The first 2 months of the college football season were blissfully chaotic, but I can’t help but feel a bit like Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. I know nothing.
Or maybe I know slightly more than nothing but the thing about this rollercoaster of a college football season is you just don’t know what you don’t know. Confused yet? Try writing about this league weekly.
Is Arch Manning good again? We’ll find out in November.
Is Georgia the College Football Playoff favorite or is there just not enough explosiveness in that offense to win 3 or 4 straight games?
Will Lane Kiffin capitalize on huge home games and win out or is there another mind-boggling loss lurking?
Is LaNorris Sellers a highly coveted draft prospect again?
Is Shane Beamer Houdini?
In a normal season, we’d have enough data to make educated guesses. This season, when more unranked teams have beaten top-10 opponents (17) than any season since 2007 (21)? I know nothing.
The “List” knows almost nothing.
It knows it is the most prestigious “List” in college football.
Any other conclusion strains credulity, obviously. It also has no clue who is going to end up on top, which is not something that’s happened since 2021, when Nakobe Dean emerged from the pack in November to win the Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award, and most vitally, “The List.”
It’s even debatable how many players remain in contention for the top spot. For example, this week’s new No. 1 hasn’t even been ranked in the “List” all season. While you are right that perhaps that makes me bad at making a very simple list of the 10 best players in the best conference in college football—what if, and I’m just spitballing here—it’s actually hard to be one of the best 10 players in the SEC?
I’m not sure that this weekend, with an incredible SEC slate that includes 4 games between top 20 teams, will help much. The trend this year is that the more games good teams play against one another, the less we know. But hey, at least it’s not boring.
Last week’s “List” is here. As always, we begin our discussion this week with Honorable Mentions. Note that Colin Simmons is out of the “List” this week as by our own rules, we do not list players who have missed multiple, consecutive games with injury. That said, he is expected to play this week at Missouri and will likely return to the top 10 when he resumes play for the Longhorns.
Honorable Mentions: Alabama: Dijon Lee Jr., CB; Luke Metz, LB. Auburn: Elijah Melendez, LB; Chas Nimrod, WR. Arkansas: Khmori House, DB; Chris Marshall, WR. Florida: Bailey Stockton, WR; Jayden Woods, Edge. Georgia: Drew Bobo, C; Earnest Greene III, OT. Kentucky: Coleton Price, C; Willie Rodriguez, TE. LSU: Tamarcus Cooley, S; Jordan Seaton, OT. Mississippi State: Anthony Evans III, WR; Kelley Jones, CB. Missouri: Cayden Green, OL; Sterling Webb, DT. Oklahoma: Kip Lewis, LB; David Stone, DT. Ole Miss: Patrick Kutas, OG; Suntarine Perkins, LB. South Carolina: Nyck Harbor, WR;LaNorris Sellers, QB. Tennessee: DeSean Bishop, RB; Xavier Gilliam, DT. Texas: Jelani McDonald, S; Cam Coleman, WR. Texas A&M: Mario Craver, WR; Wilkin Formby, OG. Vanderbilt: CJ Heard, S; Junior Sherrill, WR.
10. Justin Okoronkwo, LB (South Carolina)
South Carolina’s turnaround has as much to do with playing outstanding defense as it does with the renaissance of LaNorris Sellers (honorable mention, above). Okoronkwo is at the heart of that revival, leading a South Carolina rushing defense that ranks 27th nationally in rushing defense and 25th in rushing success rate defense. Okoronkwo’s 88.2 grade as a run stopper ranks second among SEC linebackers (Chris Cole), and he had 9 tackles, adding to his team-high 62, in Saturday’s win over Oklahoma.
9. Jamal Roberts, RB (Missouri)
The SEC’s leading rusher eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark this season in Mizzou’s 34-10 rout of Arkansas. Roberts is the SEC leader in yards after contact, per Statcat, a testament to the fact that he’s not simply excelling behind Missouri’s excellent offensive line. Roberts added this touchdown reception to his tally Saturday, proving his versatility.
