Devy Roundup: Week Three
Injuries are the worst part of football. Unfortunately, Oklahoma running back Rodney Anderson suffered a season-ending knee injury on Saturday. The Sooners’ offense is still explosive, but Anderson was one of the most talented runners and touchdown scorers in the nation. Trey Sermon will look to fill the void.
Many of the top teams played easier opponents this week, which resulted in a victory for every top ten team. Clemson survived a scare from Texas A&M, but still won nonetheless. You can find the final results of each week two game here.
Top Performers
Some of the top performers of the week
Laviska Shenault, WR Colorado (10 recs, 177 yards, 1 TD, 2 carries, 5 yards)
Shenault makes his second appearance on my top performers list in as many weeks. Not only did he have another big week catching the ball, but he caught the game-winning touchdown against Nebraska on Saturday. He is quickly rising up my devy rankings.
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Kellen Mond, QB Texas A&M (430 yards passing, 3 TDs, 33 yards rushing)
Mond looked much more comfortable and poised against Clemson on Saturday than he did in week one. Texas A&M only managed three points in the first half, but turned it up in the second. He made a difficult touchdown throw late in the third quarter and another nice one early in the fourth. He nearly led an upset over second-ranked Clemson.
Jonathan Taylor, RB Wisconsin (253 yards rushing, 3 TDs)
Taylor rushed for a career-high 253 yards on Saturday. He is a fabulous runner with great power and balance. However, he did have another fumble in this game. He is going to need to clean that part of his game up.
Kyler Murray, QB Oklahoma (306 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT, 69 yards rushing, 2 TDs)
Murray has been outstanding both throwing and running the football to start the year. If his play has not been impressive enough, he already signed a contract to play professional baseball with the Oakland Athletics. It is unclear if he still has the option to tear up his contract to play in the NFL one day, but he would likely make more money playing baseball.
D’Eriq King, QB Houston (246 yards passing, 4 TDs, 31 rushing yards, 2 TDs)
King was dominant in Houston’s blowout win over Arizona on Saturday. He accounted for six total touchdowns and was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Honorable Mentions: AJ Dillon (6 carries, 149 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Tua Tagovailoa (228 yards passing, 4 TDs, 20 rushing yards), Najee Harris (135 yards rushing, 1 TD), Kendrick Rogers (7 recs, 120 yards, 2 TDs), Bryan Edwards (7 recs, 111 yards, 2 TDs), Dwayne Haskins (233 yards passing, 4 TDs), CeeDee Lamb (7 recs, 146 yards, 1 TD), Bryce Love (136 yards rushing, 1 TD), Will Grier (332 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT), Kylin Hill (211 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 16 yards, 1 TD), Brett Rypien (362 yards passing, 3 TDs), Alexander Mattison (115 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 3 yards), Shea Patterson (125 yards passing, 3 TDs), Karan Higdon (156 yards rushing, 1 TD), Brevin Jordan (7 recs, 52 yards, 2 TDs), Lorenzo Lingard (4 carries, 82 yards, 2 TDs), Justin Herbert (250 yards passing, 4 TDs), Tony Brooks-James (107 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 9 yards), Benny Snell (175 yards rushing, 2 recs, 8 yards), Greg Dortch (7 recs, 94 yards, 1 TD), Preston Williams (12 recs, 154 yards, 2 TDs), Deondre Francois (320 yards passing, 3 TDs, 15 yards rushing, 1 TD), Emanuel Hall (10 recs, 171 yards, 1 TD), Jalen Hurd (8 recs, 136 yards, 1 TD), Denzel Mims (8 recs, 133 yards, 1 TD), A.J. Brown (8 recs, 158 yards, 2 TDs), Jordan Ta’amu (448 yards passing, 5 TDs), Darrell Henderson (212 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 1 rec, 18 yards), Malcolm Perry (22 yards passing, 166 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 1 rec, 17 yards), Kelvin Harmon (8 recs, 129 yards)
Poor Performers
Performances which did to live up to expectations
Trayveon Williams, RB Texas A&M (17 carries, 31 yards rushing, 3 recs, 40 yards)
Williams had a rough day against the elite Clemson defensive line. He fumbled on Texas A&M’s opening drive, but A&M recovered. In addition, he dropped a short pass on their second drive. However, not all blame should be placed on Williams. The Clemson defenders were wreaking havoc in the backfield nearly all game.
JT Daniels, QB USC (215 yards passing, 2 INTs)
JT Daniels struggled for most of the game against Stanford. He even sat out for part of the first half after suffering a wrist/hand injury on a big hit. Better days are likely ahead for the true freshman.
Brandon Wimbush, QB Notre Dame (297 yards passing, 3 INTs)
Brandon Wimbush struggled for most of the game against Ball State. After an impressive victory over Michigan last week, the Irish did not look good on Saturday. Notre Dame has a difficult upcoming schedule, so they will need to play much better if they want 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
Whew, welcome to a big-time college atmosphere, Trevor Lawrence. His first pass against Texas A&M went for a 64-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins. After Kelly Bryant ran in Clemson’s first touchdown, Lawrence entered the game to start the second quarter. Bryant has looked good, but Lawrence looks like a special talent. However, coach Dabo Swinney looks comfortable with either at quarterback.
2.) Alabama Quarterbacks
Tua Tagovailoa was sharp again against Arkansas State, throwing three deep touchdown passes in the first quarter. Jalen Hurts threw a couple himself in the second quarter, but it is becoming tougher to take Tua out of the game at all.
3.) Georgia Quarterbacks
Georgia made a statement against South Carolina on Saturday behind an impressive defense and running game. They sure look like National Championship contenders once again. Jake Fromm was efficient, but only needed to throw the ball 18 times. He completed 15 of them for 194 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. You could say Justin Fields was efficient as well. He completed his only pass for eight yards.
4.) Nebraska Quarterbacks
Quarterback Adrian Martinez looked great in his first start as a true freshman. He made some nice throws and accounted for three total touchdowns. Unfortunately, he was knocked out of the game late with an apparent knee injury, although head coach Scott Frost said the early reports were “semi-encouraging.”
5.) Ohio State Running Backs
Quarterbacks Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell completed nearly every pass they threw, causing the run game to take a bit of a backseat against Rutgers on Saturday. J.K. Dobbins led the way for the running backs with 12 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown, but no back really broke out in this one. I will be curious to see how the backfield plays out against tougher competition.
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.
Risers
AJ Dillon: I was skeptical last season that he weighed too much, but he has transformed his body into one of an elite athlete. He also looks very quick and agile for his size. I am all aboard this season.
Tee Higgins: I will be the first to admit I was way too low on Higgins entering this season. He is going to have fun catching passes from Trevor Lawrence over the next two seasons.
Fallers
Rodney Anderson: Not because of talent, but Anderson has dropped down my rankings because of his recent knee injury. I normally do not move players down too much due to injury if I believe they will be able to make a full recovery, but Anderson’s rehab could very well prevent him from participating at the NFL Combine and could affect his draft stock if he chooses to enter the NFL draft.
Marquee Matchups
Below are some of the more intriguing match-ups on this upcoming week’s slate. You can check out the full week three schedule here.
1.) #5 Oklahoma @ Iowa State – 9/15 @ 12 PM EST on ABC/WatchESPN
The Oklahoma offense has been nearly unstoppable to start the season this year. They lost Baker Mayfield to the NFL, but Kyler Murray has looked fantastic. It is a shame Rodney Anderson will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, but Trey Sermon is more than capable of stepping up to fill the void.
Iowa running back David Montgomery is arguably one of the top running backs of the 2019 class and wide receiver Hakeem Butler is another player to watch as well.
2.) #12 LSU @ #7 Auburn- 9/15 @ 3:30 PM EST on CBS
An SEC matchup between two top-15 ranked teams, this game could end up being closer than the current spread suggests. LSU looked great against Miami to start the season, but Auburn will likely provide a much tougher test. Jarrett Stidham has looked good so far this season.
3.) #1 Alabama @ Ole Miss – 9/15 @ 7 PM EST on ESPN/WatchESPN
As usual, Alabama rosters many highly-ranked devy players, including Tua Tagovailoa and Damien Harris. The match-up I am really interested in is the Ole Miss receivers, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf, against the tough Alabama secondary.
4.) #4 Ohio State vs. #15 TCU – 9/15 @ 8 PM EST on ABC/WatchESPN
Ohio State will face their first true test this season against TCU on Saturday. Their defense is dominant and they have one of the best backfields in the country. In addition, quarterback Dwayne Haskins has stepped in nicely.
TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson has looked great to start the season, but he will face a very good Ohio State defense on Saturday. Although this is a match-up between two top-15 ranked teams, Ohio State is a heavy favorite.
Other News/Notes
As we enter the third week of the season, many teams are beginning their stretch of conference games. Upsets will occur and chaos will ensue, but they make the college season so much fun. Will any teams run the table this year? Alabama and Georgia look awfully tough to beat, but Clemson, Ohio State, and Oklahoma all look poised for strong seasons as well. As we know, many unpredictable outcomes happen in college football. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!
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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
