Hello and welcome one and all to yet another Draft "Expert" blog post! This one, as you may have guessed, is covering how each quarterback did after their week 11 performances! As I said last week, isn't it crazy that we're already at week 11? Crazy and sad, right?
Though it's crazy and sad, I do think it's a very fun time as well, because we are getting further and further down the rabbit hole that is the NFL Draft. For someone like me, this time of year absolutely consumes me until I essentially have nothing left. So I guess this is kind of scary too, right?
Regardless, this is one of my favorite posts we have done so far, mostly because we have a few shake ups taking place towards the top of the list. I don't want to say too much more than that, but just know, things are looking a little different here in this weeks blog post!
I know, I know, I got you a little too excited with that blurb, I won't take anymore. So with that being said, I, Logan Blackman, the self proclaimed Draft "Expert," am proud to present my week 11 quarterback prospect rankings! Enjoy!
Podcast Links
Pictured: JJ McCarthy, Michigan; Jayden Daniels, LSU; Drake Maye, North Carolina
1. Drake Maye, North Carolina (+1)
Wk 11 - 28/43 342 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/12 carries 22 yds 2 touchdowns v Duke (47-45 2OT W)
Season - 231/351 3,145 yds 21 touchdowns 6 interceptions/93 carries 276 yds 8 touchdowns
What an insane game of college football. The North Carolina Tar Heels, led by quarterback Drake Maye, hosted the battered and bruised Duke Blue Devils last Saturday night, in a game that certainly did not disappoint. Sure Duke, though coming off a win, had lost two of their previous three games, we knew what kind of threat they'd pose to North Carolina despite starting quarterback Riley Leonard missing yet another game due to injury. A solid defensive unit with a run first offensive approach, I wouldn't have been shocked to see the Blue Devils pull of the upset, especially when you look at how both Virginia and Georgia Tech ran most of their offense(s) through the run game in their own victories against North Carolina. If Duke's defense could hold North Carolina back enough, they would have a chance, or that's at least what I thought going into the game. I did not expect to see the Blue Devils go bar-for-bar with the Tar Heels, scoring a season high 45-points while also forcing double overtime against an insane offense, led by Drake Maye, of course. Again, just an overall crazy game. As for Maye, his night started off as good as you could've liked, leading the Tar Heels on a 10-play 75-yard opening drive for their first points of the game. After Maye made an impressive play (bar) on third and four, finding Bryson Nesbit for a six-yards after fighting through a few defenders, dude would toss a very nice deep ball to Tez Walker down the near sideline for a 43-yard gain, setting them up in the red zone.
Nice throw into the bucket of Walker, helping set the Tar Heels up on the Duke nine-yard line. North Carolina would waste no time punching it in from that position, needing only two-plays to score their first points of the game, which would come via a Drake Maye touchdown run from a yard out.
There's really nothing to see from the play itself as the d-end crashed super hard, which made it an easy read for Maye, leading to the touchdown. Why I have a video of the play in here is because I love the wave Maye gives to the Duke defender before jumping into the end zone and doing a little ball flip for good measure. Hey, if your defense gets cooked that bad on a run play, you deserve to get waived at when you're giving chase and have no chance of catching him. Massive fan of this from Maye, putting an exclamation point on North Carolina's first score of the game. The Tar Heels would go on another long drive (11-plays) their next time on the field, they would ultimately have to settle for a field goal, though would push their lead up to 10 midway through the first quarter. They would settle for a field goal again on the following drive as well, but this time we'd see Maye hit J.J. Jones down the near sideline for a 31-yard gain.
This play started off insanely weird by the fact Duke was in the middle of a substitution when Maye snapped the ball. Though it gave him some time at the start, the delayed pass rush ultimately broke through, forcing him to roll out to his left. Thankfully Maye is a very good athlete, and is not only able to escape the pressure but is also able to deliver a catchable ball to Jones for the first down. With the receiver having the size advantage, Maye throws this ball high and to a place where only Jones can get it, which he does. Despite the drive ultimately stalling out, the 31-yard gain would be the only yards North Carolina would gain the rest of the drive, thus setting them up with a 31-yard field goal which Noah Burnette would make. Then, after a fluffed kickoff return forced the Tar Heels to start at their own one-yard line, Maye would throw his first interception of the game.
This is just a bad read from Maye. With the two receivers to the bottom both running digs, Maye needs to throw it to the outside, as the inside receiver should more or less clear out the other inside defenders and open a hole up for the outside receiver. Though that's the case, Maye was locked in on throwing the ball to the inside receiver, which happened to be Tez Walker. Dude didn't really looked anywhere else on the play, forcing the ball to a vastly covered Walker near the right hash. Not only does Maye make the wrong read, but the ball sails on him as well, landing right in the grateful arms of the Duke high safety. Just an all around rough play from Drake Maye, which would set the Blue Devils up at the UNC 14. Duke would score with the short field, giving them a 14-13 lead later on in the second quarter. North Carolina would take the lead back on their next drive, with a 48-yard bomb from Maye to Walker helping set up a 25-yard field goal for Burnette, making the score 16-14.
Maybe not Maye's best throw, as the double clutch seemed to kind of throw off his timing, but still, when you have a receiver like Tez Walker, you can afford to toss up a 50/50 ball becuase he'll come down with it more times than not. Like we said before, the drive would halt after that play and they'd have to settle for a field goal, though it would help then take the lead late in the second. On their first drive of the second half, Maye would pull a little magic out of the hat on a third and two play.
With pressure screaming off the edge from the right side of the formation, Maye decides he'd be better off trying to tuck it and pick up the first down with his legs than he would be trying to force the ball to one of his receivers. The issue is, when decided to run, the hole closed up on him fairly quick, making it seem like the Tar Heels would get nothing out of the play. Thanks to quick thinking, he pulls an Ed Reed and decides to pitch it to Omarion Hampton who would pick up the rest on third and two, extending North Carolina's drive even further. The rest of this drive would be pretty chaotic, as the Tar Heels would be forced to go for it on fourth down twice, with the second one being the more impressive out of the two.
This is just straight will power from Drake Maye on this play. Dead to rights at the start, but ends up getting the ball to Jones while getting dragged down to the turf for the first down. Can't really ask for much more from your quarterback, can you? They would be met with a third fourth down a few plays later, but would just take the points and settle for the field goal rather than go for it again, making the score 19-14 midway through the third. Though they only managed to score three, you don't see a lot of 16-play drives, which is what the Tar Heels did on that drive, pretty impressive stuff. North Carolina would finally score a touchdown on their next drive, thanks to a two-yard run by Omarion Hampton, which was essentially set up by Maye going Superman mode and leaping over a defender to pick up a first down in the red zone.
I think he must've been reading the linebacker on this play because with the d-end staying, he probably should've handed it off. But again, if he's reading the linebacker, it's a solid read because dude crashed right away. Regardless of where the read key was, Maye does an excellent job at getting around the aforementioned defensive end, before cutting up field and jumping over a Duke defender to help North Carolina pick up the first down. This is something Maye has in his locker. Dude is an excellent athlete, and uses that athleticism to not only pick up the first, but hurdle a dude for it, just really cool stuff out of the UNC quarterback, which would ultimately set up Hampton's two-yard score. After Duke followed a score with an onside kick and another score, North Carolina was now playing catch-up with just over five-minutes left in the game. With the game potentially on the line, Maye would throw one of his best deep balls of the season, hitting Tez Walker in stride for 43-yards and a big time first down.
