We’ve hit November, the time of year when contenders are closers and pretenders melt away like apple butter on Thanksgiving breakfast rolls.

Week 9 brought a reckoning in Kirby Smart and Georgia’s 34-7 win over the bumbling Gators. It also saw Mike Leach, lover of spree candies, deliver a sweet victory to Mississippi State fans and a serious dent to Kentucky’s New Year’s 6 bowl dreams. For the second time this season, Vanderbilt had a chance to win a real live SEC football game in the fourth quarter. (They did not win the game). And in sentences I never thought I’d write for $1,000, Bo Nix outdueled Matt Corral to give Auburn an early signature win under Bryan Harsin. Auburn goes to Atlanta if they win out, which is not something many college football folks saw coming in talkin’ season. That’s why you play the games!

You also play the games to figure out the 10 best players in the SEC. Last week’s list is here.

There’s quite a bit of movement this week for the first time in a while, including at the top line, though the margins at 1-3 are miniscule.

Please remember there are only 2 honorable mentions per school. This means your favorite player may miss the honorable mentions list and the top 10 entirely and I assure you that is absolutely because I don’t like them and has nothing to do with how difficult it is to rank only 10 players and limit yourself to 2 honorable mentions per school in the best conference in the sport.

Honorable mentions: Evan Neal, OT (Alabama); Jameson Williams, WR (Alabama); Grant Morgan, LB (Arkansas); Ricky Stromberg, C (Arkansas); Roger McCreary, CB (Auburn); Smoke Monday, S (Auburn); Zachary Carter, DE (Florida); Kaiir Elam, CB (Florida); Jalen Carter, DE (Georgia); Brock Bowers, TE  (Georgia); Darian Kinnard, OT (Kentucky); DeAndre Square, LB (Kentucky); Damone Clark, LB (LSU); BJ Ojulari, Edge (LSU); Will Rogers, QB (Mississippi State); Jett Johnson, LB (Mississippi State); Isaiah McGuire, DE (Missouri); Chance Campbell, LB (Ole Miss); Sam Williams, DE (Ole Miss); Kingsley Enagbare, DE (South Carolina); Jaylan Foster, DB (South Carolina); Hendon Hooker, QB (Tennessee); Jeremy Banks, LB (Tennessee); Kenyon Green, OT (Texas A&M); DeMarvin Leal, DL (Texas A&M); Ethan Barr, LB (Vanderbilt).

10. Quay Walker, LB (Georgia)

An elite prospect out of tiny Cordele, Georgia, it took Walker a while to make an impact in Athens, but he’s had a brilliant 4th season in Athens. Walker has been especially spectacular over the past 3 games, which for Georgia have been 2 matchups with ranked opponents and a date with archrival Florida. In those games, Walker has tallied 27 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack and 6 quarterback pressures. Walker has also been terrific in coverage, grading out as Georgia’s 2nd-best linebacker (behind another guy on this list) in passing situations, per Pro Football Focus.  Walker ranks 5th on the Dawgs in tackles as well, and just delivered a team-high 13 of them against the Gators.

9. Josh Paschal, DL (Kentucky)

Paschal is one of the best stories in college football. A cancer survivor, Pascal has returned to lead one of college football’s best defenses. Whether it is blocking a kick to seal an upset win over Florida, being the leverage guy preventing offensive lines from getting a push, or leading Kentucky’s defensive linemen in tackles, Paschal has made his impact felt in his senior season. He was also one of the few Kentucky defenders who was effective in Saturday night’s 31-17 loss at Miss State, registering 6 tackles, including 2 for loss, along with 2 quarterback pressures. His 13 quarterback pressures lead the Wildcats and he’s seen his NFL Draft stock rise markedly as the season has continued, with “through the roof” intangibles and consistent production.

8. Tyler Badie, RB (Missouri)

A member of the honorable mentions every week this season, Badie bursts into the Top 10 with a monster performance to rescue Missouri from Vanderbilt’s upset bid. Badie had 254 yards on 31 carries, including this run where he bounced off a Vanderbilt run blitzer like a pinball.

Badie blocks, catches the ball out of the backfield, and leads the SEC in rushing. And he still has a date with a Florida team that made Ty Davis-Price look like Herschel Walker. With 989 yards rushing and 305 yards receiving, Badie is likely to win the non-QB SEC total yardage crown this season. The guy who won that award last year (Najee Harris) finished top 5 in the Heisman Trophy balloting.

