Welcome everyone to the Draft "Expert's" final in-season quarterback rankings! I know I've said this the past few blog posts, but isn't it crazy how quickly this season has come to an end? Like, I actually can't believe it.
I refuse to believe this week is conference championship week, and I refuse to believe that the previous week was the last time we could see some of these quarterbacks take the field as colligate athletes. I'm just not ready for this season to end, despite my excitement for more NFL Draft coverage.
In this blog post, we have a decent amount of movement. From a new quarterback entering the top five, to someone completely dropping out, and to someone who is making their first appearance in the top 10 since week three. To be honest, I wasn't sure we'd ever see the latter again, yet here we are.
All in all, it's been very fun covering each and every week of college football this season, and I appreciate everyone that has gone through and read each of my blog posts! So, without any further delay, I, Logan Blackman, the self proclaimed Draft "Expert," am proud to present our week 13 quarterback prospect rankings! Enjoy!
Podcast Links
Pictured: Bo Nix, Oregon; Jayden Daniels, LSU; JJ McCarthy, Michigan
1. Drake Maye, North Carolina
Wk 13 - 22/38 254 yds 2 touchdowns 2 interceptions/9 carries 106 yds 1 touchdown @ no.22 NC State (39-20 L)
Season - 269/425 3,608 yds 24 touchdowns 9 interceptions/112 yds 449 yds 9 touchdowns
This game was pretty much over from the word go last Saturday night. After coming off a rough loss to Clemson the previous week, Drake Maye and co. were looking to bounce back against their in-state rival in NC State. Now, we knew this game was going to be tough for the Tar Heels, as the Wolfpack have one of the best defenses in the ACC, ranking third in total defense and fourth in scoring defense going into this game. To make this an even harder encounter for the Tar Heels, this game would be played in Raleigh, not to mention NC State has won six of the last eight games in this series, making this a pretty steep hill to climb for North Carolina. As we brought up before, things didn't real start off the smoothest on offense for Drake Maye and co., as they went three and out on four of their first five drives of the game, with the lone exception coming on a Drake Maye fumble on their second drive of the game. After running a quarterback draw on third and 14, Maye was able to get about five-yards away from the first down marker, only to be stripped of the ball which, of course, landed right in front of a grateful NC State defender. Though the Wolfpack only came away with three on the following possession, the next couple three and outs would be followed by touchdowns and another field goal and before you knew it, the score was sitting at 23-0 in favor of NC State. The Tar Heels would be able to score on their last drive of the first half, which was started off by Maye throwing a beautiful ball down the far sideline to J.J. Jones for a nice 30-yard gain that would happen to be their first first down of the game, which is insane.
Now, though it's crazy that this was North Carolina's first first down of the game, it's still a very nice throw from Maye, who stood tall in the pocket in the face of pressure and delivered a well thrown ball to Jones for the first. Maybe the throw is a little bit behind, which forces Jones to come back to the ball slightly, it's still a good overall play and helped the Tar Heels get to the other side of the 50. Maye would continue making big plays as the drive went along, picking up 15-yards and a first down a couple plays after the completion to Jones.
You can tell that initially he wants to hit his tight end, Bryson Nesbitt, in the slot to the far side of the field. Instead of hitting him up the seem, he decides to pump fake it and pick up a nice 15-yard gain on the ground, giving the Tar Heels yet another first down. This is something you have to be mindful of when you play North Carolina, as Drake Maye running the ball can be almost as effective as Drake Maye throwing the football, dude is just a very good all around athlete. Speaking of him throwing the football, Maye would post another 15-yard play, this time hitting John Copenhaver in the end zone for his first touchdown pass of the game.
After working through his progressions, going from short to long, Maye does a really nice job at contorting his body and throwing this ball from a very awkward angle to hit his other tight end for the score. Despite going through his progressions, the timing on this throw by Maye is really nice, as he starts to let the ball go before Copenhaver is out of his break, which gives the NC State defender little to no time to actually make a play on this ball. Not to mention the placement, which is to the outside and away from the defender as well, throwing it more towards the goal line. Overall, just a really nice throw from Maye, and a nice job by Copenhaver at coming back to the ball and making a very solid catch to give the Tar Heels their first score of the game. Though NC State would stack scoring drives at the end of the first half and the start of the second half, North Carolina would continue their scoring ways as well, despite being down 33-7 when their offense first took the field in the second half. The drive would start off with a six-yard completion from Maye to J.J. Jones and a loss of two-yards on a run by Omarion Hampton before Maye would break free and pick up a whopping 56-yards on the ground which, along with a defensive penalty, would get the Tar Heels into the red zone.
When Drake Maye took off running, I don't think a lot of people out there were expecting him to pick up 56-yards. Not saying that like it's insane or that it shouldn't happen or anything, dude's definitely got that in him, but on third and six from your own 29-yard line, seeing anyone, regardless of position, pick up 56-yards on the ground is fairly impressive, is it not? As we've said a few times in previous blog posts, Drake Maye is one of the more athletic quarterbacks in this draft class. Not only because of the run itself, but even looking at him making a Wolfpack defender miss down by the 45-yard line in open field. Sure the defender could've probably played it better, but still, that's still an impressive play from Maye, and it helped set up his first rushing touchdown of the game, which would come a few plays later. On third down from the NC State one-yard line, Maye, instead of punching it up the middle, decides to dodge the pile to the left and score a much easier one-yard touchdown. Though it's still technically a quarterback sneak, that one was more fun to watch than your typical one. That being said, it's not that insane to throw a highlight in here, sorry about that. Maye would lead another touchdown drive his next time on the field, this one going 75-yards in 10-plays, with those 10-plays by far being the most in the game for the Tar Heels. After hitting Bryson Nesbit down the far sideline for 23-yards, Maye would hit a few short passes that would gain a decent amount of yards before hitting a wide open Tez Walker across the middle for the 21-yard score. Nothing to really see here, as there wasn't an NC State defender within 10-yards of Walker when he caught the pass from Maye, though he did have to battle through some Wolfpack defenders when finally reaching the goal line (even recovering his own fumble in the process). After a fail two-point conversion, the score would sit at 39-20 in favor of NC State, midway through the third quarter. Though their next drive would end in a punt, Maye would make some decent throws throughout, i.e. hitting J.J. Jones for 16.
Though Jones got absolutely lit up on the play by the NC State defender, this is still a very impressive throw from Drake Maye. With a defender in his face, throwing off his back foot, he delivers a catchable ball to his receiver for a first down. Not to mention he made this throw from the shadow of his own end zone as well. But to not under or over throw this pass is really impressive, showing off nice touch regardless of if he's throwing off his back foot and leaning back or not. Maye would also hit John Copenhaver a coupe of times on this drive, once for 20-yards on the following play after the Jones completion, and once for 13-yards on third and seven, which saw Maye suck in the defenders by looking like he was going to run it before zipping it into his tight end's chest for the first down. Unfortunately the drive would stall out shortly after that, as the Tar Heels would be put into a third and 30 situation, which is something not a lot of teams recover from, and they didn't on this occasion. To make matters worse, two of North Carolina's next three drives ended with Drake Maye interceptions. But before the first one, Maye would make a very solid throw to Bryson Nesbit for 15-yards while getting hit from all different directions.
I like how Maye is able to react quick enough to the corner blitz. Not only that, but it's nice to see how calm he is when faced with the free blitzer coming from the outside. After diagnosing the blitz, he turns his attention back over to the right, hitting Nesbit on the far hash for a nice 15-yard gain. Something with Drake Maye and 15-yard pickups this game, am I right? But again, got to love this play from the quarterback, even placing this ball between a few NC State defenders, that's what you like to see. A couple plays later though Maye would throw his first interception of the game, coming deep-ish in NC State territory.
This is really just an unfortunate play for Drake Maye, as a lazy route by Tez Walker gets jumped by the NC State defender, who breaks up the pass and watches it fall into the grasp of his Wolfpack teammate. Great interception by dude, but Walker never really showed any commitment on this route. I don't know if he wasn't expecting the ball or what, it just looked very odd. Great play by the NC State defense though, got to give them credit for that interception. After going three and out on their next drive, which saw Maye leave the field for a play due to an ankle injury, the Tar Heels would take the field for the last time with just under four minutes to play in the game. Much like the drive before the three and out, this one would also end with a Drake Maye interception.