What a throw by Drake Maye. Though, it was a fairly simple read, as the defense is begging you, for some reason, to hit your best receiver down the field. Leaving a corner on an island with Tez Walker should be considered malpractice, and Maye absolutely made them pay for their sins by tossing up a beautiful ball to Walker to the 43-yard gain. Maye would throw a near interception while helping North Carolina pick up a first down on third and 14 later on in the drive, but just before hitting Bryson Nesbit in the end zone from 15-yards out to reclaim the lead late in the fourth quarter.
Great throw and great catch between quarterback and tight end on this play. Fitting that it was Nesbitt who scored the touchdown, as he was the one who pretty much bailed Maye out on the near interception. With the defender all over Nesbitt, Maye does a nice job at throwing this semi-back shoulder and making his tight end make a play against the smaller defender. Though the Tar Heels were able to take the lead back on that drive, Duke would march right down the field on their next drive and register a touchdown of their own, giving them the lead with under a minute to go in regulation. Thankfully for North Carolina fans, the offense was able to sustain a decent drive their next time out, helping set up a potential 43-yard game tying field goal with three-seconds left, which Burnette would narrowly make to force overtime. After trading field goals in the first overtime, Maye would call his own number on second and two from five-yards out, giving the Tar Heels the lead and ultimately the game as Duke would fail to score on their two-point conversion play after their touchdown, giving North Carolina a 47-45 victory in double overtime. Can't really ask more of a rivalry game, can you? With this likely being Maye's last game in Chapel Hill, it sure is nice to send him out with a win, which was made even better by the fact that he scored the game winning touchdown. North Carolina's final two regular season games are on the road, with the trip starting off against a 6-4 Clemson team that has won it's last two games, one against a team the Tar Heels lost to. This game is really the battle of the unstoppable force vs the immovable object, as this game puts the ACC's top offense (UNC) against the ACC's top defense (Clemson). We should be in for a very fun Saturday afternoon match-up down in South Carolina.
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 - 1
Wk 12 - @ Clemson
2. Caleb Williams, USC (-1)
Wk 11 - 19/34 291 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/8 carries -11 yds 1 touchdown @ no.6 Oregon (36-27 L)
Season - 235/346 3,249 yds 29 touchdowns 4 interceptions/90 carries 156 yds 11 touchdowns
Things just keep going in the wrong direction for Caleb Williams and the USC Trojans. After starting the season 6-0, the Trojans have lost four of their last five games, with their only win coming in a 50-49 thriller against Cal a couple of weeks ago. As we mentioned in last weeks blog post, there's only so much USC's offense can do. Through these past five games, USC's defense has given up 40.5 points per game, which forces their offense to be near perfect if they want to pull out any wins. But against teams like Oregon you have to almost be more than perfect, as the Ducks not only lead all of college football in points per game, while also ranking second in yards per game, they also posses a top-20 defense in yards per game while giving up only 17.1 points per game, which is pretty crazy given how insane the PAC-12 has been offensively this year. Oregon is arguably the most complete team in college football, and with this game being played in Eugene, the outcome was fairly predictable, especially given USC's downturn and Oregon's red hot form. As for Caleb Williams, individually, this wasn't his greatest performance, posting season lows in completion percentage and rushing yards in the loss. That being said, Williams did register his first reception of the season, with receiver Mario Williams hitting him in the flat for a 15-yard gain on USC's first offensive possession. A holding penalty and a Caleb Williams sack would ultimately force the Trojans to punt the ball away after five-plays. After an Oregon opening drive touchdown, Williams would help USC find the end zone for the first time in the game, leading a 10-play 74-yard drive that was finished off by a five-yard MarShawn Lloyd touchdown run. Before the score, we'd see Williams buy some time in the pocket, before rolling to his right and delivering a ball down the field to Dorian Singer for a 44-yard gain.
Though he could've hit the crossing route early on in the development of the play, with the linebacker playing as a spy, the play may have been shut down as soon as it started, so I like the fact that he decided to roll outside the pocket and deliver the ball down the field for the first. Worst case scenario, the ball falls incomplete, so whether he threw it to the crossing route or if the pass to Singer fell incomplete, they would've been stuck in a third and long situation, so might as well take the chance on the bigger play, right? Williams would set up Lloyd's touchdown run a few plays later, showing off the elusiveness on a third and five play that picked up eight yards and a first down.
If you look to the bottom, the Trojans were trying to set up a slot fade with the outside receiver running a hitch route. Unfortunately Oregon played it really well, bringing the linebacker over to help the corner out on the fade, completely eliminating him from the play. With that being the go to spot, Williams is forced to ad-lib, covering a bunch of yards in the backfield before picking up the first down in very impressive fashion. As we insinuated before, MarShawn Lloyd would score on the very next play, tying the game back up at seven midway through the first quarter. It would take a couple drives for USC to find the end zone again, punting on drives that went for four and 10 plays. On their 10-play drive, Williams would be forced to roll outside the pocket, before throwing across his body to Tahj Washington for a 10-yard gain on third and 10.
Good job at seeing the free blitzer by Williams at the start of the play and rolling out to his right. Dude came through as untouched as you could possible want as a defensive coordinator, but Williams shows of the athleticism and escapability by not only getting away from the rusher from the backside, but also the rusher coming from the right side of the offensive line, which he had to get around before delivering the ball to Washington. Now, though it ended up working out, it's not a very wise play to try and throw a ball across your body, especially when there are defenders giving chase. This is widely considered to be rule number one when it comes to quarterbacking, but thankfully Williams sucked in the final two defenders, leaving Washington open about two or three yards past the line of scrimmage. He's got the talent to do that, but I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to do that on a consistent basis, even though it ultimately ended up working out. The drive would stall out a few plays later. That being said, USC would be able to find the end zone before the half, with Williams scoring first first rushing touchdown of the evening. Before the score, Williams would hit Tahj Washington on a crossing route, which would pick up 59-yards and set the Trojans up in the red zone.
This isn't the most insane example, but this is what some would call 'arm arrogance.' With pressure coming up the middle, Williams throws a really nice ball to Washington off his back foot, hitting the receiver in stride for the massive gain. Why this could be considered arm arrogance is because there's no reason that should've been as easy as it was. With a defender in his face, forcing him to throw it off his back foot, Williams shouldn't be able to hit his intended receiver that effortlessly. Just a very nice play from everyone involved, which would set up Williams touchdown run a few plays later, with the quarterback walking it in from two-yards out to bring the score to within eight, making the score now 22-14 late in the second quarter. The second half wouldn't start off too smoothly for Williams and the Trojan offense, as they'd be forced to punt the ball away after six-plays on their first drive, then followed by a mesh point fumble between Williams and running back Austin Jones, handing the ball back to the Ducks offense. No worse turnover in football then a mesh point fumble, as it is widely seen as the easiest exchange on the field, minus going under center. It's not what you want to see, and Oregon would of course capitalize on the turnover five-plays later. That being said, Williams would bounce back on USC's next drive, hitting Brenden Rice on a back shoulder throw from nine-yards out to gift the Trojans their first points of the half.
Gotta love a nice back shoulder throw, right? With the Oregon defender shading inside while also matching Rice for steps, the only option for Williams is to throw this ball to Rice's back shoulder, which he does very well here. It's funny because they ran pretty much the exact same play the play before, but this time it ended up working out. Williams and Rice have had a solid connection all year, so this should be no surprise that they got one of the back shoulder throws to work out. After an Oregon missed field goal, USC would find the end zone on their next drive, thanks to a 13-yard run by Austin Jones. Prior to the score, Williams would hit a few slants and hitches, with the biggest gainer coming from a Brenden Rice slant that went for 37-yards. Following a missed two-point conversion, the score out be 36-27 with just under four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, despite them clawing back, the Trojans would fall to the Ducks by that score, losing for the second straight week in a row against a top-10 team. Despite not putting up the greatest numbers, Williams did have himself a solid game. With him at the helm, the Trojans showed little to no quit, despite being down 36-14 in the fourth quarter. USC will face another tough defense this week, going against a UCLA Bruins team that atop the PAC-12 in regards to total defense, whether that be yards or points. Despite losing their last two games to Arizona schools, UCLA is a very tough outfit, and could give the Trojans some problems come Saturday. Neither team is on the best run of form, but I do expect USC to come away with the home dub.
