got hurt in the second quarter and did not return. The Gamecocks still gave LSU all they could handle with Robby Ashford filling in thanks to Rocket Sanders going for 143 yards and two TDs on 19 carries. Here is what I think I know about these teams after three weeks: South Carolina’s offense is boom or bust. They are not very efficient and struggle to put drives together, but they can hit a few home runs. Their defense, especially the defensive front, is good. They will give teams issues upfront. LSU is still pretty good on offense, especially through the air. Their run game remains inconsistent and their defense is bad. They don’t stop the run well at all, and bust coverages a few times a game at least. Nuss and the offense will have to outscore teams to win.
The Waco Kid: Is South Carolina good? I still don’t understand this team, they look good in games but everything on paper says they shouldn’t be...LaNorris Sellers looks like the real deal (hopefully he’s back to full health quickly) but those specs he rocks make him look like a joke. But this program is not. They are hanging around teams that should give them fits and young. They have a bright future ahead and on top of that play Akron next week. It’s a good outlook and rebound after a hard-fought game against a top-20 squad.
Bossman: I had this one all wrong, but it may have been closer if Tyler Van Dyke hadn’t been injured on Wisconsin’s opening possession. Even so, this was a dominating win for Alabama, no question about it. I thought the Camp Randall home-field advantage might be worth a few points for the Badgers to cover, but that wasn’t the case. Kalen DaBoer and the boys from Tuscaloosa trapped the Badgers and never let them go. Jalen Milroe looked like the stud Tide fans have been hoping for, and Jam Miller was electric with the ball in his hands. Have to give the Alabama defense their due as well, holding any Power 4 team to 10 points is a big accomplishment, and they affected the Wisconsin offense all day. The Tide get a bye week to get ready for Georgia, and they need it. Keep an eye on injuries sustained by Malachi Moore and Qua Russaw. It will be an all-hands-on-deck affair to down the Bulldogs.
Hammer: I was way off on this one as well. Turns out, USF is probably a better team than Wisconsin right now. It didn’t help the Badgers cause that Tyler Van Dyke got hurt in the first half and didn’t return, but this game was never close. I thought the Bama defense would hold Wisconsin down like they did, but I was not ready to trust their offense to execute on the road that way. The wild turnover issues we saw against USF were gone as Bama did not turn the ball over. Certainly getting a few key pieces like Kadyn Proctor back on the offensive line helped. Jalen Milroe looked much more comfortable in this one. I’m sure it’s no coincidence but they finally used his legs more and Milroe finished the Tide’s leading rusher with 75 yards and two TDs. This was a vintage Alabama win where they suffocated an opponent from the opening whistle and removed all hope of any upset early on before cruising to an easy, blowout win.
The Waco Kid: Called this one. A blowout any way you look at it. Wisconsin may be a Power 4 program but put them up against the likes of Alabama and you get what you ask for. Milroe was unstoppable with three scores through the air and two more on the ground. Everyone is looking at Georgia as the team to knock off the pedestal but at what point did Bama stop being in that conversation? Especially after a bad showing in Lexington by the Dawgs. The Tide are still rolling and should not be overlooked.
Bossman: Told you! I picked BC to cover in this one, and that’s exactly how it went. I wish I had that crystal ball for every game against the spread, but I digress. Boston College isn’t the same team as they have been in recent years - Bill O’Brien has reinstilled grit and toughness into this Golden Eagles team that BC used to be known for. Hardscrabble Boston, baby. With that said, it was Mizzou’s first real game of the year, and they looked a bit rusty early on, leading 17-14 at the half. In the end, it was a good win for the Tigers. A few takeaways are that the offense will be just fine, they have weapons everywhere and Mizzou posted 440 yards of total offense. As for the defense, they look stout against the run. This BC team racked up 263 rushing yards against FSU. Against Mizzou? They managed only 49. That kind of defense will win you plenty of games in the SEC if they can keep it up.