Though the throw is slightly behind Nesbit, this is a ball that he should definitely come down with, especially since he had both hands around the ball before he dropped it. It must be said though, great diving interception again by the NC State defense, giving them two impressive interceptions on the game. Whether they were impressive grabs or not, Maye still finished the game with two-interceptions to his name, not to mention a fumble that came on North Carolina's second drive of the game. This is a game I'm sure everyone associated with North Carolina would want back, turning it over three times in a 19-point loss to an in-state rival, not the greatest way to end the regular season. This is actually the second straight game the Tar Heels turned the ball over three times, and what did we say in last weeks blog post? They have to take better care of the ball, which they didn't once again, and it resulted in another road loss. I'm intrigued to see where North Carolina goes bowling, as it will likely be the last time Drake Maye takes the field as the Tar Heels quarterback. I know he hasn't officially announced anything yet, but North Carolina is already preparing for his departure by bringing in Texas A&M transfer Max Johnson to potentially replace Maye. Now, he could pull a Dorian Thompson-Robinson and stay another year, thus forcing Johnson to transfer again, much like Dillon Gabriel did, but I highly doubt it. Dude is pretty much locked to go within the first three picks, and could even be the first player taken if the right team falls in love with him. All in all, though I'm sure he wishes it would've ended differently, this was a solid season for Drake Maye.
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 - 1
Wk 13 - 1
Wk 14 - BYE
2. Caleb Williams, USC
Wk 13 - BYE
Season - 266/388 3,633 yds 30 touchdowns 5 interceptions/97 carries 136 yds 11 touchdowns
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 - 2
Wk 13 - 2
Wk 14 - BYE
3. Jayden Daniels, LSU
Wk 13 - 16/24 235 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/11 carries 120 yds 0 touchdowns v Texas A&M (42-30 W)
Season - 236/327 3,812 yds 40 touchdowns 4 interceptions/135 carries 1,134 yds 10 touchdowns
The Jayden Daniels Heisman train keeps on chugging along after LSU's 42-30 win against Texas A&M last Saturday. In a game that saw the Tigers take on one of the best defenses in all of college football, Daniels and co. were able to overcome at home to win their ninth game of the season. Though it was against a top defense, you couldn't tell by reading Daniels' stat line. Though he only accounted for 235-passing yards, his lowest since the Alabama loss, he did manage to throw four-touchdowns as well as rush for 120-yards, marking his third 100+ yard rushing performance of November. The only time during the month of November he wouldn't rush for over 100-yards came in LSU's last win against Georgia State, where Daniels was four-yards shy of passing the century mark, which is a damn shame since that kept him from rushing for over 100-yards in four-straight games. Being a quarterback, that's pretty damn impressive. That being said, this would be the first time since the Auburn game in mid-October that Daniels wouldn't register a rushing touchdown, which is also a damn shame, as he had registered six-rushing touchdowns over the previous four games. All that being said, things wouldn't start off insanely smooth for Daniels and the rest of the LSU offense, as they'd go three and out on their opening drive, with Daniels' third down pass to Mason Taylor being stopped one-yard short of the first down marker. After the defense forced the Aggies to turn it over on downs, the offense would make up for the mistakes they made on their first possession, coming out and putting together a nine-play 60-yard touchdown drive to give them an early lead. Though Daniels wouldn't score the eventual touchdown, he would pick up 21-yards on the ground to help set up Logan Diggs' touchdown run.
It must be nice having the most electrifying player on the field be your starting quarterback, right? After seeing nothing open down the field, after the pocket collapses around him, dude decides to tuck it and gain as many yards as possible on second and seven, getting the Tigers all the way down into the red zone thus setting up Diggs' aforementioned touchdown run from a yard out. You just really like to see this type of play from your quarterback, being able to get out of pressure with ease and help set you up with great field position when a sack looked all too likely. The Tigers offense would sputter their next time on the field, as they'd be forced to punt the ball away after going three and out for the second time in the half. That being said, much like the first three and out, their next drive would result in a touchdown, with Daniels registering his first of the game. Before the touchdown, Daniels would pick up a couple big first downs with his legs, the first one going for 13 (plus a penalty) and the second one going for 23 on first and 20.
With his left guard getting pushed right into his face, Daniels does an excellent job at reverse spinning out of pressure. Not only that, but he's able to get the angle on the A&M defender coming off the edge, taking it a further 23-yards after what looked to be a completely busted play. Much like I said with the first highlight, it must be nice having the most electrifying player on the field be your starting quarterback, as there's not a lot of people, let alone most quarterbacks, that could pull this off. A few plays later, Daniels would hit Malik Nabers from six-yards out on a little roll out to the far side of the field to help LSU regain the lead midway through the second quarter, making the score 14-10. Unfortunately for the Tigers, A&M were able to score a touchdown with 14-seconds left, taking a now 17-14 lead into the locker room. Not only that, but the Aggies would score on their opening drive of the second half as well, stacking touchdowns and taking a double digit 24-14 lead within the first five-minutes of the second half. Things didn't start so great for the Tigers on their first offensive possession of the game. After picking up 14-yards on a short pass to Brian Thomas Jr. on their first play from scrimmage, Daniels would miss on a couple passes to Malik Nabers that would ultimately stall their opening drive, forcing a decision on fourth and four whether to punt the ball away or go for it. Despite the ball being on their own side of the 50 Brian Kelly decided to keep the offense on the field, and Daniels would pick up a massive fourth down conversion, picking up 49-yards on the ground and setting LSU up at the Texas A&M four-yard line.
Like I mentioned just a little bit ago, Daniels did miss on a couple shorter passes to his favorite receiver that helped put them in this precarious position, but hey, he did manage to make up for the missed passes by picking up a whopping 49-yards on the ground, helping set the Tigers up in the red zone and giving them their first score of the half. Though the run is the main thing to focus on here, it can't go unnoticed that Daniels shows excellent pocket awareness on this play as well. Early on in Daniels career he would be looking to run first, but now he's reading the field and feeling the pressure come in from the left side before taking off and running. His passing game has improved, but his pocket awareness has improved almost as much, and it helps LSU out not just on this play, but in this drive in general, as again, Josh Williams would score from a yard out to get the Tigers back to within three. Though the offense wouldn't be able to take advantage of a missed Aggie field goal, going three and out again, they would be able to capitalize on a Jaylen Henderson interception, with the Tigers only needing three-plays to march 61-yards, giving Daniels his second passing touchdown of the game.
Nice use of the pump fake by Daniels on this throw, as it froze the defender just enough to give Thomas enough room to make a very nice catch. When you have receivers like Nabers and Thomas on the outside, sometimes all you need to do as a quarterback is throw the ball up and let them make a play, which is exactly what Daniels did on this play. Can't really ask for much better placement from Daniels on this throw, putting it in the only place where his receiver could get it which again, would help give the Tigers the lead in the fourth quarter. After a nice punt return set them up near midfield, Daniels would hit Malik Nabers up the seem for a nice 21-yard gain, that would help set up Daniels' third passing touchdown of the afternoon.
With Nabers being that open in the middle of the field, Daniels does the smart thing and just places the ball right on him, allowing him get pick his head up and avoid the safety and the outside corner that are coming to make the tackle. Just a really nice and easy play from the Tigers offense that helped set up a much cooler 21-yard connection between Daniels and Nabers, which would result in six.
What'd I say? Much cooler throw and catch between these two, right? I mean, it really doesn't get much better than this. From the throw to the catch, to the placement of the ball from Daniels to the awareness of Nabers, this is as close to perfect as you can get, and it resulted in six for the Tigers, thus giving them a double digit lead midway through the fourth. Like, there's no reason this play should've worked, but the one thing you can't defend as a corner is a perfect pass. Coupling a perfect pass with an elite receiver makes it even harder to defend, which is what we like to see. Though Texas A&M would score on their next possession, Daniels and co. would respond with a touchdown of their own. Now, it looked like it would be another score between Daniels and Nabers, but a holding call brought the touchdown back, meaning it would take a little more time to score the eventual game sealing touchdown. A few plays after the holding call, Daniels would pick up a nice 10-yards on the ground to pick up a first on second and second and six, before dialing up a 15-yard pass to Kyren Lacy for his fourth touchdown pass of the game.
Fairly similar to the touchdown pass to Nabers, just a really well thrown back shoulder ball to his wide receiver for the score. With the defender a step behind Lacy, Daniels could've even lead his intended receiver a little more into the end zone, rather than throw it back shoulder but hey, it all worked out the same. Whether he threw it towards the back of the end zone or threw it back shoulder, the ball was very well placed from Daniels, which was nicely high pointed by Lacy for the score. As I mentioned before, this would be Daniels fourth and final touchdown of the game, thus sealing the game up and giving LSU their ninth win of the regular season. As for Daniels, this was just another showing of why he should walk away with the Heisman Trophy. Sure he missed some passes in this game, but he bounced back and was able to throw four very nice touchdowns to three different receivers, which is what you like to see from your quarterback. Not only that, but the dude managed to rush for over 100-yards, again, which puts him over the 1,100-yard mark for the season. If it weren't for their three loses, Daniels would be a shoo-in for the most prestigious individual award in college football. I hope the voters actually give the award to the countries best player, rather than the player who plays for the better team. Regardless, this was a nice way to end the regular season, getting a nice double digit win on Senior Day.