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 - 2
Wk 12 - v UCLA
3. JJ McCarthy, Michigan
Wk 11 - 7/8 60 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/8 carries 34 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.10 Penn State (24-15 W)
Season - 163/214 2,194 yds 18 touchdowns 3 interceptions/45 carries 171 yds 3 touchdowns
This game was classic, old school, Big 10 football at it's finest. Two top-10 teams, both with incredibly sound defenses and solid ground games took the field last Saturday as the Michigan Wolverines came to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions, coming out 24-15 victors. This game was very interesting. Not because it was high scoring or high octane or anything like that, but because neither team registered over 100-yards passing in this game, with Drew Allar passing for 70 and JJ McCarthy, who we're going to focus on here, passing for just 60. Though the latter was extremely efficient, completing seven of eight passes, you would expect more from a guy who tweeted 'bet' before the game. Like, I don't think you can tweet that and not ball out, but that's what McCarthy did. Not to say he played bad by any means, it was just slightly underwhelming. That being said, dude didn't really need to do a whole lot in this game, as Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards combined for 197-yards on 36-carries with three touchdowns. Not to discredit McCarthy's output of 34-yards on eight-carries, but this game was dominated by Michigan's top two backs. Though they've garnered a lot of attention from this game, and rightfully so, Michigan's first scoring drive would've been dead in the water had McCarthy not picked up 13-yards on the ground on third and 10.
He may not flash it as much as Jayden Daniels, but JJ McCarthy has got some wheels on him, and they were fully on display on this run. It must be said, excellent blocking downfield by the Michigan offensive line, keeping McCarthy clean and upright until he was already a few yards past the sticks. But dude hit that corner hard, cut it up, and picked up the first, really solid play from the Wolverines on third down. McCarthy would complete a couple of passes to Semaj Morgan, with the second going for 19-yards on a screen play, before Blake Corum would punch it in from 3-yards out to score the games first touchdown, thus giving Michigan the lead. JJ McCarthy would flash the athleticism on Michigan's next scoring drive, though instead of picking up the first on the ground, he used his arm.
Nice job by McCarthy at feeling the pressure coming off the backside and getting outside of the pocket, evading another Nittany Lion edge rusher from the nearside as well. As we've discussed before, McCarthy is very good at throwing on the run, and despite this seemingly just being a bog standard hitch route by Cornelius Johnson, McCarthy had to put some extra zip on the ball so it wouldn't be picked off by the Penn State defender. Just an overall solid play by McCarthy and it helped Michigan pick up the first down. A few plays later, Donovan Edwards would scamper in from 22-yards out on third and 11 to give the Wolverines a nice 14-3 lead midway through the second quarter. On their opening drive of the second half, following a Drew Allar fumble, McCarthy would help pick up a first down for Michigan on fourth and two, picking up nine-yards in the process.
McCarthy does a very nice job at not trying to force the issue with a pass. As you can see in the video, he analyze every option in the pass game available to him before deciding to tuck in a run for a first. This is the kind of thing JJ McCarthy can kill you will as he's a very smart decision maker with the ball in his hands. He rarely ever forces the issue and he's so good with his legs that he can absolutely kill you on the ground, which is what he did here. He would run for a further nine-yards a few plays later, picking up another Michigan first down and helping set up a 22-yard field goal attempt for James Turner, which he would make, giving Michigan a 17-9 lead in the third quarter. Both defenses would take over on each offenses next few drives, with their being six punts in the next seven drives, with the lone exception coming on a failed fourth down attempt by Penn State. What makes it even crazier is that four of those six drives resulted in the offense going three and out. Defenses really buckled down on those drives, at least until Blake Corum registered his second rushing touchdown of the day, giving Michigan a 24-9 advantage in the fourth, ultimately sealing the game. Penn State would find the end zone on their final possession but it'd be too little too late, as the Wolverines would, again, come out 24-15 road victors. As we brought up before, McCarthy may not have had to do too much, but when he did, he helped pick up big time first downs that would ultimately lead to scores for Michigan, and sometimes that's all you need your quarterback to do. Not to mention he didn't turn the ball over for the seventh straight game, though he did fail to register a passing touchdown for the second straight week. Regardless, I'm sure all he cares about is that Michigan got the dub. This week McCarthy and the Wolverines take on the Maryland Terrapins, who are coming off their first win since they beat Indiana back on September 30th. Despite this game being on the road, I fully expect Michigan to dispatch a struggling Maryland team with relative ease, setting up a potentially undefeated match-up in the Big House in a weeks time, as Michigan hosts the Ohio State Buckeyes.
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 - 3
Wk 12 - @ Maryland
4. Jayden Daniels, LSU (+1)
Wk 11 - 17/26 372 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/12 carries 234 yds 2 touchdowns v Florida (52-35 W)
Season - 195/273 3,164 yds 30 touchdowns 4 interceptions/114 carries 918 yds 8 touchdowns
I'm going to be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a game like the one Jayden Daniels had last Saturday against Florida. Not only did LSU come out on top 52-35, Daniels totaled a whopping 372-yards through the air and 234-yards on the ground, with five total touchdowns. For those who aren't so great at math, Daniels, by himself, totaled 606-yards of total offense. Let me repeat that. One individual totaled 606-yards of offense, in a single game. That is utterly ridiculous. Are we seriously still having actual conversations about who should take home the Heisman Trophy? As we've stated for the past few weeks, no one has really made a better case for winning the Heisman Trophy this year than Daniels. Not only is the dude ranked in the top-three in the nation in passing yards, he also leads the nation in rushing yards by a quarterback, ranking in the top-30 for rushing yards regardless of position. If it weren't for team record, Daniels would have already locked up the award, and rightfully so, especially since he was already near or at the top of those statistical categories before LSU's double digit win against Florida. This was a truly special performance from Daniels who came out firing on LSU's first offensive possession, hitting a couple passes to Nabers for nice gains (with one going for 38-yards on a pass that traveled about eight-yards through the air) as well as picking up 14-yards on the ground before Josh Williams punched it in from a yard out to give the Tigers the early lead. Though they scored from the one on their first drive, LSU's second drive would stall out on the one after an impressive 11-play drive, which would see Daniels hit a few intermediate passes before Williams was handed the ball on three-straight plays from the one, though he couldn't punch it in. The Tigers next drive would also see them turn it over on downs, but they would get back to scoring on their following drive, which was essentially started by Daniels hitting Brian Thomas Jr. down the far sideline for a 41-yard gain on second and 10.
Much like the Heisman, one thing we have constantly said about Daniels is that he throws, arguably, the best deep ball in all of college football. Not saying that he has the strongest arm, but the dude always shows excellent touch and timing on his deep throws, and that was certainly on display with this throw to Brian Thomas. Like, this was essentially like watching two dudes play catch on air. This is the type of thing you see when quarterbacks and receivers are warming up before games. Thomas didn't need to speed up or slow down on this play, as Daniels placed this ball right in the bread basket for the big time gain and a first down. The dude would flash the athleticism on the very next play, squirting up the middle for 38-yards to put LSU in the red zone.
