ATVSSECOSPPOW: Week 9

You know what?  I completely forgot to do this feature last week.  Had I named a winner last week, it would have been Dexter McCluster, or maybe either Stephen Garcia or Alshon Jeffrey of South Carolina.  But how do you have 431 yards of offense and only score 14 points?  If your answer is "turnovers", then my next question is, "How do you do it without turnovers?" because South Carolina didn't have any.  Or any missed field goals.  And penalties weren't a huge factor, at least not on the score sheet, with 9 penalties for 77 yards.

Be that as it may, we did not name an ATVSSECOSPPOW last week.

Anyway, on to this week.  Due to popular demand, I am renaming the And The Valley Shook SEC Offensive Speed Position Player of the Week to the And The Valley Shook SEC Offensive Stat Position Player of the Week.  There were a couple of choices this week.  Ben Tate led the way for Auburn with 144 yards rushing with 1 touchdown, sparking a key win for Auburn that saves their season from disaster.  Tim Tebow had 4 touchdowns and set a record along the way.  Monterio Hardesty had a good night for Tennessee, keying them to a big victory over South Carolina.  There were some other very good games in losing efforts or against patsies, and we disregard those.

This week, we honor Anthony Dixon of Mississippi State.  He had 252 yards rushing, setting a school single game rushing record after already holding the school career rushing record.  Anthony Dixon has quietly had one of the most consistent and productive careers of any player in recent memory.  He is 4th in SEC history in career rushing yards.  He has been at Mississippi State since, I think, 1999.

Against Kentucky this week, he has 264 yards of total offense, which was over half of Mississippi State's total.  He averaged 7.6 yards per carry on 33 carries.  He scored MSU's first touchdown and their last touchdown in a 31-24 win over Kentucky that keeps their bowl hopes alive.  With a 4-5 record and games remaining against Bama, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, they don't have a great shot at a bowl, but 6-6 is not out of the question.

On Mississippi State's game-winning drive, Dixon had 60 rushing yards and scored the touchdown on a 3-yard run.  Makes one wonder what would have happened had they given the ball to Dixon on the goal line against LSU.