Devy Roundup: Week Five
Old Dominion shocked the world on Saturday with their improbable victory over Virginia Tech. They entered the game as 29-point underdogs and were given less than a two-percent chance of winning. It was one of the most shocking upsets in the history of college football.
Shifting gears, Alabama has been dominant for many years, but quarterback was not usually their strongest position. Many wondered how much better they could possibly be with an elite quarterback like some of the other top schools in the country had. Well, we finally have our answer with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback for the Crimson Tide. Alabama’s defense is still elite and now their offense is as well. Texas A&M had a very difficult time stopping them on any drive on Saturday Tua repeatedly carved them up. Will any team be able to keep up with them this season?
You can find the final results of each week four game here.
Top Performers
Some of the top performers of the week
Tua Tagovailoa, QB Alabama (387 yards passing, 4 TDs, 10 yards rushing, 1 TD)
What more is there to really say about Tua at this point? The kid has an unbelievable feel for the game and impressive field vision. His accuracy and decision-making skills are superb as well. Alabama is nearly impossible to beat when Tua plays well.
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McKenzie Milton, QB UCF (306 yards passing, 3 TDs, 81 yards rushing, 3 TDs)
Milton has had an inconsistent start to this season but looked great last Friday night. He accounted for six total touchdowns as UCF looks to prove last year’s undefeated season was no fluke.
Ian Book, QB Notre Dame (325 yards passing, 2 TDs, 43 yards rushing, 3 TDs)
The Irish named Ian Book the starter at quarterback before last Saturday’s game, a decision which paid dividends. Their offense had an added dimension and their passing attack opened up with him in the game. He also ran in three scores.
Dillon Mitchell, WR Oregon (14 rec, 239 yards)
Mitchell had a huge game for the Oregon Ducks, seemingly ending up on the receiving end of every Justin Herbert completion. Unfortunately, the Ducks squandered their lead and lost to Stanford in overtime.
Blake LaRussa, QB Old Dominion (495 yards passing, 4 TDs, 6 yards rushing, 1 TD)
LaRussa led the Monarchs to one of the most stunning upsets in college football history over Virginia Tech last Saturday. If that was not enough, he threw for nearly 500 yards and accounted for five total touchdowns in the process.
Benny Snell, RB Kentucky (165 yards rushing, 4 TDs)
Kentucky pulled off the upset over Mississippi State last Saturday and running back Benny Snell was a big part of it. He scored all four touchdowns for the Wildcats and set their all-time career touchdown record in the process.
Honorable Mentions: Miles Sanders (200 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Devin Singletary (131 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 1 rec, 3 yards), Easop Winston (6 rec, 143 yards, 2 TDs), Trevor Lawrence (176 yards passing, 4 TDs, 1 INT), Travis Etienne (122 yards rushing, 1 TD), Dwayne Haskins (304 yards passing, 5 TDs, 5 yards rushing), Parris Campbell (8 rec, 147 yards, 2 TDs), Adrian Hardy (10 rec, 181 yards, 2 TDs), Clyde Edwards-Helaire (136 yards rushing, 2 TDs), K.J. Costello (327 yards passing, 3 TDs), JJ Arcega-Whiteside (4 rec, 84 yards, 2 TDs), Will Grier (356 yards passing, 5 TDs, 2 INTs), Marcus Simms (5 rec, 136 yards, 1 TD), David Sills (10 rec, 73 yards, 3 TDs), Steven Peoples (156 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Jeremy Cox (130 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 4 rec, 25 yards), Damon Hazelton (5 recs, 154 yards, 1 TD), Travis Fulgham (9 rec, 188 yards, 1 TD), Jonathan Duhart (9 rec, 142 yards, 3 TDs), Demarcus Felton (130 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Jalen Reagor (8 rec, 96 yards, 1 TD), Collin Johnson (7 rec, 124 yards, 1 TD), Karan Higdon (136 yards rushing, 1 TD, 1 rec, 7 yards), Travis Homer (114 yards rushing, 1 TD), Rondale Moore (8 rec, 110 yards, 2 TDs), Whop Philyor (13 rec, 148 yards, 1 TD), Michael Warren (124 yards rushing, 2 TDs), J.J. Taylor (284 yards rushing, 2 TD), Darrell Henderson (188 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 34 yards rushing)
Poor Performers
Performances which did to live up to expectations
Jhamon Ausbon, WR Texas A&M (1 rec, 15 yards)
His quarterback struggled throwing the ball against the tough Alabama defense, but I still expected more out of one of my favorite receivers from the 2020 class. Ausbon had a couple of balls bounce off his hands (although the passes were off target) and did not catch his first pass until the last minute of the game.
N’Keal Harry, WR Arizona State (5 rec, 20 yards)
Harry did not have a great night, but it was not entirely his fault. He did not receive as many targets as I would have liked to see. Arizona State kept running the ball on its first couple of drives and Harry did not see his first target until the final minute of the first quarter. He still did not do much with his targets against a tough Washington secondary. To make matters worse, quarterback Manny Wilkins missed him on a couple of throws as well.
