October 1, 2024
CFB InsiderIn Love With College Football
Lone Star Player of the Week Candidates
Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter - For the second time this year, Hunter had nine receptions or more and an interception in the same game. He finished with those nine catches for 89 yards and a touchdown plus that interception, his second of the season.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe - The stats are outrageous. 27 of 33 for 374 yards and two touchdowns on its own would qualify him but tack on 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns and my goodness, what a night!
Alabama WR Ryan Williams - Did you know he’s only…nah, we already know he’s just 17. But, the true freshman beat up Georgia’s secondary with six receptions for 177 yards and one TD, a 75-yard game winning TD with just over two minutes left.
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If you didn’t fall in love with college football after week five, then you don’t have a pulse. What an incredible weekend, my goodness! It was filled with amazing games, controversial endings, indescribable comebacks and just ‘ol fashioned great football. Georgia and Alabama not only gave us the game of the year, but perhaps the game of the decade, or two decades for that matter.
Week six can’t live up THAT weekend, can it? I mean, it can, but we’ve got to recap an unreal week five before looking ahead to what could be a tremendous week six in the world of college football.
Texas Bowl Team of the Week - Kentucky - What a win on the road at Ole Miss! The Cats defense did a number on the number one offense in the nation (heading into the game). The Rebels had averaged 55 points per game in four wins to start the season, but the Cats held them to 17 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Minus the wacky loss to South Carolina, the Cats have given up 36 total points, including just 30 to Georgia and Ole Miss, combined.
Texas Bowl Honorable mention Team of the Week - Colorado - Coach Prime’s Buffs went to Orlando as a big underdog and dominated an undefeated UCF squad 48-21 for Colorado’s most resounding and impressive performance of the season. After miraculously pulling out a win against Baylor the week prior, CU put all phases together perfectly in the 27 point win. Travis Hunter scored the first touchdown of the game, caught nine passes and had an interception. The defense sacked UCF QB K.J. Jefferson five times, picked him twice and held UCF scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Texas Bowl Player of the Week - Alabama QB Jalen Milroe - Wow, WOW, what a performance on the grand stage! College Gameday on campus. #2 team in T-Town. GARGANTUAN battle. Easy pickings for the Tide signal-caller. All Milroe did was register 374 yards passing, two TD through the air, 16 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against this Georgia defense. He saved his best for last too, throwing a 75-yard game winning touchdown to true freshman star WR Ryan Williams after Georgia had clawed back to take the lead.
Texas Bowl Honorable mention Player of the Week - Oklahoma LB Kip Lewis - The Sooners took a trip to the Plains and the Tigers had OU on the ropes, holding a 21-10 lead early in the 4th quarter. After a Jovantae Barnes touchdown near the middle of the quarter, though, OU had pulled with five of Auburn, but the clock was dwindling. So, at the four minute mark, Lewis picked Auburn QB Payton Thorne and ran 63 yards for the go-ahead TD. The Sooners star LB had five tackles, a TFL and this pick six to steal a win from the Tigers in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
National Team of the Week - UNLV - If you weren’t paying attention last week to what was happening out in Las Vegas, then you missed all kinds of drama. How did head coach Barry Odom’s squad respond? They absolutely blitzed formerly 3-1 Fresno State, scoring 59 points in the process. New starting QB Hajj-Malik Williams threw just 16 times, but he threw three TDs. He ran 12 times for a whopping 119 yards and a touchdown. The Rebels undefeated machine just continues to roll on with their new starting QB who proved to be a level above the former starting QB.
Honorable Mention National Team of the Week - Indiana - The Hoosiers are just really good and head coach Curt Cignetti isn’t saying it, but he told you so. They hammered 3-2 Maryland 42-28 to remain undefeated at 5-0. QB Kurtis Rourke continues to shine in Cignetti’s offense, throwing for 359 yards and three TD. Up next for the Hoosiers…Northwestern in Chicago before a bye week. 6-0, and ranked, heading into a bye week? No one saw that coming…well, everyone not named Cignetti.
National Player of the Week - Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty - The future All-American and Heisman contender went wild again with 27 touches for 266 yards and four touchdowns in a big win over Washington State. He had one highlight reel run after another. His 14-yard TD run in the second quarter will be on his Heisman finalist video for sure. He left Washington State defenders in his wake, about eight Cougars had a chance to tackle him and all missed. My goodness, he’s been unreal this season.
Honorable mention National Player of the Week - Boston College DE Donovan Ezeiruaku - Domination thy name is Ezeiruaku. Talk about a performance. In a one point win over Western Kentucky, he posted career highs in tackles (14), sacks (three) and TFL (4.0). The last of his sacks was the most important one as he forced a fumble that Boston College recovered late in the game that led to the game winning TD in the fourth quarter.
Quick Kudos
…to BYU, yet again, for its fifth win a row, hanging on for victory over Baylor 34-28. That win was just another in a line of quality wins and performances for Kelani Sitaki’s squad in 2024
…to Arizona for going on the road to one of the toughest places to play with a new offensive play caller and beating up #10 ranked Utah.
…to KC Keeler and Sam Houston. I watched every play, called the game for ESPN+ and I STILL don’t really know how they pulled it out the 40-39 victory over Texas State. What a win for the Bearkats at NRG Stadium
…to Army for a dominating second half against Temple. Ahead 14-0 at the half, the Black Knights of the Hudson scored four TD in the second half for a 42-14 blowout win over Temple in Philly. That puts Geoff Monken’s squad at 4-0.
…to Miami, FL and Virginia Tech for one of the best games of the season, with a little controversy mixed in for good measure. I told you last week how great CFB Friday Night Football has been for years. This year has been even better.
…to Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai who ran for 132 yards and a tuddy in a 21-18 win over last year’s national championship runner-up Washington. That win puts Rutgers at 4-0, bordering on being ranked.
…to Alabama AND Georgia…BRAVO! Wasn’t a PERFECT game, but it was an absolute gem of a game. Big comeback. Scintillating individual performances. Clutch plays. Oh, and did you know Ryan Williams is just 17…well, you already know the end of that sentence.
…to Notre Dame and QB Riley Leonard. We finally saw what the HYPE was all about when he was at Duke. The Irish offense clicked a bit as Leonard found his groove in the 31-24 win over Louisville.
…to Kansas State QB Avery Johnson who accounted for five TDs in the 42-20 win over #20 Oklahoma State.
…to potential first round draft pick Texas A&M DE Nic Scourton. The scouts got an eyeful with his two sack performance against Arkansas in the last Arkansas/A&M matchup at Jerry World.
Week 6’s Big games
#9 (4-0) Missouri at #25 (4-1) Texas A&M - I don’t think either team has hit its ceiling just yet, but man, this should be a fun matchup kicking off the day at 11 am. Will A&M continue with dynamic Marcel Reed or go back to Connor Weigman? Missouri star WR Luther Burden III will get a ton of the defensive focus, but keep an eye on RB Nate Noel in this one.
#8 (5-0) MIami, FL at (3-1) Cal - A west coast trip for Miami, FL doesn’t happen often and one of the memorable ones they took was in 2000 when the Canes got bounced by a really good Washington Huskies squad in Seattle. College Gameday will be in Berkeley, so the energy will be sky high at 10:30 PM EST…a VERY late start for the Canes. The ingredients are there for an upset for sure.