Welcome back everyone! Here we have for you today yet another blog post from the self proclaimed Draft "Expert" himself, Logan Blackman. As you have probably figured out by the title, this is our 10th in-season blog post covering the quarterbacks for the 2024 NFL Draft, which is pretty crazy, and sad, to think about.
Why I say it's sad and crazy is because this year just feels like it's gone so fast. I feel like it was only yesterday when we made our first YouTube video covering these quarterbacks, and here we are, still kicking it 10 weeks later. Though that does mean college football is almost over, which does kind of dampens my spirits.
Unlike some of the more previous blog posts we have some major changes all across the board. With some pretty unsurprising news coming out this week, we decided to drop one of the top quarterbacks from completely (meaning you will see a new face) as well as move some quarterbacks up a few spots who had some very impressive outings last weekend.
Alright, I've kept y'all waiting long enough. So once again I, Logan Blackman, the self proclaimed Draft "Expert," am proud to present to you our 10th blog post covering the quarterbacks of the 2024 NFL Draft! Enjoy!
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Pictured: Carson Beck, Georgia; Caleb Williams, USC; Bo Nix, Oregon
1. Caleb Williams, USC
Wk 10 - 27/35 312 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries 16 yds 1 touchdown v no.5 Washington (52-42 L)
Season - 216/312 2,958 yds 28 touchdowns 4 interceptions/84 carries 146 yds 10 touchdowns
The rough patch for Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans continues on. After losing two of their previous three games, the Trojans, coming off a scary win against Cal, hosted the undefeated Washington Huskies last Saturday night. In a game that definitely lived up to the hype in regards to being an absolute offensive showcase, USC unfortunately came out on the wrong side of things, losing 52-42. This has been a common theme for USC in recent games, where the offense has been scoring pretty much at will (apart from the Notre Dame game), but the defense is giving up damn near 50-points a game. Throughout this rough patch, USC's defense has given up 48 to Notre Dame, 34 to Utah, 49 to Cal, and most recently 52 to Washington, an average of just over 45-points per game. The offense however is averaging 36-points per game during that stretch, which would put them easily in the top-20 in regards to points per game, however, that's not enough, which is crazy. That points discrepancy is exactly why Lincoln Riley decided to finally fire his defensive coordinator, Alex Grinch, this past Sunday. This has been a long time coming, as the Trojans boast an impressive bottom 15 defense in all of college football. For a team that had preseason playoff aspirations, that's incredibly sad. As for Williams, who put forth one of his best games as USC's quarterback in Saturday's loss, it's hard enough to compete against the opposing defense, but to also compete with your own defense? Definitely makes things a little harder, doesn't it? Again, Williams really couldn't have done much more in the loss to Washington, throwing for over 300-yards as well as registering four total touchdowns in the game, three passing and one rushing. With that performance, in a losing effort, I don't blame him at all for crying to his mom after the game. Imagine playing one of the best games of your career and coming out on the losing end. It can be tough, especially for someone who has as high of standards as Williams does. People have been dogging on him for that clip, but I have absolutely no problem with it what so ever. Back to the game though, and Williams would show off the athleticism early on USC's first offensive possession, making a few defenders miss while picking up a much needed first down on third and one.
This isn't a Braxton Miller esc. spin or anything, but it proved very effective in helping him pick up a few more yards after getting the first down. Credit to him for not only making the correct, though insanely easy read, but also making the next Washington defender miss when most quarterbacks in that position would be dead to rights. That first down pick up helped extend USC's drive, which would culminate with a Raleek Brown two-yard touchdown run on a play we used to call 'Auburn' back in the day. Brown went untouched into the end zone, giving USC the seven-point lead early on in the contest. Though their next drive would see them punt after four-plays, Williams would complete a very impressive pass to Brenden Rice for 19-yards on the first play of the drive.
Though could've maybe hit his receiver by the far sideline for a modest five-yard, or so, gain, I think his vision may have been blocked by the three USC offensive linemen, so he smartly reverses out to his left, avoiding the pressure coming from that side, and delivers a great ball to Rice for the first down. It must be said, great job by Rice at adjusting his route, giving his quarterback someone to throw to once he broke outside the pocket. Like we've said numerous times throughout these blog posts, when a quarterback starts scrambling, it makes it that much harder for a defender to stay in coverage. It's hard enough to guard these receivers for a second or two, but it's even harder to do it for an extended period of time. Once Williams rolls out, Rice cuts up and out, leaving him enough space for Williams to get him the ball on the run. Great play, though again the drive would result in USC punting a few plays later (though the Trojans 'could've' had a touchdown had Duce Robinson not dropped a wide open catch). That being said, Robinson would make up for the dropped pass, as he would block Washington's ensuing punt, giving USC the ball at the Husky eight-yard line. After two plays, Williams would punch it into the end zone from a yard out to put USC back on top, 14-7 late in the first. Though it maybe wasn't the best read since the d-end didn't crash but still, I'm sure the Trojans were more than happy just to be back up in this game. USC's run game would dominate their next drive, with Austin Jones and Darwin Barlow both picking up runs of 31 and 43-yards respectfully on back-to-back plays, which set up a one-yard touchdown run for Barlow, putting the Trojans back on top 21-14 in the second quarter. Williams would pick up a nice 14-yard gain on a read option play to start off USC's next drive before hitting Tahj Washington on a beautifully run flea flicker play for a 41-yard touchdown.
What an awesome play. I for one, like most people, get excited when I see a flea flicker in motion, but on this play, I had no idea it was happening until it did. I thought this was just a normal jet sweep for Zachariah Branch, and I thought him reversing fields was because there was just nothing there. Instead, he flips it back to Williams who hit a wide ass open Tahj Washington for the score. Like, the entire Washington defense following Branch when he reversed fields, leaving Washington wide open down the far sideline. You can't really scheme a play better than that, can you? Unfortunately for USC, Williams would be caught on the very first play of their next drive trying to do a little too much, getting stripped of the ball at the Trojan 12-yard line. Dude was holding the ball away from his body in the pocket like Josh Allen, and was made to pay for that lack of security. To make things go from bad to worse, Washington would capitalize on the turnover shortly after, with Dillon Johnson scoring from a yard out to put the Huskies on top just before halftime. Though Williams turned it over just before halftime, Penix would return the favor on Washington's first drive of the second half, throwing a pick in the red zone to give USC some newfound life, which they would take advantage of, starting off with Williams hitting Tahj Washington for 34-yards on the second play of that drive.
Great job by Williams at climbing the pocket and delivering a nice catchable ball to Washington for the first down. Nothing too insane here, just a well executed play from both quarterback and wide receiver. That being said, Williams would make something out of nothing, again, on second and eight a few plays later.
I know some people out there won't be too happy with this play from Williams, but this is just something not a lot of other quarterbacks can do. After avoiding the would be tackler in the backfield, Williams is able to escape before making another defender miss and picking up the first down. A lot of yards were lost before the eventual 10-yard gain, but that run would help extend the drive, which would see Williams make a really nice throw to Brenden Rice for a 25-yard touchdown on fourth and one, tying the game back up at 35.
After the initial play was blown up by Tuli Letuligasenoa, Williams was forced to ad-lib, which is something he does extremely well. Dude throws this ball before Rice is really ready for it, which gives the defender even less time to try and make a play on this ball (maybe Rice gets away with a little push off, but that's not the point). With a defender in his face, Williams throws a perfect ball to the front pylon for the score again, tying the game back up at 35. Though a holding on their next drive would negate a 43-yard pitch and catch between Williams and Duce Robinson, USC would still be able to find the end zone with Williams registering his third passing touchdown of the game, this time finding Mario Williams from 20-yards out for the score.
Beautifully thrown back shoulder ball here by Williams, but arguably an even better catch by Mario Williams to get not one, but two feet down in the end zone for the score. Like, not only was the ball placement damn near perfect, the other Williams made an NFL level catch to tie the game back up at 42, which was very cool to see. Sadly for Williams and the Trojan offense, that would be their last score of the game, as their next two drives would see them punt the ball away and turn the ball over on downs, as USC would come out on the losing end of a 52-42 ballgame. This is the beauty and the curse of college football, someone always has to come out on the losing end of things, and in this case it was Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans. Despite the loss, this was still an insanely impressive game for Williams, who registered his second straight 300+ yard passing game, as well as his first three+ passing touchdown game since USC beat Colorado back in September. It's been a really rough ride of things for USC as of late and I don't expect it to get any easier as they take on an Oregon Ducks team that has one of the best defenses in the conference. Everything will have to be clicking for USC in this weekend road match-up, let's just hope their up to the task.
Preseason - 1a
Wk 0/1 - 1
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - 1
Wk 4 - 1
Wk 5 - 1
Wk 6 - 1
Wk 7 - 1
Wk 8 - 1
Wk 9 - 1
Wk 10 - 1
Wk 11 - @ no.6 Oregon
2. Drake Maye, North Carolina
Wk 10 - 16/23 244 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries -5 yds 0 touchdowns v Campbell (59-7 W)
Season - 203/308 2,803 yds 20 touchdowns 5 interceptions/81 carries 254 yds 6 touchdowns
This game started insanely weird but then ended how pretty much everyone out there expected it to. I don't know about y'all, but I wasn't really expecting to see the North Carolina Tar Heels punt on two of their first three drives against the Campbell Camels, with their first one seeing them go three and out. Like, I understand the Tar Heels are coming off back-to-back rough loses to teams they shouldn't have lost to, but they're better than that, surely right? That was my reaction at the start, but like I said at the beginning of this paragraph, the game ended up going pretty much as one would expect, with North Carolina coming out 59-7 victors last Saturday. It was scary though for a little bit, especially after Campbell followed North Carolina's opening touchdown with a touchdown of their own. On that opening Tar Heel touchdown drive, running backs Omarion Hampton and British Brooks carried North Carolina down the field, setting up a fairly simple 10-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Tez Walker to go up seven midway through the first quarter.
Not the greatest throw in the world by Maye, but when you have a receiver like Tez Walker on your team, all you have to really do is put the ball in his vicinity and he'll come up with it, which is exactly what happened here. Can't really ask for a much easier look though if you're North Carolina, which is why they were able to register the first points of the game on this play. Though their next drive would end with the Tar Heels punting the ball away, Maye would still be seen throwing darts, i.e. this one to Bryson Nesbit that would pick up 19-yards on first and 15.
Maybe you could say Maye should've held onto this ball a little longer to allow Nesbit to potentially get past the Campbell defenders but still, this is a very well placed ball in between quite a few defenders on this play, helping pick up a first down. Though the ball is thrown really well by Maye, hitting his intended receiver on his hip rather than out in front of him, credit must be given to Nesbit as well for holding onto this ball, as he took a hit literally right after his hands made contact with the ball. Despite it not being the hardest hit in the world, the bang-bang action between catch and hit could've seen him drop the ball, which he obviously did not. But again, the drive would end with North Carolina punting the ball away. Though that drive ended in a punt, the Tar Heels would go on a nice little touchdown streak in the drives that followed, scoring on their next four possessions, with Maye registering two touchdowns on those four drives. That being said, those touchdowns wouldn't start coming on their next drive, as Omarion Hampton scored from 54-yards out to further extend North Carolina's lead. Maye's second touchdown of the game would come on their next drive, as it would only take four plays for him to hit Tez Walker, again, for the score. Before that though, Maye would be seen throwing a really nice ball to J.J. Jones on an out route that would pick up 16-yards.
With the defender staying back to try and break on the ball, this throw from Maye is exactly where you'd want it, right along the sideline. Dude put this ball right into Jones' stomach, which again, is exactly where this needs to be when a defender is playing over top and his momentum is already carrying him out of bounds (nice use of the toe drag swag from Jones as well). Maye and Walker would hook up from 31-yards out a play later.
Another relatively easy touchdown for Maye and co. on this one. Though he came scarily close to over throwing Walker on the play, dude knows the type of playmaker he has at wide receiver. Much like we mentioned before, when you have a receiver that talented on your team, sometimes all you have to do is throw it in their vicinity and they'll come down with it, which is exactly what happened on this play. That being said, with Walker's route somewhat carrying him to the middle, you could say it's a nice job from Maye at throwing this more to his outside shoulder, as that gave him a little more separation between himself and the defender. Regardless of how you want to look at this play, it counted for six all the same. North Carolina would close out the first half with another Omarion Hampton touchdown run, this time coming from four-yards out, thus giving the Tar Heels a 28-7 lead at the break. It must be mentioned, though it ultimately didn't count for anything, look at this play by Nesbit just before halftime, after the Hampton touchdown.
I understand what Maye was doing to a certain extent, putting the ball on Nesbit's back shoulder in order not to lead him, and the ball, into the path of the inside defender. Though I can understand it, this ball should've had no business being caught. What a catch by Nesbit. If he doesn't end up coming down with this ball, it's heading back in the opposite direction. Not saying it would've been a house call or anything, and the half would've probably ended the same with no one scoring, but an interception going going into the break feels a lot worse than having your tight end make a ridiculous catch down the middle of the field. At the start of the second half, Maye would connect with a wide open Tychaun Chapman down the near sideline for a 45-yard gain before dumping it off, after rolling to his right, a play later to John Copenhaver who would take it in from 25-yards out for the score. Nothing really notable about the pass to Copenhaver, as dude caught the ball at the line of scrimmage and took it the rest of the way for the touchdown, though it would put Carolina up a further 35-7 at the start of the third quarter. Maye would take a massive shot from CJ Tillman on their next drive and would be eventually forced to punt the ball away after intercepting Campebll quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams on their first drive of the second half. After the punt, the North Carolina defense would come up big again, forcing a fumble on a fake punt play which would set the offense up at the Campbell 16-yard line. It wouldn't take very long for the Carolina offense to punch it into the end zone, as Maye would hit a wide ass open J.J. Jones from 21-yards out for the touchdown.
I more or less only wanted to add a video of this play in here because when Jones catches the ball in the end zone, there is no sight of any Campbell defender on the screen. It's always crazy to me when a receiver can get that wide open. Like, before he even catches the ball there's no defenders on the screen, just a crazy bust in the coverage and North Carolina would take full advantage of it. That would be Drake Maye's final contribution to the game, with back-up Conner Harrell seeing out most of the game for the Tar Heels. Hell, even third string quarterback Jefferson Boaz saw action in this game, it just turned into an absolute butt kicking after a shaky first quarter. For Maye, he did what he needed to do, he took exactly what the defense gave him and came away with 240+ yards passing and four touchdowns, which would be the second time he's thrown four touchdowns in a game this season, with the first time coming against Miami (FL). This coming week, the Tar Heels face off against the Duke Blue Devils, a team that will be without their starting quarterback, Riley Leonard, for the second straight game, and the third time this season. Though I expect North Carolina to come out on top, Duke has one of the better defenses in all of college football, which could the Tar Heel offense some problems on Saturday. All in all, I expect this to be a fun game, though not as fun as it would've been had Leonard been healthy enough to play.
