SEC Football: Best Performances from Week 9
The SEC East race seemingly became wrapped up in Week 9, and one team has clearly emerged as the top challenger to the other division's preeminent program.
With six games on the slate, Auburn and Florida stood out as the two most notable teams in Week 9. The Tigers won their fifth straight contest by going into Oxford and holding off the Mississippi Rebels 40-29. Meanwhile, Florida extended its SEC East lead with a 24-10 triumph over rival Georgia as Tennessee dropped a 24-21 shocker to South Carolina.
Auburn appears to be a complete team behind a power rushing attack and phenomenal defense, while Florida is simply outlasting everyone else in its division by avoiding any bad losses. These two teams could meet for the SEC title game, but that could be decided by the Tigers' trip to Alabama on Nov. 26.
Aside from the Volunteers' abysmal effort in Columbia, the rest of league stuck to the status quo. A surprising Kentucky team moved to 5-3 on the year with a 35-21 thrashing of Missouri, while Mississippi State, 56-41 over Samford, and Texas A&M, 52-10 over New Mexico State, handled lesser opponents.
Numerous SEC players turned in monster performances over the weekend, particularly on offense as the scoreboard did not receive many breaks for most of the games. With that in mind, let us take a look at the league's top outings for Week 9. As always, this list is based on statistical output and the impact of the player's performance on his team moving forward.
Honorable Mentions
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- S Evan Berry, Tennessee Volunteers
- DE Johnathan Calvin, Mississippi State Bulldogs
- TE Evan Engram, Mississippi Rebels
- WR Dimetrios Mason, Missouri Tigers
- WR Fred Ross, Mississippi State Bulldogs
- QB Sean White, Auburn Tigers
The following players turned in solid performances, but they just missed out on this list for various reasons.
Tennessee was absolutely awful Saturday, but it was not due to its young safety. Evan Berry totaled four tackles, but he kept the Volunteers in the game with a massive 100-yard kickoff return touchdown in the third quarter. Berry did not do quite enough on defense to make this list, but his strong special teams play almost lifted the putrid Tennessee offense, and it lands him a mention.
Mississippi State needs some work on defense, as it allowed an FCS school in the Samford Bulldogs hang 41 on it. Still, the team received a nice outing from its veteran defensive end, as Johnathan Calvin controlled the edge for most of the day with seven total tackles, two tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Yet others on both sides of the ball outshined him Saturday.
The same goes for his teammate Fred Ross, who is one of the most underappreciated receivers in the conference. Ross continues to be a security blanket for the Bulldogs offense, as he hauled in nine passes for 107 yards and a score. This would be enough to land him on this list if not for big days from other teammates in the win.
Evan Engram proves himself as the nation's top tight end seemingly every week, and the senior was stout again Saturday. He caught nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown as Mississippi tried to edge out the Tigers. Engram has nine receptions against each of Mississippi's top three opponents this season in Alabama, Auburn and Florida State.
Missouri has fallen off considerably this season, as the Tigers lost their fourth straight contest Saturday. However, Dimetrios Mason was explosive in the passing game with this ability to get behind the defense, with him finishing with four catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Moore was solid, but his lack of production outside of two long catches is not enough for him to land on this list.
Lastly, Sean White continued his ruthless efficiency this season in Auburn's win. The junior went 15-of-22 for 247 yards and a touchdown while adding 27 rushing yards. White is taking care of the ball while Auburn dominates on the ground, and while that is significant considering the Tigers' early-season quarterback woes, it is not enough to get him more than a mention this week.
Defensive statistics are courtesy of Mississippi State and Tennessee athletics.
DE Derek Barnett, Tennessee Volunteers
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While Berry was key in keeping Tennessee afloat for most of Saturday afternoon, the team's defensive superstar left his heart on the field with a dominant performance.
Derek Barnett was unstoppable from his edge-rusher spot. The junior made a living in South Carolina's backfield with four total tackles, three sacks and two hits on the quarterback. The Gamecocks eventually had to assign additional help toward Barnett, which allowed three more teammates to rack up sacks.
The Volunteers' SEC hopes may be over, but that does not mean Barnett will not contend for every major defensive award at season's end. He has established himself as one the best players in all of college football, which makes him a lock for All-SEC honors.