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 - 3
Wk 13 - 3
Wk 14 - BYE
4. JJ McCarthy, Michigan
Wk 13 - 16/20 148 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/4 carries 17 yds 0 touchdowns v no.2 Ohio State (30-24 W)
Season - 191/257 2,483 yds 19 touchdowns 4 interceptions/51 carries 181 yds 3 touchdowns
Another season, another time beating arch rival Ohio State. This game is starting to become a forgone conclusion at this point, as this is the third season in a row where Michigan has come away victorious against their rival to the south. To be honest, at no point throughout the season, even when Ohio State jumped up to number one in the national rankings, did I think they would beat Michigan this season. I don't know what it was, I just felt Michigan always had the upper hand. Maybe that goes down to the fact that Michigan had won the past two meetings, but I just felt that the Wolverines, with their physicality and rushing attack, would be able to beat down the Buckeyes at the Big House. I think Michigan's win against Penn State may have had something to do with my ever growing confidence in this game, because quarterback JJ McCarthy only needed to throw the ball eight-times in their 24-15 victory, so what would happen if he threw the ball more? If McCarthy is feeling himself, Michigan is damn near unstoppable. In this game, though I wouldn't say he was perfect, he put together a damn good performance against his childhood team, going 16 for 20 with just under 150-yards and a insane touchdown pass to help Michigan secure the win. That being said, Michigan's success on offense didn't start right away, as they were forced to go three and out on their first two drives of the game. But, after a Kyle McCord interception, the Wolverines would be set up with excellent field position, with their drive starting at the Buckeye seven-yard line. After four-Blake Corum runs (though it should've only really been three), Michigan was able to punch the ball across the goal line for their first touchdown of the game, giving them a seven-point lead midway through the first quarter. Michigan would stack touchdowns on their following drive, which would be started off by a nine-yard completion by McCarthy to Roman Wilson, and then a 16-yard pitch and catch between him and tight end Colston Loveland that would get Michigan to the Ohio State side of the 50.
Nice read on this RPO from JJ McCarthy. Reading the middle linebacker, once he crashes down and commits to the running back, McCarthy just throws it to the spot where he was, which sees Loveland wide ass open in the middle of the field, who would again pick up 16-yards and a first down. Nice quick release from McCarthy as well, getting it to his intended receiver right away so he can pick his head up and pick up a few more yards after the catch, good overall play for the Wolverines. A couple plays later, faced with a third and eight situation, McCarthy, being drilled as he throws, would hit AJ Barner on a crossing route that would get them within a yard of the first down marker on third and eight, setting up a fourth and very manageable.
Despite them not picking up the first down on this play, this was probably the best case scenario for the Michigan offense. With pressure coming from up the middle, McCarthy needs to make a quick decision in order to avoid the sack, which would've forced them to punt the ball away. All while knowing he's going to take a nice lick from the Ohio State defender, McCarthy stays calm and tall in the pocket and delivers a nice ball to Barner across the formation, who was able to pick up seven-yards on the play, thus setting Michigan up with a fourth and one attempt. Though it was close, the Wolverines were able to pick up the first down thanks to a one-yard run by Blake Corum. Michigan would be forced to go for on fourth down again a few plays later, but once again would pick it up thanks to McCarthy hitting Colston Loveland in the flat, who would end up picking up seven on the fourth and one conversion. A few plays after that, McCarthy would make one on the best throws of the season, fitting a pass between two Ohio State defenders to Roman Wilson for a 22-yard touchdown, putting Michigan up 14-3 with just over 10-minutes to go in the first half.
I don't care whether you think this is a touchdown, interception, incomplete pass, or whatever, this is an absolutely insane throw from JJ McCarthy. Like, this ball as absolutely no reason to be this good. Between two-Ohio State defenders, McCarthy throws an absolute seed to Roman Wilson, who does make a nice hands catch before chaos kind of ensued to the point of where people are still talking about this play on Twitter (or X). Regardless, the window McCarthy put this ball through was insanely small, and I don't know if there's a lot of quarterbacks out there who would even think about making this throw, let alone attempt it and let alone complete it. Just a great overall play from McCarthy, and it helped extend Michigan's first half advantage. McCarthy would make another pretty ridiculous throw on Michigan's next possession, hitting Cornelius Johnson up the near sideline for a 19-yard gain and a first down on second and five.
Excellent job at feeling the pressure from the left side and rolling out of the pocket. I guess I shouldn't just limit it to the left side, as pressure ended up breaking through the middle and the right side of the offensive line as well. Regardless of where it's coming from, McCarthy did an excellent job at buying time by rolling out to his right before zipping a ball to Johnson up the near sideline. While on the run and while expecting somewhat of a hit from the Buckeye defender, McCarthy is able to throw an absolute dart to Johnson, who had a defender draped all over his back. Much like the touchdown, though to a little lesser extent, this ball didn't really have any reason to be completed, and yet it was zipped in there and helped pick up 19-yards. All that being said, after two-Blake Corum runs and a JJ McCarthy sack, Michigan would be forced to punt the ball away, giving it back to the Buckeyes with just over three-minutes to go in the half. Thankfully for the Wolverines, Ohio State would miss a 52-yard field goal before the half, meaning Michigan would take a 14-10 lead into the locker room. Though Ohio State missed their field goal attempt to end the half, Michigan would make one of their own, as James Turner would make a 50-yard field goal on their opening possession. This drive would be started by McCarthy hitting Colston Loveland on a little hitch route about five-yards past the line of scrimmage. After forcing a missed tackle, Loveland would take the ball further up the field, picking up 21-yards in the process. After an Alex Orji 20-yard run, Michigan's drive would ultimately stall out, settling for an aforementioned 50-yard field goal, with Turner again cashing it in. Michigan would get back to their touchdown scoring ways on their next drive, starting with McCarthy throw a dart to Loveland for a 10-yard gain on second and five.
Really nice throw from JJ McCarthy, who did a nice job again at fitting a pass in-between two-Ohio State defenders. Though the window wasn't as small as it was when he threw to the likes of Wilson and Johnson, with two defenders either side of Loveland, the margin for error on this throw is rather small, and yet, McCarthy still found a way to complete the pass. Very nice hands catch from the tight end as well, just a nice play and solid pick-up for the Wolverine offense. McCarthy would flash the speed and athleticism a couple plays later, picking up 15-yards on the ground after looking pretty dead to rights in the backfield.
Again, didn't look like this play would go for much of anything when the ball was snapped. Though he may have initially had Blake Corum out of the backfield, the pressure built up around him so quick that the next best option was just try and make a play, which he more than did. Everybody should know by now how good of an athlete JJ McCarthy is, but it's still impressive that not only is he able to get around the Ohio State edge defender, but he's also able to get the angle and pick up even more yards than what he initially looked like he should have. Also, nice little 'get in the way' block by Corum on this play. I don't think he made any contact with the defender(s), but by him just being in the area, that pretty much cut off their angle to McCarthy, which allowed to get even more yards on the ground. Then after hitting AJ Barner for an 18-yard gain, Corum would give Michigan the lead with a 22-yard touchdown run with under two-minutes to go in the third quarter. Following a Buckeye three and out, Michigan would able to stack some more points on Ohio State by way of a 38-yard field goal, which would be set up by a 34-yard pass from Donovan Edwards to Colston Loveland that would get the Wolverines into the red zone. Ohio State would score a touchdown on their following drive, but Michigan would once again come away with three-points, this time after a 37-yard attempt. McCarthy would complete a few passes on this drive, namely to Cornelius Johnson on a pass dude scarily threw completely across his body, which would amount to only five-yards on second and six. Following a few Blake Corum runs, Michigan would settle for three with about a minute left in the game. Then finally, after what looked to be a solid drive for the Buckeye offense, Kyle McCord would throw his second interception of the game, ultimately sealing Michigan's 30-24 victory and a third straight trip to Indianapolis for the Big 10 Championship game. This was a very solid game for JJ McCarthy, who made a few massive throws throughout this game to help guide Michigan to their third straight win against Ohio State. He'll need to be on top of things against this weekend as he and the Wolverines will be taking on an insanely tough Iowa defense. Despite being without one of the best corners in the country in Cooper DeJean, Iowa always makes things tough for opposing offenses, especially in the passing game. As an Iowa fan, I can honestly say I don't see Michigan having too many issues in winning this game, as I'm nervous Iowa's offense won't give the defense enough time to rest, thus making things easier for the Wolverine offense. But hey, crazier things have happened, and if the Hawks can pull this off, it'd be one of the craziest upsets of the season.