This is just something you cannot teach. Daniels has insane speed for the quarterback position, being able to not only avoid the pressure from the Florida defensive line, but also allowing him to burst past the other Gator defenders further down the field. Like, there were two or three Florida players that should've had the angle on Daniels, but the dude just cut through them like a hot knife through butter, being able to pick up 38-yards on a play where most quarterbacks would only be able to pick up five. It's not often the most electrifying player on the field is at the quarterback position, but that's exactly the case when LSU take the field on offense. Following the two monster plays, LSU would ultimately have to settle for three, as they'd only gain a few more yards on the drive. That being said, though they had to take a field goal, it did give them their lead back, making the score 10-7 in the second. Daniels would make damn sure LSU's next drive wouldn't stall out, as he called his own number on a read option play and took the ball 85-yards for the score.
What did I just get done saying? It's insanely rare to have a quarterback that is the most electrifying player on the field, and yet every time Daniels lines up behind the center, that is always the case. If you're Florida, why not have someone spy Daniels at all times? I know it's easier said than done, but you can't just leave the d-end on an island like that. If he crashes that hard any quarterback worth their snuff would pull it, it just so happens that this quarterback is the best rushing quarterback in all of college football. I got to say though, great block by Malik Nabers down the field. Not only did he stop his defender dead in his tracks, but the defender giving chase to Daniels was de-facto blocked by Nabers as well, which made Daniels' path to the end zone that much easier. After stalling in plus territory three times before, it was nice to see Daniels finally punch the ball across the goal line to give the Tigers a double digit lead. LSU would be forced to punt on their next possession, but would find the end zone again on the following drive, with Daniels registering two-plays of 25+ yards, one on the ground and one through the air.
You know when I said Florida should've had someone spy Daniels on the 85-yard touchdown run? Well, this time they did, just to have Daniels burn past him once he got to the line of scrimmage, not to mention the 27-total yards he'd gain on the run. Dude would come back a couple plays later and hit on his second 25+ yard play, this one going to a wide ass open Josh Williams, who would go for 45-yards and nearly take it the distance before being tackled at the Florida five-yard line. The Tigers would score a couple plays later thanks to a Kaleb Jackson five-yard rush. Florida would take the lead on their next couple drives, stacking touchdowns to take a 28-24 lead midway through the third quarter. That being said, Daniels would come back with a touchdown of his own on LSU's next drive, taking it in from 51-yards to give the Tigers back the lead.
Insert a Chris Berman 'whoop' on the move Daniels gave to the Florida defender at the first down marker cause that was just mean. After cutting up the middle of the defensive line, Daniels makes one dude miss before finding himself with nothing but grass around him, even taking time to appreciate his work before getting across the goal line for the score. Like I said with Drake Maye before, I love the subtle look back by Daniels, essentially letting the whole Florida defense know that he just cooked them for about the 10th time in this game. Dude cooked on this play, which helped give the Tigers the lead again. Daniels would get his first passing touchdown of the game on LSU's next drive, dumping it off to Noah Cain from six-yards out for the score. Though the touchdown is the most important thing, the most impressive play on the drive came on their second play, with Daniels hitting Brian Thomas Jr. again down the sideline, this time going for 52-yards.
Again, just a perfectly thrown ball by Daniels to Thomas for the massive gain. Touch, placement, everything was damn near perfect on this play, which again, helped set up Daniels' first passing touchdown of the game, thus giving the Tigers a 10-point advantage. The dude's passing touchdown streak would continue on LSU's next possession. After hitting on a 44-yard gain to Malik Nabers, Daniels would find Thomas, again, this time from 37-yards out and a touchdown.
Maybe not Daniels greatest ever throw, but like we've said before, all that matters is that it ended up being an LSU touchdown. Great job by Thomas at adjusting to this ball while it was traveling through the air, making a nice low grab in the back of the end zone for the score. LSU's offense is just full of killers. Led by Daniels, they can go down the field in meer seconds, needing only three-plays to retake the lead with their big three players all contributing on the drive. Daniels throw for his third and final touchdown on LSU's next drive, shoveling it to Thomas via a pop pass from seven-yards out to give the Tigers a 52-35 lead, which would ultimately be the final score. Just an out of this world performance from Jayden Daniels. It's not everyday that you see someone individually total over 600-yards of offense in one game, and yet Daniels did exactly that, throwing in five total touchdown to boot as well. Though we already thought it, this performance should all but seal up the Heisman for Daniels, though he does face still competition from a certain wide receiver at Ohio State. As for their next game, LSU will be taking on the Panthers of Georgia State, who have lost their last three-games after starting 6-1. I guess it doesn't really matter what their record was going into this game, barring something insane happening, LSU should have little to no difficulty dominating this game, especially given how the Panthers have one of the worst defenses in the Sun Belt conference. I don't expect Daniels to put up anywhere the same numbers this week as he did last week, though I do expect him to once again put up solid numbers and play maybe one drive in the third quarter, resting up before their final regular season game against Texas A&M.
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 - 4
Wk 12 - v Georgia State
5. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (-1)
Wk 11 - 24/42 332 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries -14 yds 1 touchdown v no.18 Utah (35-28 W)
Season - 249/366 3,533 yds 28 touchdowns 7 interceptions/20 carries -27 yds 2 touchdowns
Another week, another dub for Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies, moving them to an impressive 10-0 on the season. Now this just isn't another normal, their win against Utah this past weekend is the third win they've registered against a top-20 team this season, beating Oregon and USC prior to defeating Utah by a score of 35-28. That's pretty impressive stuff, right? What makes it even better for the Huskies is that they were able to register 35-points against a defense that gives up, on average, 17.8 points per game. That being said, it shouldn't be too surprising given Washington's insane offensive fire power, boasting a top five scoring offense that is spear headed by the nation's leading passer, Michael Penix. In this game for Penix, though he completed a near season low 57.1% of his passes, he was able to bite the turnover bug, posting his first game without an interception since Washington played Arizona back on September 30th. He also managed to post yet another 300+ yard passing game as well as register three total touchdowns, two through the air and one on the ground, which marks the second consecutive week with a rushing touchdown for Penix. As for the game as a whole, Washington didn't necessarily start as fast as they may've wanted to, going three and out on their first possession of the ball game. That being said, they would come out firing on their next drive, with Penix scoring from two-yards out to give the Huskies the early 7-0 advantage.
When you saw Michael Penix had a touchdown run in this game, I'm sure a lot of you thought that it would've come via a quarterback sneak like we saw last week against USC. Well, to the shock of everyone, including the Utah defense, this was a designed quarterback keeper around the left side, and it worked to perfection. Now, Penix isn't slow by any means, but given his injury history he has more or less throttled back on the run plays, until recently. Before these past two games, Penix max rush attempts in a game was two. Over the course of these two games he has totaled three and five, despite not rushing for a whole lot of yards. I never really expected to see him score a touchdown like this, but I can't say I don't like it, helping the Huskies take the first lead of the game. Though their next drive would only result in a field goal, Penix would make a big time throw to Ja'Lynn Polk down the far sideline for a 30-yard gain.
With a defender crashing down in his face, Penix manages to stay tall in the pocket and deliver a very nice ball to Polk for the first down. I'm not even sure Penix got all he wanted to on that throw, as the defender coming in made it look like dude was forced to short arm the throw, but was still able to get it there. Penix has got a plus arm, so regardless of he short armed it or not, I'm not surprised it was still able to travel 25-30 yards. Also, great hands catch by Polk, showed off great hand strength at bringing that ball down with the Utah defender right on him. Penix would go on to miss Rome Odunze down the far sideline in the end zone, forcing the Huskies to settle for a field goal, which Grady Gross would make from 41-yards out. Though he missed him on that drive, he wouldn't miss him Washington's next time on the field, hitting him with a damn near perfect ball from 34-yards out to put the Huskies back on top 17-14 midway through the second.
