Who are the SEC’s top 10 players — regardless of position — through 12 weeks this season? There are several methods used to define this group of Heisman frontrunners, defensive player of the year candidates and irreplaceable assets to their respective teams, but the easiest way is best.

  1. Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama
  2. Dak Prescott, QB, Mississippi State
  3. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
  4. Shane Ray, DL, Mizzou
  5. Josh Robinson, RB, Mississippi State
  6. Landon Collins, DB, Alabama
  7. Cameron Artis-Payne, RB, Auburn
  8. Senquez Golson, DB, Ole Miss
  9. Trey Flowers, DE, Arkansas
  10. Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina

Takeaways: For the first time in several weeks, Amari Cooper’s overtaken Dak Prescott in the SEC MVP race after a head-to-head win last weekend in Tuscaloosa. Cooper caught eight passes for 88 yards and reached the end zone for the fourth straight game while Prescott turned it over three times despite 372 yards of total offense against the league’s top-ranked defense … Like Cooper, Georgia’s Nick Chubb has been an unstoppable force on offense this season, doing so as a true freshman. He’s averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has recorded five consecutive games of at least 140 yards rushing. In five starts, Chubb’s rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and has scored eight touchdowns … Defensive end Trey Flowers is the anchor of an underrated Arkansas front seven that limited Mississippi State to 17 points and shut-out LSU in consecutive games. The future pass-rushing NFL playmaker leads the Razorbacks with 11.0 tackles for losses and has three sacks this season despite not receiving much pub nationally.

Just missed the cut: Nick Marshall, QB, Auburn; Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama; Robert Nkemdiche, DL, Ole Miss; Cody Prewitt, DB, Ole Miss; Bo Wallace, QB, Ole Miss; Preston Smith, DL, Mississippi State; Myles Garrett, DL, Texas A&M; Vernon Hargreaves, DB, Florida; Bud Dupree, Kentucky; Jonathan Williams, Arkansas; Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee