It wasn't a surprise that Missouri quarterback Connor Bazelak turned to slot receiver Barrett Banister when the Tigers needed to put together a game-winning drive with less than a minute left to beat the University of Arkansas on Saturday.
"You always know where he's going to be," Bazelak said. "He's kind of a security blanket. When you throw it to him, he's going to catch it. He's going to get open, and he's going to get yards after the catch to get that first down."
Bazelak connected with Banister, a redshirt junior from Fayetteville, for gains of 18 and 10 yards on Missouri's 60-yard drive in 43 seconds that set up a field goal that lifted the Tigers to a 50-48 victory.
Four of Banister's catches went for first downs.
"Barrett is Mr. Consistent for our football team," said Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz, who grew up in Alma. "He does everything right throughout the week to be prepared for the moment when his opportunity comes.
"We're sure glad he's a Tiger."
Banister has been remarkably consistent against Arkansas the past two seasons with six catches for 60 yards in each game, including Missouri's 24-14 victory in Little Rock last year.
"I think he knows who's he playing each week," Drinkwitz said. "There's no doubt about it. I know that game means a lot to him, just like it does to all the Arkansas natives [at Missouri].
"Any time you can play in a bragging rights game, a rivalry game, you want to perform at a high level."
Banister played his first three seasons at Missouri for Barry Odom, who is now Arkansas' defensive coordinator. Odom brought Banister to Missouri as a walk-on, then awarded him a scholarship.
Despite Banister being from Fayetteville and having strong ties to the Arkansas program -- his grandfather Harold Horton was a UA player, assistant coach and executive director of the Razorback Foundation, and his uncle Tim Horton was a UA player and assistant coach -- he was not recruited even as a walk-on by the Razorbacks.
"There was stuff that was just out of my control," Banister said before this year's Arkansas-Missouri game. "I'm happy that God put me here at Missouri. It's a great place for me."
Banister said he's careful to keep his emotions in check when Missouri plays Arkansas, but he doesn't downplay the game's significance.
"It means a lot to me," he said. "It's a pretty personal game being from Fayetteville."
For his Missouri career, Banister has 57 receptions for 540 yards.
Hot seat -- again
Since Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn led the Tigers to an SEC championship and a national title matchup against Florida State in 2013 during his first season, he seems to constantly have been on the hot seat.
Talk about Malzahn's job security at Auburn is heating up again with the Tigers at 5-4 after losses to No. 1 Alabama 42-13 and No. 5 Texas A&M 31-20.
Auburn also lost 30-28 to South Carolina, which finished the season 2-8 and fired Will Muschamp as coach with three games remaining. The Gamecocks' only other victory was against 0-8 Vanderbilt.
This is the seventh consecutive season Auburn has lost at least four games since a 12-2 record in 2013.
Auburn fans' frustrations became accelerated after the Texas A&M loss when Malzahn said if the Tigers beat Mississippi State on Saturday to be 6-4, that would be a "solid" season considering the 10-game, all-SEC schedule resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.
Malzahn, who has a 67-35 record at Auburn, sought to clarify what he meant by his "solid" season comment when he met with the media this week.
"I just wanted to make sure that it's very clear -- our expectation is to win championships here at Auburn," Malzahn said. "It's been that way since I've been here.
"We're not happy with a six-win season. But under the circumstances of being an inexperienced team, having a couple injuries, not having a nonconference schedule ... in the past, we've been very good in nonconference.
"But make no mistake, our goal is to win championships."
In an indication Malzahn believes he'll return to Auburn for a ninth season, he talked about his optimism for 2021.
"We are one of the least experienced teams [this season]," Malzahn said. "But next year I think it's really set up. I'm very excited about that."
If the Auburn administration decided to fire Malzahn after this season, his buyout would be more than $21 million.
Fantasy football
When Ohio State and Texas A&M -- ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in the College Football Playoff poll, respectively -- had games canceled earlier this week that were scheduled for Saturday, there was a lot of Twitter chatter about how the Buckeyes and Aggies should play.
Other teams have scheduled games in less than 48 hours after cancellations because of covid-19 protocols, so why not start the playoffs early with an Ohio State-Texas A&M matchup?
In theory it's a great idea, but the reality of making such a game happen is much different.