Defensive statistics are courtesy of Tennessee athletics.
QB Jake Bentley, South Carolina Gamecocks
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After his solid performance a week ago in his first start, true freshman Jake Bentley left no doubt Saturday he is the cornerstone of South Carolina's offense moving forward.
Bentley showed unbelievable poise and decision-making for a kid his age against a talented Tennessee team, going 15-of-20 for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He also has some wheels, as is evident by a critical 16-yard run on fourth down on the game's opening drive, which resulted in a touchdown.
K.C. Crosby, who caught the game-winning 35-yard touchdown from Bentley in the fourth quarter, praised the freshman for his leadership skills, per the Charleston Post and Courier's David Caraviello.
"Even when the game got close, he kept his composure," Crosby said of Bentley. "He kept telling us we were still in the game, we needed to finish strong, and to do what we had to do to get the win."
South Carolina, 4-4, has a chance to possibly earn a bowl berth this season, which could continue next week when it hosts lowly Missouri. This never seemed possible earlier this season, that is until Bentley turned this team around.
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K Daniel Carlson, Auburn Tigers
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While Auburn struggled offensively early this season, kicker Daniel Carlson was a steady force as one of America's premier legs.
The senior played an integral part in keeping the team's resurgence alive Saturday. He hit all four of his field-goal attempts from distances of 30, 32, 45 and 47 yards. Those 12 points made the difference in the Tigers' 40-29 win.
Carlson is a tremendous asset for the team, as Auburn is almost guaranteed to score when in his range. This could be the difference in tight games for the rest of the season, which includes the Iron Bowl.
RB Rico Dowdle, South Carolina Gamecocks
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A major reason why Bentley was successful Saturday was he had a strong running game to take some pressure off of him.
Rico Dowdle was the catalyst of that attack, as he paced the South Carolina offense. He toted the rock 27 times for 140 yards and a touchdown, showing some nice power and speed from the backfield.
Dowdle had not rushed for over 100 yards yet this season prior to Saturday's game. So while the team may have a star freshman quarterback in Bentley, it also seems to have a freshman running back to go with it.
QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State Bulldogs
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In what was likely the top SEC performance of the day from a statistical standpoint, Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald mostly did whatever he wanted against Samford.
Fitzgerald was a force in the passing and running games. He totaled 417 yards and five touchdowns through the air to go with a team-high 119 yards and two scores rushing. Fitzgerald was not perfect, though, as he did toss a pair of interceptions.
Mississippi State has struggled this season for various reasons, but Fitzgerald has proven himself to be a quality dual-threat quarterback. He looks like someone the team can build the offense around, and this should give Bulldogs fans some hope moving forward.
Florida Gators' Rush Defense
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Florida's sensational secondary that features Jalen "Teez" Tabor and Quincy Wilson is already feared, but the Gators showed some serious prowess with its run defense Saturday.
Florida's defensive game plan was simple, as it wanted Georgia to prove it could win behind freshman quarterback Jacob Eason. The answer was no.
Georgia's stout rushing attack that features Nick Chubb, Brian Herrien and Sony Michel was absolutely stifled, as Florida held the Bulldogs to 21 yards on 19 attempts. That equates to a microscopic 1.1 yards per carry.
In a weak SEC East, Florida has emerged as the best team, and its defense is the main reason why.
WR Donald Gray, Mississippi State Bulldogs
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Mississippi State dispatched Samford in large part because of explosive plays on offense, of which Donald Gray was a major beneficiary.
The junior receiver only had four catches, but he certainly made them count as he totaled a staggering 207 yards and three touchdowns. His three scores came from distances of 51, 71 and 74 yards.
While Missouri's Mason also made an impact with just big plays, Gray did this on a completely different level. This earned him the nod on this week's list.
QB Chad Kelly, Mississippi Rebels
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While Mississippi may have dropped to 3-5 in a home loss, its star quarterback may have had his best game this season.
Chad Kelly put the Rebels on his back against one of the nation's top defenses. He threw 59 times, completing 36 of those, for 465 yards and three touchdowns. The senior also led Mississippi in rushing with 40 yards on 11 carries. He broke Archie Manning's 47-year-old school record of 436 passing yards in a game, per AL.com's Wesley Sinor.
