Devy Roundup: Week Ten
Last week was another filled with upsets, perhaps none bigger than Oklahoma State defeating Texas. The Longhorns climbed up to number six in the rankings and had a real shot of making the college football playoff before last Saturday’s game. This loss, their second of the season, will make it very difficult for them to make the playoffs now. Tempers flared at the end of the game as a few players began pushing and shoving during a quarterback kneel. Texas head coach Tom Herman was heated as well.
You can find the final results of each week nine game here.
Top Performers
Some of the top performers of the week
Zack Moss, RB Utah (211 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 2 rec, 14 yards)
Zack Moss was already having a strong season, but last Saturday was his best game of the year. Of course, the poor UCLA rush defense made it easier on him, but Moss has been great this year.
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Trevor Lawrence, QB Clemson (314 yards passing, 4 TDs, 6 yards rushing)
Lawrence took a few big hits in this game, including a shot to his helmet. However, he played nearly flawless football, something you do not normally see from freshman quarterbacks. Amari Rodgers was the main beneficiary of Lawrence’s big day, catching two of his four touchdown passes. Tee Higgins caught the other two.
Tylan Wallace, WR Oklahoma State (10 rec, 222 yards, 2 TDs)
Wallace had a big day Saturday as he helped Oklahoma State upset sixth-ranked Texas. He had a couple nice contested catches down-field, including one near the end of the first half.
Gardner Minshew, QB Washington State (438 yards passing, 3 TDs)
What a good PAC-12 game this was on Saturday. Minshew threw for over 400 yards and led the Cougars’ comeback victory over Stanford. After trailing for most of the game, Washington State went up by seven in the fourth quarter. Stanford tied it back up with less than two minutes left in the game, but Minshew orchestrated one last drive that set up the game-winning field goal.
D’Eriq King, QB Houston (419 yards passing, 5 TDs, 2 INTs, 132 yards rushing, 2 TDs)
King had over 550 total yards of offense to go along with seven touchdowns, a career high. His strong game helped Houston upset 21st-ranked South Florida.
Kelvin Harmon, WR NC State (11 rec, 247 yards, 2 TDs)
Harmon put up some ridiculous numbers in North Carolina State’s high-scoring battle against Syracuse on Saturday. He made a nice back-shoulder catch on one of his touchdowns and was able to get behind the defense for a long touchdown catch and run on his other. He remains near the top of my devy wide receiver rankings.
Honorable Mentions: Will Grier (353 yards, 3 TDs), David Sills (5 rec, 139 yards, 2 TDs), Gary Jennings (3 rec, 100 yards, 2 TDs), AJ Oullette (135 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 2 rec, 18 yards), Tobias Oliver (215 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Devin Singletary (171 yards rushing, 1 TD), AJ Dillon (149 yards rushing, 1 TD, 2 rec, 18 yards), Preston Williams (10 rec, 126 yards), Amari Rodgers (6 rec, 156 yards, 2 TDs), Dexter Williams (142 yards rushing, 3 TDs, 3 rec, 27 yards), Jake Fromm (240 yards passing, 3 TDs), Kyler Murray (352 yards passing, 3 TDs, 46 yards rushing, 1 TD), CeeDee Lamb (4 rec, 160 yards, 2 TDs), K.J. Costello (323 yards passing, 4 TDs, 19 yards rushing), Kaden Smith (9 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD), JJ Arcega-Whiteside (10 rec, 111 yards, 2 TDs), Nick Fitzgerald (241 yards passing, 2 TDs, 88 yards rushing, 2 TDs), J.J. Taylor (212 yards rushing, 2 TDs, 3 rec, 16 yards), Ryan Finley (473 yards passing, 3 TDs, 1 INT), Eric Dungey (411 yards passing, 3 TDs, 32 yards rushing, 1 TD), Ke’Shawn Vaughn (172 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Jared Pinkney (5 rec, 93 yards, 2 TDs), David Montgomery (125 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Hakeem Butler (4 rec, 148 yards, 1 TD), Matt Colburn (243 yards rushing, 3 TDs), Jalen Reagor (8 rec, 177 yards, 1 TD), Pooka Williams (7 rec, 102 yards, 2 TDs, 33 yards rushing), Eno Benjamin (185 yards rushing, 2 TDs), Michael Pittman (6 rec, 90 yards, 2 TDs), Daniel Jones (396 yards passing, 4 TDs, 38 yards rushing)
Poor Performers
Performances which did to live up to expectations
Cam Akers, RB Florida State (11 carries, 7 yards, 3 rec, 14 yards)
Akers was facing one of the best defensive lines against Clemson last Saturday. They smothered the Seminoles all day and held Akers to less than one yard per carry. It has been a tough season for Akers this year.