"No," was Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher's succinct reply Wednesday when asked whether there was a chance the Aggies would play Ohio State on Saturday.
One major obstacle is the Big Ten forbidding its teams to play nonconference games in the regular season.
Plus, the Big Ten athletic directors are going to change a policy they set before the season and allow a team that has played less than six games -- Ohio State is 5-0 -- to be eligible for the conference's championship game, ESPN and other media outlets have reported.
That means Ohio State will play Northwestern on Dec. 19 in the Big Ten Championship Game, where a Buckeyes victory would likely assure them a playoff berth.
Why would Ohio State want to mess that up by playing Texas A&M?
And if scheduled, where would the game be played? Would there by time to have a neutral site safely prepared to host the Aggies and Buckeyes?
"You always dream of those things," Fisher said of playing Ohio State. "But we're in the world we're in, we do what we do. Maybe we will [play] in a bowl game or a playoff game down the road. Maybe that'll happen.
Gilbert opts out
This season just keeps getting worse for LSU.
The Tigers, who have fallen to 3-5 after last season's 15-0 run to the national championship, will play at No. 6 Florida on Saturday without star freshman tight end Arik Gilbert.
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron confirmed Wednesday that Gilbert, one of the bright spots for the Tigers with 35 catches for 368 yards and 2 touchdowns, is opting out of playing the final two games.
"Arik and I had a good conversation [on Tuesday]," Orgeron said. "He told me that he was opting out. He said his body was hurting and he had some things he had to take care of."
Orgeron said he's hopeful Gilbert will return to play for LSU next season.
"Do I think we have a chance at getting him back next season? Yeah," Orgeron said. "Is there a chance of him transferring? I don't know that. He hasn't told me he's transferring, but obviously we're going to re-recruit him and we wish him the best."
Gus and Eli
Missouri Coach Eli Drinkwitz said he's reached out to Auburn Coach Gus Malzahn at times this season.
When Malzahn was Auburn's offensive coordinator, Drinkwitz was an offensive quality control assistant with him in 2010 and 2011. In 2012 when Malzahn was hired as Arkansas State University's coach, Drinkwitz followed him to Jonesboro and was an assistant coach.
"Coach Malzahn has obviously been a mentor to me and somebody who I think a whole heck of a lot of," Drinkwitz said. "So any time I come into a situation that I'm unfamiliar with and think that he might have some advice worth listening to, I give him a call.
"And sometimes I just give him a call to vent. He always answers the phone, and he always listens and gives me sound advice. Man, I really appreciate him."
Drinkwitz has led Missouri to a 5-3 record in his first season as an SEC head coach.
"I'm very proud of Eli," Malzahn said. "He's a super person first of all, and then he is a really, really smart football coach.
"Boy, he's got his guys playing really good. It doesn't surprise me at all, and they'll get better. He'll have a chance to win championships in this league."
Upstate school
At Shane Beamer's introductory news conference as South Carolina's coach, he was asked about being in the same state as Clemson.
While South Carolina has struggled to win consistently in the SEC, in-state rival Clemson has become a national powerhouse.
Clemson is 130-16 since 2011 under Coach Dabo Swinney, has been in the College Football Playoff the previous five years, and won national titles in 2016 and 2018.
This season the Tigers are 9-1 and ranked No. 3 in the CFP poll. South Carolina finished 2-8.
"You mention that program in the Upstate," Beamer said, not mentioning Clemson by name. "They're certainly on a pretty good run right now, but I was here before, and we were on a pretty dang good run ourselves against those guys."
Beamer was a South Carolina assistant from 2007-10 when the Gamecocks were 2-2 against the Tigers. South Carolina won five in a row in the series from 2009-13 with Steve Spurrier as the Gamecocks' coach.
The series has turned back in Clemson's favor with the Tigers winning six in a row since 2014 by an average of 25.3 points.
"It's a big challenge, and we're going to work every single day in recruiting and in this facility to have a team we can be proud of on the field," Beamer said. "I certainly have respect for those guys [at Clemson], but I look forward to getting in there and competing. I know that for a fact."