Kelly's desperation got the best of him late in the contest, though, as he was picked off by Josh Holsey in the fourth quarter. This allowed Auburn to score some insurance points and put the game away. Still, Kelly was excellent in this game, which made the loss harder to accept, per Sinor.
"This one hurts, but you can't look back," Kelly told reporters after the game. "I felt comfortable out there, but we left a lot of stuff still out there, and we can still get better. I know our guys are just going to keep on fighting."
Mississippi has received little from its running backs this season, which adds even more pressure on Kelly to carry his team. He did everything he could Saturday to nearly pull an upset, and he certainly deserves recognition for it.
CB Jamarcus King, South Carolina Gamecocks
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South Carolina needed to force Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs into mistakes to engineer an upset over Tennessee, and it did just that.
Jamarcus King led the way, corralling a pair of interceptions to seal the win for first-year head Will Muschamp. King was the team's best defender on the day, as he finished second on the squad with five total tackles to go with two pass breakups.
The Gamecocks had serious questions in the secondary coming into the year, and King has filled in nicely after coming over from junior college.
Defensive statistics are courtesy of South Carolina athletics.
WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
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Christian Kirk is already arguably the best player in the nation's top receiving group, but the dynamic sophomore also made an enormous impact on special teams this weekend.
Why New Mexico State would even attempt to punt anywhere near Kirk is a mystery, as he is also one of the premier returners in the sport. Kirk certainly made the opposing Aggies pay for their mistakes though, as he returned a punt 70 yards for a score in the first quarter before adding a 73-yard scoring return in the third quarter.
As if that was not enough, Kirk caught five passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
This kid may be the most explosive receiver in all of college football, as he should be in line for All-SEC honors this season and a high NFL draft pick in 2018.
RB Kamryn Pettway, Auburn Tigers
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Auburn's offensive resurgence can be traced back to its running game, which can be traced back to the play of Kamryn Pettway.
With Kerryon Johnson limited with an ankle injury for the last few weeks, Pettway has emerged as one of the conference's top rushers. He proved that sentiment once more against Mississippi, carrying the ball 30 times for 246 yards and a touchdown.
With his punishing running style and deceptive speed, Pettway is wearing down opposing defenses. Over his last three games, Pettway has rushed for 597 yards and six touchdowns, and he is nearly at 1,000 yards for the season.
When Johnson, who was the team's primary back before his injury, returns to full health, Auburn will boast arguably the top rushing duo in the nation.
RB Benjamin Snell Jr., Kentucky Wildcats
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Speaking of breakout rushers in the SEC, how great has Benjamin Snell Jr. been for Kentucky in 2016?
The freshman is maybe the SEC's best newcomer at running back, along with the Texas A&M Aggies' Trayveon Williams, and he was at it again Saturday. He carried the ball a career-high 38 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns. This is third time Snell has eclipsed the 100-yard mark rushing this season, and he also notched his second multiple-touchdown performance.
Missouri was helpless against Kentucky's rushing attack, allowing 377 yards on the day. Expect Snell to be one of the SEC's best runners for the next few seasons.
RB Stanley "Boom" Williams, Kentucky Wildcats
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Snell was not the only Kentucky running back to go off Saturday, as Stanley "Boom" Williams was excellent as well.
The veteran, who has been the Wildcats' best offensive player for several seasons, received slightly less of a workload than Snell, but he still produced. Williams totaled 182 yards and a touchdown on 19 rushing attempts to go with a 13-yard scoring reception.
There are numerous powerful rushing duos in the SEC. Auburn has Johnson and Pettway, Georgia boasts Chubb and Michel, and LSU has Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice. Snell and Williams need to be added to that group, as these two are just shredding teams.
Williams now has 821 rushing yards on the year, with a 7.5 average per carry, and Kentucky is quietly sitting second in the SEC East at 4-2 in conference. The team loses the tiebreaker with Florida, but if the Gators somehow lose two more games, Kentucky could astoundingly slide into the SEC title game this season.
That possibility will not exist if Snell and Williams do not keep up their torrid pace, but there is nothing to indicate the two will slow down.
All offensive statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com.
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