Devy Roundup: Week Two

Kyle Holden

On the 11th anniversary of Appalachian State’s miraculous win over Michigan, Appalachian State almost did it again versus Penn State, taking them to overtime and giving them a major scare to start the season.

Their game reminded us why we enjoy the college football season so much. Rooting for a major underdog to take down their opponent can be one of the most thrilling parts of sports.

There were many other great games over the course of the first week. You can find the final results of each game here.

Top Performers

Some of the top performers of the week

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR Stanford (6 recs, 226 yards, 3 TDs)

Arcega-Whiteside’s size was simply no match for San Diego State’s cornerbacks. He was able to use his size to box out defenders and catch deep passes downfield over defenders.

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Mike Weber, RB Ohio State (20 rushes, 186 yards, 3 TDs, 1 rec, 3 yards)

Weber battled injuries last year and saw teammate J.K. Dobbins shine as a freshman. Weber looks fully healthy now as he dominated Oregon State on Saturday.

Dwayne Haskins, QB Ohio State (313 yards passing, 5 TDs, 1 INT, 2 rushes, 24 yards)

Taking over for J.T. Barrett, Dwayne Haskins had a huge day in his first start for Ohio State. He played so well he was named the Big Ten offensive player of the week.

Laviska Shenault, WR Colorado (11 recs, 211 yards, 1 TD)

Colorado lost a lot of production from last year’s team, but Shenault looks like a good bet to step up this year. He had a monster game against Colorado State, showcasing his size, speed and physicality. He could quickly rise up many devy rankings this year.

Trayveon Williams, RB Texas A&M (20 carries, 240 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 1 rec, 2 yards)

Williams rushed for 240 yards – the second most in school history – on Thursday night. He showcased his speed on numerous runs, including a 73-yard touchdown.

Will Grier, QB WVU (429 yards passing, 5 TDs)

Possible Heisman candidate Grier looked great in his first game of the year, making many nice throws and connecting with star wide receiver David Sills on two of his five touchdowns of the day. Look for those two to connect on many more touchdowns throughout the year.

Honorable Mentions: Tua Tagovailoa (227 yards passing, 2 TDs, 5 rushes, 26 yards, 1 TD), David Sills (7 recs, 140 yards, 2 TDs), Artavis Pierce (168 yards rushing, 2 TDs,3 recs, 41 yards), Jonathan Taylor (145 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Trevor Lawrence (137 yards passing, 3 TDs), Rondale Moore (11 rec, 109 yards receiving, 1 TD), Justin Herbert (281 yards passing, 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 41 yards rushing, 1 TD), McKenzie Milton (346 yards passing, 5 TDs, 50 yards rushing), Juwan Washington (24 carries, 158 yards rushing 1 TD, 2 recs, 6 yards), Michael Warren (142 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 3 recs, 29 yards), Shawn Robinson (182 yards passing, 3 TDs, 2 rushes, 45 yards, 2 TDs), Keytaon Thompson (364 yards passing, 5 TDs, 109 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Scottie Phillips (204 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Drew Lock (289 yards passing, 4 TDs), Emanuel Hall (4 recs, 17 yards, 2 TDs), Eno Benjamin (131 yards rushing, 1 TD, 2 recs, 15 yards, 1 TD), N’Keal Harry (6 recs, 140 yards, 2 TDs), Nick Brossette (125 yards rushing, 2 TDs)

Poor Performers

Performances which did to live up to expectations

Bryce Love, RB Stanford (18 carries, 29 yards rushing, 3 recs, 18 yards)

Bryce Love is another possible Heisman candidate, but this one did not fare too well in his first game of the season. He was electric last year, ripping off long run after long run. However, he had trouble finding room to run against San Diego State on Friday night. Look for him to bounce back next week.

Malik Rosier, QB Miami (259 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INTs, 16 carries, 7 yards rushing)

Miami was hyped up to start the season, but they fell flat against LSU on Sunday night. Reports were Rosier improved over the off-season, but that did not seem to be the case in his first game. He will need to turn it around quickly if Miami wants to make any noise this year.

