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With Week 9 officially in the books, let’s take a look at the best performances of the weekend in this week’s All-SEC Team.
OFFENSE
QB Dylan Thompson (South Carolina): Thompson had the best game of his senior season in the Gamecocks’ 42-35 loss to Auburn Saturday night, completing 29 of 50 passes for 402 yards and five touchdowns in defeat. He did everything he could to help South Carolina keep pace on the scoreboard, even as Auburn scored touchdowns on six straight possessions against a woeful Gamecocks’ defense. Thompson did throw three interceptions, but he carried South Carolina on the road in a near-upset of a top 5 team.
RB Josh Robinson (Mississippi State): Robinson was the most physical runner in the SEC in Week 9, blowing through the Kentucky defense for 198 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries, an average of 8.6 yards per carry. He may still be breaking tackles in Lexington after breaking more than a dozen during Saturday’s action, including as many as six on one 20-yard carry in the second half of the win. Robinson now leads the SEC with 887 rushing yards in seven games so far this season.
RB Cameron Artis-Payne (Auburn): Auburn ran for nearly 400 yards as a team in its win over the Gamecocks, and Artis-Payne was the leader of the rushing attack with 167 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, an average of 6.7 yards per attempt. Yes, the South Carolina defense has been dreadful all season, but Artis-Payne made big plays for the Tigers, who needed all 42 points to stave off the Gamecocks Saturday night. Auburn’s star back is now second in the SEC behind Robinson with 831 yards in seven games this season.
WR Amari Cooper (Alabama): Cooper is officially back in the running to be a Heisman finalist with his performance against Tennessee Saturday night, hauling in nine catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-20 victory. Cooper had 121 yards and two touchdowns less than 10 minutes into the game, and he ended up catching 64 percent of Alabama’s completions and amassing 78 percent of the Tide’s yards through the air in the victory. He’s now begun a new streak of 100-yard games after back to back strong showings against Texas A&M and Tennessee, and he’s a virtual lock to earn All-America honors come season’s end.
WR Pharoh Cooper (South Carolina): Another wideout named Cooper (no relation to Amari) cracks this week’s All-SEC team as Pharoh Cooper was brilliant in South Carolina’s loss to Auburn. He caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard score in the first half as the Gamecocks kept pace with an explosive Tigers offense. Cooper proved to be Thompson’s favorite target Saturday night, and Auburn was never able to contain him as South Carolina pushed the Tigers and their top 5 ranking to the brink inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
O-line Auburn: South Carolina’s defensive line has been notoriously bad this season, but that shouldn’t take credit away from the Auburn offensive line after its domination on the Plains last weekend. The Tigers rushed for 395 yards as a team and had three players rush for at least 89 yards in the win. Furthermore, quarterback Nick Marshall was never sacked as he completed 12 of 14 passes when Auburn elected to move the ball through the air. The Tigers offensive line was flawless, helping the offense score 42 points in a game Auburn had to win to stay alive in the chase for another SEC West title.
DEFENSE
DL Preston Smith (Mississippi State): Smith wreaked havoc in the trenches for Mississippi State in the victory over Kentucky, recording six tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against the Wildcats. The three-time SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week batted a pass at the line of scrimmage, and helped limit UK to just 103 yards on 32 carries, an average of just 3.2 yards per attempt. Smith has been one of the biggest surprises in the SEC this week, and his hot start in 2014 has turned into one of the most productive seasons of any defensive lineman in the SEC this season.
DL Matt Hoch (Missouri): On a day in which Shane Ray and Markus Golden combined to record just seven tackles and a sack against Vanderbilt, Hoch had his best game of the season in a 10-point win. The fifth-year senior led the Tigers with six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in defeating the ‘Dores, limiting Vandy to just 44 yards rushing on just 27 carries. Hoch was huge for the Mizzou defense, leading the Tigers to a narrow victory in a game they had to win.
LB Reggie Ragland (Alabama): Ragland led Alabama with nine tackles in its win against Tennessee, adding a forced fumble and a pass breakup to his stellar performance. The fumble came in the second quarter and was recovered by teammate Eddie Jackson deep in UT territory. Alabama scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to extend its leas to 27-0, which it would need following a Vols rally in a 34-20 victory. Ragland was the Tide’s most consistent defender Saturday night, helping Alabama take care of its longtime rival from the SEC East.
LB Kris Frost (Auburn): Frost led all SEC defenders with 14 tackles in Auburn’s victory, making plays all over the field against a potent Gamecocks offense. A whopping 11 of those 14 tackles were solo tackles, and Frost added a pass breakup to round out his best performance of the season. The Tigers had trouble containing South Carolina on Saturday night, but Frost was a big part of Auburn’s victory, limiting the Gamecocks just enough to claim a much-needed win.
CB Jonathan Jones (Auburn): Jones only made two tackles in Auburn’s victory, but he added two interceptions and two passes defended in a huge performance for the Tigers. Without Jones’ pair of interceptions, a red-hot Thompson would have had a great chance at out-scoring a potent Auburn offense. Thankfully, Jones was a ball-hawk on Saturday, making plays all over the field to lead a vulnerable secondary against a stout group of South Carolina wideouts. The Gamecocks still put up huge numbers, but Jones made the biggest plays in the biggest moments in a game Auburn had to win.
S Ronald Martin (LSU): Martin was the most valuable player in the SEC to his respective defense over the weekend, recording five tackles in addition to a pass breakup, a forced fumble and the game-winning interception of Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game. Martin’s forced fumble was recovered by the Ole Miss offense, but his interception on the Rebels’ final offensive snap sealed LSU’s biggest victory of the year over the then-undefeated Rebels. Wallace certainly made a mistake in throwing the ball deep on the play in question, but Martin made a tremendous play on the ball, intercepting the pass to prevent Ole Miss from attempting a potential game-tying field goal.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