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 - 4
Wk 13 - 4
Wk 14 - v no.16 Iowa (Big 10 Championship)
5. Bo Nix, Oregon (+1)
Wk 13 - 33/40 367 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/6 carries 31 yds 1 touchdown v no.16 Oregon State (31-7 W)
Season - 315/401 3,906 yds 37 touchdowns 2 interceptions/47 carries 159 yds 6 touchdowns
To be honest, though I thought the Ducks would win, I didn't necessarily think it would be this easy for them. Like, this is a good Oregon State team. A team that kept Washington's high octane offense out of the end zone for the entire second half, only losing the game by two-points. I understand there was some bad weather afoot in that game but the Beavers are physical to all hell, possessing one of the best offensive lines and one of the best defenses in the conference. Not only that, but this year's Oregon State team is arguably better than the one last year, and that team beat the Ducks last year in Corvallis. All that being said, from Oregon State being this uber physical team to them being better than last year, all the same could be said for the Oregon Ducks, who have an even better defense and an insanely high powered, and physical, offense, spear headed by their Heisman candidate quarterback, Bo Nix. As for Nix, he's been on an absolute tear as of late, throwing four or more touchdowns in Oregon's previous three games, as well as registering over 360-yards in all four-games in the month of November (which includes this one). This past weekend against Oregon State, Nix attempted 40-passes, which is the second most he has attempted in a game this season, while also completing a joint season high 33-passes. He also picked up 31-yards on the ground, his second most on the season, as well as registering a rushing touchdown for the first time since the start of November. All in all, this was yet another solid performance from Nix, who is a decent amount of people's Heisman Trophy winner, as things stand. Though I believe the award should go to LSU's Jayden Daniels, Nix has been building a pretty compelling case as of late. Things would start off pretty nicely for Nix in this game, as he'd lead a 15-play 88-yard touchdown drive to start the game. Before the touchdown, Nix would complete a big time pass to Troy Franklin across the middle that would pick up 16-yards on a long third and nine.
Though the Oregon offensive line deals with the pressure well, it's still not an incredibly easy throw from Bo Nix, especially since a Beaver defender gets around the edge right as he's about to make the throw. Despite that, Nix is able to deliver a strike to Franklin who, with a defender all over his back, is able to make a nice catch at the 40-yard line. Good overall play for the Ducks, helping them extend their drive. After a couple passes to Tez Johnson and Jordan James, with a couple of runs by James and Bucky Irving mixed in, Nix would register his first passing touchdown of the evening, swinging in to a wide open Irving in the backfield, who would take it up the far sideline for a 14-yard Oregon score. Though there's not really a whole lot to see with this touchdown, Nix does do a nice job at scanning the field before dumping it off to Irving. By him keeping his eyes down field, that forces the defenders to sit back more in coverage, which in turn leaves Irving even more open in the backfield. A nice easy play and it again resulted in six for the Ducks. After being gifted a short field after Oregon State turned the ball over on downs, Nix would pick up his first rushing touchdown of the game to give Oregon a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Before the touchdown, Nix would hit on a few shorter passes that would ultimately help set up his rushing touchdown. After a quick out to Tez Johnson only picked up five on third and seven, Nix would hit his tight end, Terrance Ferguson, after a short roll out to his right to gain a further five-yards and a first down. He'd then hit the aforementioned Johnson on a bubble screen that would pick up 12-yards on the following play, before pulling it Bucky Irving in the backfield and taking it in from 16-yards out to double Oregon's advantage. Nothing much to talk about on the run play, d-end crashed, Nix pulled it and scored. Just using his athleticism to get the corner and punch it into the end zone. We brought this up before, but nice 'get in the way' block by Troy Franklin on this play as well, seemingly blocked two Beaver defenders on the touchdown run. Really nice play from the Ducks, and it helped them grow their lead. Though their next drive would end with a missed field goal, Nix would show off nice touch and placement on one of his throws, hitting Terrance Ferguson along the near sideline for a 12-yard gain.
Your 'go-to' tight end matched up against a smaller true freshman defender? This is pretty easy pickings for Bo Nix and the Oregon offense. All Nix has to really do is put this ball in a place where only his big tight end can get it, which is exactly what he does. Even with pressure coming in his face late, dude stays calm and delivers a nice ball to Ferguson, who shows off a little bit by ending the play with the ball in left hand. Nix and Ferguson would nearly connect for a score a couple plays later, but Nix would throw it behind his intended target just enough so that the Oregon State defender could ultimately get a hand on the ball and break up the pass. That being said, Ferguson did make a valiant one handed diving effort to come away with the ball, but it just wasn't meant to be. A few plays after the missed touchdown, kicker Camden Lewis would miss the ensuing 34-yard attempt, keeping Oregon's lead at 14 midway through the second quarter. Nix would make up for the missed touchdown on that drive and come back with one on the following drive. A drive which was started by Nix connecting with Tez Johnson up the near sideline for a 15-yard gain.
This is a very good throw from Bo Nix to Tez Johnson. With a clean pocket, Nix floats this ball perfectly to his intended receiver, even with two Oregon State defenders in the area, not to mention one of them being about a yard in front of Johnson when he makes this catch. Great leaping effort from Johnson, but the touch and placement on this throw from Nix are perfect damn perfect. A couple plays later, after rolling out to his right, Nix would hit Troy Franklin for a 41-yard score, despite throwing the ball completely across his body.
Though Nix does a nice job at escaping pressure by rolling out to his right, he broke about 18-rules of quarterbacking on this play, with the main one being that he not only threw this ball completely across his body, but he threw it to the complete opposite side of the field as well. Thankfully for everyone involved wearing green, Franklin had created enough separation from his defender to buy him enough time to get back under the ball without being interfered with. In fact, Franklin pretty much walks into the end zone untouched after making the catch, but this is not something you want to have happen to often, at least in regards to throwing the ball from the near hashmarks by the 50 to the far numbers by the 15. It's not a very high percentage throw but hey, it worked, so I'm sure they'll live with it. With that score, Oregon would take a 21-7 lead into the locker room. Though they'd be kept out of the end zone on their first possession, kicker Camden Lewis would make up for his earlier miss by making a 25-yard field goal to give the Ducks a 24-7 lead in the third. Before the kick though, Nix would connect with Tez Johnson up the middle for a nice 32-yard gain that would put the Ducks on the Beavers 10-yard line.
With Oregon State's nickel corner going down to cover the outside receiver, no one tracks Johnson who is able to find an open lane over the middle of the field. Though the linebacker tries to get over and cover Johnson, it's far too late, as Nix hits his receiver on his body and in stride to help set Johnson on his way, picking up a nice gain and getting the Ducks well into Beaver territory. A really good throw by Nix, helping set up Oregon's first score of the half, which would come a few plays later. The Ducks would get back to their touchdown scoring ways on their next drive. After Nix hit on a few passes to Troy Franklin for 17 and 13-yards, and Gary Bryant Jr. for 10, dude would flash the athleticism, and the ability to throw on the run again by hitting Franklin for nine-yards on first and 10.
Though this play only went for nine-yards, this is still a difficult throw for Nix to complete. With an Oregon State defender on his ass the entire time he's rolling out, Nix is able to deliver a strike to Franklin who makes a semi-sliding catch to come up with the ball. Again, officially this ball went only went nine-yards, but in reality, Nix let this ball go on his own 45-yard line, meaning he threw a dart pretty much from the Oregon 45 to the Oregon State 32. That is far from an easy throw, despite Nix making it look quite the opposite. Nix would then hit Tez Johnson on a quick pass on third and two that would go for 17, as well as hitting Terrance Ferguson on a crossing route three-yards past the line of scrimmage that would end up going for 15, nearly resulting in Nix's third passing touchdown of the game. A play later, running back Jordan James would punch it in from a yard out, giving Oregon a 31-7 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Oregon's final two-drives would see the Ducks punt the ball away, with the only real play of note being a 24-yard completion to Traeshon Holden. With that being said, the Ducks would come away with the 31-7 win, giving them their 11th win on the season, setting up a potential Playoff deciding game between them and the undefeated Washington Huskies. With how Nix and the Ducks are playing, I do think Oregon will come away victorious. That being said, Michael Penix and co. have won the past two match-ups, so who really knows what's about happen. All in all, we should be in for an insanely fun game on Friday night.
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 - 6
Wk 13 - 5
Wk 14 - v no.3 Washington (Friday) (PAC-12 Championship)
6. Carson Beck, Georgia (-1)
Wk 13 - 13/20 175 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/4 carries 24 yds 0 touchdowns @ Georgia Tech (31-23 W)
Season - 268/370 3,495 yds 22 touchdowns 6 interceptions/51 carries 128 yds 3 touchdowns
This game was a whole hell of a lot closer than most people, including myself, thought. I know Georgia Tech has been a tough out this season, but c'mon, this is the Georgia Bulldogs we're talking about. You know? Two-time reigning and defending National Champs? A team that is fresh off three-straight wins against top-25 opposition, winning two of those three by double digits. This is a game Georgia hasn't lost since 2016, and since then, it hasn't been relatively close, with every game since then being a double digit win for the Bulldogs. Like, in the last 20-years, Georgia Tech has won this game a whopping three-times, and with Georgia once again being the top ranked team in the country, I thought this would be another bog standard 'Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate' game where Georgia just steam rolls them. But again, that wasn't the case, as the Yellow Jackets only lost 31-23, even leading early on in this game, as Georgia would fumble the ball away on their first play from scrimmage. Despite that fumble, the Bulldogs would march right down the field on their second drive, traveling 83-yards in nine-plays to tie the game back up at seven a piece. That being said, the touchdown almost didn't happen, as Beck nearly threw an interception a play before the score.
Though it was ultimately ruled incomplete, much like the interception against Ole Miss, this would've been a hard pill to swallow for Carson Beck. Sure the ball was low and would've needed a ridiculous catch to come up with the ball, but this shouldn't have come this close to an interception. You can tell Beck didn't really know how to react when the Georgia Tech defender was coming back with the ball in his hands, I'm sure he couldn't believe he threw an interception. Again though, thankfully for Beck and the Bulldogs the pass was ruled incomplete, and he would make the Yellow Jackets pay on his next passing attempt, tossing up a beautiful ball to Dominic Lovett in the end zone from 29-yards out for Georgia's first touchdown of the game.
Man, I love a good slot fade when it works like this. Now, it helps when the defenders slips in coverage, making for a much easier throw, but slot fades are just really pleasing to the eye, at least for me. Also, really nice blitz pick-up by Daijun Edwards, giving Beck a little more time to get this ball off. Really nice throw from Beck, and a really nice route by Lovett to tie the game back up, giving Beck his first passing touchdown of the evening. Georgia would stack a couple more touchdown drives before the end of the first half. Though Beck wouldn't account for any of the scores himself, he would help set up both touchdown drives, which would both end with three-yard rushing scores. On the first of the two possessions, Beck would hit a wide open Daijun Edwards out of the back field on third and 11, who would take the ball 26-yards, picking up a first down and getting the Bulldogs down to the 50-yard line. Then, after a couple Kendall Milton runs got them to around the Georgia Tech 30, Beck would hit Dillon Bell on a screen pass up the far sideline that would go for 22-yards and set the Bulldogs up at the Yellow Jacket three-yard line. As we alluded to before, Georgia would score from this position on the following play, as Milton would ultimately punch it in for the score. Beck wouldn't be asked to do a whole lot on the following possession, as Georgia's next drive would mostly be dominated by the run game. That being said, Beck would get the Bulldogs into the red zone via a 16-yard completion to Oscar Delp, which would get them down to the seven-yard line.
Fairly simple read from Beck. With the linebacker staying in position, Beck throws it off his inside hip, in the gap between the safety and the corner, for the first down. Despite the Yellow Jackets sending in a safety blitz late, Beck manages to stay calm within the pocket and deliver a nice catchable ball to his tight end for the first down. If you want to nit pick you could say he should've led him more to the pylon, rather than putting it on his body, but I'm perfectly ok with this throw, as it would help set up a Daijun Edwards touchdown run a couple plays later, making the score 21-13 with just over a minute to go in the half. The scoring streak would come to a short end on Georgia's first drive of the second half, as they'd be forced to go three and out for the first time in the ball game, picking up less than a yard on their opening possession. Though they wouldn't score a touchdown on their following drive, at least they'd come away with some points as Peyton Woodring would make a 39-yard field goal with about five-minutes to go in the third. Before the field goal attempt, Beck would have a couple completions go for 10+ yards, with this first going to Dominic Lovett for 11-yards and a first on second and 10.
I know it wasn't the biggest gain of all time, but in the face of pressure, Beck delivered a strike to Lovett's stomach for the first down. With his offensive line getting driven back into his face, Beck did a nice job at just staying calm and tall in the pocket, before hitting his intended receiver for the first down. Again, though it wasn't a massive gain, 11-yards and a first down is sometimes all you need, nice play from both quarterback and wide receiver. As we brought up before, Beck would get another 10+ yard completion on the very next play, this time hitting Arian Smith in the flat for a 12-yard gain, which helped set the Bulldogs up in the red zone for the first time in the half. The drive would stall out after that completion though, as Georgia would have to settle for three with just over five-minutes to go in the third quarter. On their next drive, after a 29-yard reverse by Dillon Bell and a couple passes from Carson Beck, the Bulldogs would find the end zone for the first time in the second half, as Kendall Milton would take it in from four-yards out to give Georgia a 31-13 lead with just over 30-seconds to go in the third quarter. After a Georgia Tech field goal, Georgia would put together a very solid drive to really put the final nail in the coffin. Despite moving the ball with relative ease, a pair of holding penalties would push the Bulldogs back to second and 20 on the Yellow Jacket side of the 50. On this play, Beck would flash the athleticism, picking up 15-yards on the ground, thus getting Georgia to the Georgia Tech six-yard line.
Though this rush attempt from Beck didn't pick up a first down, it at least put them in a position to not only pick up the first by making it third and very manageable, it also set them up with a touchdown opportunity, getting the Bulldogs down to the six-yard line. A very nice job at avoiding the pressure coming from the right side, picking up a very solid gain on the ground. Unfortunately for Beck and co., that run would ultimately mean nothing, as dude would throw his first interception of the game on the very next play.
Beck just can't seem to get away from these bouncing balls. Like we brought up before, this is the third interception, or near interception, he's thrown we're the pass shot up in the air and landed into the arms of a defender. This was a situation where Beck just tried to force the issue. With his receiver cutting his route off, Beck tried to throw this ball 100 mph in order to get it there before a Yellow Jacket defender could make a play on the ball. Unfortunately, the throw was late, giving the defense enough time to react before breaking up the pass and ultimately ending up with the ball. Tough way to end a solid drive for the Bulldogs, especially since Georgia Tech would march right down the field and score their first touchdown of the half, making it a one-score game with just under four-minutes to go in the game. Though they cut into Georgia's lead, the game would ultimately end with the Bulldogs coming out 31-23 victors against their in-state rival. Though it was a whole hell of a lot closer than many probably anticipated, Georgia still came away with the dub, and that's all you can ask for. As for Beck, I thought he did some good things throughout the game, though was unfortunate to essentially end his night with an interception in the red zone. I'm intrigued to see how he does in the SEC Championship game against Alabama, who are also coming off a tough road game against their own in-state rival, Auburn, as they needed a miracle to come away with the victory. In a game that features two high scoring offenses and very solid defenses, we should be in for a very fun game come Saturday afternoon.
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 - 5
Wk 13 - 6
Wk 14 - v no.8 Alabama (SEC Championship)
7. Michael Penix Jr., Washington
Wk 13 - 18/33 204 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/2 carries -9 yds 0 touchdowns v Washington State (24-21 W)
Season - 280/427 3,899 yds 32 touchdowns 8 interceptions/25 carries -14 yds 3 touchdowns
This was almost a catastrophic evening for Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies. I understand the Huskies have had some tough match-ups as of late, and I know that this could be the last 'Apple Cup,' but you shouldn't need a 42-yard field goal, as time expires, to beat your in-state rival. Despite Washington State coming off a win, the Cougars had lost their previous six-games, so this game should've been a breeze, especially since the game was being played in Seattle. A loss to Washington State last Saturday would've sent shockwaves throughout all of college football, as that would've eliminated the Huskies from Playoff contention, regardless of what would've happened in the PAC-12 Championship game. I guess all in all is that the most important thing here is that you got the dub, finishing the regular season undefeated and moving into the top three in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings. I can be as negative as I want in regards to this game but I don't think many people wearing purple and gold give a rats ass about what I think about the game as a whole. As for Michael Penix, this was not his best performance either, throwing for a near season low 204-yards while only completing around 55% of his passes, marking the third straight game (four in his last five) of completing less than 60% of his passes. That being said, he did manage to register a couple passing touchdowns in the game, though he did register his eighth interception of the season, which could've been more when you look at Washington's final drive of the game (which we will get to). As for the game itself, though Washington would be forced to punt the ball away on their first drive of the game, they would manage to punch it across the goal line on their second drive thanks to a one-yard run by Dillon Johnson. Before the touchdown, Penix would connect with Rome Odunze up the far sideline on a hitch route that would ultimately resulted in a 22-yard gain for the Huskies.
Really nice timing on this throw from Michael Penix, as he hits Odunze just after he exits his break, which is really what you're look for on hitch and comeback routes. Not to mention, this is a very difficult throw to make. Like, Penix is throwing this ball from the near hashmark, Odunze is outside the 30 when he makes this catch. So again, if Penix is late on this throw, given the distance the ball has to cover, the defender could easily jump this route and we're saying 7-0 Washington State. But because he throws it close to when he exits his break, Odunze is not only able to make a stress free catch, but is also able to put a move on the defender and pick up even more yards in the process. Very nice play which helped set up Johnson's eventual one-yard touchdown run, putting the Huskies up midway through the first quarter. After going three and out on their next drive, and after the Cougars turned it over on downs around the 50-yard line, the Huskies would eventually line up to attempt a 43-yard field goal. Unfortunately for them, Grady Gross would miss the ensuing kick, leaving the score tied at seven. Penix's first touchdown pass would come on Washington's following possession, hitting a wide ass open Rome Odunze down the far sideline for a 40-yard touchdown.
