College football entered uncharted territory on Saturday after an unprecedented day in the sport.
The SEC saw some of its most prominent heavy hitters go down, while others proved themselves after earlier-season stumbles.
Here’s who’s trending up and down after all of the chaos:
Rising
Texas A&M’s statement win
In the slate’s only ranked-on-ranked matchup over the weekend, the No. 25 Aggies dominated No. 9 Missouri from jump street.
Running back Le’Veon Moss led the rout for A&M, with 12 carries for 138 yards and a hat trick of touchdowns. Fellow running-mate Amari Daniels punched two touchdowns in himself. The Aggies dominated on the ground all day.
“We just wanted to come out and continue to put our foot on their neck,” Moss said. “That’s it.”
Conner Weigman returned from an injury to his throwing shoulder he sustained on the opening weekend against Notre Dame, finishing with 276 yards passing and 33 yards on the ground. However, if he wants to avoid another shoulder injury, he should consider sliding rather than putting his head down at the end of runs.
The Aggies’ defense held a previously explosive Tigers offense to 254 yards in the game with no turnovers.
While Mizzou dropped from No. 9 to No. 24, A&M propelled to No. 15 as we enter the second half of the season. Nobody wants to come to Kyle Field to play the surging Aggies.
JJ Pegues helps Ole Miss right the ship
After a stunning 20-17 loss at home to Kentucky, the No. 12 Rebels now had to go on the road to Williams-Brice Stadium to play South Carolina. Saturday’s matchup was crucial for Ole Miss. Back-to-back losses to unranked programs, even if they were SEC, would nullify their first month of the season, dropping them entirely from the AP Top 25. But with a win, the Rebels could get back on track.
The standout on offense? Senior defensive tackle JJ Pegues. Yes, you read that correctly.
“Any time he has the ball in his hands on offense, good things are going to happen,” Ole Miss quarterback Jaxon Dart said.
Pegues barreled in for two touchdowns on the goal line in the Rebels’ 27-3 domination of the Gamecocks in a performance they desperately needed.
“He’s so awesome,” Dart said. “He’s the only defensive tackle who can move like that in the whole country. He could honestly play tight end for us, too. He’s a special talent.”
Pegues played a bit of tight end at Auburn before converting to defensive tackle full-time. Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said they had drawn up those goal-line plays for him.
“That says a lot about who he is,” Kiffin said.
Pegues’s defensive unit held South Carolina to its first game without a touchdown since last October, when it fell to Missouri 34-12. On his ordinary side of the ball, Pegues added two tackles, including one for a loss.
The Rebels reenter the top 10 at No. 9 before their trip to Death Valley on Saturday night when they play No. 13 LSU.
Falling
Alabama’s Trap Game
The No. 1 Crimson Tide had a 23-game winning streak over Vanderbilt, dating back to 1984. But during game 24, the script had flipped.
Across the four games in which the Commodores faced Nick Saban’s Alabama, they averaged 13 points per game. A Randon Fontenette pick-six gave Vanderbilt a 13-0 lead to start Saturday’s matchup. The Crimson Tide’s offense finally started rolling late in the first, but the Commodores kept pace all day long.
Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia threw for a clean 252 yards and a pair of touchdowns while taking off 20 times for 56 yards. The Commodores run game, led by running back Sedrick Alexander, helped Vanderbilt keep Alabama’s defense honest while also controlling the clock and keeping the ball from the opposing explosive offense. Alexander finished the contest with 21 carries for 64 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
It all came together for a once-in-a-lifetime 40-35 victory for Vanderbilt.
“Games like this change your life,” Pavia said.
It was the program’s first win over the nation’s top-ranked school, bringing their 0-60 record versus AP top-5 opponents to 1-60. This is the longest tenure without a win in the AP poll era, dating back to 1936.
“This is the dream, right here,” Commodores head coach Clark Lea said. “And for the next 12 hours, I’m going to enjoy the dream. We’ve got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: Big wins on big stages. We’re going to go get some more.”
For the now No. 7 Crimson Tide, it’s a complete turnaround from their thrilling 41-34 win over rival Georgia in what might have been the ‘Game of the Year.’ They will look to bounce back home against the SEC competition in South Carolina.
“We’re going to find out really how much we care about each other and what it looks like moving forward,” DeBoer said. “We’ve been tested in different ways really a lot of the games here this season, and this is a different type of test now in our response.”
Tennessee drops to Arkansas
There’s a Razorback down on the field. A hush falls over the Arkansas crowd. It’s starting quarterback Taylor Green, the transfer from Boise State, who is now out of the game with a left leg injury. In relief comes freshman Malachi Singleton, trailing by one to the No. 4 team in the nation.
Singleton didn’t bat an eye, diving into the end zone with 1:17 left, capping off a 59-yard touchdown drive to give his Razorbacks their first lead since it was 3-0 at halftime.
Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava, and the offense had one last chance to save the day for Tennessee. With two timeouts left, Iamaleava mounts his drive.
A 42-yard connection to wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. brought the Volunteers down to the Arkansas 25-yard line in a matter of seconds. A handful of plays later, and it comes down to this: 4th and 5 at the Razorback 20-yard line, with six seconds to go.
Iamaleava rolls out to the right, looking downfield, but never gets rid of the ball. Time expires as Arkansas fans rush the field to cap off a college football Saturday that will go down in the record books.
After so many so-close losses, the Razorbacks can finally finish one.
No. 8 Tennessee heads back home to try and regroup against an up-and-down Florida Gators group.