Positional Battles

Below are some positional battles I will be keeping my eye on early in the season to see how they play out.

1.) Clemson Quarterbacks

Kelly Bryant scored a pair of touchdowns in his 2018 debut, but Trevor Lawrence came in and threw three touchdowns as well. It appears Bryant will have Lawrence breathing down his neck all season.

2.) Alabama Quarterbacks

Nick Saban finally said it: Tua Tagovailoa will be Alabama’s starting quarterback. Coming off a National Championship victory last year, Tagovailoa looked impressive again versus Louisville on Saturday. Alabama was already very difficult to defeat before Tua came in. Imagine how tough they will be with him under center.

3.) Georgia Quarterbacks

Georgia is the third marquee team with a quarterback controversy. Jake Fromm looked good and threw a couple touchdowns in week one, but the Georgia offense had another dimension when Justin Fields stepped on the field. Can Fromm hold off Fields for the starting spot all year?

4.) Nebraska Quarterbacks

Featured in my week one article, there was uncertainty surrounding who Nebraska head coach Scott Frost would name as his opening day starter at quarterback. After declaring true freshman Adrian Martinez the starter for week one, Tristan Gebbia decided to transfer. Unfortunately, the Cornhuskers first game was cancelled due to rain, so Martinez will make his debut this Saturday against Colorado.

5.) Ohio State Running Backs

Between Dobbins, Weber, Master Teague, and Brian Snead, Ohio State boasts one of the most talented backfields in the country. Weber was the star in week one, but all four had productive games. It will be interesting to see how the backfield touches are allocated each week.

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.

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Marquee Matchups

Below are some of the more intriguing match-ups on this upcoming week’s slate. You can check out the full Week Two schedule here.

1.) #3 Georgia @ South Carolina – 9/8 @ 3:30 PM EST on CBS

There are quite a few elite devy players in this matchup. D’Andre Swift looks to bounce back from a relatively quiet (for his standards) game in week one. I will also be watching how South Carolina’s stud receivers Bryan Edwards and Deebo Samuel fare against Georgia’s cornerbacks. Finally, will we see Justin Fields again in this one or will it be all Jake Fromm?

2.) #2 Clemson @ Texas A&M – 9/8 @ 7 PM EST on ESPN

I am excited for another chance to see Trevor Lawrence back in action in week two. Clemson is loaded with other top devy players as well, including running back Travis Etienne and wide receiver Tee Higgins.

Trayveon Williams is coming off an exceptional game rushing the ball, but will face a tough test against the Clemson defense. I will also be watching receiver Jhamon Ausbon closely in this one.

3.) #15 USC @ #13 Stanford – 9/8 @ 8:30 PM EST on FOX

It appears USC is being cautious with running back Stephen Carr after his off-season back surgery. Carr was out-touched by starting running back Aca’Cedric Ware last week but figures to take over the starting role at some point in the season. Freshman receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown looked electric last week, as quarterback JT Daniels found him on a nice deep pass for a touchdown.

As for Stanford, Bryce Love looks to get back on track after a disappointing outing last week. Look for a couple big touchdown runs from him in this one.

4.) #11 Michigan State @ Arizona State – 9/8 @ 10:45 PM EST on ESPN

Felton Davis could be a fun player to watch in this game. He made an impressive sideline catch last week to help prevent Michigan State from suffering an embarrassing loss to Utah State.

Running back Eno Benjamin is a player who could break out for Arizona State this year while N’Keal Harry is one of the top wide receivers in college football.

Other News/Notes

Sure, there were many impressive performances in week one. However, the most intriguing storyline to me is how the top three ranked teams in the country (Alabama, Clemson, and Georgia) all had quarterback controversies to start the year. Each program had a talented youngster who was pushing to take over the starting role. Tua Tagovailoa already did for Alabama. It might take a while for Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence to do so, but they will eventually get their chance to start.

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kyle holden
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