Hammer: Welp, I over-thought this one. I said in our previews “I like Missouri to win and win comfortably and I will pick them to cover, but I feel uneasy about it.” I should have trusted myself because Mizzou was never really in danger of losing this game, but they also did not play nearly well enough to cover. The final score makes it seem closer than it was as the Tigers fell into an early 14-3 deficit with 9:44 to go in the second quarter before locking this game down. After BC got up to that 14-3 lead, Mizzou scored 24 unanswered points before Boston College finally scored a late TD with under four minutes remaining in the game. After that late TD, Mizzou ran out the final 3:45 seconds with a great closing drive. Good win for Mizzou as this was their first real test, and they handled business. Brady Cook looked solid, Luther Burden went for over 100 yards and a TD, and the Tiger defense suffocated BC’s run game, only allowing 1.9 yards per carry. BC is not a great team, but this was a solid, workmanlike win for the Missouri Tigers.
The Waco Kid: Mizzou was #6 for a reason, they showed up and proved it against a decent ACC opponent. They won’t make it through the SEC schedule without a couple of blunders but for now they are taking care of business. Drinkwitz has his team in a great position but at the end of the day, they could fall to A&M, Oklahoma, and Alabama, potentially. Brady Cook and Luther Burden are taking care of business and this Tigers defense…wow. 21 points allowed over three weeks is amazing, no matter the competition.
Bossman: After last week’s struggle bus performance from OU, I wasn’t sold on them covering against a Green Wave team that had the second-best odds to win the AAC this season. Never mind me, the Sooners took care of business and got back on track after their abysmal game against Houston in Week 2. Not a ton more to say on this one, but do keep an eye on the Jackson Arnold turnovers. He threw another one on Saturday, his second in as many weeks. Gotta clean those up this weekend against Tennessee or the Vols will make you pay.
Hammer: Thank goodness I finally got a game against the spread right. I trusted the Sooners to figure out a way to cover in this spot and they got it done (barely). It never felt like the result of this game was in jeopardy, except maybe for a few minutes early in the fourth quarter when Tulane cut what had been a 24-6 lead down to 24-19. But the Sooners found the gas pedal again after that and scored the final 10 points of the game, sealing a win. Don’t apologize for wins, but this Oklahoma team still has major issues that they need to figure out quickly before their schedule gets rough. Jackson Arnold looked great on the ground, rushing for 97 yards and two TDs, but he can’t throw. The Sooners have an extremely limited passing game right now, and unless something changes there, they are going to find themselves in a bunch of defensive battles or get blown out. The defense is still playing really well, but until they find a passing game, it will be tough sledding in SEC play.
The Waco Kid: OU was not impressive and even though I had them losing, they did nothing to instill confidence. The offense and defense looked poor and they will have issues going forward. Glad they got a win over the Green Wave but would not expect it in the majority of their remaining games.
Bossman: I did not think A&M would do that to Florida, especially with a backup QB. The Aggies are notorious for playing down to their competition and struggling on the road. They haven’t been a good road team since the Kevin Sumlin era when Ol’ Swag Copter couldn’t win at Kyle Field but would pull road games out of his kiester. Didn’t matter on Saturday, Marcel Reed and the Aggies stormed The Swamp and put the hurt on Florida. The final score wasn’t indicative of what really happened in this game. The Aggies had this one well in hand midway through the third quarter, leading 33-7 after a Bryce Anderson pick-six. A few questions arise after this game. Will the Aggies hand the keys over to Marcel Reed and keep the injured Conner Weigman on the bench? For Florida, is it time to show Billy Napier the door? And if not, how much longer can this two-QB system go on in Gainesville? At some point, they’re going to have to make a decision on both fronts. It looks bleak for Florida at the moment, while the Aggies have a little life.
Hammer: My logic for picking Florida felt sound. Texas A&M had not won a road game since 2021 and their starting QB was questionable. I didn’t trust this team to go to the Swamp and win by more than four, especially if backup QB Marcel Reed got his first collegiate start. The problem was I underestimated how bad Florida really is. The Aggies deserve a ton of credit for going in there and winning with ease, and Marcel Reed looked very good for a guy making his first collegiate start. But my goodness, Florida is so bad and Billy Napier is so done. The Gators got steamrolled by A&M, surrendering 310 rushing yards at 5.6 yards per carry. The Texas A&M offensive line absolutely bullied Florida in this game. In the second quarter, the Aggies had a 15 play, 99 yard touchdown drive where they threw the ball one time for two yards. They marched 99 down the field and only gained two yards through the air. Absurd. The Aggies broke Florida’s will on defense. On offense, the Gators looked disjointed all day. Napier was flip flopping between Mertz and Lagway all day, and neither played well. Lagway looked really bad and Mertz was a little more effective but ultimately didn’t do much. Texas A&M’s defense locked down the Florida running game, only allowing 52 yards on 25 carries, daring Florida to beat them by throwing the football, and the Gators had no chance. Napier might be fired by the time this publishes and if he isn’t he won’t last until the end of the year, that much is for certain.
