It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and not because of Thanksgiving and Christmas cheer.

Rivalry Week has arrived.

Bo Wallace is arguing with Bo Wallace, which is as good sign as any that it’s Egg Bowl week.

Auburn lost to New Mexico State last week, but if there was ever a thing that could happen which would be the most Huge Freeze thing on earth, it would be to win the Iron Bowl a week later.

Florida and Florida State are gearing up for the backup quarterback bowl. Both Jordan Travis and Graham Mertz deserved better, and SDS wishes them both a speedy recovery and return to football.

South Carolina can’t possibly beat Clemson 2 years in a row, can it? You have to know securing bowl eligibility and sending Clemson home with a 5th loss for the first time since Year 3 of the Swinney era would mean the world to Shane Beamer and Spencer Rattler, who might be playing his final game for the garnet and black.

The Palmetto Bowl is eclipsed for powerful storylines, perhaps, by the Governor’s Cup. Louisville is 10-1, with a shot at the ACC Championship in Charlotte next week. Will they end a 4-game slide against Kentucky, or will the Wildcats, who have limped home after a brilliant start, right the ship and give Mark Stoops a win it feels like he might actually need, given fan base rumblings?

Clean Old Fashioned Hate — the best name for any rivalry, period — also happens this weekend in Atlanta. Brent Key might win ACC Coach of the Year. He won’t be the second Georgia Tech head coach to beat Kirby Smart, though. That one I predict with immense confidence.

As for the top 10 players in the SEC, there’s movement in the list again as the regular season comes to a close, but Jayden Daniels remains glued to his spot at the top. He looks set to join previous season winners Joe Burrow, DeVonta Smith, Nakobe Dean and  Bryce Young as the best player in the SEC in this, the 5th year of “The Greatest List in College Football.”

As always, Honorable Mentions come first, limited to 2 per school.

Honorable Mention: Alabama: CB Terrion Arnold, LB Dallas Turner; Arkansas: LB Alfahiym Walcott, QB KJ Jefferson; Auburn: K Alex McPherson; DL Jalen McLeod; Florida: QB Graham Mertz, WR Ricky Pearsall; Georgia: S Tykee Smith, S Malaki Starks; Kentucky: LB D’Eryk Jackson, DL Deone Walker; LSU: OT Will Campbell, WR Brian Thomas Jr.; Missouri: DL Darius Robinson; WR Luther Burden III; MSU: LB Jett Johnson, LB Nathaniel Watson; Ole Miss: RB Quinshon Judkins, WR Tre Harris; South Carolina: QB Spencer Rattler, LB Debo Williams; Tennessee: LB Aaron Beasley, RB Jaylen Wright; Texas A&M: LB Edgerrin Cooper, DB Josh DeBerry; Vanderbilt: LB Langston Patterson, OL Bradley Ashmore.

10. Trevor Etienne, RB (Florida)

The sophomore was brilliant in Florida’s tough luck 33-31 loss at Missouri this weekend. Etienne built on a 3-touchdown performance at LSU with 2 more scores at Missouri, posting 120 yards on 14 touches in defeat. Etienne’s check-down house call cut the Mizzou lead to 3, and earned a shout out from his All-Pro big bro.

 

On the season, Etienne has 710 yards rushing on 5.9 per carry with 8 touchdowns, adding 183 yards and a touchdown receiving. He also leads the SEC in successful runs, with 85% of his rushing attempts this season successful.

9. Caleb Downs, S (Alabama)

What a year for Downs, who put an exclamation point on a sensational campaign Saturday against Chattanooga with a punt return TD.

Alabama’s leading tackler has been a surprise anchor on one of the nation’s best secondaries and defenses.

8. Xavier Legette, WR (South Carolina)

Legette put together a signature performance for his senior campaign in Saturday’s 17-14 win over Kentucky, with this splendid route and back-pedaling catch his finest moment.

On the season, Legette ranks 2nd in the SEC in receiving yards with 1,187, 3rd in receptions with 65, and ranks top 5 in yards per reception and receptions per target. He’s saving his best football for last, with over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns in November.

7. Javon Foster, OT (Missouri)

The best lineman on the SEC’s best offensive line, Foster paved the way for 177 rushing yards in Mizzou’s 33-31 win over Florida. Foster finished with his lowest PFF grade of the season, thanks to a holding penalty, a false start, and 4 Princely Umanmielen pressures, but the Tigers still tallied over 500 yards of offense and 33 points with their All-American candidate at left tackle anchoring a brilliant front.

5. Jalen Milroe, QB (Alabama)

Milroe added 3 touchdowns to his season passing total (19) in Alabama’s rout of Chattanooga. The Iron Bowl, and then the SEC Championship Game and a date with Georgia beckons, where Milroe’s fantastic turnaround story after early-season struggles can slowly grow into legend.

5. Malik Nabers, WR (LSU)

Nabers hauled in 2 more touchdown passes, pushing his season total to 12, which ranks 2nd in the SEC behind teammate and fellow Biletnikoff candidate Brian Thomas Jr.

Lethal in the slot or on the boundary, Nabers leads the SEC — and the nation — in receiving yards with 1,424 on the campaign.

4. Carson Beck, QB (Georgia)

What a season for the first-year starter, who lit up Tennessee to the tune of 298 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 38-10 blowout win. Beck ranks 2nd in the SEC in yards and completion percentage and 3rd in quarterback rating as Georgia readies for rival Georgia Tech in Atlanta over the weekend. The Georgia offense is humming under Beck, ranking 4th in the country in total offense and 5th in yards per play and scoring (40.4 points per game).

3. Kamari Lassiter, CB (Georgia)

Lassiter locked down anyone on his boundary on Saturday, surrendering 1 reception on 5 targets. On the season, Georgia ranks 14th in pass defense and 5th in passing yards allowed per play, with Lassiter grading out as the SEC’s best corner in league play, per PFF. A Georgia defense that didn’t appear as dominant as the prior national championship defenses has looked magnificent in recent weeks, and Lassiter’s star turn as the lockdown corner in the nation’s best secondary is the largest reason.

 2. Cody Schrader, RB (Missouri)

Schrader added 148 yards rushing to his SEC leading total in Missouri’s 33-31 win over the Gators.

This run demonstrated both Schrader’s ability to put a foot in the ground and get north-south — and the reality that for all the knocks on his Division II background, he’s plenty capable of running away from a defense in the SEC. With 1,272 rushing yards, Schrader has a sizeable lead on Jayden Daniels and should become the 2nd Mizzou RB in 3 years to lead the SEC in rushing. Tyler Badie paced everybody in 2021 with 1,604 yards.

1. Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU)

The nation’s best football player is putting video game numbers up at this point.

He needs just 423 yards passing to join Deshaun Watson and Kyler Murray as the only QBs to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 in the same season.

With 8 touchdowns (6 passing, 2 rushing) in LSU’s rout of Georgia State, Daniels compiled 509 total yards of offense. On the campaign, Daniels has thrown for 36 touchdowns, run for 10 more, and is approaching Tim Tebow, Robert Griffin, Lamar Jackson territory — where even with 3 losses, you can’t deny the generational nature of his talent.