7. Wan’Dale Robinson, WR (Kentucky)

Robinson continues to be the one constant in the offense. An underrated Miss State defense slowed the Kentucky power run game but couldn’t corral Robinson, who had 80 yards receiving on 9 receptions in defeat. On the season, Robinson ranks 4th in the SEC in receiving yards, 1st in receptions among non-Mike Leach wide receivers, and 1st in receptions per target rate. Robinson grades out as the SEC’s best wide receiver per Pro Football Focus, a testament to his ability to block in the run game and produce consistently in the pass game.

What he hasn’t done, and the reason he’s fallen a few spots over the past few weeks, is that the explosive plays are lacking of late. Kentucky needs those to return if they hope to close with 10 wins and position themselves for a New Year’s 6 bowl.

6. Zakoby McClain, LB (Auburn)

McClain just continues to produce. In Auburn’s 3 huge SEC West wins over LSU, Ole Miss and Arkansas, McClain has tallied 41 tackles! He can fit a run gap, play well in pass coverage, and has the quickness to overcome bigger offensive linemen and running back help. That allows him to make plays like this on Matt Corral.

On the season, McClain has 67 tackles, good for 3rd in the SEC, along with 2 sacks, 7 tackles for loss, 2 pass breakups and 10 quarterback pressures. McClain is also “one of two quarterbacks of (Auburn’s) defense,” per Derek Mason, along with honorable mention teammate Smoke Monday.

5. Matt Corral, QB (Ole Miss)

Playing hurt, Corral admirably put the loss to Auburn on his shoulders this weekend.  

I’m not sure Corral is right — at some point, Ole Miss has to stop people on defense — but he’s a true leader and that’s a testament to his character.

He’s also been a very productive passer and runner this season, with 2,202 yards passing and 15 touchdowns in the air and a career high 519 yards rushing. He should break the 3,000 total yards mark on the season Saturday against Liberty, and if Ole Miss wins out, he’s almost a shoe-in to be invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

4. Bryce Young, QB (Alabama)

Young moves up 1 spot during the bye week and after Corral and Ole Miss’s misstep against Auburn, could be the Heisman front-runner. The numbers aren’t “Mac” or “Tua” staggering, but they are really good: 2,453 yards passing (2nd in the SEC), 70.7 completion percentage (2nd in the SEC), 26 passing touchdowns (1st in the SEC), only 3 interceptions (2nd-fewest in SEC), 9.2 yards per attempt (1st in the SEC). A banged up LSU secondary missing its 2 All-American corners is next, opening the door for another massive game for Young and the Crimson Tide offense he leads.

3. Jordan Davis, DT (Georgia)

Davis dives down to No. 3 after looking human, at least somewhat, for parts of Saturday’s game. Interestingly, Florida’s best moments in the run game came running right at Davis (6.5 yards per carry on those 6 attempts). Davis still managed to influence the game, controlling the line of scrimmage to allow Georgia to spy and contain Anthony Richardson, who would have loved to use his legs and elite speed more in his first career start. Davis also registered a sack, and his influence on Georgia’s defense cannot be denied:

Picking between Davis and Nakobe Dean, whom I ranked first, is virtually impossible. Both should be Heisman finalists in a world where the best player wins.

2. Will Anderson, Edge (Alabama)

The case for Anderson is all about production. The sophomore ranks No. 2 on the Crimson Tide in tackles. He’s tied for the SEC lead in sacks (8.5), leads the SEC in quarterback pressures (41!!), is No. 1 in the SEC and No. 2 nationally in tackles for loss (16.5!!). Anderson grades out as the 26th-best edge defender in college football per Pro Football Focus, mostly because of the fact the algorithm doesn’t reward constant pressure without a high percentage of sacks. The reality is there’s nothing “26th-best” about Anderson, who, like Dean and Davis, defenses must account for on every snap.

1. Nakobe Dean, LB (Georgia)

Georgia’s best linebacker saved his best game for the Gators, collecting 7 tackles, 2 quarterback pressures, a pass breakup and this backbreaking pick-6 with just moments left to play in the first half.

He almost had another interception as well — and that came on a play where he was faked out at the line of scrimmage — then recovered because he’s so fast and smart.

He also covers punts, because of course he does.

No word on whether the Georgia captain also wears a cape.