The Waco Kid: Had A&M scored once more, I would have been dead on. Bossman was giving me crap all week but I told him the Gator defense was a bunch of big boys that can’t get their fat butts around the gridiron. I still think I am correct in saying that. I was a little surprised at the way Lagway and the offense were able to score but defensively UF is poor and will continue to lose until they can figure out a way to stop opposing offenses. Marcel Reed was impressive and I hope there is a serious conversation between Mike Elko and Collin Klein about who should be the starter going forward.
Bossman: Yeah, this was the blowout we all expected. The Rebels dominated Wake Forest from the opening whistle and never let off the gas. It was so bad that Wake bought out their return trip to Oxford next year. They don’t want no more of that smoke. Great win for the Rebels. They have one more cupcake in Georgia Southern next week to gear up for the start of their SEC schedule.
Hammer: Not wasting much time with this recap. Ole Miss continues to look good against bad teams. Wake Forest stinks this year, and Ole Miss dominated them. Jaxson Dart looked great, although he did have one pick, and the Rebels running game is dynamic. They are doing everything they need to do against bad competition, so now we’ll just wait until they play a team with a pulse.
The Waco Kid: Not much to say about this one. Wake Forest is the team we thought they were and Ole Miss is just better. The Deacons are a cupcake team that others schedule thinking that it is an easy win. Until they prove otherwise that will be the case.
Bossman: This was my shot call. Georgia usually wins in the Big Grocery Bag, but they rarely cover. For whatever reason, the Bulldogs struggle when the go to Lexington. And they did again on Saturday night. Kentucky didn’t look much better on offense than they did against South Carolina in Week 2 and Georgia’s defense was stifling, but Carson Beck and the UGA offense couldn’t get anything going all night against a motivated Kentucky defense. There was only one dang touchdown scored in this game, and of the 20 total drives, only five of them hit double-digit plays. It was a total slugfest all night. Neither team reached 300 yards of total offense. In the end, Kentucky just didn’t have enough gas to pull off the massive upset. Two things the Dawgs need to clean up as they head deeper into the season: Third down and penalties. Kentucky was 9/16 on third down so UGA had some trouble getting off the field, and on the flip side, they had trouble converting, going just 5/13 on the night. The Dawgs also committed nine penalties for 85-yards, which kept Kentucky hanging around. A showdown with Alabama in Tuscaloosa awaits the Dawgs in two weeks.
Hammer: I saw this big hanging curveball and took a massive swing, only to whiff miserably here. I thought after what Kentucky did in week two against South Carolina that Georgia could basically name their score. Not so fast my friend. Look how dumb I was coming into this game when I said “I expect Carson Beck to have another great game here and lead the Bulldogs to an easy victory.” Beck looked very average and the Dawgs only managed 262 total yards. Straight up, Kentucky played with Georgia for 60 minutes and came up just short. The Wildcat defense played with their hair on fire and refused to break all night. Unfortunately for Big Blue Nation, their offense simply could not get anything going. Georgia’s defense continues to be excellent and Brock Vandagriff just isn't the kind of guy to put up points against a defense of that caliber. He looked far better against Georgia than he did against South Carolina but he still has a long way to go. Tough loss for the Wildcats because they played a good enough game to win, but simply came up one point short in the end.
The Waco Kid: UGA looked horrible, but it is the teams that look horrible and still pull out the W that are the good ones. Kentucky has been an issue for the Dawgs in past years and they continue to be. Do I think this represented the programs as a whole? No. Kentucky will still lose 4-5 and Georgia will be in the playoffs with one loss, maybe. The Wildcats are just a team that has UGA’s number and they play them that way nearly every year. Write this one off as business as usual and let’s move on.
Other games on the slate:
Arkansas 37 - UAB 27
#2 Texas 56 - UTSA 7
Georgia State 36 - Vanderbilt 32
Auburn 45 - New Mexico 19
Toledo 41 - Mississippi State 17
#7 Tennessee 71 - Kent State 0
