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Rivalry Week brings with it special motivation, sometimes because of the hoopla and history surrounding the matchup, sometimes because it is a player’s final opportunity of the season to leave a lasting impression. Here are the SEC players who rose to the occasion in Week 13:
Most passing yards (individual)
• Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt – 416 yards, 2 TDs
• Austin Allen, Arkansas— 348 yards, 1 TD
• Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee — 340 yards, 2 TDs
Shurmur had a career game against Tennessee as the crisscrossing fates of these two teams collided on the field Saturday. Vandy, led by Shurmur and its stout defense, has been on a roll recently, and they seemed to catch Tennessee off guard. The Vols quickly figured out they were in for more than they expected when Shurmur came out slinging.
Allen is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the conference, and Mizzou’s defense has been suspect all year. That being said, the Tigers did enough to edge out the high-flying Hogs on Friday despite Allen’s totals.
Dobbs ended his SEC career fittingly, as the head-scratching nature of this loss was all too familiar for those who have watched his four years in Knoxville. The future engineer is often asked to do a lot for this offense, but he can’t do much to help the defense from getting torched.
Most rushing yards (individual)
• Derrius Guice, LSU — 285 yards, 4 TDs
• Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State — 258 yards, 2 TDs
• Aeris Williams, Mississippi State — 191 yards, 2 TDs
For the third time in five games, an LSU back put on what would normally be a generational performance. Whatever Tigers fans have to say about Ed Orgeron, it’s clear that his players would run through a wall for him. Guice did just that as the LSU single-game record for rushing yards fell for a second time this season in Thursday’s victory over Texas A&M.
If this Mississippi State defense wasn’t so bad, the SEC would be more acutely aware of one sneaky fact: this Bulldogs offense with Fitzgerald is every bit as deadly as the one featuring Dak Prescott. In fact, Fitzgerald broke Prescott’s season record for rushing yards in this game as the Dogs stomped all over reeling Ole Miss.
Speaking of State’s dominant rushing performance, Williams makes his first appearance in the top three, making the most of playing time opened up because the outcome of Egg Bowl was locked up early on by Dan Mullen and crew.
Most receiving yards (individual)
• Trent Sherfield, Vanderbilt — 184 yards, 0 TDs
• Garrett Johnson, Kentucky — 164 yards, 2 TDs
• J’Mon Moore, Mizzou — 135 yards, 0 TDs
In a rare coincidence, all of the receiving yards leaders led their teams to victories this week.
Sherfield, who many could not pick out of a lineup before the Dores’ offensive explosion on Saturday, leads the way with a dazzling total of 184 yards. That Tennessee defense is in trouble, but at least they’re champions of life.
Johnson put on a show against highly-favored Lousiville, making huge plays and reeling in deep balls left and right. This one felt like one of the biggest wins in at least a decade for the Wildcats, who closed out their hated rival and embarrassed Heisman trophy favorite Lamar Jackson in the process.
Moore has been a mainstay on the receiving leaderboard this year, and his team closed out the season in style with a gutsy win over Arkansas. As part of such a young team, the redshirt sophomore has helped the program build momentum for next year.
Most total yards (team)
• LSU (vs. Texas A&M) — 622 yards
• Vanderbilt (vs. Tennessee) — 608 yards
• Kentucky (vs. Louisville) — 581 yards
The John Chavis Bowl saw LSU completely gash Texas A&M, both in the air and on the ground. Though A&M has both the talent and the scheme to dominate, it seems like something changes when they play the Tigers, who are 5-0 against the Aggies since they joined the SEC.
After watching Florida clinch the SEC East last week, Tennessee was just trying to coast into a Sugar Bowl by beating 5-6 Vanderbilt in a virtual home game on Saturday. The Dores had other plans, as Ralph Webb overtook Zac Stacy’s career rushing record and Kyle Shurmur slung the ball around for over 400 yards.
Kentucky added insult to injury for Louisville, which will plummet down the rankings after being considered the first team out of the College Football Playoff a mere two weeks ago. This game epitomized rivalry week, as Kentucky was able to improve throughout the season and hang with a Louisville team that many considered a lock to win this matchup.
Most rushing yards (team)
• Mississippi State (vs. Ole Miss) — 457 yards
• LSU (vs. Texas A&M) — 298 yards
• Georgia (vs. Georgia Tech) — 263 yards
Mississippi State has an unorthodox rushing attack, and Ole Miss had no answers on Saturday, as quarterback Nick Fitzgerald added to his SEC-leading total of rushing touchdowns.
Fewest rushing yards allowed
• Alabama (vs. Auburn) — 66 yards
• Arkansas (vs. Mizzou) — 131 yards
• Mizzou (vs. Arkansas) — 155 yards
Auburn scored in some of the strangest ways imaginable during the Iron Bowl, as conventional forms of offense were hard to come by. Just like with LSU, the Tide’s defensive front was able to totally muffle a run-dominant team and put the pressure on its shaky pass game.
Arkansas really played well against Mizzou, which makes the loss all the more frustrating for Bret Bielema and company. Razorback fans are subject to some of the weirdest games in the SEC, and this one was no different.
On the flip side, Mizzou has been a sieve all year against the run but was able to tighten up against the typically physical Hogs’ attack. Just a weird game all the way around.
Most passing yards allowed
• Tennessee (vs. Vanderbilt) — 416 yards
• South Carolina (vs. Clemson) — 372 yards
• Mizzou (vs. Arkansas) — 348 yards
As has been previously covered here, Shurmur lit up Tennessee.
Will Muschamp’s squad of plucky freshmen has given many in the SEC fits this year, but the Gamecocks were no match for the juggernaut that is the 2016 Clemson Tigers.
Austin Allen has been a huge bright spot for the Hogs this year, but the best news for him is on the horizon. After a year of suspect line play, it’ll be a slew of bowl practices and a long off-season to get healthy for the Razorbacks’ signal caller.
Fewest passing yards allowed
• Ole Miss (vs. Mississippi State) — 109 yards
• Alabama (vs. Auburn) — 116 yards
• Florida (vs. Florida State) — 138 yards
Though Nick Fitzgerald wasn’t able to get anything going through the air, the game plan centered on pounding the ball down the Rebels’ throat, and that’s exactly what happened.
Alabama truly dominated Auburn on defense, and the absence of Tigers’ quarterback Sean White surely contributed to that. The Tide was sloppy in the first half but put the clamps on its rival as the game wore on.
Florida’s defense might be the second best in the SEC, but — with the growth that Vanderbilt has shown — their offense might be the worst. The Gators defense was called upon again and again on Saturday, and they performed up to their billing.
A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.
