Nov. 13, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- As a result of Saturday's 40-17 win over No. 1 Georgia inside Jordan-Hare Stadium, the SEC recognized three different Auburn players -- Kerryon Johnson, Casey Dunn and Daniel Carlson -- for Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Johnson, who was named the SEC offensive player of the week, paced the Auburn offense with 233 all-purpose yards Saturday. The junior rushed for 167 yards on 32 carries, and he also scored on a 55-yard touchdown catch during the fourth quarter.
Despite missing two games early in the season, Johnson now leads the SEC with 1,035 yards rushing and 15 rushing touchdowns, and his 129.4 rushing yards per game puts him at No. 8 nationally. He's also scored 16 touchdowns (14 rush, 2 receiving) in SEC games, which is tied with Cam Newton (2010) and Tim Tebow (2007) for the most in conference play since 2000.
"He needs to be in the Heisman talk," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after Saturday's game. "I don't know if there's a better running back out there."
Helping pave the way for Johnson on Saturday was center Casey Dunn, a graduate transfer from Jacksonville State who was named the SEC offensive lineman of the week. Dunn missed a game last month due to injury, but he returned last week at Texas A&M and played arguably his best game this past Saturday against Georgia. He graded out at 91 percent with a season-high six blocks and had six blocks that led to first downs or touchdowns.
The offense, as a whole, finished with 488 total yards -- 237 rushing, 251 passing -- and averaged 6.9 yards per play against one of the nation's better defenses.
The third Auburn player recognized by the SEC on Monday was senior kicker Daniel Carlson, who was named the special teams player of the week. The two-time Lou Groza Award finalist made all four of his field-goal attempts (54, 37, 30, 37) over the weekend, and he's now 19 of 25 on field goals this season.
Carlson also set the SEC's all-time record with 88 career made field goals.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf