Devy Roundup: Week Seven
We witnessed some wild upsets last week. First, we saw Syracuse take down defending national champion Clemson on Friday night. We also saw California dominate eighth-ranked Washington State later that night. Other teams that were upset on Saturday included Washington, Auburn, San Diego State, and Navy. A few other top-25 teams also narrowly defeated their opponents. Altogether, it was a crazy week in college football.
You can find the final results of each week seven game here.
Top Performers
Performances ranked on a 5-star scale
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5 stars – J.T. Barrett, QB Ohio State (325 yards passing, 5 TDs, 48 yards rushing, 2 TDs)
Barrett dominated the Nebraska defense, accounting for seven total touchdowns and nearly 400 yards. He continues to put up impressive numbers nearly every week.
5 stars – AJ Dillon, RB Boston College (272 yards rushing, 4 TDs)
Dillon ran all over the Louisville defense, including an impressive 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. That touchdown put Boston College up by 14 points. After Louisville tied the game, Boston College was able to make the game-winning field goal as time expired.
5 stars – Mason Rudolph, QB Oklahoma State (459 yards passing, 3 TDs)
While Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen receive most of the spotlight, Mason Rudolph has been putting up arguably the most impressive passing statistics so far this year. He had another big game against Baylor last week.
5 stars – James Washington, WR Oklahoma State (6 recs, 235 yards, 2 total TDs)
Washington has been the main beneficiary of Rudolph’s impressive start and has been exceptional in his own right. I was admittedly lower on Washington than many other people to start the season, but he is climbing up my rankings with each passing week.
5 stars – Karan Higdon, RB Michigan (200 yards rushing, 3 TDs)
Higdon had a huge day, including a 25-yard touchdown in overtime. He carried the Michigan offense against Indiana, as they only had 58 yards passing for the entire game.
Honorable Mentions: Damien Harris (9 carries, 125 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 8 yards), L.J. Scott (194 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 26 yards), Jonathan Taylor, (30 carries, 219 yards rushing, 1 TD, 1 rec, 17 yards), J.K. Dobbins (106 yards rushing, 1 TD, 4 recs, 42 yards), JD Spielman (11 recs, 200 yards, 1 TD), Kerryon Johnson (156 yards rushing, 1 TD), D.J. Chark (5 recs, 150 yards, punt-return TD), Mark Andrews (4 recs, 104 yards, 1 TD), Sam Ehlinger (278 yards passing, 1 TD, 110 yards rushing, 1 TD), Ronald Jones II (111 yards rushing, 1 TD, 1 rec, 10 yards), Sam Darnold (358 yards passing, 3 TDs), Royce Freeman (143 yards rushing, 1 rec, 8 yards), Bryce Love (147 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Zach Abey (146 rushing yards, 3 TDs), Anthony Miller (10 recs, 90 yards, 2 TDs), Khalil Tate (230 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Cam Akers (115 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 recs, 20 yards), Lamar Jackson (332 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 180 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Shea Patterson (351 yards passing, 4 TDs), AJ Brown (8 recs, 174 yards, 2 TDs), Will Grier (352 yards passing, 5 TDs, 1 INT)
Poor Performers
Performances ranked on a 5-star scale
1 star – Luke Falk, QB Washington State (286 yards passing, 5 INTs)
UC Berkeley’s stadium is often a tough place to play for visiting teams. Luke Falk found this out the hard way last Saturday, as his horrific day included him throwing five interceptions. California totally dominated Washington State, which was a surprise to many.
2 stars – Jake Browning, QB Washington (139 yards passing)
Usually explosive, the Washington offense was stagnant against Arizona State last Saturday. Browning and the rest of the Huskies just could not seem to find any rhythm as the quarterback only threw for 139 yards with no touchdowns.
2 stars – Josh Rosen, QB UCLA (219 yards passing, 3 INTs)
It was a particularly bad day for many PAC-12 quarterbacks last Saturday. Josh Rosen rounds out this trio of poor performers as he threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The Bruins did score four rushing touchdowns, but they are not going to win many games with Rosen playing as poorly as he did.
Depth Chart Battles
As we approach the eighth week of the season, below are a few positional battles I continue to keep my eye on.
Georgia
Nick Chubb received significantly more carries than his fellow Georgia running backs, but it was D’Andre Swift and Sony Michel who had the better afternoons. Swift’s efficient day was propelled by a 71-yard run. Michel rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns on a mere nine carries. Georgia has one of the best running games in the country, as they have four talented running backs who can each step up at any moment.
Alabama
Damien Harris continues to improve as the year progresses. Carries were split fairly evenly amongst the Alabama running backs, but Damien Harris made the most of his. He rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on just nine carries.
My Rankings
Below is a preview of my Top 25 Devy rankings. I made a few adjustments after this week of play. You can find my full set of Devy rankings here.
Marquee Matchups
Below are some of the more intriguing games on this upcoming week’s slate. You can check out the full week eight schedule here.
1.) Louisville @ Florida State – 10/21 @ 12 PM EST on ESPN
Lamar Jackson is averaging over 300 yards passing and nearly 100 yards rushing per game so far this season. Although the Louisville record does reflect it, he has been amazing this year.
Florida State running back Cam Akers is slowly earning more carries each week, impressive for a Freshman. Auden Tate continues to post impressive statistics as well.
2.) LSU @ Ole Miss – 10/21 @ 7:15 PM EST on ESPN
Fresh off impressive wins against Florida and Auburn, LSU continues its SEC journey to Ole Miss this Saturday. They will need talented running back Derrius Guice to step up in this one. On the other side of the ball, talented Ole Miss receivers AJ Brown and D.K. Metcalf will look to lead an upset.
3.) Michigan @ Penn State – 10/21 @ 7:30 PM EST on ABC
What will Saquon Barkley do next in this critical Big 10 matchup? I am eager to find out. Michigan also has a few intriguing Devy prospects, including wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
4.) USC @ Notre Dame – 10/21 @ 7:30 PM EST on NBC
One of the better rivalries in college football, USC will travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame Saturday night. There are many talented Devy players in this one, including the trio of Sam Darnold, Ronald Jones II, and Equanimeous St. Brown.
Other News/Notes
As you can tell from the lengthy list of players in the “Top Performers” section above, there were many great performances this past week. It was difficult narrowing them down to best five. With all of this great play, I am looking forward to the second half of the season and the playoffs.
In the beginning of the season, the Heisman discussion centered mostly around the talented group of quarterbacks, including Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson. However, as the season progresses, the running backs are starting to steal the show. Saquon Barkley, Bryce Love, and Jonathan Taylor have all been exceptional in the first half of the season.
Look for this series to continue to be published every Thursday. In the meantime, feel free to follow me on Twitter @TheDevyDude and get ready for another exciting week of college football!
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- Devy Roundup: Week 14 - November 26, 2019
- Devy Roundup: Week 13 - November 20, 2019
- Devy Roundup: Week 12 - November 12, 2019