Preseason - 1b
Wk 1 - 2
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - 2
Wk 4 - 2
Wk 5 - 2
Wk 6 - 2
Wk 7 - 2
Wk 8 - 2
Wk 9 - 2
Wk 10 - 2
Wk 11 - v Duke
3. JJ McCarthy, Michigan (+1)
Wk 10 - 24/37 335 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries -31 yds 0 touchdowns v Purdue (41-13 W)
Season - 156/206 2,134 yds 18 touchdowns 3 interceptions/37 carries 137 yds 3 touchdowns
In a rematch of last year's Big 10 Championship, the JJ McCarthy led Wolverines came out on top 41-13. Though the Boilermakers came out on the losing end of things, they covered the massive spread, and for someone who picked them to cover that weekend, that's all I can ask for. As the old saying goes, good teams win, great teams cover, and that's what Purdue did despite losing by 28-points on the road. For JJ McCarthy and the Michigan Wolverines, this was just pretty much business as usual, as they dominated yet another conference opponent en-route to their ninth win of the season. What's weird about this game is that this was the first time McCarthy had played in a fourth quarter since Michigan beat Rutgers back in September, that's how dominant the Wolverines have been. Now, the only reason I think McCarthy played that long this past weekend is for that exact reason, the dude hasn't played a lot of second half football this season, and with Penn State coming right around the corner, Harbaugh thought it best to give his quarterback a little more playing time in this game, which I can get behind. As for his performance, this was actually McCarthy's first 300+ yard passing game of the season, and the third one of his career. That being said, for the first time this season, McCarthy was kept out of the end zone and was held to a season low in regards to rushing yards. Though that was the case, he didn't need to register any touchdowns himself, as Michigan's ground game accounted for five-touchdowns in the game, with Blake Corum registering three himself. His first one would come on Michigan's first drive of the game, with McCarthy tossing a very nice ball to Donovan Edwards down the far sideline for a 31-yard gain.
Pre-snap reads don't get that much easier than this one. With Edwards splitting out to the far side of the field, Purdue didn't bother sending anyone over until the ball was pretty much snapped. With the linebacker getting lined up as McCarthy snapped the ball, the speed of Edwards and the unpreparedness of the linebacker made this a very easy play for the Wolverines. Sure McCarthy could've maybe kept this ball a little more inside so Edwards could score, but I don't hate the placement of this pass, and Michigan would score on the next play anyways so it all counts the same. Michigan's next drive would be more of the same, with McCarthy hitting a fairly open Roman Wilson for a 20-yard gain, as well as dumping it off to Tyler Morris who would pick up 21-yards on the play and a first down on third and six. Then, after a Cornelius Johnson reverse play went for 14-yards, Blake Corum would punch it into the end zone from three-yards out to double Michigan's lead to 14. The touchdown steak would end on their next drive though, as after the defense came away with an interception, the offense wouldn't be able to get anything going and would be forced to settle for a field goal. Michigan would be forced to punt on their next drive after eight-plays, and though they'd settle for another field goal on the drive after that, McCarthy would hit a few nice passes on the drive. After hitting Colston Loveland for 17-yards on an out route and Roman Wilson on a comeback route for eight-yards, though an unnecessary roughness penalty on Purdue would negate that play, McCarthy would hit Wilson again, but this time on a very well thrown out route that would go for 14-yards on third and 11.
I really like the timing on this play from McCarthy, as he threw this ball right as Wilson was exiting his break, hitting him right on the numbers for the nice gain on third down. I'm reaching a little bit here, but given the timing and the placement of the throw, Wilson was able to try and make some sort of play after making the catch. Though he didn't end getting out of the defenders grasp, he still was able to attempt a move to try and get some extra yards. Overall, good play. Though we'll give him credit on that play, McCarthy did nearly throw an interception a few plays later, trying to hit Loveland right at the first down marker on another third down attempt. The difference between the Wilson throw and the Loveland throw is that the placement wasn't pretty off. I don't know if McCarthy thought his tight end would take his route a little further outside or not, but the ball went past Loveland's outside shoulder and almost landed in the arms of a Purdue defender. Had Loveland not gotten a hand to it, it could've been heading the other way for six. Instead, Michigan would have to settle for three, again. It would be a little bit before the offense would see the field again, the ensuing Purdue punt would bounce off a Michigan blocker, which the Boilermakers would jump on and capitalize for their first points of the game. Things wouldn't get much better for the Wolverines on their next drive, as a awkward pass from McCarthy to Tyler Morris only picked up six-yards on third and seven, Michigan would fail to convert on fourth down, giving Purdue the ball back on the Wolverine 34-yard line. Thankfully the defense would hold Purdue to a field goal, which would be the final points of the first half. That being said, McCarthy would make a nice throw on the run to Cornelius Johnson for a 23-yard gain.
What a throw across the body from JJ McCarthy. Normally, one would suggest the quarterback to dump it off to his halfback in the flat, as Donovan Edwards was standing off to the right a yard past the line of scrimmage. But with time running down in the half, and pressure coming more from the right, McCarthy smartly tucks it down and delivers a beautiful ball to Johnson for the first down. Again, though it ultimately wouldn't amount to anything, as an 18-yard McCarthy sack a couple plays later would end the half, with Michigan up 20-6. Though their next two drives would also end in punts, McCarthy would make another nice throw on the move, hitting Colston Loveland for nine-yards on third and two.
Though this play didn't go for a massive amount of yards or anything, I just like how calm McCarthy stayed in the face of Purdue's pressure, delivering a nice catchable ball to Loveland for the first down. Good awareness from him as well, feeling the unblocked Purdue defender coming off the left side, then evading him, before getting outside the pocket and helping Michigan pick up the first down. Again though, this drive, and the following one, ended in punts, with Michigan going three and out on the second one. The field goal and punting run for Michigan would end on their next drive, as after McCarthy dumped it off to Roman Wilson on third and two to pick up a first down, Semaj Morgan would take a jet sweep 44-yards to the house for the Wolverines first points of the second half. Michigan would continue their touchdown ways on their next drive, with McCarthy's well thrown back shoulder ball to Colston Loveland setting up an eventual three-yard run from Corum to put them up 34-6 at the start of the fourth quarter.
What a lovely back shoulder throw to Loveland by McCarthy on this play. It must be said, the motion at the beginning of the play helped set up the throw quite a bit, as it sucked the outside Purdue defender in, which left a decent opening to the outside of the field, which is where Loveland would end up. With the defender matching the tight end stride for stride, it was a very smart move from McCarthy to throw this back shoulder, and the placement was damn near perfect as well. McCarthy and Semaj Morgan would hook up on a 23-yard play on their next drive, but that would unfortunately end with Michigan punting the ball away. The Wolverines final scoring drive would come on the following drive, starting with McCarthy hit Roman Wilson for a 35-yard gain down the far sideline.
With the safety coming in over the top, McCarthy smartly placed this ball on Wilson's outside shoulder, more or less making this a back shoulder throw. Sure he could've maybe lead him a little more up field, but I think this is very well placed ball from the Michigan quarterback. After a nice pass for 11-yards to Wilson set them up at the four-yard line, Donovan Edwards would punch it across the goal line to make the score 41-6, ultimately sealing the game for Michigan (though Purdue would have a touchdown drive of their own on their next possession). He may not have registered any touchdowns, but this was a very well played game by JJ McCarthy. Though he may have gotten away with some nervy passes early, for the most part, he took exactly what the defense gave him. The dude stayed calm throughout the game and delivered some beautiful back shoulder balls that would ultimately set Michigan's running backs up with multiple short yardage touchdowns. As we alluded to before, Michigan has by far their toughest test of the season this weekend against Penn State, a team that can score just as easily as Michigan along with playing stifling defense, as both teams rank one and two in the Big 10 in both categories. This is very much a 50/50 game, but with this game being at Penn State I could see a lot of people picking the Nittany Lions to come out on top come Saturday. Now, I'm not going to make a prediction, but we should be in for a very fun game Saturday morning.
