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Arch Manning lines up for a snap during Texas's game against UTSA.
College Football

SEC Game Balls for Week 3

Adam Spencer

By Adam Spencer

Published:

Week 3 in the SEC was full of excitement. We had some big conference games, including Kentucky-Georgia, Texas A&M-Florida and LSU-South Carolina.

We had some key nonconference battles, including Alabama-Wisconsin, Ole Miss-Wake Forest and Mizzou-Boston College.

There were plenty of close games and some truly great individual efforts. Every week, we hand out our game balls to each team’s top performers.

Here are our SEC game balls for Week 3:

Alabama: Jalen Milroe, QB

When you account for 5 touchdowns and your team only scores 6 times, you’re probably going to get the game ball. Milroe put another incredible performance on his Heisman résumé on Saturday at Wisconsin, throwing for 3 touchdowns and running for 2 more. He’s firing on all cylinders, making Alabama a scary foe moving forward.

Arkansas: Ja’Quinden Jackson, RB

Jackson continues to be an incredible asset for the Arkansas offense. He needed only 15 carries to put up 147 yards and a touchdown on the ground today. For those keeping score at home, that’s 9.8 yards per carry. What a weapon he’s been for OC Bobby Petrino.

Auburn: Hank Brown, QB

Hank Brown got the start in place of Payton Thorne and didn’t disappoint. He threw 4 touchdown passes to 4 different receivers and had 0 interceptions. That’s the sort of performance that should keep him in the QB1 role for at least another week.

Florida: Chim Dike, WR

Not much went right for Florida on Saturday afternoon in a home loss to Texas A&M, but Dike was a bright spot. He made 6 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown, making plays for both Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway. With Eugene Wilson III out with an injury, Dike stepped up and showed he should be a bigger part of the offense moving forward.

Georgia: Defense

The Bulldogs didn’t have it offensively against a tough Kentucky defense on Saturday night in Lexington. However, Georgia’s defense was elite, as well. The Bulldogs only gave up 12 points, eking out a 13-12 victory. It wasn’t an overly inspiring effort, but the defense did enough to let the offense struggle its way to a win.

Kentucky: Demie Sumo-Karngbaye, RB

Sumo-Karngbaye was a revelation for the Wildcats on Saturday night. The Kentucky offense couldn’t do much against Georgia’s elite defense, but Sumo-Karngbaye toted the tater 28 times for 92 yards. It’s not the most efficient performance, but it kept the chains moving and kept Kentucky in the game.

LSU: Caden Durham, RB

The Tigers needed a spark in the running game. Durham provided that on Saturday. The freshman running back ran 11 times for 98 yards (8.9 yards per carry) and 2 huge touchdowns in LSU’s narrow 36-33 win at South Carolina. He’s earned not only this week’s game ball, but also a bigger role in the offense moving forward.

Mississippi State: Kevin Coleman Jr., WR

The Bulldogs got crushed at home by Toledo. That’s embarrassing. But Coleman did what he could for the Mississippi State offense. He had 7 catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Now the Bulldogs need to figure out how to get the rest of the offense on track so 41-17 home losses to MAC teams don’t happen in the future.

Mizzou: Blake Craig, K

It’s not every day that a kicker earns a game ball, but Craig fits the bill after Mizzou’s win over a ranked Boston College squad. But Craig was elite on Saturday afternoon at Faurot Field, going 4-for-4 on his field goals and banging through this 56-yarder before halftime:

Eli Drinkwitz praised Craig as the difference in the game:

That’s good enough for me. Give Craig the well-deserved game ball!

Oklahoma: R Mason Thomas, DL

When you have 3 sacks in a game, you’re doing something right. When one of those is a strip-sack that all but seals a win for your team, even better. Thomas was everywhere on Saturday in a hard-fought win for the Sooners. Tulane proved to be a tough opponent, but Thomas’s efforts defensively prevented the Green Wave from putting themselves in position for a massive upset.

Ole Miss: Henry Parrish Jr., RB

Since returning to Ole Miss after a 2-year stint at Miami, Parrish continues to simply put up numbers. He ran for 148 yards and 2 scores at Wake Forest in an easy victory for the Rebels. This offense might be the best in the country, and Parrish is a big part of that success.

South Carolina: Rocket Sanders, RB

Sanders did his best to keep the Gamecocks from losing to LSU on Saturday. He ran for 143 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game, including this 66-yarder:

The Gamecocks are feeding him the ball and he continues to make the most of it.

Tennessee: DeSean Bishop, RB

I could very easily give this to Dylan Sampson again. He had 101 yards and a whopping 4 touchdowns. But I’ll give it to Bishop instead. He ran 7 times for 120 yards and 2 scores. That’s an average of 17.2 yards per carry. Everything went right for the Vols on Saturday night. Now they’ll head to Norman so Josh Heupel can coach against his alma mater.

Texas: Arch Manning, QB

Arch Manning took over for Quinn Ewers after an injury and didn’t look back. He threw for 4 TDs and also added this incredible 67-yard touchdown run:

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1835109210771607868

What a luxury it is for coach Steve Sarkisian to be able to replace one QB who is in the Heisman conversation with a guy who will likely be in the Heisman conversation in the next couple of years.

Texas A&M: Marcel Reed, QB

Reed learned during pregame warmups on Saturday afternoon that Texas A&M starting QB Conner Weigman wouldn’t be able to play due to a shoulder injury. Reed quickly made his mark on the game, finishing with 178 yards through the air, 2 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions.

This throw was a thing of beauty to Cyrus Allen. Across his body? No problem for Reed:

Reed also contributed 83 yards and a touchdown as a runner. It was a great day for the A&M backup QB in The Swamp.

Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia, QB

Vanderbilt fell at Georgia State, 36-32, in an odd game for an SEC team to play on the road. As he continues to do on a weekly basis, Pavia did everything he could to help his team win. He threw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions and added 40 yards as a runner. The defense let the Commodores down in Week 3.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.

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