Week 5: Football Players of the Week
Photo: Auburn Athletics
OFFENSE
Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
- Chubb made a triumphant return to Tennessee's Neyland Stadium two years after suffering a season-ending knee injury versus the Volunteers
- The Cedartown, Ga., native ran 16 times for 109 yards to help lead the Bulldogs to a 41-0 shutout of Tennessee, breaking a 289-game streak of the Volunteers scoring in a game dating back to 1994
- This marked Chubb's 20th career game with at least 100 yards rushing
- He moved closer to Bulldog legend Herschel Walker with his career rushing total of 3,904 yards and inched into the No. 4 spot on the nation's active career leaders list as Georgia totaled 294 yards on the ground versus the Vols.
Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn
- Completed 13-of-16 passes for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Tigers' 49-10 win over #24 Mississippi State.
- Averaged 20.3 yards per completion, hitting on four passes of 47 yards or longer (47, 49, 42, 57).
- Passing efficiency rating of 261.10. In his last three games (3-0), has completed 82.8% of his passes (58-of-70) for 846 yards and three touchdowns.
DEFENSE
Levi Wallace, DB, Alabama
- Levi Wallace sparked an impressive defensive showing in a 66-3 win over Ole Miss with two interceptions, including his first defensive touchdown.
- His 35-yard first quarter interception return was the 60th non-offensive touchdown scored by Alabama during the Nick Saban era and the first in 2017. He finished with 66 interception returns yards for the game.
- Ole Miss entered the game averaging 427 passing yards a game, which ranked fourth nationally, but was only able to accumulate 165 yards through the air with Wallace's two interceptions and no touchdown passes.
- The Rebels finished with a pass efficiency rating of just 82.28 that was almost 100 points lower than their season average entering the game.
- He essentially shut down his side of the field as Alabama allowed just 253 total yards.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Josh Paschal, DE, Kentucky
- Blocked a punt that set up the eventual game-winning touchdown in Kentucky's 24-20 win over Eastern Michigan
- With UK clinging to a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Paschal deftly broke through the line and punter shield, also deducing the correct place and time to block a running rugby punt
- The blocked punt went for an 18-yard loss back to the EMU 12-yard line, setting up Benny Snell's 12-yard TD run on the next play
- On the play before the blocked punt, Paschal forced a third-down incompletion with a quarterback hurry
- In the first quarter, he shared a third-down quarterback sack with Josh Allen, forcing a punt
FRESHMAN
Malik Davis, RB, Florida
- True freshman Malik Davis rushed for a career-high 124 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries against Vanderbilt.
- He is the first true freshman to rush for over 100 yards and two rushing touchdowns in a game since Jeff Demps did it against Arkansas on Oct. 4, 2008.
- He also became the first true freshman in the SEC to have two rushing touchdowns in a game this season.
- His two touchdowns help the Gators reach five rushing TDs for the first time since Nov. 1, 2014 when they did so against Georgia.
Nick Coe, DL, Auburn
- Had a career-high six tackles, including a half TFL and four quarterback pressures
- Two third down stop tackles and one fourth down tackle to end a MSU drive, while one of his QB pressures resulted in an interception by teammate Tray Matthews.
- Six stops led all Auburn defensive linemen.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Brett Heggie, OL, Florida
- Heggie was a member of an offensive line that allowed the Gators to rush for 246 yards and throw for 249 yards.
- He graded the highest among all of Florida's offensive lineman and he was the team's co-offensive player of the game.
- Heggie assisted in Florida being able to score five rushing touchdowns for the first time since Nov. 1, 2014.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Landis Durham, DE, Texas A&M
- Durham started at defensive end and compiled four total tackles, three of which were solo.
- He recorded two quarterback sacks of 11 yards and caused a fumble when South Carolina was driving inside the red zone.
- His play and his teammates caused four straight 3-and-out drives for the Gamecocks in the third and fourth quarters.