Preseason - 4
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - 7
Wk 4 - 7
Wk 5 - 7
Wk 6 - 6
Wk 7 - 6
Wk 8 - 4
Wk 9 - 4
Wk 10 - 3
Wk 11 - @ no.10 Penn State
4. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (+1)
Wk 10 - 22/30 256 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/3 carries -4 yds 1 touchdown @ no.20 USC (52-42 W)
Season - 225/324 3,201 yds 26 touchdowns 7 interceptions/15 carries -13 yds 1 touchdown
Before we get into anything, let's give a nice little congratulations to Michael Penix for scoring his first rushing touchdown of the season! I know he's not the most willing runner in the world, far from it, but you would expect a quarterback at Penix's level to have more than one rushing touchdown this season, right? Jokes aside, this was a very big win for Penix and the Washington Huskies, going on the road against a very talented USC offense, led by Caleb Williams. Before the game started the way the game would ultimately finish was clear, whichever quarterback had the ball last would more than likely come out on top, and in this case that would be Penix, taking home an impressive 52-42 victory against the Trojans last Saturday night. Weirdly enough though, one could say Washington's offense didn't actually flow through the passing game, rather going through the run game, as the Huskies totaled a staggering 316-yards on the ground, with running back Dillon Johnson registering an insane 256-yards with four touchdowns. What makes that stat line even crazier is that not only was that only Johnson's second 100+ yard performance of the season, that was his second 100+ yard performance ever, what a time to do it, right? I say his second 100+ yard performance, technically it was his first, as he ran for exactly 100-yards against Oregon a few weeks ago, but that's not important. What is important is that the Huskies are continuing on their undefeated season, moving to an impressive 9-0 on the season, with this latest road win being the third time they've scored 50+ points in a game this season. Craziness. As for Penix, again, though the offense didn't necessarily flow directly through him, he still did his thing, throwing for 256-yards with three total touchdowns. Sure he threw an interception, which would be the fourth straight game he's thrown a pick in, but his overall play, plus the elite rushing attack, helped them secure the dub. Though his first passing touchdown wouldn't come until the second quarter, Penix still helped Washington pick up some big gains on their first drive, i.e. dumping it off to Rome Odunze for a 15-yard gain before hitting Josh Cuevas on a very well thrown back shoulder ball to pick up a further 19 on the following play.
Out of all the quarterbacks I have watched so far this year, Michael Penix probably throws the best, and most consistent, back shoulder ball in college football. For those who are unaware, throwing a back shoulder ball accurately is one of the hardest things to do from the quarterback position, as everything has to be in-sinc to complete the pass. For whatever reason, Penix always seems to complete these passes, putting it in a place where only the receiver can get it. With the USC defender playing a little over the top, a ball placed in front of Cuevas would've seen the pass fall incomplete, or would've seen USC come away with the ball. Just a beautiful throw from Penix, who would hit a few underneath routes before Johnson would punch it in from two-yards out to tie the game up at seven. Their next drive would see them go three and out, and after a blocked punt gave USC a shorter field, which they would capitalize on, Penix would lead the Huskies on a 10-play 79-yard drive for his first passing touchdown of the game. After hitting a few short passes that would eat up some decent yards after the catch, Penix would do his best Caleb Williams impression and deliver a strike on the run to tie the game back up at 14.
What a friggin throw by Michael Penix. As we alluded to before, Penix isn't necessarily the most willing runner, whether that be running the ball past the line of scrimmage or rolling outside the pocket, he just doesn't really do that (though he hasn't needed to do that too many times this season). To throw this ball while on the run, and while a defender in your face, takes a lot of skill, especially when you see that the window to get this ball to Devin Culp was insanely small, as there were three USC defenders in the surrounding area with one essentially pinning him against the near sideline. This throw needed to be as close to perfect as possible, and it was, which is way easier said than done. Got to give props to Culp as well, as he not only got one foot down, but got the second one down as well, making this catch legal in both college and the NFL. Just an overall impressive play from both parties. Dillon Johnson would dominate the next drive for Washington, as he'd register all but 11-yards as the Huskies tied the game up at 21, capping off the drive with an impressive 52-yard run, diving towards the front pylon on the far sideline. Penix would hit Ja'Lynn Polk for a 36-yard gain on Washington's next drive, though it wasn't the greatest throw of all time from Penix. He would then link up with a wide open Rome Odunze down the far sideline for a further 26-yards before hitting Polk again, this time in the end zone from four-yards out to tie the game back up with just over a minute left in the first half.
This was a reletively easy throw and catch between Penix and Polk on this play. Once the USC defender on the inside followed Odunze, that opened up a decent hole for Polk to slide into, which Penix saw and zipped it into him for the score. There seemed to be some sort of miscommunication on defense by USC, as the linebacker followed the tight end Westover to the outside, though the two Trojan defenders guarding the outside stayed pretty much where they were. With the linebacker vacating the middle and the two outside defenders staying outside, that forced the USC slot defender to either follow Odunze or stay more centrally. Since dude was man up against Odunze, he was staying with him the whole time, making this a pretty easy decision for Penix, which helped Washington tie the game back up at 28 before the half. Little did they know, but Washington would get one more chance to add even more points to the scoreboard before halftime, as Zion Tupuola-Fetui would strip sack Caleb Williams on USC's next offensive drive, giving the Husky offense the ball back on the USC 12-yard line. It would only take three Dillon Johnson runs to get the ball across the goal line, and Washington would now take a 35-28 lead into the locker room. This presented Washington with a unique opportunity to stack touchdowns and grow their lead even more as they got the opening kick of the second half. Unfortunately for Washington, that wouldn't be the case, as after a few shorter passes, followed by a back shoulder throw to Rome Odunze that went for 16-yards, Penix would throw his first interception of the game at the USC 21-yard line.
Not the greatest decision from Penix, as he had his eyes locked in on Jack Westover pretty much the entire play. With the USC linebacker spying in the middle of the field, reading Penix's eyes, he made a really easy read and deflected the ball which landed in the grateful arms of one of his teammates. Who knows, maybe if the pass doesn't get deflected, it ends up being a touchdown for Washington. Sadly we cannot afford to think like that, as this was ultimately just an easy pick for the USC defense, halting what looked like a surefire touchdown drive for the Huskies. Penix would make up for the interception on Washington's next drive though as after a few Dillon Johnson runs, and a low hit on the quarterback, Penix would call his own number on a quarterback sneak, punching it in from a yard out to give Washington a 42-35 lead later on in the third quarter. The Huskies would put together a decently long drive their next time on the field, which after a Michael Penix sack, they would settle for a 43-yard field goal, giving them a three-point cushion. Washington would put the game away on their next drive, with Dillon Johnson scoring from a yard out, giving him his fourth touchdown of the game and Washington a 52-42 advantage late in the fourth. This was ultimately set up by Johnson's longest run of the game, as he would pick up 53-yards after Washington started their drive on their own nine-yard line. Like we've said numerous times before, someone's always got to lose these games, and in this case that someone wasn't Washington, coming away with their ninth win of the season, and their second against a top-20 team. Things don't get much easier for the Huskies in the following weeks, taking on a pair of top-25 teams in Utah and Oregon State before taking on their instate rivals Washington State, who I'm sure would love to destroy the Huskies playoff hopes, should they get the opportunity. This week though, Washington will be taking on a Utah team that had a nice bounce back performance against Arizona State after losing to Oregon at home the week before. Boasting the best statistical defense in the conference, Washington will be in for a tough home match-up come Saturday.
Preseason - 8
Wk 1 - 7
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - 5
Wk 4 - 5
Wk 5 - 5
Wk 6 - 5
Wk 7 - 4
Wk 8 - 5
Wk 9 - 5
Wk 10 - 4
Wk 11 - v no.18 Utah
5. Jayden Daniels, LSU (+3)
Wk 10 - 15/24 219 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/11 carries 163 yds 1 touchdown @ no.8 Alabama (42-28 L)
Season - 178/247 2,792 yds 27 touchdowns 4 interceptions/102 carries 684 yds 6 touchdowns
A year ago, LSU pulled off a really impressive upset home victory against Bryce Young and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Going into this season, some out there thought the Tigers would not only beat Alabama, but could over throw them as the best team in the SEC West. Despite having two loses already on the season going into this game, it would've been way less of a surprise for the Tigers to come out on top this time around than it would've a year ago. Unfortunately for LSU, Alabama reasserted their claim as being the best team in the West, coming away with an impressive 42-28 victory. Now, just because the Crimson Tide came away with a double digit win, this game was very close throughout, with the score even being tide at 21 going into the half, and it looked very much like the back and forth affair would continue on into the second half, as both LSU and Alabama each scored on their first possessions. But after an LSU punt and a Jayden Daniels interceptions, followed but Daniels getting knocked out of the game, Alabama was able to pull away. What makes this game kind of funny is that both quarterbacks challenged each other in every aspect of the game, with both finishing with over 200-yards passing and 150-yards rushing, though Alabama's Jalen Milroe would score four-touchdowns on the ground to Daniels' two. What's even crazier is that both Daniels and Milroe completed 15-passes for 219-yards, exactly, the only difference was that Daniels threw one more pass in the game. That's just something you don't see all too often. Now, the start of this game made things look like they'd be going in LSU's favor. After the defense force Alabama to punt on their first drive, the Daniels led offense came on the field and scored in five plays, culminating with Daniels hitting Malik Nabers for a 46-yard touchdown.
This was just a very easy play all around for the LSU Tigers, as Daniels didn't need to do much other than hit the open receiver. It always amazes me how open some of the best receivers in football get, especially when you just let him run right past you. Like, Nabers didn't really need to put any sort of move on to get past his defender, who was on an island trying to guard one of the best receivers in all of college football. As for Daniels, just don't miss him. If he's that wide open, just hit him, it doesn't need to be the prettiest ball of all time, just hit him, and that's what he did. Daniels would flash the running ability early on LSU's next drive, breaking off a 24-yard run on a quarterback keeper up the middle. Oddly enough, that run was only a couple plays after Jalen Milroe ran it in for Alabama from 23-yards out, just trying to one up him I guess, right? Unlike Milroe's drive though, the Tigers offense would stall out, turning the ball over on downs at the Alabama 47. Daniels would break off another big run on LSU's next drive, taking it up the field for 28-yards on second and five.
Really solid job at staying calm in the pocket before tucking it and running for the first down. Daniels clearly has the talent, but it is easier said than done to be calm while playing against Alabama, on the road. Even more so to find the hole created by the o-line to the right and cutting it up for a 28-yard play, his second 20+ yard run of the evening. Daniels would show off a nice mixture of athleticism and arm talent a couple plays later, hitting Malik Nabers for 22-yards and a first on second and seven.
After seeing no one open down the field, Daniels decides to try and buy some time for this receivers by rolling out to his right. Sure he could've been sacked for a pretty decent gain, but Daniels is more than athletic enough to not only escape the grasp of the Alabama defender, but is also capable enough to throw a strike to Nabers while on the run. Can't really ask for much more out of your quarterback than that. Daniels would take a nice shot on a sack a few plays later, forcing the Tigers to settle for a 46-yard field goal, which Damian Ramos would miss to the right. After a few short to intermediate passes would go for decent gains, Daniels would call his own number on a quarterback draw play from nine-yards out to tie the game back up at 14.
Simple quarterback draw, cool as you'd like to tie the game back up. On their next drive, Daniels would call his own number again, this time coming on a third and nine play from their own 26-yard line.
Good job at sensing the pressure by Daniels. Not only did he slide up in the pocket after the pressure came around the right side, but he turned what looked like nothing into something, picking up a whopping 40-yards on the play before literally getting thrown down by the Alabama defender. Daniels would throw his second touchdown pass of the game a couple plays later, drilling a ball to Kyren Lacy for a 26-yard score.
Maybe I'm giving him too much credit here but what a throw by Jayden Daniels. At first glance it doesn't look like a whole lot, but with Lacy's route carrying him to the inside, where there are two potential Alabama defenders, Daniels decides to throw this ball essentially on Lacy's back shoulder, thus flipping his momentum and forcing him to turn around for the score. If this ball is placed in front of Lacy, he would've either been tackled or the ball would've been at best broken up. Instead, with the ball being placed on his shoulder, he was able to flip around and get to the end zone for six just before the half. Again, it may not look like much at first, but that's a really good play from Daniels, tying the game back up with five-seconds left in the half. Dude would flash the burst on LSU's opening drive of the second half, picking up 11-yards on second and 10.
First off, solid job by Alabama at recognizing there was a check down option for Daniels with Diggs coming out of the backfield. It should be noted though that because they covered the check down, as well as everything else down the field, that left Daniels with no other choice then to run the football. The dude is so electric when the ball is in his hands. Once he got around the Alabama lineman, he cut up field with great burst, picking up a first down in the process. Dude just hit the corner so damn hard, it's tough to contain guys like that. Daniels would flash the arm on the very next play, throwing a beautiful ball down the far sideline to Malik Nabers for a 30-yard gain.
We've brought this up in previous blog posts, but Jayden Daniels is one of the best deep ball throwers in all of college football. One could argue that outside of Drake Maye and Michael Penix, Daniels may throw the best deep ball in all of college football. Like, this is exactly what you want with a throw down the sideline. Dude placed the ball right to Nabers' outside shoulder, putting the ball between the defender and the sideline, somewhere only his receiver could get it. Again, it doesn't come much better than that. A couple plays later, the Tigers would take a 28-21 lead, thanks to a Josh Williams two-yard touchdown run. Unfortunately for Daniels and co., that would be their last points of the game, as they would be forced to punt on their next drive before Daniels would throw his fourth interception of the season.
This is just an unfortunate play for Daniels, as he did have Malik Nabers open on the in-route. It just so happens that Alabama's best edge rusher, Dallas Turner, jumps up and gets his hand and face on the ball, forcing an interception. To make matters even worse, the Crimson Tide would march right down the field and score again, putting the score at 42-28 early in the fourth quarter. Daniels and Turner would meet on LSU's next drive as well, this time by way of a massive shot to the chin from Turner. The hit by Turner, plus his head smacking off the turf, forced Daniels to leave the game early. His back-up, Garrett Nussmeier, wouldn't be able to do much of anything the rest of the game, and the Crimson Tide would ultimately finish the game off by the aforementioned score of 42-28. Tough loss for LSU, but like we always say, someones always got to come out on the losing end of things, and this time it happened to be the Tigers, giving them their third loss of the season and second in SEC play. Though he's listed a 'probable' for LSU's weekend match-up against Florida, time will tell if he'll truly be ready to go or not. Coming off a loss, I expect the Tigers to right the ship back at home, taking down a Florida Gators team that is fresh off an overtime loss to Arkansas.
Preseason - 10a
Wk 1 - NR
Wk 2 - NR
Wk 3 - 9
Wk 4 - 10b
Wk 5 - 10
Wk 6 - 8
Wk 7 - 8
Wk 8 - 8
Wk 9 - 8
Wk 10 - 5
Wk 11 - v Florida
6. Bo Nix, Oregon (+3)
Wk 10 - 29/38 386 yds 4 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 3 yds 2 touchdowns v Cal (63-19 W)
Season - 235/301 2,723 yds 25 touchdowns 2 interceptions/37 carries 116 yds 5 touchdowns
Oregon may have come out on top in this PAC-12 match-up, but where they pop up as losers is in the uniform department. Like, what the hell are these? What color is that? Is that green? Black? Grey? I have no idea. I don't mind the silver helmets but the rest of it, I don't know what happened. How do you go from rocking those beautiful retros against Washington State a few short weeks ago to rocking what best can be described as compost? That may not be the best description, but it was the best I could think of and to be honest, I don't really care. Despite the uniforms, again, Oregon was able to come out 63-19 victors over Cal last Saturday, with quarterback Bo Nix having his best game of the season to date. Throwing for a season high 386-yards with a joint season high four passing touchdowns, with a further two on the ground, giving him a whopping six total touchdowns on the day. What makes this six touchdown performance even crazier is that this is the second time in his career where he's registered that many touchdowns. The first? Against Cal, last season. Want to make things even crazier? The day really couldn't have started out much worse, as on the first play of the game, Nix threw his second interception of the season.