As easy as you'd like. With the Washington State defender falling over at the line of scrimmage, Odunze, one of the best receivers in all of college football, is granted the freedom to be wide ass open down the field. This is just like taking candy from a baby. Because he was so wide open, I wouldn't have been upset if Penix decided to make him come back to the ball, as opposed to over throwing him since the receiver can always come back to the ball, but dude led him damn near perfectly on this play. Sure Odunze slowed down slightly on the route, but it really doesn't get much prettier than this. This is what their warm up sessions look like, just simple, and it resulted in a touchdown. After punting on their next drive, and a Cameron Ward touchdown pass with less than 10-seconds to go in the half, Washington would see themselves ties with Washington State at 14 going into the locker room. Things wouldn't get much better to start the second half for the Huskies, as Penix would toss up a 50/50 ball for Ja'Lynn Polk down the near sideline, but unfortunately the Cougar defender would wind up with the ball at around the Washington State 32-yard line.
When making a throw like this, with little to no room for error, this ball needed to be perfect, and it wasn't. Now, I don't think it was a terrible throw or anything, but with the defender draped all over the receiver, this ball has to be placed to Polk's outside shoulder, towards the sideline and away from the defender. If not, this ball has every chance to be intercepted, which it was. The idea was fine, but the defender had good position and just ripped the ball away from Polk. Washington's next drive following the interception would result in a punt, but Penix would come back on their third drive of the have and register his second passing touchdown of the game, throwing a beautiful back shoulder ball to Rome Odunze for the 21-yard score.
I've said this in previous blog posts, but I don't think there's a quarterback/wide receiver that connect on back shoulder throws more often these two. It's just ridiculous. It feels like every time I watch a Washington I see Penix and Odunze connecting on a back shoulder throw, whether it's for a touchdown or a 15+ yard play down the field. No matter when or where, it seemingly always works. As for this individual one, with pressure in his face after faking to the far sideline, there's no reason this ball should've been placed this well. Like, c'mon. Away from the defender and towards the sideline. You can't even see the ball once Odunze comes down with it, as the defender is playing what he thought was pretty damn good defense. What else have we said throughout these blog posts, numerous times before? It doesn't matter how good you play defensively, or how much you think you've got someone covered, you can never beat a perfect throw, and that's exactly what this was. Penix would had another decent gainer a play before the touchdown, as he'd hit Jack Westover to his left after rolling slightly to his right, but that one goes down more to the catch than the throw, as Westover made a very nice attempt to come down with the ball, picking up 19-yards in the process. Following the touchdown, Washington's next two-drives would see them go three and out. Thankfully for them the Cougars only capitalized on one of those three and outs, as they too would be forced to punt the ball away on what would ultimately be their final drive of the game. On the Huskies eventual game winning drive, they'd call up one of the craziest fourth and one plays I think I've ever seen. From their own 29, they hand it off to Rome Odunze on a jet sweep (after faking the dive) who would pick up a nice 23-yards, completely flipping the field and giving the Huskies a new lease on life. Despite Penix taking a nine-yard sack and again nearly throwing a couple drive ending interceptions when trying to hit Jalen McMillan and Odunze, Washington would ultimately come out victorious thanks to a 42-yard field goal by Grady Gross to walk off 24-21 victors. After missing a 43-yard field goal in the first half, it was nice to see that they still had faith in their kicker to win the game for them, as he'd hit this kick pretty much down the middle. Penix couldn't contain his emotions on the sideline after the kick, leaving the field with a jacket over his head and being guided out by a Washington equipment manager. Who can blame him though? You just helped Washington finish the regular season 12-0, taking home a dub in the final Apple Cup in PAC-12 play. But as we said before, I'm sure some felt this was a little too close for comfort, and may have wanted a little more convincing performance leading up to the conference championship game against Oregon. The past two-times Washington and Oregon met up have been instant classics, so we can only hope the third rendition came live up to the hype.
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 - 7
Wk 13 - 7
Wk 14 - v no.5 Oregon (Friday) (PAC-12 Championship)
8. Michael Pratt, Tulane
Wk 13 - 9/22 126 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries 50 yds 0 touchdowns v UTSA (29-16 W)
Season - 164/247 2,168 yds 21 touchdowns 4 interceptions/88 carries 321 yds 4 touchdowns
This was one of the better games of the season for the Tulane Green Wave, just a shame that this was one of Michael Pratt's worst of the season. That being said, despite completing just over 40% of his passes, Pratt still managed to toss two touchdowns through the air without registering an interception, as well as picking up 50-yards on the ground, which is the most he's had in a game since Tulane's victory against North Texas back in mid-late October. So I wouldn't say it was a bad outing from Pratt but again, compared to how he's played throughout the season, it wasn't necessarily his best either. All that being said, this was a game against a very solid UTSA team, in a game that decided who would be one of the representatives in the AAC conference championship game. With a 29-16 home victory, Tulane possesses that honor and will take on SMU Saturday afternoon (more on that game in a little bit). Again though, all in all, against a UTSA team that rattled off seven-wins in a row, a double digit win is impressive. What's even more impressive is that the defense came away with an interception on the Roadrunners second play from scrimmage, which would help set Pratt and the offense up at the UTSA 10-yard line. On their third play, Pratt would hit Chris Brazzell II on a crossing route from seven-yards out to give the Green Wave their first lead of the game, which came with just less than 14-minutes left in the first quarter. Just over a minute into the game we have an interception and a touchdown, what an exciting game we got going on down in New Orleans, right? Unfortunately for UTSA quarterback Frank Harris, he could respond to his opening drive interception by throwing yet another one on their second drive of the game, giving Tulane the ball back at the UTSA 48-yard line. As for Tulane, one their first play of that drive, Pratt would get strip sacked, with the ball getting jumped on by a Roadrunner defender at around the 50-yard line. So, we are four drives into the game, and each quarterback has turned it over a combined three-times. Maybe 'exciting' wasn't the correct word, maybe I should've used 'messy,' because that's sure as hell how the game started. Tulane's next couple drives would result in punts, with Pratt only throwing the ball once on the Green Wave's six-play drive following the fumble. He'd double his attempts on the following drive, but the offense would be forced to go three and out. Pratt would hit Chris Brazzell II for 14-yards on their next drive, but the drive would mostly be carried by the run game, as Makhi Hughes' 30-yard rush helped set up a 47-yard field goal attempt by Valentino Ambrosio, which would tie the game up at 10 early in the second. The run game would dominate Tulane's next drive as well, with a 58-yard run by Makhi Hughes helping set up yet another field goal attempt, with this one being from 26-yards out to give Tulane a 13-10 lead later on in the second. Pratt would finally uncork one on the following drive, tossing a beautiful 47-yard bomb to Brazzell, setting the offense up at the two-yard line.
I promise I'm not being hyperbolic, but this is a perfect throw from Michael Pratt. Like, look at how tightly the UTSA defender is guarding Brazzell, there's literally only one place Pratt can put this ball and he put it exactly there, right on the outside shoulder and away from the defender. Though the throw was fantastic, what a catch by the receiver as well. With the defender holding on to his left arm pretty much the entire way down the field, Brazzell is able to reel this ball in while only using his right arm. Not only that, but the dude was also able to control it to the ground as well, making for one of the best throw/catch combinations you'll see in all of college football. Though it eventually lead to a touchdown, with Makhi Hughes punching it in from two-yards out, it's a shame that the 47-yard throw didn't itself result in any points, because it definitely deserved it. I'm sure they'll take the points regardless though. Tulane would register a field goal with a few seconds left to go in the half to give themselves a 23-10 lead at the break. Their first few drives of the second half though would not reap the same benefits, as they'd be forced to punt on their first four drives of the half. Despite that, Pratt would try his best to extend Tulane's third drive, as he would pick up 26-yards on the ground to give the Green Wave a first down on third and 11.
This is a very nice play by Pratt to try and get something going for Tulane in the second half. Again, they punted on their two-previous drives, drives that only accumulated three and five plays, they needed something to get them going. Seeing your quarterback pick up 26-yards with his legs on third and 11 usually can jump start an offense, but this drive met the same fate as the two aforementioned drives, ending with a punt. About this play in general, I like how Pratt smartly decided not to try and force something down the field. 11-yards is a lot to pick up on third down and some quarterbacks would panic and try to force something to get it all back. But, with the 'spy' following the running back out of the backfield, that left a massive opening in the middle for Pratt to exploit, which he did and then some. Dude's got some wheels, and they were definitely on display there. After punting on their next drive, Tulane would finally register their first points of the half, as a 22-yard pass play to Brazzell would help sent them up at the four-yard line. A couple plays later, Pratt and Brazzell would connect from three-yards out to give Tulane a 29-16 (missed two-point conversion) lead later on in the fourth quarter.
