SEC Ballers of the Week, Week 13
A look at who 'Balled and Shot Called' over the Thanksgiving weekend.
The stage has been set, Alabama will play Georgia for the SEC Championship, with the winner taking a trip to sunny South Beach for the BCS title game.
It has truly been a wild couple of weeks. Just when we all thought that the SEC national title streak was crushed, a huge wrench was thrown back into the BCS, and now the SEC champion will give Notre Dame their best shot.
So far this year four coaches have been let go, and their are rumors that another may step down. We wait with baited breath to see who will fill those holes and if they can turn around the disastrous programs. It's always sad to see the regular season come to an end, but with each end there is a new beginning, and bowl season is just around the corner.
Time to take a look back at the 2012 Rivalry Week, and which players "balled out" on the gridiron.
Donte Moncrief, WR-Ole Miss
Co-SEC offensive player of the week, Donte Moncrief, went absolutley H.A.M. on rival Mississippi State.
The sophomore wideout caught seven passes for an outstanding 173 yards. Moncrief also tied a school record with three touchdowns in a game. The Rebels had an incredible bounce back season that was topped off with a thumping of hated-rival Mississippi State.
Chad Bumphis, WR-Mississippi State
Even those fancy Hail State egg bowl unis couldn't save the Dogs from hated rival Ole Miss.
Big time wideout Chad Bumphis did his best to keep his team in the game. He finished with six grabs for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
Jarvis Landry, WR-LSU
If you missed Jarvis Landry's amazing acrobatic catch this past Friday, here is a great video. Trust me when I say, you must watch this video.
Landry has quickly become one of Zach Mettenbeger's favorite targets. The sophomore receiver caught eight passes for 75 yards and one touchdown.
Tyler Wilson, QB-Arkansas
If Tyler Wilson knew that returning to Arkansas for his senior season meant going 4-8 (2-6 SEC), do you think he would have stayed?
It was a tumultuous season for the star signal caller. His dreams of competing for a BCS National Championship were instantly crushed as soon as his sleaze-ball coach decided to fire up the hog and take a ride with a blonde co-worker. Wilson was almost able to slip his Hogs past the Tigers this past Friday. The Senior passed for 359 yards on 31 completions and one touchdown. On the year, he passed for over 3,000 yards and will leave Arkansas as the all-time passing leader.
Tre Mason, RB-Auburn
To put it simply, Auburn had a dreadful season. You can almost hear the sighs of relief on The Plains now that it's over.
Running back Tre Mason was just about the only player on offense who could produce week in and week out. Mason rushed for 82 yards against the ferocious Crimson Tide defense.
Johnny Manziel, QB-Texas A&M
Bad news for SEC defensive coordinators: Johnny Maziel just broke the all-time SEC record for offensive yardage with 4,600 yards, and he is only a freshman.
Once again he was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Manziel tore apart fellow SEC-newcomer Missouri. 'Johnny Football' passed for 372 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 67 yards and two scores.
Zac Stacy, RB-Vanderbilt
Vandy is responsible for the firing of two rival coaches this season, and Mr. Stacy has a lot to do with that. Let me reiterate that: perennial bottom-dweller Vandy stomped both Kentucky and Tennessee, leading to the firing of both program's head coaches. Ouch.
The 1,000 yard rusher pounded his way to 180 yards and two touchdowns against Wake Forest.
Mike Gillislee, RB-Florida
It seems as though Gilly was finally free'd this past Saturday in Tallahassee.
The senior running back smashed his way though the No. 1-ranked FSU defense, rushing for 140 yards and two touchdowns. For his efforts, Gilly was named co-SEC offensive player of the week.
Gillislee is the first Gator to rush for 1,000 yards since Ciatrick Fason (C4) in 2004.
Barrett Jones, C-Alabama
SEC offensive lineman of the week Barrett Jones is a very talented and special player.
In the devastating beat down against hated rival Auburn, Jones did not allow a sack, or pressure on his quarterback, was not penalized, and never missed a block. The Tide scored on their first seven drives.
Marcus Murphy, RB-Missouri
Mizzou found itself at the short end of the stick this past Saturday after getting slammed by Texas A&M in the battle of conference-newcomers.
The potential for this team heading into the 2012 season never fully blossomed, and now the Tigers have to head back to the drawing board to try and figure out how to compete with the big boys.
Running back and return man Marcus murphy had quite a day, registering 164 total yards: 107 yards from kick returns, 28 yards from punt returns, and 29 yards rushing the ball.
La'Rod King, WR-Kentucky
The Wildcats just could not give outgoing coach Joker Philips a final victory.
Reciever La'Rod King caught 10 passes for 78 yards. There really is no more to say about the 2012 Kentucky football season.
Jadeveon Clowney, DE-South Carolina
Apparently Jadeveon Clowney eats Clemson Tigers for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The defensive stud set school records for sacks in a game (4.5) and sacks in a season (13). He totaled seven tackles in the Clemson game and has been named SEC co-defensive player of the week.
Bacarri Rambo, FS-Georgia
Bacarri Rambo is an offensive coordinators worst nightmare.
This young man tore into the Georgia Tech offense with total ease. The free safety was named Co-SEC defensive player of the week after he totaled eight tackles, an interception that he returned 27 yards, and forced two fumbles, one which he returned 49 yards.
Maybe his claim that the Bulldogs have more talent than the Crimson Tide is not off base by any means.
A.J Johnson, LB-Tennessee
A.J Johnson is more than just your average linebacker, he is also a pretty good wildcat quarterback.
Thankfully, Tennessee's nightmare season is finally over. Remember back in week three, just before they played the Gators, they thought they were officially 'back'? That did not exactly work out. Johnson had 14 tackles (two for a loss), one sack, and a rushing touchdown against an even more terrible Kentucky squad.
Sources:ESPN.com, SECdigitalnetwork.com
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