While several high profile SEC match ups took place on Saturday, Tennessee had a chance to sit back and watch.
The No. 22 Vols (4-1, 1-1 SEC) were idle while the next two opponents on their schedule played each other in No. 11 Alabama and Texas A&M at Kyle Field on College Station, Texas.
Elsewhere, No. 21 Missouri had a chance to show its unbeaten start wasn't a fluke while Kentucky tried to build off its rout of Florida last week in a prime time bout at No. 1 Georgia.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION
Here is what we learned about Tennessee's upcoming league opponents in week 6.
Alabama overcomes mistakes to down Texas A&M
It hasn't been pretty, but Alabama emerged from Saturday as the only unbeaten team left in the SEC West.
The Crimson Tide were penalized 14 times and turned the ball over twice but an impressive performance from quarterback Jalen Milroe, who finished 21-of-33 passing for 321 yards and three touchdowns despite being sacked six times was enough for Alabama escape with a 26-20 win over Texas A&M.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Where Tennessee football's offense stands in the SEC through Week 5
Alabama (5-1, 3-0) has won three-straight games since losing to Texas in week 2 and though Milroe has been equal parts Jekyll and Hyde at times, the Crimson Tide sit atop the division standings.
For the Aggies (4-2, 2-1), it was an all too familiar situation. Texas A&M gave Alabama fits as it has done for the most part under Jimbo Fisher, but failed to deliver, even with an opportunity to tie the game late.
In his second start since Conner Weigman injury, quarterback Max Johnson 14-of-25 passing for 239 yards, a touchdown and an interception but the Aggies managed just 67 yards rushing.
The Texas A&M defensive front limited Alabama on the ground, too but Milroe torched the secondary, as did Jermaine Burton, who had nine receptions for nearly 200 yards and two scores.
The Aggies play Tennessee at Neyland Stadium next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
Georgia rolls over Kentucky in ranked match up
Kentucky, welcome back to earth.
The Wildcats' aspirations resulting of their statement win over Florida a week ago came crashing down to the turf at Sanford Stadium with an abysmal performance against top ranked Georgia that resulted in a 51-13 loss.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Where Tennessee football's defense stands in the SEC through Week 5
Ray Davis, who rushed for 280 yards against the Gators, was held to just 59 yards on 15 carries and quarterback Devin Leary didn't do enough to make up for it in the passing game with 128 yards.
Kentucky (5-1, 2-1) has been one dimensional for the most part through six games and it cost the Wildcats, who get Missouri next.
Georgia, however, put together its most complete and dominating performance this season.
Quarterback Carson Beck continues to show improvement with a season-high 389 passing yards and four touchdowns. After a stellar performance at Auburn, tight end Brock Bowers again paced the Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0) in receiving with 132 yards and a touchdown.
If Georgia keeps playing like it did vs. Kentucky, go ahead and hand the Bulldogs the College Football Playoff trophy for the third-straight year.
Missouri offense not enough in LSU loss
Speaking of statement wins, Eli Drinkwitz and the Missouri Tigers had one in their grasps at home against LSU.
Quarterback Brady Cook looked unstoppable in the first half, putting Missouri up 22-7 early. He totaled 411 passing yards and two touchdowns while Luther Burden III had 11 catches for 149 yards but Missouri scored just twice in the second half and LSU used an interception return for a touchdown in the final minute to win 49-39.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Game has 'slowed down' for Vols' impactful freshmen linebackers
Missouri (5-1, 1-1) entered the game undefeated but with close wins over MTSU and Memphis. Its best win on the resume was a walk-off field goal victory against Kansas State three weeks ago.
LSU was reeling after losing a shootout at Ole Miss last week and its defense seemingly had no answers for what Missouri was doing in the first half, though it showed improvement down the stretch.
Equally, Missouri's defense struggled to stop LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who tossed for 259 yards and three touchdowns along with 130 more yards rushing.
It will be interesting to see how Missouri responds to its first loss at Kentucky in Lexington next week.
–––––
– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.
– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.
– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.
– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens, @Hunter_DeNote.
–––––
