Week 10 SEC Letter Grades: Kentucky Through Ole Miss

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

KENTUCKY: C

The Wildcats started their 28-18 loss at Tennessee like a team that had nothing to lose.

Jamarion Wilcox sprinted for 50 yards on the opening play of the game. Mark Stoops went for it on a fourth down deep in Tennessee territory, but the Wildcats came up short.

Kentucky did score on the next possession thanks to a pass from Brock Vandagriff to tight end Josh Kattus, taking the early lead on Tennessee.

This team was too broken physically and psychologically to do the unthinkable in Neyland Stadium. Both Vandagriff and receiver Barion Brown left the game with injuries, adding to what’s already a laundry list.

Kentucky turned the ball over three times, two of which swung momentum toward Tennessee in the second half. Gavin Wimsatt’s touchdown pass to Ja’Mori Maclin was amazing, but Wimsatt isn’t capable of making plays like that on a weekly basis.

4-8 feels like a very real possibility for this team.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: B+

My primary rationale for sticking Mississippi State in the B tier following its 45-20 win against UMass is due to a bad first quarter.

What’s been a serviceable offense had a grand total of five yards in the opening frame. The defense was porous once more, allowing the Minutemen to lead by 10 after the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs scored 35 straight from the beginning of the second quarter to late in the third quarter. The most impressive part of the offensive output was the 243 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.

While they ran it well, the Bulldogs weren’t super effective in stopping the run.

UMass ran for a season-high of 199 yards. So that means Central Connecticut State and Wagner were better about slowing it down than Mississippi State.

At the end of the day, you have to grade the test according to the answer key, so sticking Mississippi State any lower is too harsh.

OKLAHOMA: A-

I’m going to keep this one brief because winning 59-14 against Maine is what you’re supposed to do if you’re an SEC program.

A fumble and an early deficit are the only gripes to be made about Oklahoma’s performance against the Bears.

The Sooners ran for 381 yards in this game, something most of us didn’t think was possible with that bad of an offensive line. Jovantae Barnes finished the day with 203 rush yards and a trio of touchdowns.

Jackson Arnold also posted a nice 15/21 for 224 yards and two touchdowns in the air.

Oklahoma will look for a sixth win at Missouri next week.

OLE MISS: A

It’s impossible for me to give Ole Miss anything less than an A. It recorded its largest margin of victory against Arkansas in a venue where it historically struggles.

“Staggering” isn’t enough to describe the numbers Jaxson Dart and the Ole Miss offense put up on the Razorbacks. Dart finished with 515 yards and six touchdown passes, and 254 and five of those yards and touchdowns were to Jordan Watkins.

Most of the production the defense surrendered was late in the second half.

After the Razorbacks stood up to the offense on its first possession of the game, the defense stripped Taylen Green for a score in the end zone. There was no coming back for Arkansas after this moment.

The Rebels’ defensive line finished with 8 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. That makes 18 sacks and 28 tackles for loss in the last two weeks.

One of the few terrific weeks for Ole Miss in SEC play this year.

Tucker Harlin
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THE DAY AFTER: KENTUCKY