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Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett led the Bulldogs to victory on Saturday in college football’s latest Game of the Century, and he was rewarded on Monday by being named SEC Co-Offensive Player of the Week.
Fellow quarterback Jayden Daniels of LSU joined Bennett as Co-Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Tigers to a dramatic overtime victory over Alabama on Saturday night.
Bennett helped keep the Bulldogs perfect at 9-0 in their 27-13 victory over previously undefeated Tennessee in Athens. He threw for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns while also running for a TD.
Daniels had a flare for the dramatic in the Tigers’ slaying of the Crimson Tide at Tiger Stadium, a game that featured 9 lead changes. He threw for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Daniels also rushed for 95 yards and a TD in overtime before tossing the game-winning, 2-point conversion pass to Mason Taylor.
It was LSU’s first victory over Alabama at Tiger Stadium since 2010.
The Tigers also had stars on the defensive side of the ball on Saturday, as LSU linebacker Harold Perkins was named Defensive Player of the Week.
Perkins had a career-high 8 tackles, including a sack, and a team-high 3 quarterback hurries in the overtime win over Alabama. Perkins also broke up a pass on a third down in the 3rd quarter, forcing a Tide punt.
Meanwhile, South Carolina punter Kai Kroeger was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Week. He had a 53.6-yard average on 5 punts in Saturday’s victory at Vanderbilt, including boots of 69 and 66 yards, and 2 of his punts were downed inside the 20-yard line.
Kroeger is also the holder on placement kicks and completed a 16-yard pass on a fake field goal that got the Gamecocks a 1st down, and he’s now 4-for-4 passing for his career.
Mississippi State kick returner Lideatrick Griffin was named Co-Special Teams Player of the Week along with Kroeger. Griffin returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, his 2nd career kickoff return for a score, and he tied the Bulldogs record for career kick-return touchdowns in Saturday’s overtime victory over Auburn.
Griffin finished with 3 returns for 144 yards, posting a school-record 5th career game of 100-plus kickoff return yards.
The honors kept coming for LSU, with tight end Mason Taylor, a true freshman, being named Co-Freshman of the Week for his game-winning, 2-point conversion grab in overtime against Alabama.
Taylor caught the pass from Daniels in the front corner of the end zone to lift the Tigers to the win. He also caught a 7-yard TD pass with 1:47 left in regulation to put LSU ahead, 24-21.
Meanwhile, Georgia safety Malaki Starks was named Co-Freshman of the Week. Starks had a game-high 10 tackles and a pass breakup in the Bulldogs’ beatdown of Tennessee.
In the trenches, Florida offensive guard O’Cyrus Torrence was named Offensive Lineman of the Week. Torrence helped the Gators average 5.8 yards per carry in Saturday’s victory at Texas A&M, when Florida ran it a season-high 50 times for a whopping 291 yards.
On the other side of the ball, Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter was named Defensive Lineman of the Week.
Carter was back in the starting lineup after recovering from an injury and made his presence known with 4 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and a sack, and 2 forced fumbles in the Bulldogs’ big win over the Volunteers.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
