SEC Football: Best Performances from Week 8
If you missed Week 8 in the SEC, you missed a lot of fun.
Arkansas topped Auburn in quadruple overtime, Alabama topped Tennessee 19-14 in a thriller in Tuscaloosa, and Ole Miss stomped Texas A&M in Oxford.
Who were the stars who shined brightest in the SEC in Week 8?
Our performances of the week based on production and importance to the team are in this slideshow.
Alabama RB Derrick Henry
1 of 10
As running back Derrick Henry goes, so goes the Alabama offense.
The 6'3", 242-pound junior went up and down the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Alabama's 19-14 win over Tennessee.
Henry toted the rock 28 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns, including a 14-yard game-winner with 2:24 to play to give his team its ninth straight win over the Vols and keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive and well.
"We were able to run the ball, and ran the catch-sweep counter on the touchdown which was a great misdirection," head coach Nick Saban said in quotes emailed by Alabama. "The line did a good job, Derrick did a good job, and we scored a touchdown."
His size and speed is a dangerous combination, and when Tennessee needed a stop to preserve a win, Henry wasn't going to have any of it. He's the heartbeat of this year's Crimson Tide offense.
Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell
2 of 10
In what seems like a weekly occurrence, Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell proved why he's one of the best wide receivers in college football.
The 6'2", 210-pound junior caught five passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the 23-3 win over Texas A&M in what could amount to an SEC West elimination game.
But he's not just a freak with the ball in his hands. Some of his best work came as a blocker against the Aggies.
"Good lord https://t.co/OpeIgPTZTZ https://t.co/4iDFckmf8U
— Pete Volk (@Pete_Volk) October 25, 2015"
Whether it's as a deep threat, a possession receiver, a blocker or simply a decoy for Ole Miss' other talented receivers, Treadwell has to be accounted for on every play and makes the offense incredibly dangerous.
Arkansas WR Drew Morgan
3 of 10
After tying it up and getting the two-point conversion to send the game into the fourth overtime, Arkansas kept its foot on the gas.
Thanks to wide receiver Drew Morgan, of course.
Morgan took a pass from Brandon Allen, took off down the sideline and dove into the end zone in the top of overtime No. 4 to give the Hogs the lead and eventually the win, in the wild 54-46 win over Auburn.
"Arkansas leads 54-46 after Brandon Allen throws 25 yards to Drew Morgan, and to Kody Walker on the 2-point play.
— WholeHogSports (@wholehogsports) October 24, 2015"
Morgan finished the day with six catches for 56 yards and two scores for the Razorbacks—who needed to get a win over the battle of the SEC West cellar-dwellers to build some momentum for the stretch run.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Tennessee DE Corey Vereen
4 of 10
Tennessee found itself in Alabama's backfield early and often Saturday, and it was 6'4", 249-pound junior Corey Vereen who did most of the damage.
The Winter Garden, Florida, native notched five tackles (2.5 for loss), sacked Crimson Tide quarterback Jake Coker twice and took advantage of the extra attention Alabama was forced to give fellow defensive lineman Derek Barnett.
As Wes Rucker of 247Sports noted during the game, Vereen was on point from the opening kick to the final gun:
"This is by far the best game Corey Vereen has played in his #Vols career.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) October 24, 2015"
Tennessee needed it. The defensive line has been plagued a bit by injury this season, first with hybrid end/linebacker Curt Maggitt with a hip injury and most recently a leg injury to tackle Shy Tuttle. Vereen showed he's capable of picking up the slack, which is huge for the Vols' defensive front.
LSU QB Brandon Harris
5 of 10
Leonard Fournette rushed for 150 yards in LSU's 48-20 win over Western Kentucky, but the real star of the soggy night in Baton Rouge was true sophomore quarterback Brandon Harris.
Harris completed 11 of his 20 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns in the win over the Hilltoppers, and more importantly he established himself as a big-play quarterback, as noted by Ross Dellenger of the Advocate:
"#LSU had three passing plays of 50-plus yards Saturday. It had four such plays in the first six games of the year.
— Ross Dellenger (@DellengerAdv) October 25, 2015"
That's enormous for Harris and the Tigers.
Harris entered the year as a giant question mark, slowly proved that he can manage a game and now has evolved into a deep threat in an offense with Fournette where a little threat will go a long way.