They say football is a game of inches, which is why I really like the use of the pump fake by Pratt on this touchdown. Why did I say that first part? Well, I've seen all too many times that route not only get picked off, but returned the other way for six. So, why was the pump fake important? It completely froze the defender. With the defender staying still for even half a second, that gives Pratt a little more room to work with, as Brazzell now has a decent amount of separation between himself and the defender, making for a much easier touchdown pass then it would've been if not for the pump fake. Though the Roadrunners would score a touchdown on their following drive, the game was already done and dusted, as the Green Wave came out 29-16 victors in their final game of the regular season. Though it wasn't the prettiest game from Pratt, he definitely had his moments that helped turn the game in Tulane's favor. Now with 11-wins on the season, Tulane go up against a 10-2 SMU team that is insanely explosive on offense as well as insanely solid on defense. On offense they rank second in the conference in yards per game and first in points per game. As for the defensive side of things, the Mustangs rank first in both yards per game and points per game, with their main strength coming in the passing game. Apart from Ole Miss, this is by far the best and most complete team Pratt and co. will have faced all year. With the game being at home, maybe Tulane will be able to pull it out but again, this will be an insane test.
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 - 8
Wk 13 - 8
Wk 14 - v SMU (AAC Championship)
9. Joe Milton III, Tennessee (NR)
Wk 13 - 22/33 383 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/5 carries 11 yds 2 touchdowns v Vanderbilt (48-24 W)
Season - 229/354 2,813 yds 20 touchdowns 5 interceptions/78 carries 299 yds 7 touchdowns
I know, I know, I didn't really expect to see Joe Milton in and around the top 10 since he dropped out all the way back on week three. Despite the hype surrounding him going into the season, from the rocket arm, to the size, to the athleticism, things haven't necessarily 100% clicked for the former Michigan quarterback. Not saying he's been bad or anything this season, as he's been mentioned in the 'other' section of our blog posts pretty much every week since he first dropped out of the officially official top 10. Like, when you look at his stat line so far this season, you'd see a little less than 3,000-yards with 20-touchdowns to just five-interceptions. Not to mention he has also accounted for one-yard less than 300-yards on the ground with a further seven-touchdowns to go there as well. Like Jameis Winston once said, you look at his numbers, he's balling (to a certain extent). The main issue when discussing Joe Milton this season has been his decision making, with people even making preseason comparisons to former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, who though athletically gifted too, will need time to develop into the truly special quarterback he can be. The only issue with that is Richardson turned 21 in May and only saw meaningful game time in two of his three seasons in college. Whereas Milton, on the other hand, turns 24 in March and is now on his sixth season of colligate football. So, you would expect him to be closer to the finished product then Richardson was, right? But the reality is that they're kind of at the same point development wise, though we should really be seeing Milton further along than Richardson, right? Well, as far as this week goes, Milton posted his best game of the season, throwing for a season high 383-yards with six-total touchdowns, four through the air and two on the ground. Things would start off pretty good for Milton and the Tennessee offense, as they would only need three-plays to score their first points of the game, which would come courtesy of a 56-yard throw from Milton to Ramel Keyton, putting the Vols up 7-0 early.
As they said on the broadcast, this is the ninth time this season that the Volunteers have scored on their opening drive of the game. Which, despite them being semi-inconsistent this season, that's a pretty damn impressive stat, right? As for this play itself, this is an absolute rope from Joe Milton. After doing a nice job at looking off the defenders by first turning his attention to the flat after the fake, he leads Keyton perfectly on a rope, who takes it the rest of the way for the touchdown. Apart from their opening play touchdown against Georgia, I can't think of a much better way to start a game off, hitting a 56-yard bomb for a touchdown. Gotta love it. Though their next drive would also end in three plays, it would see Tennessee go three and out, rather than score a touchdown. They would follow that up with another punt on their third drive, before finally finding the end zone again on their fourth drive of the game, with Milton throw a dart to McCallan Castles from 10-yards out for the score.
I like the little tight end wheel route Tennessee's got going on here, especially since the two receivers to the outside essentially clear out the sideline, leaving Castles in a one-on-one match-up that he seemingly always had a foot on. With him having some separation between himself and his defender, Milton doesn't need to do anything to insane to complete this pass, but still throws a very nice ball on a line to his tight end for the touchdown. Just put it in a spot where only his intended receiver could get it, and it resulted in six for the Vols, giving them the lead back with just over three-minutes to go in the first quarter. Tennessee would continue on their short touchdown drives their next time on the field, as Milton would register his third touchdown pass of the game. Before that though, Milton would show off some nice touch and placement, finding Jacob Warren up the middle of the field for a 28-yard gain.
With the receivers route taking him more towards the far hashmarks, with the defender in the area, Milton does a nice job at placing this ball on Warren's back shoulder, turning his attention away from the path of the defender and more back towards the middle of the field. Not only that, but Milton didn't zip this ball in there at 100 mph, instead he shows nice touch and more or less just lobs it to Warren for the first down. Nice use of touch and placement by Milton, which helped Tennessee pick up a big gain before the end of the quarter. After a near fumble almost ended the drive, Milton would take a shot towards the end zone less than a minute into the second quarter, finding a fairly open Jacob Warren for a 34-yard touchdown.
I love when a motion works out like this. After sending Warren all the way across the formation, you would expect Vanderbilt to make some sort of defensive adjustment in order to cover the new receiver in the slot. Not only do they fail to cover him up, but the receiver to the outside also sucks in the safety, leaving Warren with a decent amount of space for Milton to get him the ball. As for Milton, great job at evading the first would be tackler, then stepping up in the pocket, recollecting himself, and delivering a very nice ball to Warren in the end zone for the touchdown. Not a lot of air was put under this ball, this thing was thrown on a rope yet again. Though it probably had less velocity than the others, the ball being zipped in their gave the safety even less time to react, so I'm a fan of how he let this ball go. Overall, good play design and good throw to help set up Milton's third passing touchdown of the day. On their next drive, Milton would commit a sin that I brought up when discussing Bo Nix's game, though it picked up 29-yards and would set the Vols up in the red zone.
Now, I will start off by saying that you should not do this, but man, look how effortless of a throw this was. Like, dude stepped up in the pocket, threw this ball while slightly on the move, just flicked his wrist and threw this ball from the far hashmark by the 44 to the near sideline around the 11. I will reiterate, do not make a habit of doing this, but still, this is an effortlessly insane throw from Milton, which helped the Vols again, move into the red zone. Despite being set up with nice field position, Tennessee's drive would ultimately stall out, thankfully Charles Campbell would capitalize on the 24-yard field goal, ironically giving them their 24th point of the game. After a quick little brawl and a Vanderbilt punt, the Volunteers would march right down the field yet again, scoring yet another touchdown before the half to make it 31-10. With a drive mostly dominated by the run game, it makes sense for the drive to end with a rushing touchdown, as Milton would pull it from Jabari Small, Milton would find the corner to the far side of the field and punch it into the end zone from about two-yards out, helping grow Tennessee's lead with just six-seconds left in the first half. Just a really well worked drive by Milton and the Volunteers offense, scoring a touchdown with little to no time left in the half, that's what you want. Tennessee's offense would register another touchdown on their first drive of the second half as well, with Milton hitting Ramel Keyton on a hitch route on third and 10 that would ultimately turn into a 46-yard touchdown.
This ball was absolutely zipped in their by Milton. Though you'd ideally want that ball out a little sooner, as you usually want this ball out right as he exits his break, but with Keaton creating a decent amount separation between himself and his defender, and with Milton having the arm that he does, it's no surprise the receiver was able to make the defender miss once he caught the ball and ultimately score a touchdown. With an arm like that, sometimes you can afford to be late on throws. I'm not saying that's a good thing, because sometimes you can get a little too lackadaisical, but it all worked out and then some on this play, resulting in six yet again with Milton registering his fourth passing touchdown of the game. Though they'd go three and out on their next drive, Milton would lead the Vols to yet another touchdown, which would ultimately be his last drive of the game. After a screen pass to Squirrel White went for 27-yards, Milton would connect with McCallan Castles for eight-yards on third and seven before throwing a nice comeback route to White that would go for 16-yards.
This is another very well thrown ball from Joe Milton. Comebacks (out routes) are one of the hardest routes to hit, especially when you're throwing the ball from the far hash and the route is to the near sideline. But like we've brought up before, when you've got an arm like Milton, nearly every throw is possible. Despite the distance, Milton shows very nice timing on this pass, getting it to White more towards the sideline and away from the defender. A few plays later, Milton would register his second rushing touchdown of the game. On a similar-ish play to the first one he scored, Milton pulled it from the back, got the edge, and punched it into the end zone from two-yards out, giving Tennessee a massive 45-10 lead with under a minute to go in the third quarter. Like we said before, that touchdown would be Joe Milton's final contribution to the game, as Nico Iamaleava would see the game out the rest of the way. This was a very impressive performance from Milton, with this being his best game of the season, setting season highs in passing yards and touchdowns (passing, rushing, total). Though it was against Vanderbilt, it was nice to see Joe Milton play like this. I hope he continues this play into Tennessee's bowl game, whoever it's against.