Just a really unfortunate play for all parties, especially for Nix. Like, this is not a bad throw by any means, as it hits Tez Johnson right in between the numbers. I don't know if Johnson was bracing before the hit before he caught the ball or what, but it was certainly not the most ideal situation for the Ducks offense to start the game off. Thankfully for them, the Oregon defense would come away with an interception of their own on Cal's first drive. The Ducks would be the first team to capitalize off a turnover, with Nix hitting Johnson in stride for a 48-yard touchdown.
Talk about having a short memory, right? After Nix's first pass to Johnson bounced off his chest and into the arms of the defender, one of his next passes hits him in stride for a beautiful 48-yard touchdown. After Johnson cooked his defender off the line, Nix showed excellent placement on the pass, hitting Johnson right on the body in between two Cal defenders. With the ball being on him, as well as leading him a little bit up field, dude was able to use his natural speed to breeze past the safety for the score. In football you have to have a short memory, if something bad happens wash it and move on, and that's exactly what Nix and Johnson did on this touchdown. Can't ask for more, really. Oregon would be forced to punt on their next drive but would score on the drive after following a Cal fumble, which was recovered by Oregon at the Cal one-yard line. Nix would punch it into the end zone on a quarterback sneak on their first play of the drive, doubling Oregon's advantage later on in the first. Oddly enough, both touchdowns came off of Fernando Mendoza turnovers, with one interception and one fumble. That being said, Cal would capitalize on an Oregon turnover on the Ducks next drive. Much like their previous drive, this Oregon drive was also one-play, but this time it resulted in a fumble six, bringing the game to within four at 14-10. What happened was the center snapped the ball which hit Tez Johnson, who was coming in motion. Running back Bucky Irving tried to jump on the ball, but it squirted away from him and was picked up by a Cal defender who took it in for the score. Though the Ducks next drive would end with a missed field goal, Nix would flash some athleticism on this drive, dodging a few would be tacklers before hitting Traeshon Holden for 15-yards on third and three.
What an effort by Nix on this play. With nothing really open down the field, dude decides to try and extend the play with his legs. After pumping to Terrance Ferguson up the far sideline, he decides to tuck it once he sees a defender pop up out of nowhere, evading said tackler before delivering a nice ball to Holden for the first down. Now, Holden is a big bodied wide receiver, standing at 6'3" and weighing 215 lbs., so Nix makes the smart decision at putting this ball only where his big receiver can get it. Holden goes up, makes a play, and Oregon is able to extend their drive. But again, the drive would end with a pretty bad miss from Camden Lewis. Cal would register a field goal of their own on their next drive, making the score a nervy 14-13 in the second. That being said, Nix would register his second rushing touchdown of the day on the Ducks next drive, punching it in on a quarterback sneak with just over five-minutes to go in the second quarter. Before the touchdown though, Nix would make a solid side armed throw in the face of pressure to Terrance Ferguson for a 17-yard gain.
Not the most insane play, like, the ball only travelled two-yards past the line of scrimmage, but I give Nix credit again for staying calm with pressure coming off the left side of the o-line. What I like most about this, really, is that with the defender in his face, he didn't try to extend it too long, as that can sometimes get you into trouble. Once he saw his open tight end, he hit him and saw him pick up a nice 17-yard gain. Nix would hit a few big passes on Oregon's next drive, hitting Gary Bryant Jr. for 20, Troy Franklin for 15, and Tez Johnson for 10 on third and six before hitting Johnson, again, from 14-yards out for the score.
Apart from the first play of the game, the Nix-Johnson connection was working wonders for the Oregon offense, with this play helping the Ducks take a double digit lead for the first time in over a quarter. This was just a really well thrown ball from Nix, floating this ball right over the defenders shoulder and leading Johnson into the corner, away from said defender, for the score to make it 28-13. Johnson would come up big for Oregon again just before the half, taking a Cal punt from the Oregon 31 all the way down to inside Cal's 25. Knowing how the Ducks opperate, they would've probably tried to score before the half anyways, but this punt return by Johnson made it that much easier, needing only five-plays to see Nix hit Troy Franklin from seven-yards out for the score.
You can't really see a whole lot from this angle, so here's another one for your head top.
Really good play for the Ducks to end the half. With pressure once again coming in from the right side of the offensive line, Nix does a very nice job at let this ball loose once he sees his receiver is out of his break. He doesn't extend this play too long to where Franklin runs out of room, but extends it just enough to give himself a little more space to let the ball go. With Franklin beating his defender by the ball was out, it was a simple enough pitch and catch between quarterback and receiver for the score, giving Oregon an even bigger lead going into the halftime break. Though the Ducks would go three and out on their first offensive possession of the second half, they would capitalize on the shorter field after a Cal punting, with Bucky Irving scoring from six-yards out to give Oregon a 42-19 lead. Before the touchdown tough, we'd see Nix hit Tez Johnson for 22-yards on a beautifully thrown ball that would set the Ducks up in the red zone.
I sound like a broken record at this point, but Nix does an excellent job at navigating the pressure coming from the right side. Sliding up in the hole created by the said pressure and delivering a very nice ball to Johnson for the first down. All while being chanced by another defender coming from the interior of the defensive line. Great placement on this ball as well, helping Oregon get into the red zone, thus setting up the aforementioned Bucky Irving touchdown run a couple plays later. Nix's final contribution to this game would come on Oregon's next drive. After hitting a few open receivers for big gains, i.e. Troy Franklin for 32-yards and Tez Johnson for 31-yards, on a nice little jump throw no less, Nix would find his tight end, Terrance Ferguson, from four-yards out for his fourth passing touchdown of the game. Pretty much this entire drive, you Nix hit you, you were fairly open, which is exactly what happened on the touchdown. Ferguson just snuck behind the entire Cal defense and Nix hit him while on the run to make the score 49-19 in the fourth quarter. Back-up Ty Thompson would finish out the game for the Ducks, even registering a touchdown pass of his own as Oregon came out 63-19 victors. Though the scoreline was grand, there were some nervy moments for the Ducks in this game, but like all great teams, they were able to steady the ship and come away with a massive victory. This week, the Ducks travel to Los Angeles to take on a struggling USC Trojan team that just fired their defensive coordinator. Given how Oregon has been playing on both sides of the ball recently, I would fully expect them to come away with another victory, which would give them four straight following that tough loss to Washington.
Preseason - 7
Wk 1 - 9
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - 8
Wk 4 - 9
Wk 5 - 9
Wk 6 - 9
Wk 7 - 9
Wk 8 - 9
Wk 9 - 9
Wk 10 - 6
Wk 11 - v USC
7. Riley Leonard, Duke (-1)
Wk 10 - OUT (injured)
Season - 95/165 1,102 yds 3 touchdowns 3 interceptions/58 carries 352 yds 4 touchdowns
Not surprised Riley Leonard sat out in Duke's last game against Wake Forest, though this time it was for a toe injury and not for his nagging high ankle sprain. After being visibly not healthy against Louisville the previous Saturday, playing the Demon Deacons on a short week pretty much guaranteed the absence of Leonard in that one. Despite him being out, the Blue Devils still managed to take home a 24-21 victory, with third string quarterback Grayson Loftis going 7/19 with one touchdown and an interception. With head coach Mike Elko saying Leonard will miss an 'extended period of time,' this upcoming game against North Carolina just got a little more interesting. With Leonard out, I don't know if the Blue Devils will be able to pull off the upset. We're going to need to see a very solid all around performance from the defense in this one if they want to pull it off. That being said, North Carolina did lose back-to-back games to the likes of Virginia and Georgia Tech, with the former being at home, so I guess I shouldn't rule anything out, right?
