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Week 7 in the SEC is officially in the books. Here’s a look at the top performers in the conference this week:
OFFENSE
QB Dak Prescott – Mississippi State records continue to fall every time Dak Prescott drops back to pass. Prescott threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns in Week 7 against Louisiana Tech, adding 34 rushing yards and a score on the ground, as well. The Bulldogs quarterback joined Tim Tebow and Johnny Manziel as the only players in SEC history with 50 career passing touchdowns and 30 rushing scores as Mississippi State rolled past the other Bulldogs 45-20 in Starkville. Prescott also passed Johnny Football for fourth all-time in the SEC for quarterback rushing yards with 2,182 for his career.
RB Derrick Henry – Alabama running back Derrick Henry trampled Texas A&M for 236 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns as the Crimson Tide downed the Aggies by a 41-23 score. Henry is now second in the SEC in rushing with 901 yards on the year to go along with 12 touchdowns. The junior has found the end zone in an Alabama program-record 12-straight games, the longest active streak in the NCAA.
RB Leonard Fournette – Leonard Fournette rushed for 180 yards against at tough Florida defense in Week 7, yet the LSU running back saw his rushing average for the season go down. While he didn’t go over 200 yards for the fourth time this season, the sophomore powered his way to two rushing touchdowns in the Tigers’ win. Fournette now has 1,202 yards for the season, 205 more than the nation’s next closest rusher Royce Freeman (997 yards) of Oregon.
WR Christian Kirk – Texas A&M wide out Christian Kirk was all over the field in Week 7 against Alabama. The freshman rung up 207 all-purpose yards, thanks to 90 receiving, 86 on punt returns and 25 yards on kick-offs. He took 68 of those punt return yards to the house for a score. Kirk is the fastest player in A&M history to reach 1,000 yards, doing so in just six games, since 1995 when “Lectric Leeland McElroy accomplished the feat for the Aggies.
WR Malachi Dupre – Malachi Dupre did some damage to Florida in the first half of LSU’s Week 7 contest against the Gators. The sophomore caught just four passes, but made them count, going for 115 yards and two big touchdowns of 9 and 50 yards as the Tigers remained unbeaten. It’s the second 100-yard performance in Dupre’s career and marks the second time in as many games, and three of the last four, that he’s hauled in a touchdown pass.
Alabama OL – The Alabama front line allowed Derrick Henry and the Crimson Tide offense to pile up 396 total yards in their Week 7 win over Texas A&M. The unit held an Aggies team that entered the contest with 19 sacks on the year to just one sack. With the offensive line’s help, Alabama has now scored a touchdown in 190-consecutive games, the longest streak in Tide history.
DEFENSE
DE Lewis Neal – Lewis Neal teamed up with Deion Jones in Week 7 to take down Florida as the first two LSU players to earn double-digit tackles for the Tigers this season. The duo finished tied with 10 tackles apiece. Neal set a career-high for tackles and sacks (3), in addition to his 3.5 tackles-for-loss, which were a season-high for the Gators. He also supplied a pass breakup and quarterback hurry, for good measure.
DL Myles Garrett – Save for an interception or fumble recovery, Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett got a little bit of everything that a stat sheet will allot in Week 7, including 5 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss and a sack to go along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. Lest we forget he also blocked an Alabama punt.
LB Skai Moore – South Carolina linebacker Skai Moore is a one-man wrecking crew. The junior posted a team-high 11 tackles to go along with a sack, interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery and pass breakup in the Gamecocks’ first win under interim head coach Shawn Elliott.
LB Jake Ganus – The Georgia Bulldogs completely dominated the Missouri Tigers in Week 7 on defense, led by Jake Ganus. The senior linebacker paced the way with 9 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack in UGA’s 9-6 win. All told, Ganus and the Bulldogs to 21 yards rushing (-1 in the first half) on the night.
CB Minkah Fitzpatrick – Minkah Fitzpatrick became the first player in Alabama history to return two interceptions for a touchdown in a single game. The freshman also added 2 tackles. Combined with teammate Eddie Jackson, the duo finished with 4 interceptions, 3 pick-six touchdowns and 207-yards’ worth of interception return yardage. Fitzpatrick’s effort landed him the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week honor. Jackson’s 93-yard pick-six was the longest in Crimson Tide history.
DB Mike Hilton – Mike Hilton registered 11 tackles, tying him with fellow defensive back C.J. Johnson for tops on an Ole Miss team that fell to Memphis. The senior tallied 2.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack and hauled in his second interception of the season and sixth of his career.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
