November 6, 2024
CFB InsiderConsistently Unpredictable
Lone Star Player of the Week Candidates
Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart - Dart had 515 yards passing on 25 of 31 passing and SIX touchdowns in a 63-31 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville. He was the first QB in SEC history to throw for 500 yards and six TD against a conference opponent.
Ole Miss WR Jordan Watkins - Watkins was the recipient of Dart’s big day. Had eight receptions for 254 yards and five touchdowns. He set an SEC record for receiving touchdowns in a game and he set an Ole Miss record for receiving yards in a game.
Baylor RB Bryson Washington - The Bears rode the broad shoulders of Washington to a 37-34 win over TCU. He ran for a career-high 196 yards on 26 carries and FOUR touchdowns. No Bear had rushed for four TDs since 2011 and no Bear had rushed for 196 yards or more since 2016.
Houston QB Zeon Chriss - The redshirt freshman was the first Cougar passer ever to complete 100% of his passes 11 of 11 (minimum of ten attempts) in a game. He was just the 13th QB ALL-TIME to achieve the feat in FBS. Furthermore, he completed those 11 passes in driving rain for 103 yards and a touchdown, in addition to 75 rushing yards and a TD.
Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo - Perhaps no RB in the nation, not named Ashton Jeanty, has done more this year than Skattebo. In beating Oklahoma State, he accounted for 274 total yards and three touchdowns in ASU’s win over the Cowboys.
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Week ten didn’t initially appear to have quite the panache of other weeks, but the ranked teams and undefeated teams kept getting knocked off.
#10 Texas A&M lost to South Carolina
#3 Penn State was handed its first loss
#11 Iowa State lost for the first time all year on a late Texas Tech TD in the rain
#12 Clemson lost at home to Louisville for the first time ever
#17 Kansas State was upset in Houston, by Houston
#18 Pitt fell from the ranks of the undefeated
#24 Illinois lost to a surging Minnesota squad.
Yeah, CFB is consistent about one thing - its unpredictability - and week 11 should follow right along. So, let’s review week ten and move on and preview week 11.
Texas Bowl Team of the Week - Houston - At the outset of the season, I was fairly certain that it would be a long season for first year Cougar head coach Willie Fritz. He took over a Houston program that needed a reset for sure, but Fritz has coached his guts out this year getting the Cougars to four wins, including last week’s upset win over #17 Kansas State. The Cougars were down 19-10 heading into the fourth quarter, but after a Maliq Carr TD reception, QB Zeon Chriss ran 41-yards to the house with just over two minutes to play for the 24-19 win.
Texas Bowl Honorable mention Team of the Week - South Carolina - The Texas Aggies came to Columbia on a seven game winning streak, but that’s where it ended because South Carolina opened a can of you-know-what on Mike Elko’s crew Saturday night. QB LaNorris Sellers and RB Raheim ‘Rocket’ Sanders were nearly un-tackleable, as the Gamecocks registered 530 total yards and 44 points in the 44-20 win.
Texas Bowl Player of the Week (tie) - Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart - Dart had 515 yards passing on 25 of 31 passing and SIX touchdowns in a 63-31 win over Arkansas in Fayetteville. He was the first QB in SEC history to throw for 500 yards and six TD against a conference opponent. It was clearly Dart’s best game of his career. But, he had some help.
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Ole Miss WR Jordan Watkins - Watkins was the recipient of Dart’s big day. Had eight receptions for 254 yards and five touchdowns. He set an SEC record for receiving touchdowns in a game and he set an Ole Miss record for receiving yards in a game. It was clearly Watkins’ best game of his career.
Texas Bowl Honorable mention Player of the Week - Baylor RB Bryson Washington - The Bears rode the broad shoulders of Washington to a 37-34 win over TCU. He ran for a career-high 196 yards on 26 carries and FOUR touchdowns. No Bear had rushed for four TDs since 2011 and no Bear had rushed for 196 yards or more since 2016.
National Team of the Week - Ohio State - It’s never pretty against Penn State, but it’s always a win, well, at least lately, it’s been. The Buckeyes rolled into Happy Valley with some question marks and answered most of them as they beat the #3 ranked team in the nation in its own building. There were only two games of ranked teams but no game was as ballyhooed as this one and the Buckeyes won said ballyhooed contest against Penn State 20-13.
Honorable Mention National Team of the Week - Syracuse - The Cuse scored three points in the first half one week after getting destroyed at Pitt. However, after trailing 21-3 midway through the third quarter, QB Kyle McCord and RB Lequint Allen led the Orange back to a 38-31 win in overtime to give Syracuse a 38-31 win and a 6-2 record through eight games.
National Player of the Week - Washington LB Carson Bruener - The Huskies pulled off a big win against the USC Trojans in Seattle and Bruener led the way. He finished with 12 tackles, picked off two passes and had two pass breakups as well. The Huskies somehow withstood significant roster change in 2024 to succeed in the B1G and Bruener made sure the Huskies picked up another conference win (and over a former Pac-12 team too)
Honorable mention National Player of the Week - SMU RB Brashard Smith - The SMU Mustangs have one of the most dangerous offenses in the country and Smith is one of the main reasons why. He lit up formerly undefeated Pitt with 161 yards rushing and two touchdowns, tacking on 21 yards receiving and a receiving TD. His efforts helped lead SMU to a dominating 48-25 win over the #18 ranked Pitt Panthers.
Quick Kudos
…to Miami WR Xavier Restrepo for his three TD receptions (eight receptions for 146 yards) in a 53-31 win over Duke.
…to North Carolina and RB Omarion Hampton for reaching career highs of 265 all purpose yards and FIVE tuddies in a win over Florida State. He also rushed for 100+ yards for the seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game. Tar Heel DL Beau Atkinson had a 3.5 sack/4.5 TFL day as well.
…to Rice for a big win over Navy waiting it out for a five hour long weather delay
…to Hawai’i for pulling a major upset against Fresno State AT Fresno State
…to Iowa RB Kaleb Johnson ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns as the Hawkeyes overwhelmed the Wisconsin Badgers 42-10.
…to Baylor, Dave Aranda, Bryson Washington and Isaiah Hankins for a TREMENDOUS win over TCU. Washington turned into Walter Abercrombie and Lache Seastrunk combined and Hankins won the game with a 33-yarder at the buzzer.
…to DeShaun Foster and UCLA for rebounding from some tough losses in a win over Nebraska.
…to Indiana for a dominating win, yes, another one, over Michigan State 47-10. Sparty rolled out to a 10-0 lead, but the Hoosiers scored the last 47 points in their ninth win. It’s the first time the Hoosiers have been 9-0 in the history of the program. Curt Cignetti just wins, google him.
…to Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech Red Raiders for ending the undefeated campaign of the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames 23-22.
…to Louisville for beating Clemson tor the first time in school history…in Clemson, no less.
Week 11’s Big games
#2 (7-1) Georgia at #16 (7-2) Ole Miss - The last time the Bulldogs were on an opposing ranked team’s campus, they ROLLED Texas, but this Ole Miss program is primed for a win over a big-time opponent. That’s the one thing missing from this program’s resume.
#11 (6-2) Alabama at #14 (6-2) LSU - This game ALWAYS delivers and even though these two teams aren’t top ten teams as in past years, the loser of this game will more than likely be eliminated from playoff contention. THAT alone puts a ton of pressure on these two teams in Baton Rouge, where LSU won on an overtime two point play two years ago.