Week 12 Maxwell Football Club Players of the Week

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The Maxwell Football Club honors college football's top performers over the course of the season through weekly awards. The Maxwell Player of the Week award is given to the top offensive player, and the Bednarik Player of the Week award is given to the top defensive player.

Here are the players who stood out above the rest in Week 12.

Maxwell Player of the Week

QB LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina

The No. 21 Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) have been one of the hottest teams in the country in recent weeks, and Sellers' explosive play has been at the center of South Carolina's rise to the forefront of national attention. Against the No. 23 Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3) on Nov. 16, Sellers took his game to the next level.

The redshirt freshman quarterback threw for 353 yards and a career-high 5 touchdowns while adding 45 yards on the ground in the Gamecocks' 34-30 victory over the Tigers. His performance was highlighted not by his eye-popping statistics, but by his clutch playmaking in the pivotal moments of the game.

After taking a 21-6 halftime lead, the Gamecocks offense went into a lull in the second half. Missouri took full advantage, and Tigers' running back Nate Noel steamrolled into the end zone to take a 22-21 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game.

Sellers was unfazed. He led an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to take the lead back with less than five minutes in the game. At one point in the drive, the Gamecocks offense faced a third-and-10 from their own 35-yard line. Sellers dropped back to pass and was immediately swarmed by the defense. After miraculously breaking out of a sack attempt, Sellers kept his eyes down field and found his receiver for the first down to keep the drive alive.

Sellers' heroics did not end there. After the Missouri offense scored with just over a minute left in the game, the Gamecocks were once again in need of a game-winning touchdown drive. Sellers answered the call. He capped of a quick 6-play, 70-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to running back Raheim Sanders to win the game for South Carolina.

The last-second victory gave the Gamecocks their fourth straight SEC win, a feat they have not accomplished since 2012. The win also kept alive the Gamecocks' slim College Football Playoff hopes, although they would need chaos around the country for those dreams to come to fruition. No matter what happens this year, Sellers' performance gave South Carolina fans hope of a bright future to come.

Bednarik Player of the Week

DE TJ Parker, Clemson

After a dominant six-game winning streak, the No. 20 Clemson Tigers (8-2, 7-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) faded drastically, losing soundly to the No. 19 Louisville Cardinals (6-4, 4-3) and failing to pull away from a beat-up Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5, 3-3) team. As they prepared for a difficult road test against the Pitt Panthers (7-3, 3-3), the Tigers knew they would need their playmakers to step up to escape with a win.

Parker's ferocious play on the defensive line had already gained plenty of attention throughout the year. Against Pitt, he stepped up once again and delivered the statement performance of his career. The sophomore defensive end was unstoppable on the line, garnering 4 sacks, 8 quarterback pressures, 7 tackles, 5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

Parker's 4 sacks tied the school-record for the most sacks in a game. His 5 tackles for loss were the most by a Clemson player since 2017. In a game that was nearly lost by anemic ball movement from the offense, Clemson pulled out a miraculous 24-20 victory as a result of Parker's tenacity and leadership on the defensive front.

The win gives keeps alive the Tigers' CFP hopes that seemed all but over after a devastating loss to Louisville. If Parker can continue his historic form, Clemson fans have to believe that anything is possible for this determined Tigers team.