Preseason - 3
Wk 1 - 4
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - 4
Wk 4 - 4
Wk 5 - 4
Wk 6 - 4
Wk 7 - 5
Wk 8 - 6
Wk 9 - 6
Wk 10 - 7
Wk 11 - @ no.24 North Carolina
8. Quinn Ewers, Texas (-1)
Wk 10 - OUT (injured)
Season - 151/213 1,915 yds 13 touchdowns 3 interceptions/39 carries 53 yds 5 touchdowns
Last Saturday was the second straight game Ewers has missed since injuring his shoulder in Texas' win against Houston a couple weeks ago. Though the Longhorns came away victorious in those two games, Maalik Murphy hasn't looked the greatest since taking control under center. Not to say he's been bad by any means, but they're definitely missing something with Ewers not being there. With that being said, hopefully we see Texas back to full strength as Ewers is expected to start against TCU on Saturday. Now, this a game where Ewers arguably played the worst game of his short career a year ago. With TCU also down their starting quarterback, this should be one Texas shouldn't have a ton of problems with, especially given that TCU has only won once in their last five games, with that win coming against a very inconsistent BYU team. This should be a nice road dub for the Longhorns come Saturday.
Preseason - 5
Wk 1 - 5
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - 6
Wk 4 - 6
Wk 5 - 6
Wk 6 - 7
Wk 7 - 7
Wk 8 - 7
Wk 9 - 7
Wk 10 - 8
Wk 11 - @ TCU
9. Michael Pratt, Tulane (+1)
Wk 10 - 16/25 213 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/10 carries 33 yds 0 touchdowns @ East Carolina (13-10 W)
Season - 118/168 1,597 yds 15 touchdowns 3 interceptions/69 carries 264 yds 4 touchdowns
Another win, but another semi-shaky performance for the Tulane Green Wave. Though, it must be said, we did discuss how this game may be sneakily tough for Michael Pratt and co., as though East Carolina's offense is dog water, at best, their defense is actually fairly solid, boasting the then fourth best defense statistically in the conference, despite their now 1-8 record. And when you look at how Tulane struggled in the second half against Rice last week, another subpar performance was bound to happen again, right? I say 'subpar,' they have still been scoring a decent amount of points on offense, putting up 30 or more points in six of their previous eight games before taking on the Pirates of East Carolina. That being said, in their last two games, they kind of stalled out in the second half, outscoring their opponents 48-7 in the first half against the likes of North Texas and Rice, but were outscored 49-17 in the second half in both those games as well. Not really what you want to see if you're a Tulane fan, which I know there are a lot of. As for quarterback Michael Pratt, the best you could probably say about his performance is that it was solid, as he registered 10 or more carries for the third straight week and didn't turn the ball over. That being said, nothing was really clicking for Pratt and co. early on, punting the ball away after six-plays on their first drive and failing on a fourth down conversion on their next. They actually weren't able to register their first points of the game until late in the second quarter, where Pratt tailed his first and only touchdown of the game. Leading up to the touchdown though, Pratt led the Green Wave on a very impressive 14-play drive that spanned 92-yards. On the drive, he'd hit Alex Bauman down the near sideline for a nice 23-yard gain on the second play of the drive.
Solid throw down the near sideline but even better catch by Bauman who skied up to bring this pass down. With quite a few East Carolina defenders in the area, Pratt does a nice job at floating this ball to his intended receiver, rather than throwing it on a line. He also does a nice job at throwing this ball more towards the sideline and only where the 6'4" Bauman could get it. I could see where someone would say to lead him a little bit more, and I know he's got some space between himself and the defenders to the high side of the field, but I like this throw from Pratt, which helped pick up Tulane's biggest play of the game. After a few run plays and shorter passes from Pratt, dude would register his first touchdown of the game, hitting Lawrence Keys III in the flat from nine-yards out for the score.
Before we start, I must say, I love the route from Keys on this play, as it's one of my favorite routes in general and is insanely hard to guard if run well. In this case, Keys ran a really good route, sitting the defender down, and Pratt hit him for the touchdown. Nothing too much to write home about with this one, other than it's a longer throw than most people would expect and that it was well placed by Pratt. Regardless of how you want to look at it, Tulane scores their first points of the game and brings the game back to within three. Pratt would show off the arm talent on Tulane's final drive of the first half, hitting Jha'Quan Jackson down the near sideline for a 41-yard gain.
What a throw, and what placement by Pratt to not only get this ball over the defender guarding Jackson, but an even better job at placing this ball on the sideline so the second defender couldn't make a play on it either. Like, the ball is caught by Jackson with two East Carolina defenders two or so yards away from him, you can't really place a ball much better than that. Credit to the receiver as well on the play, as he was able to haul in this pass knowing he'll take some sort of hit from the defender, regardless of how big it was. That can startle some receivers, but it didn't here, which helped pick up the nice gain. Sadly Tulane's drive would stall out, forcing them to settle for a field goal rather than a touchdown, though Valentino Ambrosio would make the 21-yard field goal to tie the game up at 10 right at the end of the first half. On their first drive of the second half, Pratt would flash the athleticism, turing a would be sack into a 13-yard gain and a first down.
I'm sure Pratt's coaches were stuck in two minds after this play. On one hand, you love to see your quarterback, after scanning the field, feel the pressure coming around the right side and cutting it up the middle for a nice gain and a first down. But on the other hand, I'm sure they'd much rather see him slide and give himself up rather than dive forward for extra yards, especially since he's been battling some injuries this season. I'm sure they love the effort, but coaches are always going to air on the side of caution when it comes to their quarterbacks. After a few runs and a 12-yard completion to Chris Brazzell II, much like the first half Tulane would have to settle for three. Unlike the first half, Ambrosio would miss the 31-yard attempt, keeping the game tied at 10 midway through the third quarter. On their next drive, Pratt would hit Lawrence Keys III on a 50-yard bomb on the very first play of the drive, which would ultimately help set up some redemption for Ambrosio, who would make the 26-yard field goal to make the score 13-10.
Intentional or not, I really like this throw from Pratt because it completely re-directs Keys on the play. With it looking like the East Carolina defender will be the receiver to the the right side of the field, Pratt instead throws this ball back inside, away from the defender, which forced Keys to re-adjust to make a play on the ball. Now, this doesn't always work, you've got to have decent chemistry with your receiver, so credit to both on this play for making this 50-yard play possible, which again, would help set up a 26-yard field goal for Tulane to take their first lead of the game. To help seal the game up, Pratt would flash the arm strength by zipping a ball to Keys across the middle for 18-yards and a first down on third and nine.
Obviously they didn't know it at the time, but this throw helped seal the game for Tulane. Picking that first down on third and nine extended what would end up being an impressive 14-play drive to help give the Green Wave the win, and this throw was a big part of that. Though the moment ended up being pretty big, this throw is really good. With the home crowd getting into it, and pressure coming from all directions, Pratt does an excellent job at stepping up in the pocket and delivering a low driven ball to Keys for the first down. With East Carolina having a defender in the middle of the field, waiting to make some sort of play, Pratt cannot afford to either lead him too much or over throw him, as the ball may've been intercepted. Instead, the ball was driven low and away from both Pirate defenders in the area, putting this ball only where his intended receiver could get it, which he did. Dude just threw an absolute strike to help end the game for Tulane, giving them their eighth win of the season and their seventh in a row. This week, Pratt and co. take on a Tulsa Golden Hurricanes team that is coming off of four-straight losses, with their latest one being an overtime loss to Charlotte. With Tulane at home against one of the worst defenses in the conference, I don't expect them to struggle too much, especially since Tulsa also have one of the worst offenses in the conference as well. Could be a fun one back in New Orleans.
