Once again, we are discounting those players who racked up unseemly yardage against lousy opponents. I'm looking in your direction Michael Smith and Casey Dick of Arkansas. This week, we honor a player who put up some huge yardage against an overmatched opponent, but an opponent that is good enough to challenge some teams in the SEC on a good day.
Honors this week go to Knowshon Moreno of Georgia. The sophomore running back put up 168 yards on 18 carries, with 3 rushing touchdown, and added 30 yards receiving on 3 catches. Then there was the hurdle:
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OK, I'm stretching the guideline about considering performances against good teams more highly than performances against bad teams, but Central Michigan is not a bad team. They're solid. More solid than, say, Southeastern Louisiana or Norfolk State. Or North Texas for that matter. Actually, North Texas is probably considerably better than either of those teams. Not that it matters.
A thoroughly dominating performance, and a highlight reel run we'll be seeing all year. That's enough to make you our second And The Valley Shook SEC Offensive Skill Position Player of the Week.
Honorable Mention
I'm pretty certain this is the first time I've named a player of the week and had to give serious consideration to a guy whose team lost. It's not a dead-set requirement that your team win, but how good could you have been if you weren't able to lead your team to victory?
Well, Jevan Snead was good, and he showed why he was so highly recruited out of high school. He was efficient, going 20 for 31 for 253 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also showed a very strong arm, decent mobility, and not-bad decision-making. This kid's just a sophomore, and the SEC will have to look out for him.
Had his defense not given up that last-second field goal, he probably would have taken the prize.