SEC releases Week 9 Players of the Week honors

Week 9 was an exciting one for the SEC. Georgia easily took down Florida while Auburn beat Ole Miss in a matchup between two top 25 teams. Mississippi State also upset Kentucky, while Missouri beat Vanderbilt on the road. Following all of the action, the SEC has released its Players of the Week honors for Week 9.

SEC Week 9 offensive honors

Offensive Players of the Week: Mississippi State QB Will Rogers, Missouri RB Tyler Badie.

Rogers completed 36 of his 39 pass attempts in Week 9, which set an SEC record with a 92.3 completion percentage. He was one completion shy of the NCAA single game completion percentage record (minimum 40 attempts). Rogers also broke a Mississippi State single season record with his 327th completion. The win was Rogers’ seventh 300-yard passing game of the season and the ninth of his career. On the year, Rogers is up to 2,890 yards and 19 touchdowns through the air.

Badie erupted for Missouri’s offense and set career highs with 31 carries, 254 rushing yards, and 294 all-purpose yards. He also had two touchdowns, his 10th and 11th of the year. Badie had eight receptions for 40 yards in Missouri’s win. He is up to 989 rushing yards on the season. Badie’s 254 rushing yards were the fifth most in Missouri history and the seventh best total in the FBS this season. He leads the nation with nine 30+ yard rushes and seven 40+ yard rushes, and is the top running back in terms of receiving touchdowns with four.

Offensive Lineman of the Week: Mississippi State C LaQuinston Sharp.

Sharp played all 80 offensive snaps for Mississippi State, 46 of which came in pass protection. He earned an 85.1 pass blocking grade by Pro Football Focus. The grade was the best among SEC centers and fifth highest among Power 5 centers in Week 9. Sharp allowed zero sacks, hurries, or hits and was penalized once. Mississippi State produced 438 total yards on offense.

Week 9 defensive honors

Defensive Players of the Week: Auburn LB Zakoby McClain, Georgia LB Nolan Smith.

McClain had 14 tackles, 10 of which were solo stops. He also had two sacks and two tackles for loss in Auburn’s 31-20 victory over Ole Miss. Auburn held Ole Miss to just 20 points, which is the lowest in the Lane Kiffin era and more than 20 points below their season average.

Smith had four tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and his first career interception in Georgia’s win. His strip and fumble recovery in the second quarter led to a Georgia touchdown. On the next drive, Smith got his first career interception which led to another Bulldogs score.

Defensive Lineman of the Week: Auburn DL Colby Wooden.

Wooden has five tackles and a quarterback hurry in Auburn’s win. He was, like McClain, that kept an explosive Ole Miss offense in check. Auburn stopped Ole Miss on three fourth down attempts in the red zone, and only allowed the Rebels to score on four of their eight red zone trips. Ole Miss scored just three second half points, the lowest in a half by them all season.

Week 9 SEC Special Teams/Freshman honors

Special Teams Player of the Week: Missouri K Harrison Mevis.

Mevis connected on three field goals for Missouri, from 46, 32, and 52 yards. Two of those field goals came in the fourth quarter, which extended Missouri’s lead to two scores. Mevis was also perfect on extra point attempts, going three for three on the day. He now has a nation best streak of 19 consecutive field goal makes.

Freshman of the Week: Kentucky LB Trevin Wallace.

Wallace earned his first collegiate start in Week 9, and he had a good game despite losing to SEC foe Mississippi State. In the game, Wallace had a career high 12 tackles. He also had two tackles for loss, one of which was a solo tackle for loss. Wallace also had two shared tackles for loss, one that forced a field goal and another forcing a punt.