First off, Odunze lining up in the slot should be considered illegal. Don't matter how far the defender is playing off, if Odunze is lined up in the slot, and I know he's running a deep route, I'm throwing to him. As for Penix, he does a really nice job at looking off to the left at the start of this play, before flipping to the right, evading some pressure, and delivering a dime to his number one target for the score. Before then though, Penix would make an impressive throw up the middle to his tight end, Jack Westover, for a 28-yard gain.
As we've stated in previous blog posts, there aren't a lot of quarterbacks at hitting back shoulder throws than Michael Penix. With the defender guarding Westover to the inside, and the safety playing over top, anything inside would've resulted in a pass breakup or an interception. So, with this ball being thrown to Westover's back shoulder, this places the ball away from both defenders in a spot where only his intended receiver could get it. The only thing is that you and your receiver have to be perfectly in sync for this to work, which they were, resulting in a nice 28-yard gain. Penix would connect with another receiver on Washington's next drive for 28-yards as well, this time hitting Germie Bernard on a bubble screen that he would take for a big gain after breaking a few tackles. After a defensive pass interference moved Washington to the 13-yard line, Dillon Johnson would be able to punch it in from five-yards out to give the Huskies a 24-21 lead late in the second. Though their next two drives would end in punts, Penix would hook up with Rome Odunze for 44-yards to help set up an eventual 38-yard field goal, putting them to within one to start the second half.
Maybe this ball should've been thrown more inside, but that's just me being nit picky. Look, when you have a receiver like Rome Odunze, who is widely considered to be one of the best in all of college football, you can kind of put the ball anywhere and expect him to come down with it, that's just what he does. But with the safety playing to Odunze's outside, yeah, it probably should've gone inside, but it works all the same. 44-yards is 44-yards, and it helped set up the Huskies aforementioned first points of the half, bringing them to within one. Washington's next drive would see them score their first touchdown of the half. After hitting Jack Westover for 10-yards on fourth and two on another back shoulder throw, Penix would find Odunze 33-yards down the field for the score.
Again, being nit picky, not Penix's best throw. A little too inside, the defender probably should've made a better play on the ball, but with Odunze being the intended receiver, the chances of this ball being caught sky rocketed. I don't want to make it sound like it was a bad throw or anything, let's not be stupid here it wasn't, but I do think this pass was a lot closer to being broken up then it should've been. Now, it must be said, Penix did an excellent job at looking to the receiver closer to the near sideline, as that sucked the safety down just enough to create a bigger window to hit Odunze in. Regardless, the end result was a touchdown for Washington, so I'm sure they'll take it no matter how they come. After a failed Odunze pass on a two-point conversion play, Washington would have to take solace with a 33-28 lead later on in the third. Then, in a weird turn of events, the Washington defense picked off Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes, taking it back for what at first looked like a touchdown. On closer examination, Alphonzo Tuputala dropped the ball before he crossed the goal line, which Utah would end up recovering, putting the ball at the one-yard line. To make things even weirder, the defense would stuff Utah's ensuing rushing attempt in the end zone for a safety, making the score now 35-28 in favor of the Huskies. Though they wouldn't score for the rest of the game following the safety (thanks to a punt and a missed field goal), Penix would still help Washington move the ball, hitting Ja'Lynn Polk for 10-yards on second and nine with a bunch of pressure in his face.
With pressure coming from the left side of the formation, Penix does a very nice job at not getting too flustered. Instead, he calmly back pedals to buy more time for himself and Polk. Not only did he complete the pass, but he actually threw a really nice ball to his intended receiver, keeping the ball away from the defender as well as putting it in a place where Polk could make a move up field once he caught it. Though that drive would end with a block field goal, it's still a very nice play from both Penix and Polk to help Washington pick up a first down. All in all though, no point would be scored by either team in the fourth quarter, and Washington would come out 35-28 victors over Utah. Definitely not Penix's greatest game, but I'm sure both he and the rest of the Huskies will take a home conference win against a tough team in Utah. They've got another tough battle ahead this week as they take on the 11th ranked Oregon State Beavers. This could honestly be Washington's toughest test yet, as the Beavers are one of the most physical teams in all of college football, possessing one of the best offensive lines in the country. Though I think Washington can get a dub on the road, it all depends on if they can match the Beavers physicality. DJ U v Penix could be one of the best transfer QB battles so far this season.
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 - 5
Wk 12 - @ no.11 Oregon State
6. Bo Nix, Oregon
Wk 11 - 23/31 412 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry 5 yds 0 touchdowns v USC (36-27 W)
Season - 258/332 3,135 yds 29 touchdowns 2 interceptions/38 carries 121 yds 5 touchdowns
What a tear Bo Nix has been on as of late, right? Throughout the first two months of the college football season, Nix only had one game with four passing touchdowns, which came in Oregon's weird game against Stanford back on September 30th. Since the calendar turned over to November, Nix has thrown four touchdowns in each of the past two games, coming against a couple of California schools in the form of Cal and, most recently, USC. Not only did he toss four touchdowns in the 36-27 win over the Trojans, Nix also tallied his first 400+ yard passing game of the season, throwing for 412-yards yards on just 23-completions, his joint third lowest total of the season. From a passing standpoint, it doesn't get much easier for a top tier quarterback than it does against USC's defense. The total yards and touchdowns are impressive, but when you look deeper, you would see that the Ducks averaged 32.9 yards per completion. That is pretty ridiculous, and that was pretty much on display on Oregon's second play from scrimmage, where Nix would hit Tez Johnson up the far sideline for a 77-yard score to put Oregon up early.
One of the most run route combinations in all of college football, the receiver to the top of the field stops his route at five yards, hoping to leave an opening for the slot receiver and the quarterback to fit the ball in there for a nice gain. In this case, with the USC safety beating Johnson for strides, the only place Nix can really put this ball is on the back shoulder. Though it may not have been the greatest back shoulder ball ever, it was still effective, and Johnson was able to shake a few defenders before taking it all the way to the end zone for six. Nix and co. would score almost as quickly on their second drive of the game, with Nix finding Troy Franklin across the middle for a 84-yard touchdown.
First off, I don't really know who #4 was looking at from USC. Dude completely turned his head around and Franklin just breezed past him, and everyone else, for the score. Just as simple as you'd like, right? Franklin didn't really even need to do too much on this route, as once he cut inside he was wide ass open. Nice job by Nix at recognizing how open his receiver was and placing the ball more on his body than too far either side of him. As we've discussed before, if someone is wide ass open, the best thing to do is either under throw them, or in this case with a crossing route, put the ball right on his hip. With this, Franklin is able to get his head up and turn his hips quicker to get up field, and for a guy with that speed, that should count as cheating. USC had absolutely no chance at catching him once he caught the ball, and it helped give Oregon some of the easiest six-points they'll ever get. Five-plays, 13-points (missed two-point conversion), can't really ask for much more. The Ducks would continue their scoring ways their next time on the field, this time though they'd take a slower, more methodical approach. What's funny is that if it weren't for an offsides penalty, Oregon would've turned the ball over on downs, as Nix failed to pick up any yards on a quarterback sneak on fourth and one. After a few Bucky Irving runs, and a pass, Nix would find his tight end, Terrance Ferguson, from 15-yards out for the touchdown.
