Ranking the top Super Bowl performances by former SEC players

SEC stars have made a major impact on the Super Bowl since its inception, winning MVP honors in 10 of the 49 previous games. The first three Super Bowl MVP awards went to SEC standouts.

Former Alabama QB Bart Starr won the first two years for leading the Green Bay Packers to victories. Another Crimson Tide QB, Joe Namath, won the award in Super Bowl III for sparking the New York Jets to an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts that paved the way for a merger between the NFL and AFL.

Eli Manning joined Starr as one of only five players with two or more Super Bowl MVP awards. Joe Montana and Tom Brady lead with three each.

Here’s a ranking of the 10 Super Bowl MVP performances turned in by former SEC players with a brief description of their feats:

10. BART STARR — GREEN BAY PACKERS — SUPER BOWL II

The former Alabama star completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards and a touchdown as the Packers cruised past Oakland 33-14 for their second straight Super Bowl title. Starr’s 62-yard TD pass to Boyd Dowler gave the Packers a 13-0 lead. Green Bay dominated the entire way. Don Chandler kicked four field goals for the winners.

9. PEYTON MANNING — INDIANAPOLIS COLTS — XLI

The former Tennessee standout broke his history of coming close without winning a championship. Manning threw for 248 yards and a TD on 25 of 38 passing for the Colts in a 29-17 victory over the Chicago Bears. After throwing an early interception, Manning got the Colts back on track with a 53-yard TD pass to Reggie Wayne. The Bears jumped on top when Devin Hester returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a TD.

8. HINES WARD — PITTSBURGH STEELERS — SUPER BOWL XL

The versatile former Georgia star had an outstanding season, passing John Stallworth to become the Steelers’ all-time lead in receptions. He caught five passes for 123 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown pass from WR Antwaan Randle El as the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10. Ward also contributed an 18-yard run. Pittsburgh put the game away on Ward’s TD catch in the fourth quarter. Randle El took a handoff on a reverse, stopped and threw to the wide-open Ward.

7. EMMITT SMITH — DALLAS COWBOYS — SUPER BOWL XXVIII

The former Gators star rushed for 132 yards and two TDs on 30 carries for Cowboys, who came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to beat the Buffalo Bills 30-13. Smith scored the go-ahead TD on a 17-yard run in the third quarter and tackled on a 1-yard TD run to give the Cowboys a 14-point lead. Smith also caught four passes for 26 yards. He became the first player ever to lead the NFL in rushing and win both the league’s MVP award and Super Bowl MVP honors.

6. ELI MANNING — NEW YORK GIANTS — XLII

The former Ole Miss star threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter to lift the Giants to a stunning 17-14 victory over New England, their first of two Super Bowl triumphs over the Patriots. Manning led the Giants on a 17-play, 77-yard opening drive that lasted 9:59, resulting in a field goal. That was all the scoring for the Giants until the final quarter. The key play on the game-winning drive was a 32-yard pass from Manning to David Tyree, who pinned the ball against his helmet to make the catch. Manning threw a 13-yard pass to Plaice Burress for the game-winning TD with 35 seconds left.

5. JOE NAMATH — NEW YORK JETS — SUPER BOWL III

Namath’s numbers in Super Bowl III (17-28 passing for 206 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions) weren’t particularly impressive, but that’s not what made his performance so historic. The Jets’ boisterous signal caller, who led Alabama to the 1964 national championship, guaranteed a victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. Namath managed the game expertly, avoiding mistakes while keeping the ball out of the hands of the Colts offense. The Jets won their first and only Super Bowl by a score of 16-7, and although it’s not quantified in the statistics, Namath’s leadership and confidence was a big reason for New York’s stunning upset.

4.  BART STARR — GREEN BAY PACKERS — SUPER BOWL I

In the better of his two MVP performances, Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two TDs in a 35-10 rout of the Kansas City Chiefs. Starr was on-point for most of the game, converting on 11 of 15 third downs while controlling the time of possession battle. The win is historically significant as the first Super Bowl ever, but Starr’s performance that day left no doubt as to which franchise was the NFL’s best entering the Super Bowl era.

3. JAKE SCOTT — MIAMI DOLPHINS — SUPER BOWL VII

Scott, a former safety at Georgia, is among the least heralded Super Bowl MVPs in history despite his stellar performances in the Dolphins’ 14-7 win over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. Scott intercepted two Billy Kilmer passes, including one in the end zone that he returned more than 50 yards into Miami territory, to help the Dolphins shut down Washington, which scored its only points on a fumble recover. Scott became just the second defensive player to win Super Bowl MVP honors, and only seven more defensive players have repeated the feat in the more than 40 years.

2. ELI MANNING — NEW YORK GIANTS — SUPER BOWL XLVI

Eli Manning’s best Super Bowl showing came in his second appearance in the big game against New England. Manning was as sharp as he’s looked at any point in his career, completing 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and a TD with no interceptions. Once again, he led the Giants to a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation, throwing his only TD pass to Ahmad Bradshaw with just 57 seconds remaining to give the Giants a 21-17 victory.

1. TERRELL DAVIS — DENVER BRONCOS — SUPER BOWL XXXII

Although much of the attention surrounded John Elway and his pursuit of his first ring after three failed attempts in the 1980s, it was Davis who turned the dream of a championship into a reality against Green Bay. The former Georgia standout carried the ball 30 times for 157 yards and three TDs, including the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter that gave Denver a 31-24 lead it never relinquished. Davis scored on three 1-yard runs, the first set up by his 27-yard run deep into Packers territory.

John Brasier