Unless you were super into Kentucky's last-second victory over Mississippi State, this was not the most thrilling of weeks across the SEC. The league's premier matchups mostly turned into blowouts, while a handful of teams continued their season-long downward spiral.
Nevertheless, there were a number of standout individual performances, as there are every week. Before we dive into the best players from week 8, make sure you read through the premise of this column here if you're unfamiliar.
Now, let's get to it. Here's our All-SEC team for week 8, followed up an updated year-to-date All-SEC team:
Quarterback
| Name | Team | Comp. | Att. | Yds. | Comp% | TD | INT | Yds./Att. | Rush | Rush Yds. | Yds./ Rush | Rush TD | Total Yds. | Total TD | |
| 1st Team | Jalen Hurts | Alabama | 15 | 25 | 164 | 60.0% | 2 | 2 | 6.6 | 18 | 104 | 5.8 | 1 | 268 | 3 |
| 2nd Team | Stephen Johnson | Kentucky | 17 | 33 | 292 | 51.5% | 2 | 0 | 8.9 | 8 | 27 | 3.4 | 0 | 319 | 2 |
Hurts, primarily on the strength of rushing ability, continues to run away with First Team All-SEC honors.
Kentucky may have found itself a quarterback in Johnson, as his performance in their late victory marks the second time he's made this list.
Running Back
| Name | Team | Att. | Yds. | Yds. / Att. | TD | Tgt. | Catch | Rec. Yds. | Rec. TD | Yds./ Catch | Yds./ Tgt. | Total Yds. | Total TD | Yds./ Touch | |
| 1st Team | Leonard Fournette | LSU | 16 | 284 | 17.8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 8.3 | 6.3 | 309 | 3 | 16.3 |
| 2nd Team | Kamryn Pettway | Auburn | 17 | 192 | 7.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 2 | 7.1 |
Hey Leonard. Nice to see you again. Welcome back. You're the player of the week.
Wide Receiver
| Name | Team | Tgt. | Catch | Catch% | Yds. | TD | Yds./ Catch | Yds./ Tgt. | Rush Att. | Rush Yds. | Yds./ Att. | Rush TD | Yds./ Scrim. | TD/ Scrim. | Yds./ Touch | |
| 1st Team | Jeff Badet | Kentucky | 10 | 7 | 70.0% | 139 | 2 | 19.9 | 13.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 2 | 19.9 |
| Deebo Samuel | South Carolina | 12 | 8 | 66.7% | 106 | 0 | 13.3 | 8.8 | 2 | 31 | 15.5 | 0 | 137 | 0
|
13.7 | |
| 2nd Team | Damore'ea Stringfellow | Ole Miss | 7 | 4 | 57.1% | 92 | 0 | 23.0 | 13.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 92 | 0 | 23.0 |
| Christian Kirk | Texas A&M | 13 | 9 | 69.2% | 58 | 1 | 6.4 | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 1 | 6.4 |
You probably didn't know who Jeff Badet was before this week. You still might not know -- but it also might be time to learn his name, especially if the Wildcats are on your schedule.
Tight End
| Name | Team | Tgt. | Catch | Catch% | Yds. | TD | Yds. / Catch | Yds. / Tgt. | |
| First Team | O.J. Howard | Alabama | 8 | 8 | 100% | 69 | 1 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
| Second Team | Kendall Blanton | Missouri | 4 | 2 | 50.0% | 37 | 1 | 18.5 | 9.3 |
A really efficient, productive game from Howard. That's the consistency Bama fans have always been looking for, and it's nice that they finally had something work out in their favor.
I feel kind of gross about putting any MIssouri player on this last after losing to Middle Tennessee (though they're better than you would think), but Blanton made a spectacular one-handed grab for a touchdown, and it was otherwise a bad week for SEC tight ends.
Defensive Line
| Name | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sack | PD | INT | FF | TD | Havoc | |
| First Team | Jonathan Allen | Alabama | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Myles Garrett | Texas A&M | 5 | 3.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 | |
| Johnathan Calvin | Mississippi State | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Kingsley Keke | Texas A&M | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Second Team | Montravius Adams | Auburn | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Marquis Haynes | Ole Miss | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Davon Godchaux | LSU | 6 | 1.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | |
| Arden Key | LSU | 3.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
You'll notice Allen actually has the smallest Havoc number (TFL+PD+FF) of anyone on this list. However, his impact went well beyond the plays he actually made, as he was living in the Aggie backfield and forcing them into losses, whether he made the tackle or not.