With the safety playing over top, Nix does a nice job at throwing this ball to Ferguson's back shoulder, keeping both him and the ball away from any defender. Though Ferguson has some space between him and any USC defender, you can never be too sure, so I really like the throw from Nix and it resulted in yet another Oregon touchdown. Now, I'm all for Oregon being aggressive. If they want to go for two every time, fine, that's in their DNA, but c'mon, you're up two-scores, a field goal would be perfect acceptable in this situation. But alas, the Ducks got to fly, and they failed on their second two-point conversion of the game, making the score 19-7 in favor of Oregon. A few plays in to their next drive, we'd see Nix dial up the deep ball again, hitting a fairly wide open Troy Franklin down the near sideline for a massive 63-yard gain.
Pretty clear to see how Oregon averaged 32.9 yards per attempt now, isn't it? Like, I don't think USC actually practices defense. This game isn't an exception either, they have been trash all season long, but Oregon's plays are so quick that they give the Trojans little to no time to actually react, which killed them the entire game. As for this play, what a fantastic combination Nix and Franklin are, right? Nix didn't even really need to try reading the defense, he saw a defender playing man against his top receiver with the nearest 'help' being on the hash mark. This was like taking candy from a baby, it's just a shame the Ducks could end this drive with another touchdown, being forced to settle for a field goal, making the game 22-7 in favor of the Ducks. Though their last official drive ended in a field goal, the Ducks were able to hop back in the touchdown wagon on their first drive of the second half, with Nix playing the role of Houdini by spinning out of a would be sack and tossing it to Tez Johnson for the 21-yard touchdown.
I don't know if the spin was 100% necessary but hey, it was cool. Football is a form of entertainment, right? Though the spin is one thing, but finding Johnson in the end zone for the score really capped it off. It's kind of like crossing someone up in basketball, it only counts if you make the basket. Like, could you imagine if James Harden missed his jump shot after snatching both of Wesley Johnson's ankles? We may have still seen it, but not to the extent we do now. Like this play, Harden was open, much like Johnson, so if Nix missed him it wouldn't have been as cool, get what I'm saying? I'm not trying to directly compare the 'coolness' of each play as the Harden play is vastly superior, I'm just saying you got to have the exclamation point at the end of the sentence after you do something cool. Regardless, it all counts for six, with Oregon getting their lead back to double digits. After punting on their next drive, the Ducks would come back onto the field and score rather quickly, needing only five-plays for Bucky Irving to run it in from 11-yards out, really putting the final nail in the coffin. Nix would hit on a few short and intermediate passes on their next drive, but kicker Camden Lewis would miss the ensuing 41-yard field goal, keeping their tally at 36. That being said, it wouldn't ultimately matter, as USC wouldn't be able to catch the Ducks, despite scoring a touchdown to get the to within nine with just under four-minutes left. Though the Trojans showed a lot of fight, the Ducks had control of this game throughout, coming away with a 36-27 home victory. I expect their winning ways to continue this week against a 3-7 Arizona State team, who are fresh off a 17-7 win against UCLA. Despite their record, the Sun Devils are a tough outfit, keeping up with some high powered offenses in USC, Colorado, and famously Washington, where they held the Huskies to just 15-points. Being in the desert could present some challenges for the Ducks, but I think they're just too complete of a team to come out on the losing end of this one.
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 - 6
Wk 12 - @ Arizona State
7. Carson Beck, Georgia (+3)
Wk 11 - 18/25 306 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/4 carries 30 yds 0 touchdowns v no.9 Ole Miss (52-17 W)
Season - 231/320 3,022 yds 18 touchdowns 5 interceptions/43 carries 99 yds 3 touchdowns
For the offset, this game looked a lot better than it ended up being. I'm aware Georgia is just this super nova school that produces the biggest and fastest players in all of college football, but I thought Ole Miss would be able to compete throughout the game at least, especially since they have a top-three offense in the SEC, behind only LSU and Georgia. Now, that's where the problem lies, Georgia's defense usually gets the credit, and it's easy to see why, but their offense is consistently one of the best in the conference, even ranking in the top two the past two seasons in regards to yards per game. Why that's an issue for someone who thought this would be a somewhat close game is that Ole Miss' defense stinks, ranking fourth from the bottom in yards allowed per game, which is not ideal when you're taking on a top-two offense on the road. It's normally a recipe for disaster, and that's what it ended up being, with Georgia taking home a 52-17 victory. Now, I do want to give some credit to the Rebels in this one, as they did attempt to go bar-for-bar with Georgia early on, even being tied at 14 at the start of the second quarter. That would be as close as it got though, as Georgia would take their score up to 45 before Ole Miss registered any more points. Like I said, it ended up being an ass kicking. As for Georgia and quarterback Carson Beck, this was essentially just business as usual, as their offense just ripped apart Ole Miss' secondary and their run game dominated in the trenches. All in all, Georgia totaled 611-yards of total offense (only five-more than Jayden Daniels had by himself), with 311 coming from the passing game and 300 coming from the run game. For Carson Beck, he totaled 306-yards through the air with two touchdowns, though he did throw his fifth interception of the season. He also put up a solid 30-yards on the ground as well, just an overall solid day from the first year starter. Things would start off pretty good for him and the Georgia offense early on, traveling 75-yards in six-plays for their first score, with Beck hitting Rara Thomas for a 44-yard gain.
At first glance, you probably wouldn't think it was that nice of a pass. But on second glance, as you can see by the clip above, it's a very nice pass from Beck to Rara Thomas. Though the safety playing over top is a little further away, you don't want to lead your receiver into his path. With placing the ball behind Thomas, the switches up his momentum, forcing him to turn into the open space to the far sideline rather than carry him into the middle of the field. Now, this is where a lot of practice comes into play, because if Thomas isn't aware of the situation, this pass is probably getting picked off. Great understanding between quarterback and wide receiver to pick up a massive gain for the Bulldogs which again, would help set up their first touchdown which would come via a one-yard Daijun Edwards run. It wouldn't take many plays for Georgia to score on their next drive. Following two nice runs by Edwards, Beck would hit Ladd McConkey between two-defenders, up the seam, for a 29-yard touchdown.
Long and short of this play, this was an absolute dart from Carson Beck to Ladd McConkey for the touchdown. First off, I think it's funny Georgia put their two biggest receiving threats on the same side of the formation. You're creating an insane situation for the defense that I'm not too sure they were prepared for. Like, who do you cover? Either way the chances of you getting killed are extremely high, so it's kind of just like picking your poison and in this case, they let McConkey creep through for the score. As you can see from the clip, the safety to the far sideline decides to follow Bowers, letting McConkey vacate the space left by the safety, thus giving Beck a window just big enough to hit him in the end zone. Again, great play design, but even better throw from Beck. Absolute dart thrown by the Georgia quarterback. The rushing attack would dominate Georgia's next touchdown drive, though Beck would find an open McConkey down the field for a 41-yard gain, helping set up the touchdown which came two-plays later.
Not Beck's greatest throw by any means, this is just an example of a quarterback just trying his best not to miss the wide ass open wide receiver down the field. As we've stated numerous times in previous posts, it's always better to under throw than over throw, because the receiver can always slow down, they can't always speed up. That being said, this really should've been a touchdown, giving Beck and McConkey their second of the game. Instead, it would only help set up someone else's second touchdown, with Daijun Edwards taking it up the middle from a yard out to put Georgia back in front. Beck would only throw three passes on Georgia's next drive, with the biggest gainer going to Brock Bowers on their first play of said drive. This drive would once again be mostly dominated by the Bulldogs rushing attack, with Kendall Milton this time taking it in from seven-yards out for the score. Both quarterbacks would trade interceptions their next time(s) on the field, with Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart throwing a pick on the Rebels' fourth play, with Beck also throwing a pick on the Bulldogs fourth play.
