This was a tough week to pick the ATVS SEC Offensive Speed Position Player of the Week. There were not that many really good games to choose from, as Alabama and Florida played patsies while Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas were off. While it's not set in stone, we have a preference for choosing players from winning teams, which eliminates Tennessee. No one had great numbers in the Vandy vs. LSU game unless you look at Keiland Williams and forgive the fact that he did not get to triple digits in yardage. That leaves really only Georgia and Auburn to choose from unless we go with a player from a losing team. Stephen Garcia put up over 350 yards of offense, but he did it on 63 touches in a losing effort.
Really, it has to be Auburn. Their offensive performance this week was first-rate against an overmatched Mississippi State team. They had a number of players who merited consideration, but in the end we went with Auburn running back Ben Tate, who rushed for 159 yards on 20 carries, for a nearly 8 yard average. And it's not like he had an 80 yard run thrown in there. His long on the day was 35 yards. If you take out his longest run, he's still averaging about 6.0 yards per carry. He also scored a touchdown. If he had passed the ball once, we'd be talking about an ATVSQBPI of about 9.0. That's outstanding for an SEC quarterback, and great for a running back.
Really, this choice came down to Auburn. Georgia didn't have anyone post great numbers, though Joe Cox's ATVSQBPI was quite good. Chris Todd had nice rate stats despite not completing a high percentage of passes. Backup QB Kodi Burns scored 4 touchdowns on 10 touches, as he came into the game in short yardage situations and at the goal line. Running back Onterrio McCalebb had a 114 yard game including a long touchdown run. Sophomore receiver Darvin Adams had over 100 yards receiving. Todd didn't score touchdowns though, and Burns was only used sparingly, so I cut them out and went with Ben Tate.
The Runner Up: I'm going to go with Joe Cox. Sure, Georgia is in trouble, as they were arguably outplayed by South Carolina after losing to Oklahoma State, and they are suffering injuries at a prodigious rate again. But Joe Cox played a nice steady game and ended up with quality numbers. He was 17 of 24 for 201 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. He doesn't bring any mobility to the table, and I wonder if that's going to do long term damage to Georgia's fortunes this year, but he played a nice game against South Carolina, and a win's a win.