





South Carolina football coach Will Muschamp took a jab at the SEC on Tuesday, after he was asked about the performance by Jake Bentley against No. 2-ranked Clemson.

Bentley, who passed for 510 yards with five touchdowns against the Tigers, didn’t land any sort of SEC Player of the Week award on Monday, when the league announced the recipients for the Week 13 performances.

“I’m going try to be politically correct, but I’m not very good at that,” Muschamp said. “We’re not big into individual awards. That’s not who we are. It’s about the team and Jake will be the first one to tell you that. And Jake played well, because of how he prepares and how he watches film and how he practices.

“Jake played well, because our offensive line played well, because they prepared the right way. I told our team, offensively, we’re playing really good football. A lot of it goes back to our preparation and how we’re practicing. I’d say the same thing about the other position groups, offensively. … But I do think it’s important, when a young man does something special, to get recognized.

“He’s the first quarterback in Southeastern Conference history to throw for that many yards against a top five team and five touchdowns, in the history of the league. Never been done before. That’s pretty impressive, in my opinion.

“But I have learned – I’ve been in this league a long time, so I have learned – we have a saying, it just means more. It just means more sometimes, depending on what your logo is. Call it like it is. Next question.”

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Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Vanderbilt quarterback Kyle Shurmur shared SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Tagovailoa accounted for 350 yards of total offense against Auburn, which entered the game with the No. 10 scoring defense in the country. He also accounted for a school record six touchdowns. Shurmur broke his own school record for completion percentage (88.6). He also threw for a season-high 367 yards and three touchdowns, which helped lead Vanderbilt to a bowl-clinching win over Tennessee.

In 10 games this season, Bentley’s second among league passers with 275.4 yards passing per game and third with a passer rating of 155.14 and third with 24 touchdown passes.

On Tuesday morning, he was asked about his future at South Carolina and plans for submitting paperwork to the NFL’s College Advisory Committee.

"I'm just trying to beat Akron right now and see where we go for the bowl game. There's still a lot that I personally and we as a team have to accomplish,” Bentley said.

South Carolina football plays Akron at 12 o’clock on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks and Zips are set to play on SEC Network Alternate.