Linebacker
| Name | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sack | PD | INT | FF | TD | Havoc | |
| First Team | Duke Riley | LSU | 9.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
| Otaro Alaka | Texas A&M | 5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.5 | |
| T.J. Holloman | South Carolina | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| Second Team | Ryan Anderson | Alabama | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Tim Williams | Alabama | 2.5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Temario Strong | Ole Miss | 5 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 |
Lots of new, unfamiliar faces on the linebacker list this week. The Alabama - Texas A&M game, in particular, featured a lot of great play at the second level (as it did everywhere).
Cornerback
| Name | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sack | PD | INT | FF | TD | Havoc | |
| First Team | Marlon Humphrey | Alabama | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Donte Jackson | LSU | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Second Team | Javaris Davis | Auburn | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chris Lammons | South Carolina | 3.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Seemingly every week either Humphrey or Minkah Fitzpatrick is making this list, and week 8 is no exception.
Safety
| Name | Team | Tackles | TFL | Sack | PD | INT | FF | TD | Havoc | |
| First Team | Marcus McWilson | Kentucky | 5.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Armani Watts | Texas A&M | 7.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | |
| Second Team | Jamal Adams | LSU | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Justin Evans | Texas A&M | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
In such a close game, McWilson's interception of Mississippi State's NIck Fitzgerald was an absolutely monstrous play.
Kicker
| Name | Team | Made FG | Att. FG | Long | Made XP | Att. XP | Total Pts. | |
| First Team | Austin MacGinnis | Kentucky | 4 | 5 | 51 | 2 | 2 | 14 |
| Second Team | Gary Wunderlich | Ole Miss | 2 | 2 | 46 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
MacGinnis' 51-yard field goal as time expired was ice cold. And it's not like he was all that shabby before that play.
Punter
| Name | Team | Punt Att. | Yds. | Yds. / Att. | Long | |
| First Team | Toby Baker | Arkansas | 10 | 415 | 41.5 | 58 |
| Second Team | Will Gleeson | Ole Miss | 8 | 358 | 44.8 | 53 |
I hope Baker had an opportunity to ice his leg after the Auburn game.
Offensive Player of the Week
Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
Defensive Player of the Week
Jonathan Allen, DL, Alabama
And here is your All-SEC team through eight weeks:
| Position | Name | Team | |
| First Team | QB | Jalen Hurts | Alabama |
| Second Team | QB | Trevor Knight | Texas A&M |
| First Team | RB | Leonard Fournette | LSU |
| Second Team | RB | Derrius Guice | LSU |
| First Team | WR | ArDarius Stewart | Alabama |
| WR | Josh Reynolds | Texas A&M | |
| Second Team | WR | Isaiah McKenzie | Georgia |
| WR | Jared Cornelius | Arkansas | |
| First Team | TE | Evan Engram | Ole Miss |
| Second Team | TE | Hayden Hurst | South Carolina |
| First Team | DL | Derek Barnett | Tennessee |
| DL | Jonathan Allen | Alabama | |
| DL | Arden Key | LSU | |
| DL | Marquis Haynes | Ole Miss | |
| Second Team | DL | AJ Jefferson | Mississippi State |
| DL | Carl Lawson | Auburn | |
| DL | Jeremiah Ledbetter | Arkansas | |
| DL | Lewis Neal | LSU | |
| First Team | LB | Zach Cunningham | Vanderbilt |
| LB | Jordan Jones | Kentucky | |
| LB | Shaun Dion Hamilton | Alabama | |
| Second Team | LB | Richie Brown | Mississippi State |
| LB | Shaan Washington | Texas A&M | |
| LB | Colton Jumper | Tennessee | |
| First Team | CB | Minkah Fitzpatrick | Alabama |
| CB | Marlon Humphrey | Alabama | |
| Second Team | CB | Chris Lammons | South Carolina |
| CB | Tre'Davious White | LSU | |
| First Team | S | Justin Evans | Texas A&M |
| S | Armani Watts | Texas A&M | |
| Second Team | S | Todd Kelly, Jr. | Tennessee |
| S | Jamal Adams | LSU | |
| First Team | K | Daniel Carlson | Auburn |
| Second Team | K | Austin MacGinnis | Kentucky |
| First Team | P | Trevor Daniel | Tennessee |
| Second Team | P | Toby Baker | Arkansas |