Preseason - 6
Wk 1 - 8
Wk 2 - 9
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 - NR
Wk 12 - NR
Wk 13 - 9
Wk 14 - BYE
10. Cameron Ward, Washington State
Wk 13 - 32/48 317 yds 3 touchdowns 2 interceptions/11 carries -19 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.4 Washington (24-21 L)
Season - 324/486 3,732 yds 25 touchdowns 7 interceptions/120 carries 122 yds 8 touchdowns
What a rough way to end the season for the Washington State Cougars. After starting off 4-0, with wins over Wisconsin and Oregon State, the Cougars fell off the face of a massive cliff, dropping all the way down to 4-6 before their Friday night match-up against Colorado a couple of weeks ago. I know they played some decent teams throughout that six-game stretch, but for how talent this Cougars team is, especially on offense, to see them finish the season with a less than .500 record doesn't sit too well with me. Though I knew it was incredibly small, it wouldn't have been too crazy to see them pull off the massive road upset against the fourth ranked Washington Huskies. Despite being undefeated, the Huskies showed a few chinks in their armor. Ever since that incredible game against Oregon, Washington played some much closer than expected games against the likes of Arizona State and Stanford, beating two-teams with a now combined six-yards by a combined score of 17 isn't really what I expected to see from a potentially elite Washington team. With Penix not necessarily playing his best football, and Washington State coming off a much needed win, maybe the craziness could actually happen, right? Though they came close, the Cougars ended up falling to the Huskies in Seattle by a score of 24-21, with quarterback Cameron Ward throwing for 317-yards with three-touchdowns, though he did toss two-interceptions in the game as well. As for the team as a whole, things didn't really start off the smoothest, as they were forced to punt the ball away after going three and out on their first two possessions. That being said, the Cougars would manage to finally find the end zone on their third drive of the game, with Ward finding Josh Kelly in the end zone from 21-yards out to tie the game up at seven.
Excellent job by Ward at looking off the single high safety. With Kelly running a post, Ward needs to clear out the middle of the field so he has some sort of window to get the ball to his intended receiver. With him starting his attention to the left, that freezes the safety just enough to widen the window to Josh Kelly, which Ward hits with ease to again, tie the game up at seven late in the first quarter. Before the score, Ward would hit Kyle Williams for a 37-yard gain down the far sideline, but the ball was really under thrown by Ward, which forced the receiver to make an insane back tracking one-handed catch, which would ultimately set up the first touchdown of the game for Washington State. After turning it over on downs on their next drive, we would see Ward throw his first interception of the game, which would come midway through the second quarter.
This is just a rough play to watch. Not necessarily because of the interception, as it looks like a common miscommunication between Ward and receiver Kyle Williams, as Ward is throwing it to the outside and Williams cut his route inside. But dude took a massive shot from the Washington defender right as he let this ball go, which I'm sure also had something to do with the trajectory of the ball. Though he got hit after the ball was thrown, I'm sure seeing a big defensive lineman screaming in your face would speed up your process. So I guess you could look it from two-ways. One, you could say Ward wanted the outside route or two, you could say the incoming hit sped him up which forced him to throw it before Williams made his break. Either way, not great for the Cougar offense, or defense for that matter, as the Huskies would score a few plays after the interception, making it now 14-7 later on in the second quarter. Apart from a 12-yard completion to Josh Kelly on their next drive, Washington State couldn't really get anything going, and would be forced to punt the ball away again. However, they would manage to score just before the break, which would be set up by Ward hitting Lincoln Victor for 28-yards down the far sideline.
Nice job at starting off looking to the left, before flipping back and hitting a fairly open Victor up the sideline for a nice gain. You can tell by how he played it, but the defender guarding Victor was reading Ward's eyes the entire time. With his attention to the left, the defender plays the receiver a little more inside, which is why when Victor breaks he's more open down the sideline, because the defender committed just enough to the left to free him up a little more. Sometimes that's all you need as a receiver, and they took advantage of that for a 28-yard gain. A few plays later, Ward would hit Kyle Williams down the near sideline for a 25-yard touchdown, tying the game up with eight-seconds left in the first half.
This is a very quick read from Cameron Ward, and you have to make the right decision otherwise the half could come to an end with you picking up zero-points. I really like a fade-quick out route combination, because it really forces the defense to think on their toes. With the slot running a quick out, the defender playing over top, around the 12, decides to cover the flat, which in turn leaves the backside of the defense wide open, with the Husky defender being left on an island against Williams. Though the play set up is nice, the throw needed to be perfect in order for Washington State to come away with a touchdown, and it was. Thrown to the front pylon away from the Washington defender, who did a nice job at tracking back after Williams initially beat him. Overall, just a really nice play, throw, and catch to tie the game up before halftime. Washington State's next few drives would not be as successful. After picking off Michael Penix on the second play of the half, the Cougars offense would sputter, punting the ball away after eight-plays with Ward being sacked for an 11 and a nine-yard loss to push them back to fourth and 29. They would move the ball fairly well on their following drive, putting together a nice 10-play drive, but kicker Dean Janikowski would miss the ensuing 50-yard field goal. The suffering would continue on their next drive, as Ward would throw his second interception of the game.
This isn't the best angle for the whole play, but this shows you the best angle in regards to how behind the throw was from Ward. Not only that, but you get to see all the different bounces the ball took before finally ending up in a diving Husky defenders hands. Like, I do understand what Ward is trying to do. With the receivers route carrying him across the field, Ward tries to put the ball on his body, as to not lead him into the path of one of the three Washington defenders around him when the ball is thrown. The only issue is that the ball was very behind his intended receiver, making for a really tough catch that would again, ultimately wind up in the hands of the defense. Ward would make up for the interception on Washington State's next drive, as his pass to Billy Riviere III would help the Cougars pick up a first down on fourth and three, picking up 11-yards in the process. He would then find Josh Kelly across the middle for an 18-yard gain, putting the Cougars in the red zone.
Very calm, cool, and collected throw from Cameron Ward to Josh Kelly. This was just a very nice play to watch, as not only were the throw and catch nice, but the offensive line created a very clean pocket for Ward to work in. Just an overall good play for the Cougar offense, helping set up Ward's third passing touchdown which would come on a short eight-yard pass to Lincoln Victor to tie the game up at 21 with about six-minutes left in the game. After forcing the Huskies to go three and out, the Cougar offense had a chance to steal this game, thus ending any hope of a College Football Playoff birth for their in-state rival. But, on that drive, Ward would try and force a pass to Victor on third and 11, a pass that was nearly intercepted.
Given Ward's skill set, I don't really know why he didn't decide to tuck this ball and pick up the first down with his legs. With a decent chance at getting first down, I would've rather him try to pick it up with his legs rather than force a ball into double coverage, on a pass that was nearly intercepted. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think he picks up the first if he tucks it, and if not, he could get decently close. Instead, Washington State would be forced to punt the ball away, not to see it again as the Huskies would march down the field and covert on a game winning field goal with no time remaining, taking home a 24-21 victory. It would've been a fitting end to the Apple Cup to see Washington State pull off the massive road upset, but it just wasn't meant to be I guess. Again, after starting 4-0, who would've thought the Cougars would end the regular season with a 5-7 record? Just a crazy turn of events for them this season. As for Ward, we'll have to wait and see what his ultimate decision is, as he's reportedly being offered a lot of money to play for some other power five schools. It'll be interesting to see whether he choses the NFL or another college, but I can imagine he'd be set either way.
Preseason - NR
Wk 1 - NR
Wk 2 - NR
Wk 3 - 10
Wk 4 - 8
Wk 5 - 8
Wk 6 - 10
Wk 7 - NR
Wk 8 - NR
Wk 9 - NR
Wk 10 - NR
Wk 11 - NR
Wk 12 - 10
Wk 13 - 10
Wk 14 - BYE
Others
Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma
Wk 13 - 24/38 400 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/7 carries 36 yds 1 touchdown v TCU (69-45 W)
Season - 266/384 3,660 yds 30 touchdowns 6 interceptions/93 carries 373 yds 12 touchdowns
Sam Hartman, Notre Dame
Wk 13 - 8/14 140 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/4 carries 47 yds 0 touchdowns @ Stanford (56-23 W)
Season - 191/301 2,689 yds 24 touchdowns 8 interceptions/45 carries 123 yds 3 touchdowns
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina (9)
Wk 13 - 16/32 112 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/7 carries 16 yds 0 touchdowns v no.24 Clemson (16-7 L)
Season - 275/399 3,186 yds 19 touchdowns 8 interceptions/97 carries 104 yds 4 touchdowns
Austin Reed, Western Kentucky
Wk 13 - 26/35 280 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry -6 yds 0 touchdowns @ Florida International (41-28 W)
Season - 289/470 3,340 yds 31 touchdowns 11 interceptions/42 carries 100 yds 4 touchdowns
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami (FL)
Wk 13 - 23/36 290 yds 2 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries 9 yds 0 touchdowns v Boston College (45-20 W)
Season - 219/333 2,703 yds 19 touchdowns 12 interceptions/24 carries 16 yds 1 touchdown
Previous Rankings
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