The Tigers average 6.2 yards per carry on the ground at home—a figure that will be tested when Texas comes calling at Faurot Field on Saturday.
8. Jadan Baugh, RB (Florida)
One of 2 players who has remained on “The List” all season, Baugh drops to 8th after managing just 38 yards against the hated Dawgs in Atlanta. Much of the blame could be foisted on Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who bizarrely kept trying to run east-west against Georgia instead of north-south. Indeed, Baugh’s 2 best runs of the game came on north-south plays, where he could use his patented physicality and break tackles. Another stern test waits with Oklahoma this week, but Baugh remains the SEC rushing touchdown leader (13) as the season turns to November.
7. Jordan Castell, S (Kentucky)
Kentucky’s ability to create turnovers is how it has forged its way to a 7-1 start despite boasting an offense and a defense that rank in the middle of the pack in advanced analytics. Castell, who leads the SEC in interceptions with 4, is the key to that, providing a security blanket for a defense that simply does not allow explosive plays either, ranking 4th in the SEC in 10th nationally in explosive play rate allowed.
6. Lance Heard, OT (Kentucky)
Heard and the Wildcats had a bye to prepare for a rivalry showdown with No. 13 Tennessee. One touchdown underdogs, the Wildcats will only leave Neyland Stadium still on track for a trip to Atlanta if Heard, a Tennessee transfer, plays the dominant brand of football he’s delivered all year, allowing just 2 pressures and 0 sacks, per PFF.
5. Raylen Wilson, LB (Georgia)
Georgia’s leading tackler had 8 stops, including a tackle for loss, in Georgia’s 27-8 thumping of archrival Florida in Atlanta. Kirby Smart’s quarterback on the field, Wilson helped Georgia stifle Florida’s powerful run game, limiting the Swamp Lizards to 54 yards rushing on the afternoon. Another immense road game test—this time at Ole Miss—beckons this weekend, but Wilson’s legacy as a DGD is assured. It has been a capstone season for a Georgia legend, who finishes his career unbeaten against the Gators.
4. Jordan Ross, Edge (LSU)
The LSU edge has 29 pressures to lead the LSU defense this season, a big reason the Tigers rank 4th in the country in total defense entering Saturday’s game against Alabama. Ross has 5 sacks, ranking 8th in the SEC, and his 5 missed tackles (per PFF) are the best on an LSU defense that ranks first in the SEC in “stop rate,” a metric that measures the percentage of opponent drives that end without a score. This is the best football player on the SEC’s best defense.
3. Rasheem Biles, LB (Texas)
Biles continued his All-American surge in a 31-3 rout of Mississippi State, collecting 4 tackles for loss and 3 sacks in the win. On the season, Biles ranks 4th in the SEC in tackles for loss with 10 and his 15 pressures lead SEC linebackers. He’s also shown a penchant for the big moment, with memorable plays against Ohio State and Ole Miss to key Texas wins.
As good as he’s been, the Longhorns need another master class to stay in the Playoff hunt this weekend at Missouri.
2. Trinidad Chambliss, QB (Ole Miss)
Chambliss was excellent in a 45-15 rout of Auburn, compiling 328 total yards of offense and generating 3 touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing). On the season, the All-American candidate has thrown for over 2,000 yards, rushed for 200 yards, and produced 25 scores (18 passing, 7 rushing). If Chambliss can upend No. 2 Georgia in Athens this weekend, the Rebels will be well-positioned to advance to the College Football Playoff for the second-consecutive season. What a legacy that would be for Chambliss.
1. Chris Cole, LB (Georgia)
The 4th player to top “The List” this season, Cole was the best football player in the Benz on Saturday at the World’s Largest (Indoor) Cocktail Party, leading Georgia in tackles with 9, adding a sack, and recovering a fumble and rumbling to the house to give Georgia a 24-0 lead that functionally ended the game before halftime.
Combined with Raylen Wilson (see above), Cole is one-half of the best linebacker duo in the country. He also leads the SEC in havoc rate, making him the most disruptive defender in America’s best conference.
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Neil Blackmon covers SEC football and basketball for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
