Who made our list of SEC studs and duds in Week 14? Let’s find out.
STUDS
1. Amari Cooper: Alabama’s top wideout, and the consensus top wideout in the nation, looked like a future NFL star with his dominant performance in Saturday’s Iron Bowl win over Auburn. Cooper caught 13 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers, making big plays when Alabama needed them most in a high-scoring thriller. It’s tough to credit a win to any one individual player, but Cooper deserves more credit for Alabama’s victory than any other player in the Tide’s lineup.
2. Nick Marshall/Auburn WRs: Marshall threw for a whopping 456 yards and three touchdowns against Alabama, setting new personal bests for yards and touchdowns in his final regular season game as a college quarterback. Sammie Coates exploded for 206 yards and two touchdowns, Duke Williams went over 100 yards in his return to the field and Quan Bray went for 74 yards and a touchdown as the No. 3 option in a normally modest passing attack. Marshall shined brightest on the biggest stage of his senior season, and his wideouts stepped up and had their best game at the right time, even though Auburn lost in the end.
3. Bud Dupree: Kentucky’s senior defensive end flew under the radar in Week 14 as Kentucky quietly closed the season with a sixth straight loss. Nevertheless, he was still the most impactful defensive player in the SEC over the weekend, recording three tackles for loss and a sack in addition to two forced fumbles against the Cardinals. The Wildcats came closer to beating Louisville than any other opponent in the second half of their season, thanks in large part to the dominant play of Dupree, who helped the UK defense force four turnovers and score two defensive touchdowns in a losing effort.
DUDS
1. Josh Robinson: Mississippi State’s star tailback hit a wall in the final third of the season, failing to rush for more than 64 yards in any of the Bulldogs’ final four games of the regular season. He posted just 44 yards on 12 carries in Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry in the process. When Mississippi State can’t assert its rushing attack, its entire offense is limited. Robinson’s lack of a dominant performance against Ole Miss, or in the final-third of the season for that matter, was one reason for MSU’s lackluster finish in 2014.
2. Auburn secondary: The Tigers refused to shift additional coverage to Cooper’s side of the field in Saturday’s Iron Bowl, and Lane Kiffin and the Alabama offense made them pay. Cooper accounted for 65 percent of Blake Sims’ completions, 72 percent of his yards through the air and 75 percent of his touchdowns in the Tide’s win over Auburn. One would think the Tigers would’ve noticed this trend and made an in-game adjustment to force the Tide to take a different approach. Instead, Auburn allowed Cooper to have a monster day, wasting a 44-point, 630-yard performance by the Tigers offense in a losing effort in Tuscaloosa.
3. Treon Harris: Florida intercepted Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston four times and limited the Seminoles to just 24 points and 125 yards through the air in Saturday’s showdown in Tallahassee. Nevertheless, the Gators still came up short against their biggest in-state rival, due in large part to Harris’ inability to command the UF offense. The freshman completed just 13 of 32 passes (40.6 percent) and threw for only 169 yards with two interceptions. The Gators completely shut down the Florida State offense, but Harris shut down his own offense to an even greater extent, allowing the Noles to extend their current win streak to 28 games and counting.
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.