My Rankings
This week, I give you my devy quarterback rankings. Tua is undoubtedly the top-ranked devy quarterback for many, but it might surprise some to see freshman Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields ranked so highly. While they have not been able to produce much yet only being freshman, they were elite prospects coming out of high school and I have really liked what I have seen from both of them so far this year, especially Lawrence.
Justin Herbert and Dwayne Haskins sit at four and five respectively for me. NFL teams needing a quarterback want to see them head to the NFL next year, but they would make the 2020 quarterback class a strong one if they were to stay in school another year.
Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray sits all the way down at 14 only because of the likelihood he heads to Major League Baseball after this year. If he were to somehow change his mind and head to the NFL, he would instantly shoot up to the top five.
You can find my full set of devy rankings here.
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 ten schedule here.
1.) #6 Georgia @ #11 Kentucky – 11/3 @3:30 PM EST on CBS
Georgia is coming off an impressive victory over Florida last week. Jake Fromm tossed three touchdowns and D’Andre Swift had his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Those two will likely need to play well once again against a tough Kentucky team.
Benny Snell is one of my favorite “under the radar” running backs in college football. He has been consistently productive in all three years at Kentucky, showing good vision and an ability to break tackles.
2.) #12 West Virginia @ #15 Texas – 11/3 @3:30 PM EST on FOX
The West Virginia tandem of Will Grier and David Sills have connected for nine touchdowns so far this year, building upon last year when they hooked up for 18. For Texas, Keaontay Ingram, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Collin Johnson are three players to keep an eye on.
3.) #19 Iowa @ Purdue – 11/3 @ 3:30 PM EST on ESPN2
This is not a match-up of two top-ranked teams, but it is one with exciting devy prospects. Iowa tight ends Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson are two of the best tight ends in the country and Purdue wide receiver Rondale Moore has been one of the best freshmen in the country this season.
4.) #14 Penn State @ #5 Michigan – 11/3 @ 3:45 PM EST on ESPN
Penn State running back Miles Sanders continues to play well and could see himself near the top of a relatively weak 2019 running back class. On the other side of the ball, Michigan has been very impressive, rallying off seven straight victories after a loss to a good Notre Dame team to start the season. I continue to be pleasantly surprised by running back Karan Higdon this season.
5.) #1 Alabama @ #4 LSU – 11/3 @ 8 PM EST on CBS
Alabama and LSU have provided some great match-ups over the years, but it is going to very challenging for LSU’s offense to keep up with Alabama’s high-flying attack. LSU linebacker Devin White’s first-half suspension will make it even tougher. Tua Tagovailoa has looked unstoppable this year, throwing 25 touchdowns and zero interceptions so far. The main beneficiary of this has been wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, possibly the top pass catcher of the 2020 class. Running back Damien Harris does not always see many touches but is usually effective with them.
Other News/Notes
As we get closer to the end of the regular season, the playoff race is still wide open. Three undefeated teams (Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame) sit at the top, but there are five strong teams sitting right behind them. Surely there will be more upsets along the way to shake things up. On top of that, some of these teams will play each other over the next few weeks. Who do you see making the playoffs this year?
Feel free to reach out in the comments section below or on Twitter @KyleHoldenFF with any questions as we look ahead to week ten of the college football 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
