Alabama
Kentucky
LSU
Miss State
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
LEAD STORY: Kentucky Wins in Columbia With a Two-Point Gamble, but the Third-Down Problem Remains
Kentucky left Williams-Brice Stadium with an overtime win, and with a clear sign of what it needs to fix. The ranked Wildcats fell behind South Carolina 17-0 before they recovered. Kentucky then scored 24 of the next 27 points and took a 24-20 lead in the third quarter. The Gamecocks came in on a two-game slide after a lopsided loss to Alabama and a blown home lead against Mississippi State, and Kentucky had the momentum on its sideline.
One snap changed that. On 3rd-and-11 from the South Carolina 24, LaNorris Sellers broke free for a 74-yard run to the Kentucky 2-yard line. The Gamecocks retook the lead two plays later. Kentucky answered to tie the game and force overtime. In the extra period, Sellers ran an RPO on 3rd-and-2 and found a tight end in the end zone, so Kentucky had to match. The Wildcats scored and then went for two instead of kicking for a second overtime. The conversion gave Kentucky its first win over South Carolina in five years.
The numbers behind the win are a concern. South Carolina converted 8 of 16 third downs (50%). Coming into Saturday, Kentucky's opponents had converted 26 of 58. Kentucky's head coach said the damage isn't coming from running backs. He called it "literally quarterback scrambles" and pointed to dual-threat quarterbacks such as Sam Leavitt and John Mateer on the schedule. The next test comes right away. Kentucky faces LSU and Leavitt this week, and Leavitt has 1,036 career rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. If the Wildcats can't get quarterbacks to the ground on third down, a second escape is unlikely.
QUICK HITS
Tennessee's pass rush leads the country. The Volunteers have 23 sacks through five games, the most in FBS, including 10 in their first two conference games. That works out to 4.6 sacks per game. Tennessee and LSU are the only FBS teams with more than 20 sacks. Marion Dye and Xavier Gilliam lead the team with four sacks each, and Gilliam already has 8.5 tackles for loss. Tennessee's 42 TFLs (8.4 per game) rank eighth nationally. In PFN's defensive-line grades, Tennessee is first (94.9), LSU is second (94.6) and Alabama is fifth (90.8). Nathan Robinson, Carson Gentle and Tyree Weathersby have helped fill a room that lost its veterans.
Lady Vols repeat at the Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate. No. 16 Tennessee women's golf won the event for the second straight year, finishing the third round Tuesday at Cherokee Country Club.
Alabama sweeps the SEC freshman swimming honors. Iman Avdic and Bogdan Zverev were both named SEC Freshman Athletes of the Week. The Crimson Tide has now won an SEC weekly honor in back-to-back weeks.
Mississippi State is chasing a title at The Ally. The Bulldogs dropped one spot to third after a windy second round at Old Waverly Golf Club. Seniors Avery Weed and Samantha Whateley are both inside the top 10 going into the final round.
Cross country picks up weekly honors. Bennett earned his first career SEC Runner of the Week award. McCullough added his third SEC Freshman of the Week honor.
Around the league: Georgia's NFL alumni had a strong Week Four, highlighted by a late comeback, a touchdown scored through illness and an extended scoring streak. Florida remembered Gators Hall of Famer Mac Steen, an All-SEC offensive lineman in 1969. Georgia opened its 2027 Suzanne Yoculan Gymnastics Fund campaign, and contributions and season-ticket requests are due November 12.
PORTAL WATCH
The transfer portal was quiet across the SEC over the last 12 hours, with no new activity to report.
RECRUITING BUZZ
No SEC programs landed new commitments today. Elsewhere, five-star center Darius Wabbington (No. 9 in the SC Next 100 for 2027) committed to Indiana over Arizona and Illinois.
GAMES TO WATCH
No SEC games are scheduled tonight. Two matchups stand out for the weekend:
- Ole Miss at Vanderbilt (Saturday): The Commodores host the Rebels in an SEC game.
- LSU vs. Kentucky: This is the biggest storyline of the week. LSU has one of the nation's best pass rushes, and Sam Leavitt is a dual-threat quarterback who can test the Wildcats' third-down defense right after Sellers exposed it.
