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Here’s a look at the SEC’s top position groups from Week 12:
QUARTERBACKS — Tennessee: Josh Dobbs has been the hottest quarterback in the SEC since taking over the Vols offense, and he had another fantastic performance in a Week 12 rout of Kentucky. He completed 70 percent of his passes for 297 yards, ran for 48 more yards and accounted for four total touchdowns, never relenting as Tennessee poured on 50 points in just three quarters of play in the victory.
RUNNING BACKS — Georgia: Nick Chubb emerged as a dominant rusher in the SEC while Todd Gurley served a four-game suspension, and upon Gurley’s return in Week 12 the two backs complemented each other perfectly in a 34-point win over Auburn. Chubb ran for 144 yards and two touchdowns, and Gurley added 138 yards and another touchdown in the stunning blowout. Gurley tore his ACL late in the game and is now done for the year, but for one week the two backs showed how dominant they could have been together the rest of the season.
WIDE RECEIVERS — Mississippi State: The Bulldogs lost their perfect season in Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Alabama, but Mississippi State’s wideouts played a great game nonetheless. Seven different players caught a pass from Dak Prescott on Saturday, including four players with at least 42 yards receiving, more than any other team in the conference. Many of those yards came in the second half with MSU behind by multiple scores, but the play by MSU’s receivers allowed the Bulldogs to cut the Alabama lead to just five points by game’s end, making the loss much more respectable than it might have been.
OFFENSIVE LINE — Missouri: The Tigers are known for having one of the best defensive lines in the SEC, but it was actually Mizzou’s offensive line that led to its victory over Texas A&M over the weekend. The Tigers ran for 335 yards at 6.8 yards per carry, adding three touchdowns on the ground in the win. They also kept Maty Mauk upright the entire game, never allowing a sack in their best offensive showing in SEC play.
DEFENSIVE LINE — Arkansas: The Razorbacks dominated LSU’s offensive line in a 17-0 whitewash of the Tigers on Saturday. LSU ran for just 36 yards at a mere 1.1 yards per carry, suffering its first shutout since 2011 in the process. Furthermore, the Hogs sacked Anthony Jennings four times in limiting the Tigers offense to just 123 yards for the game. LSU could never find a rhythm on offense, due in large part to an overwhelming performance by the Arkansas defensive line.
LINEBACKERS — Georgia: The Bulldogs linebackers made plays all over the field in their win over Auburn, limiting the Tigers to just 4.3 yards per carry in the run game and fewer than 300 yards of total offense for the game. Linebacker Amarlo Herrera pulled in an interception in the red zone to help limit Auburn to its lowest scoring output of the year (just seven points), and the Dawgs smothered a potent Tigers offense thanks to the play of its linebackers at the heart of its defense.
DEFENSIVE BACKS — Tennessee: The Volunteers dominated Kentucky in a number of areas (which is why they show up so often in this piece), and the secondary was one of them. Tennessee forced Kentucky’s quarterbacks to make tough throws all night, resulting in a 45 percent completion rate for the game to go with two interceptions. The Wildcats played from behind for most of the game, and Tennessee’s secondary never allowed them to make up the difference through the air, recording another lopsided victory in UT’s pursuit of a bowl berth.
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.