SEC TOP TO BOTTOM
Rank(prev);record;comment
1(1);Alabama;9-0;Tide roll into Fayetteville
2(2);Texas A&M;7-1;Ole Miss has to cancel game
3(3);Florida;8-1;Gators welcome LSU to the Swamp
4(4);Georgia;6-2;Bulldogs will try to cool off Mizzou
5(6);Missouri;5-3;Tigers get last-second win over Razorbacks
6(5);Auburn;5-4;Gus can't afford a loss to Mississippi State
7(7);Arkansas;3-6;Jefferson provides hope for the future at QB
8(8);Ole Miss;4-4;Rebels have to cancel game at Aggieland
9(10);Kentucky;4-6;Wildcats make it through 10-game season
10(9);LSU;3-5;Coach O gets division winners Bama & Florida back to back
11(11);Tennessee;2-6;Vols have to stop the bleeding against Vandy
12(12)Mississippi State;2-6;Bulldogs showing signs of improvement
13(13)South Carolina;2-8;Beamer returns to lead the program
14(14);Vanderbilt;0-8;Beating Vols would make horrible season a little bearable
PLAYER TO WATCH
Georgia Sophomore Quarterback JT Daniels, 6-3, 209 pounds
After recovering from a knee injury that sidelined him at Southern California last season and led to his transfer to Georgia after losing the starting job, Daniels looks to be the new leader of the Bulldogs' offense.
Starting the previous two games against Mississippi State and South Carolina, Daniels has completed 38 of 54 passes (70.4%) for 540 yards and 6 touchdowns with 1 interception.
Granted, the Bulldogs and Gamecocks aren't the toughest competition to face with a combined 4-14 record, but Daniels clearly has been Georgia's top quarterback after D'Wan Mathis and Stetson Bennett got their shots to start.
Daniels will look to stay hot when Georgia plays at Missouri on Saturday.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Georgia (6-2) at Missouri (5-3), 11 a.m. SEC Network
Missouri running back Larry Rountree piled up 346 yards on 48 carries over the last two games to help the Tigers beat Vanderbilt 41-0 and Arkansas 50-48.
Rountree, who on the season has rushed 170 times for 835 yards and 11 touchdowns, should find the going much tougher Saturday against Georgia.
The Bulldogs lead the SEC in rushing defense, yielding an average of 72.5 yards per game and 2.4 yards per attempt.
Georgia is ranked No. 9 in this week's College Football Playoff poll and is a 13-point favorite.
Other games
No. 1 Alabama at Arkansas
WHEN 11 a.m. RECORDS Alabama 9-0, Arkansas 3-6 SERIES Alabama leads 22-8. TV ESPN LINE Alabama by 32
Tennessee at Vanderbilt
WHEN 3 p.m. RECORDS Tennessee 2-6, Vanderbilt 0-8 SERIES Tennessee leads 76-33-5 TV SEC Network LINE Tennessee by 15
LSU at No. 6 Florida
WHEN 6 p.m. RECORDS LSU 3-5, Florida 8-1 SERIES Florida leads 33-30-3 TV ESPN LINE Florida by 23
Auburn at Mississippi State
WHEN 6:30 p.m. RECORDS Auburn 5-4, Mississippi State 2-6 SERIES Auburn leads 64-27-2 TV SEC Network LINE Auburn by 6 1/2
BY THE NUMBERS
$2.75 million – Annual salary for new South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer on a 5-year contract, according to ESPN.
3.22 -- Sacks per game by Florida. The Gators have 29 sacks for 215 lost yards.
16 of 19 -- Field goals made and attempts by Missouri freshman Harrison Mevis. He was 5 of 5 against Arkansas, including the game-winning, 32-yarder on the game's final play.
OVERHEARD
"I worked for 10 years to get back to this place. The dream doesn't end here. It's just getting started."
-- New South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer, who was a Gamecocks assistant coach from 2007-10 and is returning to the program after being an Oklahoma assistant the past three years.
"We fully intend to finish this thing out. We're preparing to play both games."
– Todd Fitch, Vanderbilt's interim coach, on the Commodores playing Tennessee on Saturday and at Georgia on Dec. 19 after struggling with numerous roster issues because of covid-19 and opt outs.
"I want to score points. Do you care how? No, I don't care how, as long as we can run the ball, control the line of scrimmage, not turn it over, throw the ball downfield. I'm very pleased with all those things."
-- Georgia Coach Kirby Smart
