MAXWELL MOMENTUM: COLLEGE FOOTBALL UPDATE WEEK 9
Maxwell Football Club College Football Update Week 9
Highlights of notable Maxwell Award candidates for the week ending Oct. 26
Who’s Hot on the Maxwell Award List
WR Kamdyn Benjamin, Tulsa - Tulsa trailed UTSA, 35-7, at halftime, yet furiously rallied back for a 46-45 win behind the Cooper Legas to Benjamin connection. Legas threw three second-half touchdown passes to Benjamin, including two in the final 2:26 to pull out the miraculous win. The sixth-year senior finished with seven catches for 125 yards and those three TDs, covering 74, 20 yards and the clinching four-yard, toe-tapping reception.
QB Max Brosmer, Minnesota - Brosmer had his best game at Minnesota to lead the Gophers to an unexpectedly easy win over Maryland, 48-23. Minny jumped out to a 24-0 lead and never looked back enroute to its third straight victory. Brosmer was locked in throughout the rout. He completed 26-of-33 passes for 320 yards and four touchdowns, two apiece to Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer.
QB Taylen Green, Arkansas - The Hogs were without leading rusher Ja’Quinden Jackson for this week’s trip to Starkville, so Green took matters into his own hands. With plenty of help from Jackson’s backups, Green & Co. obliterated Mississippi State, 58-25. In the best evidence yet of his potential running Bobby Petrino’s offense, the Boise State transfer accounted for six touchdowns, including a career-best five through the air, 393 total yards, and six Big Time Throws.
RB Jarquez Hunter, Auburn - Maybe Auburn’s issues aren’t so complicated after all. Maybe the team just needs to feed Hunter more often. Auburn snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, scoring 24 unanswered points to beat Kentucky in Lexington. Hunter hoisted the offense on his shoulders with a personal-best 278 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. His first TD put the Tigers ahead and his second TD put the game out of reach.
WR Travis Hunter, Colorado - Have we normalized what Hunter is doing in Boulder? Because nothing that he’s doing this season is normal. Hunter played more than 130 snaps in Colorado’s 34-23 win over Cincinnati that secured bowl-eligibility. On offense, he caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, No. 12 had two tackles and broke up four passes to help limit the Bearcats to just 180 yards through the air.
QB Colton Joseph, Old Dominion - Behind a terrific Thursday night from Joseph, the Monarchs won a critical showdown with Georgia Southern to seize control of the Sun Belt East. The redshirt freshman from Newport Beach, Calif. looked like the future in Norfolk in just his fourth start. Joseph completed 20-of-26 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, while adding 69 yards and another touchdown on the ground in the 47-19 win.
RB Damien Martinez, Miami - For the first time all season, Maxwell Award candidate failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game. Martinez was more than willing to pick up the slack as the Hurricanes disposed of rival Florida State, 36-14, to remain undefeated. Martinez, the pile-driving transfer from Oregon State, needed only 15 carries to tally a season-high 148 yards and a pair of touchdowns on the ground.
WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona - Don’t mind McMillan. He’s just taking care of business and improving his draft grade for 2025. The Wildcats may be fading, losing for the fourth consecutive time, but that hasn’t deterred McMillan from continuously performing like a future first round pick. Against West Virginia Saturday, he led all Week 9 receivers with 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown. His 91.3 grade from PFF also topped all receivers.
Who’s Hot on the Bednarik Award List
The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here’s a look at last week’s standout defenders.
LB Rasheem Biles, Pitt - It was vintage Pat Narduzzi Thursday night as Pitt wreaked havoc on the Syracuse backfield to move to 7-0. The Panthers tormented Orange QB Kyle McCord into five interceptions, including three pick-sixes in just the opening half. Biles kicked off the defensive scoring on Syracuse’s opening and would also go on to collect a game-high 12 tackles, one sack, and a pair of hurries of McCord.
LB Matt Jones, Baylor - Back-to-back wins have Baylor back to .500, with hopes of playing a bonus game in December. A week after upsetting Texas Tech, the Bears held off Oklahoma State in Waco, 38-28. While the offense continued to play well, Jones spearheaded the defense. The sixth-year senior from Odessa, Tex. racked up a dozen tackles, including 10 solo stops, three TFLs, a sack, and a forced fumble that the offense parlayed into a touchdown.
