FWtCT's MMQB: Week 4 Edition

The Good: Mississippi State overcame a slow start to put their contest out of reach with the South Alabama Jaguars pretty early.  Dak Pescott picked over 350 yards of total offense, and the defensive line looked menacing yet again.  At the end of the day, the Bulldogs sit at 3-0 with three convincing victories and look to really make the season memorable against the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge Saturday.

The Bad: A few things should give Bulldog fans some pause from this game.  De'Runnya Wilson is starting to pick up penalties at an alarming rate.  The Bulldogs started picking up pre-snap penalties against the Jaguars, and big plays were available had South Alabama been able to finish the play.

The Ugly: The game day operations at Ladd-Peebles Stadium leaved a bit to be desired for many fans.  A lack of water, uncertain concession prices, and troubles with transportation left many fans with a bad taste in their mouths.  Hopefully the Bulldogs will be able to return to Mobile in the future with better luck.

SEC Recap:

Vanderbilt 34, UMass 31: The day started with everyone taking to twitter to try to determine who all on the Vanderbilt coaching staff might get fired this week. The game ended with a missed gimmie-field goal that allowed the Commodores to get a win.

No. 20 Missouri 38, UCF 10: In a game that was close early, the Tigers rolled past the Golden Knights to pick up the victory.  While everyone is focusing on Georgia and South Carolina in the SEC East, the Tigers continue to play solid football.

Arkansas 49, Texas Tech 28: Don't look now, but the Arkansas Razorbacks are starting to look like a powerful running team.  The Hogs stayed close to Auburn in the season opener, and with the win over Texas Tech this weekend, the SEC West is all but assured of going undefeated in out of SEC play.

No. 24 South Carolina 38, No. 9 Georgia 35: In a must-win game for the Gamecocks to have a chance in the SEC East, the Ole Ball Coach and his team found a way to get past the Bulldogs and set up an interesting race for Atlanta.

No. 14 Ole Miss 56, Louisiana 14: In what some people thought might be a tight contest for the Rebels, Ole Miss pounded the Ragin' Cajuns who are looking a bit weaker than last year.

No. 10 LSU 31, Louisiana-Monroe 0: In a contest that was only 10-0 at the half, the Tigers pulled away with their running attack late.  This might be one of the more vulnerable LSU teams in a while, but with their defense and running game, they will always be a tough team to beat.

Florida 36, Kentucky 30: In a game that made us all Wildcats, the Gators somehow snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.  The loss really was a "Kentucky football" moment.  A sure-fire pick-six that bounced off of a Wildcat into a Florida player's hands for a score and a potentially after the playclock expired Florida touchdown doomed the folks from Lexington.

No. 4 Oklahoma 34, Tennessee 10: It is not pleasant to admit, but Bob Stoops does good work against the SEC.  He may be one of the few who can rightly claim his team can hang with the conference.

No. 7 Texas A&M 38, Rice 10: The Aggies keep rolling along, and even on a night when all the magic does not happen, they walk away with a comfortable win.

AWARDS TIME

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Demarcus Robinson, WR, Florida: Several players made this a tough choice this week in the SEC.  Dak Prescott had big numbers, and the Arkansas duo of Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams deserved consideration.  In the end though, 15 receptions for 216 yards and two touchdowns in a game where the Gators had to have every bit of it makes Robinson the offensive player of the week.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Preston Smith, DL, Mississippi State: Smith should at least earn his third straight Defensive Lineman of the Week honor, and at this point, he should be in the running for defensive player of the week.  He picked up two tackles, two sacks and two tackles for a loss along with a fumble and a blocked kick against South Alabama.

POWER POLL:

1.     Alabama (2)

2.     LSU (3)

3.     Auburn (4)

4.     Texas A&M (5)

5.     South Carolina (9)

6.     Georgia (1)

7.     Ole Miss (8)

8.     Mississippi State (6)

9.     Missouri (7)

10. Arkansas (12)

11. Tennessee (11)

12. Florida (10)

13. Kentucky (13)

14. Vanderbilt (14)

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM THE WEEKEND:

1.  Several different shows and publications ran great pieces about child abuse and domestic violence this week.  We really do need to wake up as a society about the violence that has been deemed acceptable.  Why are we more upset with Roger Goodell than the DA's office in New Jersey?  Why does only the on-field implications of actions mean so much to us?  The Adrian Petereson story stands out as one that can be truly disturbing as he last year had a son that he never spent much time with die at the hands of child abuse by someone else.  Should this case he is currently involved in turn out to be legitimate, it is doubly troubling.  Let's hope legitimate conversations and changes come out of what we have seen this past week or so.

2.     Is it fair to say this game with LSU is the biggest game of the Dan Mullen era?  If Mullen wins this game, a huge monkey comes off his back, and Mississippi State puts themselves in the middle of the SEC West hunt.  A loss means a week (or more) of Mullen cannot beat a top-25 team and cannot get Mississippi State past seven or eight wins a season.

3.     De'Runnya Wilson is getting close to becoming a liability on offense.  I love the aggression, and I love the plays he can make.  However, he has to stop committing so many penalties.  Two penalties in a game is a high number for a wide receiver, and the penalties are just bad penalties.  That part of his game has to be cleaned up.

4.     Has there ever been a time that five teams from the same division, let alone the same conference, have been in the top-ten of the AP poll?  It happened for the SEC West this week with Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, LSU and Ole Miss all making the top-ten.

5. The determination of the four teams in the college football playoff fascinates me.  It should really be fun to watch it play out.