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Here is a look at some of the SEC’s top performing position units in Week 8:
QUARTERBACKS — Mississippi State: Dak Prescott turned in one of the best individual performances of the SEC season, which makes the Bulldogs an easy choice for the week. Prescott accounted for six touchdowns and 465 yards of total offense in Mississippi State’s 42-16 win against Kentucky. Want to pokes holes in his performance? You could note that he threw his first interception of the season, but is that really a shot worth shooting?
RUNNING BACKS — LSU: Leonard Fournette was again the league’s leading rusher in Week 8, running for 150 yards and a touchdown in a win against Western Kentucky. He had some help from three other Tigers running backs in this one, though. Derrius Guise had a 47-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Nick Brossette carried the ball three times for 23 yards, and Darrel Williams had five carries for 15 yards and a touchdown.
WIDE RECEIVERS — LSU: When it comes to the Tigers offense, we’ve spent most of the season rightfully praising the performances of RB Leonard Fournette and the LSU offensive line. This week, we have the opportunity to give some love to the Tigers pass catchers that have played second fiddle to the Fournette show. Travin Dural had 132 yards receiving and a touchdown, including a 67-yard catch. Malachi Dupre had 86 yards receiving, with a 55-yard touchdown catch for the game’s first score. Tyron Johnson added a 61-yard touchdown reception.
OFFENSIVE LINE — Arkansas: Bret Bielema’s group of big uglies got the job done against Auburn in an overtime thriller on Saturday. Not only did they protect QB Brandon Allen as usual, allowing just a single sack in the extended game, but they also paved the way for 213 yards rushing and four rushing touchdowns from Arkansas ball carriers.
DEFENSIVE LINE — Tennessee: This is a group that has been criticized at times this season, but the Vols defensive front turned in a performance worthy of victory in a close loss to Alabama. Tennessee’s defensive line accounted for four of the five sacks of Alabama QB Jake Coker on Saturday. DE Corey Vereen led the way with two sacks, and both DT Owen Williams and DE Derek Barnett also recorded sacks. The Vols did not exactly stop Crimson Tide RB Derrick Henry (143 yards rushing and two touchdowns), but they did hold Alabama to just 2.8 yards per rushing attempt.
LINEBACKERS — Alabama: The Crimson Tide defense allowed a little more than 300 yards of total offense in a narrow victory against Tennessee, but Alabama was still stingy when it needed to be, allowing just two scores all day. The linebacking corp had much to do with that, as Reggie Ragland (12 tackles, one for loss) and Reuben Foster (11 tackles, two for loss and a sack) filled the Crimson Tide stat sheet making play after play. Ryan Anderson also made the hit on Vols QB Joshua Dobbs that caused the fumble that secured the victory for Alabama late in the fourth quarter.
DEFENSIVE BACKS — Ole Miss: Texas A&M features one of the league’s best passing attacks, but you wouldn’t know that by the way the Aggies performed on Saturday night. That struggle was, in part, due to the performance of the Ole Miss secondary. Trae Elston broke up five passes, and the Rebels registered nine breakups as the Aggies completed just 40 percent of their 45 passing attempts on the way to just 134 yards through the air. Kendarius Webster added an interception.
Nick Cole is a former print journalist with several years of experience covering the SEC. Born and raised in SEC country, he has taken in the game-day experience at all 14 stadiums.
