The regular season has come to an end and the Southeastern Conference prepares to crown this year’s champion in the rematch between LSU and Georgia.
The Tigers and the Bulldogs have made their marks around the SEC this year, but nobody created as much stir this season as Ole Miss golden boy Eli Manning.
Manning led the Rebels to a 7-1 SEC record, falling just short of a trip to Atlanta in a 17-14 home loss to LSU. Manning led the SEC with 3,341 passing yards and tied LSU’s Matt Mauck for first with 27 touchdown passes. Manning set more than 45 school records at Ole Miss during his three years as the starter.
Arkansas’ Cedric Cobbs led the conference with 107.2 rushing yards per game and an eye-opening 5.9 yards per carry.
Much of Cobbs’ success can be attributed to the big man on Arkansas’ campus – Shawn Andrews. Andrews is the best offensive lineman in the country, and at 6-foot-5, 370 pounds, it’s easy to see why. Despite his enormous size, he is quite agile. He and tight end Jason Peters (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) had a lot to do with Cobbs’ production and the Razorbacks’ No. 1-ranked rushing offense in the conference.
Derek Abney and Skyler Green are two of the top returnmen in the entire country. Abney has seniority over Green and has also accumulated more than 1,000 yards of returns this season.
LSU linemen dominated the All-SEC teams this season, just as they dominated opponents all season long. The Tigers’ offensive line yielded only 13 sacks all season and led an offense ranked first in the conference in scoring and third in rushing.
The Tigers’ defensive line wreaked havoc on many SEC quarterbacks this season. The Tigers led the SEC in sacks with 34 and led a defense ranked second in the country by giving up only 260 yards of total offense per game.
LSU’s Corey Webster and Florida’s Keiwan Ratliff have been the best cover corners in the SEC the past two seasons. Webster has recorded 13 interceptions the past two seasons and Ratliff leads the SEC this season with nine picks (two of which he returned for touchdowns) while also returning two fumbles for touchdowns.