The thing that sucks is that this is a really good ball from Carson Beck. Placement is damn near perfect, but sometimes the footballs gods aren't on your side, and that was fully on display here. There's an old saying that it's 'better to be lucky then good,' and though that was a very good throw from Beck, I'm sure he wished luck was a little bit more on his side. Before the interception, Beck would have a very nice throw to Dominic Lovett that went for 17-yards, but it would ultimately be cancelled out by the interception.
This is a perfectly placed ball by Carson Beck. With four Ole Miss defenders in the area, and Lovett's route carrying him into the teeth of it, Beck smartly puts the ball right on his intended receiver's hip, not leading him into any unnecessary danger nor throwing it behind him and risk it getting broken up or intercepted. Dude had to put some serious zip on the ball as well, given how Ole Miss had a defender crossing the formation right as Beck was about to release the ball. All in all, really good throw from Beck, just a shame they couldn't score any points because of the interception. It would take a drive to fully get things going again for Beck and the Bulldogs, as they'd punt the ball away after going three and out on their first drive of the second half. Their next drive wouldn't be much longer, only going for four-plays, but I'm sure Beck and co. would take a touchdown over a punt any day, as Kendall Milton would score his second of the day, this one from 33-yards out to further extend Georgia's lead. Beck and Dominic Lovett would connect for a big play on Georgia's next drive, with a personal foul penalty helping push the ball up even further, getting Georgia from their own 33 to the Ole Miss 12. Unfortunately, after a three-yard run by Daijun Edwards and two-incompletions from Beck, Georgia would be forced to settle for a field goal, putting them up 38-14 later on in the third. Beck would be seen throwing only one pass on Georgia's next drive, with it conveniently resulting in six for the Bulldogs. Before then though, Beck would pick up 14-yards on the ground, followed by Milton picking up a massive 51-yards on the following play. Beck would then connect with Brock Bowers from eight-yards out to make the score 45-14.
The double move by Bowers absolutely cooked the Ole Miss defender. That plus the accurate throw from Beck made this an insanely easy score for the Bulldogs, putting this game even further out of reach than it already was. Good to see Brock Bowers back on the score sheet though, as he hasn't scored a touchdown since Georgia's game against Kentucky back on October 7th. This was dude's first game since having TightRope surgery done to repair his left ankle, just some crazy toughness and resilience shown by Bowers. Again, nice to see him score. That touchdown would be Beck's last contribution to the game, with back-up Brock Vandagriff finishing out the game. Georgia would score once more with the back-ups in, making the score 52-17, which would ultimately be the final. Though it started off being competitive, Georgia proved to be too much for the Ole Miss Rebels, with Beck having a very good game from the quarterback position. This week, Beck and co. will be going on the road to take on a very up and down Tennessee Volunteers team fresh off a 36-7 loss to Missouri. Tennessee has the ability to cause some problems, but their inconsistency may prove too costly against a team like Georgia. I fully expect the Bulldogs to go into Neyland Stadium and come away with a fairly simple victory.
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 - 7
Wk 12 - @ no.18 Tennessee
8. Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (NR)
Wk 11 - 28/36 351 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/2 carries 1 yd 1 touchdown v Vanderbilt (47-6 W)
Season - 240/340 2,867 yds 17 touchdowns 7 interceptions/80 carries 64 yds 4 touchdowns
Preseason - 10b
Wk 1 - 10b
Wk 2 - 10
Wk 3 - NR
Wk 4 - 10a
Wk 5 - NR
Wk 6 - NR
Wk 7 - 10
Wk 8 - NR
Wk 9 - NR
Wk 10 - NR
Wk 11 - 8
Wk 12 - v Kentucky
9. Michael Pratt, Tulane
Wk 11 - 16/29 194 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/5 carries 9 yds 0 touchdowns v Tulsa (24-22 W)
Season - 134/197 1,791 yds 16 touchdowns 4 interceptions/74 carries 273 yds 4 touchdowns
Much like most Tulane games so far this season, at least as of late, the Green Wave looked to be going for a nice comfortable victory after the first quarter. After going up 14-points with the defense getting an interception on Tulsa's first drive, it didn't look like we were in for much of a game last Saturday but alas, much like the Rice and North Texas game(s), we still had a game on our hands. Despite it ending a lot closer than it should have, Tulane were still able to pull off a 24-22 victory over the Golden Hurricanes, with quarterback Michael Pratt throwing for just under 200-yards with a touchdown, though he did throw an interception in this game, which would be the third time he's done that in their last four games. Looking back, this was probably Pratt's worst game of the season, as he completed a pretty poor 55.2% of his passes in this game, the first time he's completed less than 60% of his passes all season. It's not just about the percentage though. In our last blog post, we brought up the fact that Tulsa, who was coming off their fourth straight loss, possessed one of the worst defenses in the American. So for Pratt to not put forth his best game is kind of disappointing, not going to lie. That being said, apart from completing a hitch-ish route to Bryce Bohanon that went for 22-yards, on Tulane's first drive, Pratt wasn't asked to do a whole lot, only throwing it four times in the Green Wave's 12-play touchdown drive, that was capped off by a Makhi Hughes one-yard touchdown run. After punting on their next drive, Pratt would register his first touchdown of the game, hitting a wide ass open Alex Bauman down the near sideline for a 39-yard touchdown.
Doesn't really get much easier than this, does it? Tight end comes in motion, no one covers him, and he's left wide ass open on the wheel route down the near sideline. All Pratt needed to do was not miss him and he could've walked into the end zone. Wouldn't you know it? That's pretty much what happened, giving Tulane a nice 14-point lead at the very end of the first quarter. Though the touchdown there was nice, it would be a little bit before Tulane would find the end zone again, as they would be held scoreless for the rest of the first half, being forced to punt the ball away twice along with Pratt throwing his first interception of the game.
This is kind of a situation where I think Pratt trusted his arm a little too much. As we've documented, Michael Pratt has one of the best arms in the country, being able to fit the ball into very small windows for completions. On this one though, I think he kind of had his mind made up on where he was throwing this, more or less trying to zip this ball into his receiver before the defender could make a play on the ball. Unfortunately for Pratt and co., the defender did end up jumping the route, and not only that, came away with the football as well. Thankfully for Tulane, Tulsa wouldn't be able to do much of anything with the ball, as they would turn the ball over on downs after six-plays. Tulane's touchdown-less streak would end right at the start of the second half, as Shedro Louis would take the opening kick off back 101-yards, giving Tulane a nice 21-10 lead at the start of the half. Tulane wouldn't really be able to much of anything on offense after the kick return, punting on three of their four second half drives, with the only exception coming on a fourth quarter field goal by Valentino Ambrosio to give Tulane a 24-16 lead. As for Pratt, he would complete a few more passes throughout the game, with his biggest going to Chris Brazzell II for 26-yards, but he would be mostly held in check the rest of the game. That being said, it didn't matter all too much, as the Green Wave were able to hold off the Tulsa comeback, taking home a 24-22 victory. As we said before, this was another nervy game for the Green Wave, who need to figure out how to play a full game before the season ends, and I'm hoping that comes this week as they take on a 4-6 Florida Atlantic Owls team that have lost their past two games. Despite their record though, the Owls are a tough outfit, ranking in the middle of the AAC in regards to total defense and points allowed per game. Their biggest problem area comes on the offensive side of the ball, where they rank closer to the bottom in regards to total offense. In what is pretty much a homecoming for Michael Pratt, I expect him and the Green Wave to pick up a nice little road win before their big time match-up against UTSA in a weeks time.
