Devy Roundup: Week Nine
Last week was another one filled with upsets, including two teams in playoff contention. Penn State, TCU, Washington State, Michigan State, and South Florida all lost, causing another major shake-up of the Top-25 Rankings. The first edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released last Tuesday and Georgia unexpectedly came in ranked at the top. Iowa State still sits at 15th despite their impressive victory over TCU. Ohio State surprisingly ranks only sixth after their remarkable comeback against Penn State but now controls their own destiny in the Big Ten East standings. They did a great job containing Saquon Barkley after he ran the opening kickoff back for a touchdown.
You can find the final results of each week nine game here.
Top Performers
Performances ranked on a 5-star scale
[am4show have=’g1;’ guest_error=’sub_message’ user_error=’sub_message’ ]
5 stars – J.T. Barrett, QB Ohio State (328 yards passing, 4 TDs, 95 yards rushing)
In arguably the greatest game of his collegiate career, J.T. Barrett led Ohio State’s incredible comeback against Penn State last Saturday. Although some throws were slightly off target, he made some unbelievable throws into tight windows on his last two drives. As advertised, this was one of the best games of the season so far.
5 stars – Ronald Jones II, RB USC (216 yards rushing, 2 TDs)
Jones and the entire USC offense was impressive against Arizona State. He could not find much room to run in the first quarter but broke off a 67-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. He added a 64-yard touchdown run in the third as he showcased patience and explosive speed.
5 stars – Rashaad Penny, RB SDSU (253 yards rushing, 2 TDs)
Penny had a career night against Hawaii on Saturday. He rushed for 253 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown. A sleeper to start the season, Penny is quickly grabbing people’s attention.
5 stars – Josh Adams, RB Notre Dame (202 yards rushing, 1 TD)
Josh Adams was not spectacular in the first half, but he did have a lot of solid runs. He finally broke free right up the middle for a 77-yard touchdown late in the third quarter, which seemingly put the game away for good. This was his fourth outstanding performance in a row.
Honorable Mentions: A.J. Dillon (149 yards rushing, 1 TD), Courtland Sutton (6 recs, 136 yards), Sony Michel (137 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Allen Lazard (6 recs, 106 yards), Kelvin Harmon (7 recs, 97 yards, 1 TD), James Washington (7 recs, 91 yards, 2 TDs), Rodney Anderson (181 yards rushing, 1 TD), Baker Mayfield (281 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT), Mark Andrews (6 recs, 79 yards, 1 TD), Myles Gaskin (169 yards rushing, 1 TD), Khalil Tate (146 yards rushing, 1 TD), J.J. Taylor (152 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Brian Lewerke (445 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT, 30 yards rushing), Cody White (9 recs, 165 yards, 2 TDs), Felton Davis III (8 recs, 95 yards, 2 TDs), Sam Darnold (266 yards passing, 3 TDs), Lamar Jackson (330 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT, 161 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Simmie Cobbs (10 recs, 138 yards, 2 TDs), Royce Freeman (20 carries, 139 yards rushing), Drew Lock (377 yards passing, 5 TDs),
Poor Performers
Performances ranked on a 5-star scale
1 star – Josh Rosen, QB UCLA (93 yards passing, 1 TD)
Josh Rosen took a lot of hits in this one and left the game in the third quarter. He has posted impressive statistics this season but has really struggled in two of his last three games. Part of that can be attributed to the lack of talent around him on offense.
1 star – L.J. Scott, RB MSU (8 rushes, 16 yards, 2 recs, 11 yards)
Although Michigan State scored 31 points last Saturday, L.J. Scott could not find much room to run. He averaged two yards per carry and his longest run of the day was only five yards. The Spartans struggled on the ground for a majority of the day but did have some success in the air.
1 star – Luke Falk, QB Washington State (93 yards passing, 1 TD)
Luke Falk was benched in the second quarter. While Rosen’s benching might have been due to a combination of his play and small injuries, Falk’s benching seemed to be more directly related to his play. Backup Tyler Hilinski looked good enough so the coaching staff decided to let him stay in the game and he ended up throwing for over 500 yards.
2 stars – Jake Browning, QB Washington (98 yards passing, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD)
A quick glance at Jake Browning’s statistics from last Saturday’s game tell a story of a quarterback who struggled all day, only throwing for 98 yards. However, since Washington was so successful running the ball against UCLA, Browning did not really need to make any spectacular plays. He took what the defense gave him and handed off to running Myles Gaskin and the rest of the Washington backfield on multiple occasions throughout the day.
Depth Chart Battles
As we approach the tenth week of the season, below are a few positional battles I continue to keep my eye on.
Florida State Running Backs
With Jacques Patrick potentially out for the season after undergoing knee surgery, Cam Akers should dominate Florida State’s backfield touches for the rest of the season. He did not do much with them last Saturday, as he only rushed for 42 yards on 18 carries.
Georgia Running Backs
Sony Michel stepped up last week, highlighted by 74-yard and 45-yards touchdown runs. Nick Chubb and Elijah Holyfield also ran for a touchdown apiece and D’Andre Swift had a nice day in the receiving game. This four-headed monster completely dominated in Georgia’s 42-7 win over SEC rival Florida.
USC Running Backs
With freshman running back Stephen Carr still injured, lead-back Ronald Jones received most of the carries and looked great. Carr figures to still receive carries once he returns, but it will be hard to take Jones off the field if he keeps playing like he did against Arizona State last Saturday.
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 ten schedule here.
1.) Penn State @ Michigan State – 11/4 @ 12 PM EST on FOX
Any game Saquon Barkley plays is “must-see television” and this Big-10 matchup is no different. Penn State is coming off a stunning loss against Ohio State and must rebound if they have any hope of making the college playoffs this season.
2.) Clemson @ NC State – 11/4 @ 3:30 PM EST on ABC
Clemson is coming off a win over Georgia Tech as they attempt to solidify their spot in this year’s playoffs. Talented receiver Deon Cain will look to build upon the nice touchdown he scored last week.
NC State looks to rebound from their loss to Notre Dame last week. Kelvin Harmon had another nice performance in that game, catching seven passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.
3.) Stanford @ Washington State – 11/4 @ 3:30 PM EST on FOX
Hopefully, Stanford running back Bryce Love’s ankle heals enough to allow him to play in this crucial Pac-12 matchup.
Washington State quarterback Luke Falk will look to bounce back from being benched last week.
4.) Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State – 11/4 @ 4 PM EST on FS1
This should be a fun matchup of two of the top quarterbacks in college football, Baker Mayfield and Mason Rudolph. Both have been very impressive so far this season. A second loss for either team could very well likely knock them out of contention for a playoff spot.
5.) LSU @ Alabama – 11/4 @ 8 PM EST on CBS
Derrius Guice is one of the most talented running backs in the nation, but he will face a tough test against Alabama in this one. Guice’s former teammate Leonard Fournette often had trouble running against Alabama’s formidable front-seven. Let’s see if Guice can fare better on Saturday.
Other News/Notes
As the season progresses, each matchup becomes more important for seasonal outlooks and standings, especially the conference matchups. We have already witnessed many upsets in the past few weeks with possibly quite a few more on the horizon in the coming weeks.
Much like the team rankings, my player rankings have experienced quite a few changes over the past month. Ronald Jones and Rashaad Penny continue to climb my rankings with impressive performances while many highly-touted receivers continue to fall.
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!
[/am4show]
- Devy Roundup: Week 14 - November 26, 2019
- Devy Roundup: Week 13 - November 20, 2019
- Devy Roundup: Week 12 - November 12, 2019