Positional Battles
Below are some positional battles I continue to keep my eye on early in the season to see how they play out.
1.) Clemson Quarterbacks
I have been tracking this situation for the last few weeks and we finally received some clarification on it. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney announced on Monday Trevor Lawrence will be the new starting quarterback this Saturday. The freshman has been impressive to say the least in limited playing time this season. It is now time for him to step into a larger role moving forward.
2.) Alabama Quarterbacks
Tua thrived once again as the starter against Texas A&M last Saturday. He looks very comfortable in the role. Jalen Hurts still sees the field when the Crimson Tide are comfortably ahead and could possibly continue to do so for the next several weeks.
3.) Georgia Quarterbacks
Of the three quarterback controversies, this is the only one where the youngster has not taken over. The main reason for this is because Jake Fromm is a much better player than Kelly Bryant and Jalen Hurts. There is no reason to push for Justin Fields to see more playing time with Fromm playing so efficiently.
4.) Georgia Running Backs
I am definitely surprised Elijah Holyfield has been the lead running back over the last couple of weeks for Georgia. D’Andre Swift still sees a good amount of carries, but he has not run away with the job by any means. Holyfield is a handful to bring down and has played well.
My Rankings
Below is a preview of my devy rankings. You can find my full set of devy rankings here.
Risers
Jonathan Taylor: I decided to move Taylor above D’Andre Swift. I believe Taylor is the best pure runner in college football right now. His lack of receiving and fumbling issues keep him from the top spot, but I am still a big fan of his game. I also expected to see more out of Swift so far this year, but instead he is stuck in a timeshare with Elijah Holyfield.
Travis Etienne: He keeps impressing me with his power and balance. He sits fifth among the loaded 2020 running back class in my rankings.
Jalen Reagor: Man, he explosive. He is quickly rising up my devy board and might end up as the top receiver in the 2020 class when all is said and done.
Fallers
D’Andre Swift: See Jonathan Taylor above. He did not fall very much though.
A.J. Brown: He is still one of the top receivers in the 2019 class, but I do have a few concerns with his game (most production has come against weaker competition, not sure how a bigger, less athletic slot player will translate to the NFL). These concerns keep him from my top tier.
Marquee Match-ups
Below are some of the more intriguing match-ups on this upcoming week’s slate. You can check out the full week five schedule here.
1.) Ohio State @ Penn State – 9/29 @ 7:30 PM EST on ABC/WatchESPN
Saturday night features a crucial Big-10 match-up. Dwayne Haskins has started the season on a tear and should find himself in the Heisman conversation if he keeps this up. Also keep an eye on J.K. Dobbins, one of the top running backs of the loaded 2020 class.
Penn State running back Miles Sanders is coming off of a 200-yard rushing game last week as he tries to break free of the shadow cast by Saquon Barkley. Freshman running back Ricky Slade also scored twice last week in Penn State’s blowout victory over Illinois.
2.) Stanford @ Notre Dame – 9/29 @ 7:30 PM EST on FOX
Stanford is coming off an impressive come-from-behind victory over Oregon last week. A late fumble by CJ Verdell opened the door for Stanford to come back and win the game in overtime. Will they be able to mentally prepare for another tough opponent this week?
Notre Dame has won their first four games of the year and their passing game looked much better last week after switching to Ian Book at quarterback. This is good news for receivers like Chase Claypool.
3.) South Carolina @ #17 Kentucky @ 7:30 PM EST on SEC/ESPN Network
I try to tune into as many South Carolina games as I can because they have one of the best receiver duos in the country.
For Kentucky, Benny Snell has been on a tear this season, rushing for at least 125 yards in three of his four games and amassing seven rushing touchdowns during that stretch. All other SEC teams should be careful when facing him and the rest of the Kentucky Wildcats this season.
4.) Ole Miss @ #5 LSU – 9/29 @ 9 PM EST on ESPN/WatchESPN
Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf has really impressed me so far this year. His physical traits were always clear, but he is showing more route-running and ball skills than he did in previous years. His teammate, A.J. Brown, is another top-rated receiver in the projected 2019 class.
LSU is off to a nice start this season and finds themselves as the fifth-ranked team in the country. They seem to be transitioning to life after Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice pretty well so far.
5.) Syracuse @ Clemson – 9/29 @ 12 PM EST on ABC/WatchESPN
Syracuse shocked Clemson last year and handed them their only loss of the regular season. Can they do it again?
It will be a tough task, as Clemson has looked great so far this year. Trevor Lawrence was named the starter at quarterback on Monday. I am excited to see the level this offense can reach with him playing more.
Other News/Notes
Young quarterbacks are starting to emerge in both the NFL and college football. We have Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, Deshaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, and Josh Allen all starting in the NFL. We also have Tua Tagovailoa, Jake Fromm, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Fields all taking college football by storm as well. This is a great sign for a position yearning for young talent just a few years ago. It appears we have entered a changing of the guard with so many elite options nearing retirement.
Feel free to reach out in the comments section or on Twitter @KyleHoldenFF with any questions as we look ahead to week five of the college season.
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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
