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Maybe it’s the mark of a good team, but it feels like the MV3 has been less diverse name-wise than one might have expected. Every week the same three or four names take turns swapping out of the top spot, and this week is no exception.
While six different Tigers received votes from our writers, the clear choice was nearly unanimous: only one person didn’t have Larry Rountree III at the top of the MV3 ballot. It’s an obvious choice, but well-earned. If you watched any portion of that game, you’d agree.
1. Larry Rountree III
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Could it have been anyone else? On a day when Missouri dominated Kentucky at its own game, Larry Rountree III was the rock upon which Eli Drinkwitz built his church. Rountree single-handedly outplayed the Wildcats — he literally ran more plays than the entire Kentucky offense — and represented the heart and soul of the entire Missouri roster. The truck stick he put on Kelvin Joseph in the fourth quarter may not have officially sealed the game. But when you saw this...
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...you knew the Tigers weren’t losing.
2. Nick Bolton
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Saturday wasn’t the most impressive stat line of Nick Bolton’s career — he only logged 7 tackles — but Bolton set the tone early and often for a defense that dominated Kentucky from the jump. The senior linebacker lowered the boom on several big hits while nabbing the team’s only sack of the day. When the Missouri defense plays well, Bolton gets a lot of well-deserved credit for his leadership, but we take it for granted how high his level of execution is on a week-to-week basis.
3. Connor Bazelak
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If LSU was the Patrick Mahomes version of Connor Bazelak, Kentucky was the Alex Smith (I don’t know a ton about Chiefs’ football, so this may not be accurate, forgive me). Bazelak did exactly what was expected of him: hand the ball off; make smart, safe reads; move the ball and convert late downs when asked. He was solid in all the right ways and against one of the conference’s best defenses. His pass to Keke Chism on the run was one of his most impressive throws of the year.
Others receiving votes: Joshuah Bledsoe, Harrison Mevis, Jalen Knox
How about y’all? Who would get your MV3 votes for the week? Do you agree with our choices? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter at @RockMNation.