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 - 9
Wk 12 - @ Florida Atlantic
10. Jordan Travis, Florida State (NR)
Wk 11 - 19/31 265 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/8 carries -30 yds 0 touchdowns v Miami (FL) (27-20 W)
Season - 205/320 2,734 yds 20 touchdowns 2 interceptions/72 carries 160 yds 7 touchdowns
Welcome back to the top-10 Jordan Travis! It's been a long ass time since the last time he was placed within the confines of the top-10, as you'd have to go all the way back to week one to find him among the rankings. Now, that's not to say he hasn't been mentioned in every single blog post, as far as I know he has, but it's always been down in the 'other' section below, which consists of quarterbacks that I feel just aren't good enough to go in the top-10. Don't get it twisted, that's not me saying Jordan Travis is a bad quarterback, or has been bad up until this week, it's just that this is a pretty loaded quarterback draft class and it's hard to narrow a list down to 10. Like, we've gone out and listed 11-quarterbacks before, ranking people at 10a and 10b, which is ironically where Jordan Travis was ranked after Florida State's double digit win against LSU. As for his season as a whole, as a passer, Travis has just been very consist in some categories, but not so much in others. What I mean is dude has registered a touchdown in every game this season while also throwing just one interceptions since the LSU game, which came against Duke on October 21st. On the other hand, some of his passes have been off the mark this year, only completing 70% of his passes, or better, three times this season, while also registering only three 300+ yard performances this season. As for this game, on a pretty wet day, Travis was able to throw for 265-yards with a touchdown to boot, though that wouldn't come until the fourth quarter. Things wouldn't start as smoothly as I'm sure Florida State would've liked on their first drive, as after a dump off pass to Trey Benson went from 17-yards, the Seminoles would be forced to punt the ball away. That being said, after forcing Miami to go three and out, Travis would help lead a 10-play drive for their first points of the game, which would come via a five-yard Benson run. On this drive, Travis would hit Markeston Douglas for 16-yards on a hitch and Jaheim Bell on a well thrown slant route for nine, before Benson would punch it right up the middle for Florida State's first points of the game. The Seminoles would register a field goal on their next drive, with Travis picking up a first down with his legs on a speed option on third and one before delivering a strike to Johnny Wilson for 18-yards a couple plays later.
I like the placement of this ball. With a defender all over the receiver's back, Travis does a nice job at putting the ball away from the defender and in a spot where only Wilson could catch it. The nice thing about having a receiver like Wilson is that you can put the ball literally anywhere and he's very likely to come down with it. The dude is 6'7" 237 lbs. with a giant catch radius, so all Travis needed to do was get it slightly on target and Wilson was likely to come up with the football. The Seminoles would settle for a field goal a few plays later, putting them up 10 at the start of the second quarter. The rest of the half wouldn't garner much, if any, success for the Florida State offense, as they'd be forced to punt the ball away on their next two drives, with their final drive seeing them lose 24-yards while also going three and out, not the most ideal way to end the half. They would get back to scoring ways at the start of the second half though, as Ryan Fitzgerald would make a 22-yard field goal to tie the game up at 13, which would be mostly set up by Travis' pass to Ja'Khi Douglas that went for 62-yards.
This is what's nice about having a receiver like Keon Coleman. With Douglas in the slot and Coleman out wide, Miami thought the slot receiver would try to clear out the middle for Travis to connect with his favorite receiver. Instead, Coleman garners so much attention that the safety crashes to him rather than to Douglas, which gives the latter a bunch of space to work with in the middle of field, going pretty much where the safety just vacated from and taking it all the way down to the Miami five-yard line. Nothing too crazy on the throw from Travis, just put it where it needed to be and let his playmaker do the rest. Just a shame that the drive would completely stall out and they'd have to settle for three with such good field position. On their next drive, Travis would connect with Johnny Wilson up the near sideline for a nice 26-yard gain.
Well thrown ball by Travis to Wilson on the outside. With his receiver running a 10-yard hitch, with the defender waiting for him at the first down marker, this ball has got to be quick and away from the defender, which it was, as Travis let this ball go right as Wilson was exiting his break. As I mentioned though, the throw not only needs to be quick, but to the outside as well. With the defender playing back, he's waiting and hoping that the throw is slightly late, which would allow him to jump the route and take the ball back the other way for a Miami touchdown. So if this ball is placed more to the inside than the outside, that very well could've been the outcome. Instead, it's a nice 26-yard gain. The Seminoles would score a couple plays later, with Trey Benson taking it to the house from 38-yards out to give Florida State a 20-13 lead later on in the third quarter. Though their next couple drives would end in punts, Travis would still show off the arm by hitting Johnny Wilson on a back shoulder throw that would go for 21-yards.
Though it may not be the most well placed back shoulder ball, it was still the right decision from Travis. With the corner playing press man with an inside shade, the only way to get this ball to Wilson is by throwing it back shoulder. For how big and physical Wilson is, he's not going to beat a lot of people for speed on the outside, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the corner matched him stride for stride on the play. So again, with all that, the back shoulder throw was Travis' best option, which he completed for a nice 21-yard gain. Again though, the Seminoles would be forced to punt a few plays later. After going three and out on their following drive, Travis would finally register his first touchdown of the game, hitting Keon Coleman from six-yards out for the score. Before then though, Travis would flash the athleticism and escapability, picking up seven-yards seemingly out of nowhere in the run game to get them down to the three.
What great effort shown by Jordan Travis to make something out of nothing, picking up seven-yards when he looked dead to rights in the backfield. It's a damn shame this play didn't end up going for six, though he would end up registering his first touchdown of the game a couple plays later, hitting Coleman on a well thrown fade ball to the far sideline for six.
Like I said before in this blog post when regarding Michael Penix and Rome Odunze, when you have a receiver like Keon Coleman on the outside, sometimes all you have to do is throw it up and say 'go and get it,' and that's exactly what he did. Not to take anything away from the throw by Travis, as it was a very good and accurate throw, but Coleman had no reason to come down with this ball, especially since he was getting held the entire time. Though Miami would try to make it a game late, that touchdown toss by Travis would ultimately seal the game, giving Florida State a 27-20 victory over their hated rivals. Overall, I thought Jordan Travis played a very good game. He didn't really force the issue and made some very nice throws, away from defenders, to the likes of Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman. This week, the Seminoles get a little off week, as they take on a 3-7 North Alabama Lions team who have lost five of their last six games. I understand anything can happen in college football, but I fully expect Florida State to go into that Florida game next week relatively unscathed.
Preseason - 9
Wk 1 - 10a
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 - NR
Wk 11 - 10
Wk 12 - v North Alabama
Others
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma (NEW-ish)
Wk 11 - 22/36 423 yds 5 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 50 yds 3 touchdowns v West Virginia (59-20 W)
Season - 229/325 3,069 yds 25 touchdowns 5 interceptions/82 carries 337 yds 11 touchdowns
Jalen Milroe, Alabama
Wk 11 - 15/22 234 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/8 carries 36 yds 3 touchdowns @ Kentucky (49-21 W)
Season - 129/198 2,070 yds 16 touchdowns 6 interceptions/105 carries 333 yds 12 touchdowns
Joe Milton III, Tennessee
Wk 11 - 22/34 267 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/10 carries 36 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.14 Missouri (36-7 L)
Season - 190/291 2,283 yds 16 touchdowns 5 interceptions/69 carries 301 yds 5 touchdowns
Austin Reed, Western Kentucky (NEW-ish)
Wk 11 - 20/36 270 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/3 carries 17 yds 1 touchdown v New Mexico State (38-29 L)
Season - 235/394 2,668 yds 24 touchdowns 7 interceptions/36 carries 110 yds 4 touchdowns
Cameron Ward, Washington State
Wk 11 - 34/59 354 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/14 carries 6 yds 1 touchdown @ Cal (42-39 L)
Season - 274/408 3,127 yds 20 touchdowns 5 interceptions/99 carries 136 yds 6 touchdowns
Previous Rankings
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