Preseason - NR
Wk 1 - NR
Wk 2 - NR
Wk 3 - NR
Wk 4 - NR
Wk 5 - NR
Wk 6 - NR
Wk 7 - NR
Wk 8 - 10
Wk 9 - 10
Wk 10 - 9
Wk 11 - v Tulsa
10. Carson Beck, Georgia (NEW)
Wk 10 - 21/32 254 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries 9 yds 0 touchdowns v no.12 Missouri (30-21 W)
Season - 213/295 2,716 yds 16 touchdowns 4 interceptions/39 carries 69 yds 3 touchdowns
Welcome to the Draft "Expert" top 10 Mr. Carson Beck! After putting together a few very solid performances for the once top team in college football, Carson Beck can now hold his head high and know that he is a top 10 quarterback in the eyes of the self proclaimed "expert." It's been a decent time coming for the former four-star recruit, who has thrown for over 2,700-yards with 16-touchdowns through the air and just four-interceptions. Not to mention he can put a shift in the run game as well, rushing for a very nice 69-yards with three touchdowns so far this season. He may not necessarily be the most fleet footed guy out there, but he can make some plays in the run game when it's asked of him. With that, in Georgia's 30-21 victory over then 12th ranked Missouri, Beck registered his joint most rush attempts in a game so far this season with six, with a nice complimenting nine yards to boot. In regards to what he did as a passer, dude threw for over 250-yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, which in a game as closely contested as this, you're going to want your quarterback to stay turnover free, which he was. Even more so when see the opposing quarterback threw two in the same game. Things started off pretty smoothly for the Georgia Bulldogs in this game. Sure they didn't register touchdowns on their first drive of the game, only scoring a field goal, they did though manage to put together two very long drive, equaling a grand total of 24-plays, 12-plays on each drive. Beck would flash the rushing abilities on Georgia's first drive of the game, picking up 15-yards on third and eight to help extend the Bulldogs opening drive.
Again, though he's not an elite elite athlete or anything, Beck can still cause opposing defenses problems with plays like this. I don't know if you'll think this is impressive, or important to not or not, but Beck has registered over a yard in every game so far this season apart from one. just as a comparison, Quinn Ewers, who has the exact same number of carries as Beck, has registered negative yards three times this season. Again, though he isn't as scary as someone like Jayden Daniels running the football, he's still effective, and on third down plays, rather than force the issue, he smartly decides to tuck it and gain some big yards on the ground. Linebackers cleared out, just take it up the middle, very nice play. Beck would also hit Rara Thomas on a 'free play' down the near sideline for 26-yards. Though the pass was completed, and it wouldn't have mattered if he dropped it because of the offsides, but it wasn't necessarily Beck's greatest throw of all time, but I'm sure Georgia will take it. The drive would end up stalling out a few plays later, though they would register some points thanks to a 33-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring. Beck's first touchdown pass of the game would come on Georgia's second 12-play drive of the game, as he would hit Dominic Lovett on a little screen play from six-yards out for the score. Before that, dude would have a nice completion to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint for an 18-yard gain on the second play of the drive.
Though the pass is slightly behind the receiver (that's being really nit picky) I think Beck does a very nice job at climbing the pocket, analyzing the field while moving up before hitting his intended receiver for the first down. With the Missouri defender all over Rosemy-Jacksaint's back, this pass could've easily been broken up, so good job by the receiver at clamping the ball down after it hit his hands, not letting the defender have any chance at breaking up this pass. Georgia's next few drives would not be as successful, as their next three drives to end the half would combine for 10-total plays and three punts. The only time they didn't go three and out during that span was their first drive, where Beck would hit a fairly open Ladd McConkey on a roll out from their own 10-yard line for an 18-yard gain. After a Missouri field goal to start the half gave the Tigers the lead, Beck would orchestrate a nice 6-play touchdown drive to start their half off right. Leading to the touchdown, Beck would show off the athleticism by escaping some pressure to the right and dumping off to Daijun Edwards, who would pick up 23-yards. He would also hit Ladd McConkey on a little jet motion bubble screen that would gain a further 18-yards, thus setting up a 15-yard Kendall Milton touchdown run. Beck would register his second passing touchdown of the game on Georgia's next drive, which was pretty much started by him picking up four-yards on an important third and three. Dude would then zip a ball to Ladd McConkey on a 33-yard gain, which would set the Bulldogs up very nicely in the red zone.
Though the ball may be a little high, I really like the placement of this ball by Carson Beck. With a receiver like McConkey out wide, you're always going to have some sort of target to throw to down the field, as the dude is seemingly always open. With a second Missouri defender coming in a little later, this ball should either be placed on McConkey or, if you lead him, it'll probably need to be on a line. Either way, nice gain for the Bulldogs, who would see Beck register his second touchdown of the game, this time going to Oscar Delp from five-yards out for the score. Nothing insanely special on this play as Beck kind of soft tossed this ball to Delp for the score. Though it wasn't a bullet, the ball was thrown low, away from the Missouri defender that was coming in from over the top. Just a really simple play, and it gave Georgia a nice 24-13 lead late in the third. After a Missouri touchdown, plus two-point conversion, Beck would help lead the Bulldogs on another scoring drive, though this one would only result in a field goal. That being said, it's still points, and Beck would hit Delp again on this drive, this time going for 23-yards and a first down in the face of a lot of pressure.
The throw may be a little low, yes, but when the defense is clearly showing signs of blitzing right after the ball is snapped, your read has to be just as quick, if not faster than the pressure. With that, Beck does a nice job at throwing this ball where the defender(s) once was, with Delp finding a little pocket down the middle for the big gain. It's a lot easier said than done to stand tall in the pocket and deliver a catchable ball to one of your playmakers, but Beck made it look pretty easy. Beck would miss on a few passes after that play before hitting Dominic Lovett for a five-yard gain, which ultimately set up the 30-yard attempt by Woodring, which he of course made. Then after a Brady Cook interception, the Georgia offense would go down the field and attempt a 48-yard field goal, which was also made. Finally, after a solid 10-play Missouri drive, Cook would throw his second interception in as many drive, ultimately sealing the game for the Bulldogs, who came away with a 30-21 home victory. This was a very solid game from Beck, who made smart decisions in both the pass and the run game, picking up some much needed first downs with his feet on a few occasions in this outing. Next, Beck and the Bulldogs take on another top-15 team, this time in the form of the Ole Miss Rebels. Currently on a nice winning streak since their loss to Alabama back in September, this could very well be Georgia's toughest test yet. With this being in Athens, I have a hard time believing Georgia does anything but win this game, but with Ole Miss' high powered offense, you can never be too sure, right?
Preseason - NR
Wk 1 - NR
Wk 2 - NR
Wk 3 - NR
Wk 4 - NR
Wk 5 - NR
Wk 6 - NR
Wk 7 - NR
Wk 8 - NR
Wk 9 - NR
Wk 10 - 10
Wk 11 - v no.9 Ole Mis
Others
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas (NEW)
Wk 10 - 20/31 255 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/17 carries 92 yds 1 touchdown @ Florida (39-36 OT W)
Season - 163/250 1,802 yds 16 touchdowns 8 interceptions/129 carries 292 yds 2 touchdowns
Jalen Milroe, Alabama (NEW)
Wk 10 - 15/23 219 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/20 carries 155 yds 4 touchdowns v no.14 LSU (42-28 W)
Season - 114/176 1,836 yds 13 touchdowns 5 interceptions/97 carries 297 yds 9 touchdowns
Joe Milton III, Tennessee
Wk 10 - 11/14 254 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/2 carries 7 yds 1 touchdown v UConn (59-3 W)
Season - 169/258 2,017 yds 15 touchdowns 4 interceptions/59 carries 265 yds 5 touchdowns
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina
Wk 10 - 27/38 399 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/9 carries -11 yds 1 touchdown v Jacksonville State (38-28 W)
Season - 212/304 2,516 yds 14 touchdowns 6 interceptions/78 carries 63 yds 3 touchdowns
Jordan Travis, Florida State
Wk 10 - 22/36 360 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/7 carries -15 yds 1 touchdown @ Pitt (24-7 W)
Season - 186/289 2,469 yds 19 touchdowns 2 interceptions/64 carries 190 yds 7 touchdowns
Previous Rankings
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