Winner: Carson Beck
Junior quarterback Carson Beck led Georgia to a dominating win this week against Kentucky, who seemed to be its biggest competition in the SEC East.
The Bulldogs have not looked as dominant as they had the past two years, but on Saturday that was a different story. Beck threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns on the way to the 51-14 victory.
He looked every bit of what Georgia needs to be able to repeat a national championship for a third straight year.
Now, the Bulldogs sit at 3-0 in the SEC and are the only undefeated team in the East division. Games against Ole Miss and Tennessee still remain at the end of the year, but Beck’s performance on Saturday should give Bulldog fans confidence their team can win another division title.
Loser: Mario Cristobal
Miami head coach Mario Cristobal made one of the all-time worst coaching decisions en route to a 23-20 defeat to Georgia Tech.
On 3rd and 10 with the clock running down past 40 seconds, Cristobal decided to run the ball rather than take a knee to end the game. Instead, redshirt sophomore Donald Chaney Jr. was stripped of the ball and the Yellow Jackets revived possession at their own 26.
With 22 seconds left, Georgia Tech redshirt sophomore quarterback Haynes King hit a 30-yard pass to get his team to the Miami 44.
After spiking the ball to stop the clock with 10 seconds left, King was flushed out of the pocket before hitting junior wide receiver Christian Leary in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
There is no excuse for Cristobal’s decision to run the ball. Miami would still be undefeated and control its own destiny for a spot in the ACC Championship had it knelt the game out.
Now, it sits at 0-1 in conference play and will have to face an uphill battle for the shot at a conference crown.
Winner: Jayden Daniels
LSU senior quarterback Jayden Daniels boosted his Heisman candidate campaign in the Tigers’ 49-39 win over Missouri.
Daniels threw three touchdown passes for 259 yards, averaging 12.3 yards per completion with no interceptions. His favorite target, junior wide receiver Malik Nabers, totaled 146 yards in six receptions with one touchdown grab.
After this week, Daniels is looking at an overall 72.9% completion rate, the highest in his collegiate career, and totals 19 touchdown passes and four touchdowns on the ground so far in 2023. He currently ranks third in passing yards and second in passing touchdowns for all FBS quarterbacks.
LSU improves to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in the SEC off of Daniels’ electric performance. In order for him to truly compete for the Heisman trophy, he must continue to knock off SEC opponents in dominating fashion as LSU reaches for the top of the SEC West.
Loser: Sam Hartman
Senior quarterback Sam Hartman struggled to keep possession of the ball in Notre Dame’s 33-20 upset loss to Louisville.
Hartman threw his first interception of the season against the Cardinals’ defense, ending his streak of 14 touchdown passes without a pick. However, it was only the first in a long list of offensive mistakes.
Louisville generated five sacks on Hartman and picked him off two more times after the initial interception. Two of those interceptions were generated by junior defensive back Devin Neal.
The Heisman contender also fumbled three times due to his lack of awareness and struggling offensive line.
The offensive woes for Notre Dame have dug the Irish’s grave after two losses to top 25 teams, begging the question of if they have the strength to bounce back next week against undefeated No. 9 USC.
Winner: Oklahoma’s playoff hopes
No. 12 Oklahoma remained undefeated while handing No. 3 Texas its first loss of the season on one of college football’s greatest stages. Played at the State Fair of Texas, the game felt like a roller coaster as the Sooners took back the Golden Hat with a thrilling 34-30 win over the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry.
Texas grabbed a 30-27 lead with a minute and 17 seconds remaining, but redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel took the game into his own hands and led a five-play, 75-yard drive to put Oklahoma on top. With 15 seconds remaining, Gabriel connected with redshirt freshman wide receiver Nic Anderson for a 3-yard go-ahead touchdown.
The victory likely put bad memories of last season’s 49-0 Texas win to rest for the Sooners, who won the rivalry for the 11th time in the last 15 matchups. The win is especially meaningful, as it puts Oklahoma squarely in the College Football Playoff hunt with a 6-0 record and 3-0 mark in the Big 12. SEC, you’ve officially been put on notice for next season.
Loser: Arkansas’ SEC record
Arkansas’ losing streak grew to four games on Saturday as it fell on the road to No. 16 Ole Miss, 27-20. The Razorbacks now haven’t won a game in a month after losing to Big 12 newcomer BYU at home and opening SEC play with three consecutive losses.
Arkansas’ losing skid didn’t even begin with this season, as it dropped three of its final five games in 2022. Do the math, and that’s seven losses in the last 11 games. It’s nothing new for the Hogs to get off to a slow start in conference action, as it started 1-3 last year.
What’s more is that Arkansas has one of the most talented quarterbacks-running back duos in the SEC in redshirt senior KJ Jefferson and junior Raheim “Rocket” Sanders. Both are built like tanks and have the potential to run all over opposing defenses.
The key word, though, is “potential,” as that hasn’t come to fruition for the pair just yet. Sanders was held to 15 yards on eight carries against the Rebels while Jefferson picked up just 11 yards on 17 carries. He was sacked five times.