We now know that, when LSU goes one-dimensional and plays "Leonard Fournette left" and "Leonard Fournette right," it's out of choice, not necessity.
Auburn RB Peyton Barber
6 of 10
Auburn needed to find its workhorse at running back coming into the season, and it appears that redshirt sophomore Peyton Barber is ready to win the Kentucky Derby.
The 5'11", 225-pounder from Alpharetta, Georgia, was awesome for the Tigers in the 54-46 quadruple-overtime loss to Arkansas in Fayetteville. He racked up 122 yards on 37 carries and four touchdowns for the Tigers, getting better and better as the game went on.
"Auburn's Peyton Barber scored 4 touchdowns, broke 100-yard barrier for fifth time this season
— Auburn Gold Mine (@AUGoldMine) October 24, 2015"
Barber has been the one constant throughout the season for the Tigers, and with quarterback Sean White improving, the offense appears to have a little bit of an edge for the first time all year.
Vanderbilt RB Ralph Webb
7 of 10
Vanderbilt earned its first SEC win of the Derek Mason era on Saturday over the defending SEC East champs, topping Missouri 10-3 in a low-scoring, old-school slugfest.
The star of the show was Commodores running back Ralph Webb.
The sophomore finished the day with 99 yards and the game's only touchdown—a one-yard plunge to cap off an 11-play drive in the second quarter against a defense that was the SEC's fourth-best rush defense entering Saturday's action.
"I thought our running backs did a good job of making reads," Mason said, according to Vandy's official site. "Ralph [Webb] ran hard. Darrius [Sims] did a job too, along with [Josh] Crawford. If we can continue to feed those guys the ball, our ability to get six or seven yards on second down will keep the chains moving."
Webb has been the workhorse for the 'Dores for a year-and-a-half, so it's only fitting that he had the biggest performance of Mason's first conference win.
Alabama LB Ryan Anderson
8 of 10
Alabama linebacker Ryan Anderson didn't notch 12 tackles like fellow linebacker Reggie Ragland, didn't rush for more than 100 yards like running back Derrick Henry and didn't make highlight-reel catches like wide receiver Calvin Ridley in Alabama's 19-14 win over Tennessee.
All he did was make the play of the game.
Anderson came flying off the edge with less than two minutes to go with his team up five, forced a fumble from quarterback Joshua Dobbs that was picked out of the air by defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson and sealed the win over a game Volunteers team.
"It’s a great win for our team," head coach Nick Saban said in quotes emailed by Alabama. "We were tired out there today and we didn’t look really quick or fast. We didn’t have a lot of energy like we usually do, and I think that’s due to playing eight games in a row. The best thing I can say is that you have to really respect a team that finds a way to win and makes plays when they have to make plays."
Anderson made the biggest play of the afternoon in Tuscaloosa on Saturday and extended Alabama's winning streak over Tennessee to nine straight games.
Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott
9 of 10
Another game, another sizzling performance from Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott.
All the 6'2", 230-pound senior did on Saturday night in the 42-16 win over Kentucky was throw for 348 yards and three touchdowns and run for 117 and three more scores for a Bulldog teams that has been quietly building momentum during the month of October.
"Dak Prescott early favorite for SEC Offensive Player of the Week.
— Ben Wait (@bcwait) October 25, 2015"
That's not a stretch at all.
He's picked up right where he left off last season as a bruising dual-threat. He just threw his first interception of the season on Saturday night and has the offense clicking on all cylinders heading into the final month of the season.
Texas A&M S Armani Watts
10 of 10
Ole Miss worked over Texas A&M 23-3 Saturday night, but don't blame sophomore Aggies safety Armani Watts.
After all, he did all that he could to keep the game close.
Watts finished with 20 tackles (two for loss), picked off one pass, broke up another and literally ripped a ball away from Rebels running back Jordan Wilkins late in the first half.
"S Armani Watts is playing the game of his life -- it's too bad for Texas A&M he didn't have a few teammates (mainly on O) join him.
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) October 25, 2015"
Texas A&M's defense has been the punch line to a depressing joke over the last three years but has kept the Aggies in each of the last two games while the offense was busy spinning its wheels. Even though his team lost, Watts produced the best game of his young career Saturday night in Oxford.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics are courtesy of cfbstats.com.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
