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The SEC wasn’t as crazy as it was last week. Georgia pulled off a narrow win vs. Mississippi State. Tennessee won in OT at home over Florida. Alabama narrowly avoided an upset in Tuscaloosa against South Carolina.
Closer than expected? Sure. But wins by top teams? Yeah.
No. 1 Texas dominated Oklahoma in one of the more convincing victories of the day.
Ole Miss and LSU provided plenty of fireworks.
But only 1 player from each of the 13 SEC teams that played on Saturday can win game balls. So let’s hand those out, shall we?
Alabama: Jalen Milroe, QB
Jalen Milroe was a warrior on Saturday afternoon against South Carolina. He made a few mistakes, certainly, tossing 2 interceptions. But he answered the bell over and over again to keep the Tide from losing. He ran for 36 yards (remember, sacks count against a QB’s rushing total) and scored 2 key touchdowns in a very important win for Alabama.
Arkansas: OFF
Auburn: OFF
Florida: Chim Dike, WR/PR
Dike has been a breakout star for the Gators. He seems to make big plays whether Graham Mertz or DJ Lagway is at QB, which is a big boost for the Florida offense. He also contributes as a return man, and he did a great job against the Vols. He did all he could to put the Gators in position to pull off the upset. If only his coach was as aggressive as he is…
Georgia: Arian Smith, WR
Smith has so much potential, but has never quite put it all together. He did that on Saturday against Mississippi State, catching 5 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. He even showed some toughness in getting banged up and returning to the game. Georgia desperately needs a new top receiver. Smith could be that if he keeps playing like this.
Kentucky: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, LB
The Georgia transfer was, once again, everywhere for this defense. He made 9 tackles (6 solo) and had 2 of those tackles go for a loss. One of them was a sack. If this offense was more competent, Dumas-Johnson and the defense is a Playoff-caliber unit.
LSU: Kyren Lacy, WR
Lacy was held in-check for the most part on Saturday night. But in overtime, he made the catch that won the game for the Tigers:
"TOUCHDOWN. KYREN LACY. AND LSU WINS."
Sean McDonough on the call as LSU downs Ole Miss in an overtime thriller.pic.twitter.com/qbT0pnBv8d
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 13, 2024
Lacy finished the game with 5 catches for 111 yards and the winning touchdown. He’s an incredible receiver and LSU needs to get him the ball a lot more often moving forward.
Mississippi State: Michael Van Buren Jr., QB
Throwing for 3 touchdowns against one of the best defenses in the country is never easy, but that’s what Van Buren did. He made some big plays and kept his Bulldogs competitive against the SEC’s more powerful Bulldogs. He has a bright future in college football.
Missouri: Marcus Carroll, RB
Nate Noel has been the goal line back through the first few weeks of the season. But Noel missed Saturday’s game at UMass with a back injury. Carroll stepped up in a big way, though, rushing 15 times for 91 yards and 3 touchdowns in an easy win over the Minutemen. This is just what Carroll needed moving forward.
Oklahoma: Luke Elzinga, P
It’s always a bit sad when I give the game ball to a punter, but punters are people, too. Elzinga did his best to keep the Sooners in the game on Saturday afternoon in Dallas. His 6 punts averaged 47.7 yards and 3 of them were downed inside the 20-yard line. Not bad!
Ole Miss: Ulysses Bentley IV, RB
Bentley got his first real work of the year and made the most of it. He turned his 11 carries into 107 yards and a touchdown. Bentley has shown promise in recent years. He should be a bigger part of the Ole Miss offense moving forward.
South Carolina: Kyle Kennard, Edge
The Gamecocks made life hard for Alabama QB Jalen Milroe. Kennard finished with 7 tackles (3 for a loss), 6 solo stops and 2 sacks. He was absolutely incredible in this game and made every play hard for Milroe and company. This South Carolina defense is legit.
Tennessee: Dylan Sampson, RB
Should I just copy and paste this section every week? Until anyone other than Sampson does something worthwhile for this Tennessee team, I might as well. Sampson is elite. Kudos to his offensive line for being a great run-blocking unit. Every other aspect of the Tennessee squad needs some work. But the run game is right where it needs to be.
Texas: Anthony Hill Jr., LB
The Texas defense led the way in the Red River Rivalry. Hill was absolutely magnificent, recording 11 tackles (7 solo). The sophomore also had 3.5 tackles for loss, 2 of which were sacks. This Longhorns defense is one of the best in the country. Based on what we’ve seen from Georgia’s offense lately, next week could be a struggle in Austin for the Bulldogs.
Texas A&M: OFF
Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia, QB
Similar to Dylan Sampson above, how am I supposed to give this game ball to anyone else? Pavia is perhaps the best dual-threat QB in the SEC. He led the Commodores in pass yards (duh) and had 5 fewer rush yards than the team’s leading rusher, putting up big numbers against a tough Kentucky defense. This Vanderbilt squad is trending toward bowl eligibility, which would be a huge deal for Clark Lea and company. Credit to Lea, credit to Pavia and credit to Jerry Kill for making this Commodore crew a force to be reckoned with.
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.