LB Chandler Martin, Memphis - The Tigers escaped Charlotte to remain in the hunt for the AAC title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. RB Mario Anderson Jr. led the offense while Martin once again spearheaded the D. The junior keyed an effort that yielded just 13 first downs to the 49ers, making a team-high 10 stops, including two for minus yards and 1.5 sacks of Deshawn Purdie.
CB BJ Mayes, Texas A&M - Don’t look now, but the Aggies are the last remaining SEC team without a conference loss. Texas A&M, which fell to Notre Dame in the opener, has reeled off seven straight wins, highlighted by Saturday night’s 38-23 victory over streaking LSU. The Ags forced Garrett Nussmeier into his worst game of the season, picking off three of his passes and allowing him to complete just 50% of his throws. Mayes had two of those interceptions to go along with two tackles and PFF’s third highest grade for a Week 9 cornerback.
DE Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss - The incredibly athletic Perkins was the last person struggling Oklahoma wanted to face Saturday afternoon at Vaught-Hemingway. The 6-1, 210-pound sophomore, who freelances between edge and linebacker, whipped the Sooner linemen and helped the Rebels to a 26-14 victory. Perkins registered a career day with 11 tackles, including five behind the line of scrimmage and three of his team’s nine sacks.
CB D’Angelo Ponds, Indiana - The Hoosiers were without their starting quarterback, Kurtis Rourke, so the defense stepped up and chipped in to beat Washington and remain undefeated. Ponds, who followed head coach Curt Cignetti from James Madison, got the scoring started with a 67-yard pick-six in the opening quarter. The sophomore from Miami intercepted another Will Rogers pass to go along with five tackles and a tackle for loss.
ED Kaimon Rucker, North Carolina - Kaimon Rucker? More like Kaimon Wrecker as far as Virginia is concerned. The Tar Heels arrived in Charlottesville reeling and mired in a four-game losing streak. They left town with a 41-14 total team effort that improved their chances for a bowl. Carolina is a different team when Rucker’s at full strength, which hasn’t happened often this fall. This past Saturday, he wrecked the ‘Hoos for eight tackles, 3.5 stops for loss, three sacks, and a pick while earning PFF’s top Week 9 grade for an edge rusher.
SS Alexander Teubner, Boise State - With a win over UNLV Friday night in Las Vegas, Boise State seized control of the Mountain West and the automatic Group of Five playoff berth. While RB Ashton Jeanty was the main attraction, the defense keyed the victory, holding the Rebels almost 20 points below their season scoring average. Teubner led the unit with 14 tackles, including eight solo stops, two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Player of the Week
The Maxwell Football Club supports former Alabama and Seattle Seahawks star RB Shaun Alexander in annually naming the top college freshman.
QB Marcel Reed, Texas A&M - Reed was the ultimate sparkplug when the Aggies needed it most Saturday versus LSU. Trailing 17-7 at halftime, Mike Elko summoned his true freshman from the bench in what would be a stroke of coaching genius. Reed responded by leading the offense to four consecutive touchdown drives, three of which he finished with TD runs, as A&M pulled away for a crucial 38-23 victory. He accounted for 132 total yards, but the way he flipped the entire dynamic of the game cannot be explained in numbers alone.
Must-See Week 8 Games
Ohio State (6-1) at Penn State (7-0) - Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
If not now, when, Penn State?
The Nittany Lions have a golden opportunity to finally break though against the Buckeyes, who’ve won seven straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series. Now, OSU still has one of the best rosters in America, but the team looked mortal in October, needing to rally last week to beat Nebraska at the Shoe. Meanwhile, Penn State is brimming with mojo right now. Two weeks ago, the Lions rallied to beat USC at the Coliseum, and in Week 9 they defeated Wisconsin in Madison after losing QB Drew Allar. While the team really needs Allar at full strength for this one, backup Beau Pribula has already proven he can lead the offense when needed.
Florida (4-3) vs. Georgia (6-1) - Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
Florida’s wicked November schedule begins Saturday in Jacksonville against rival Georgia.
The Gators’ next four games are against top 20 opponents, and they’ll need at least one upset to become bowl-eligible and improve Billy Napier’s job security. Florida has actually played well over the last four games, winning three and only losing to No. 7 Tennessee by six in Knoxville. It’ll be interesting to see how gifted true freshman QB DJ Lagway performs against a top-tier Georgia defense that was last seen shutting down Texas in Austin two weeks ago. The Dawgs have won the last three meetings between the schools, all by more than three touchdowns.
Texas A&M (7-1) at South Carolina (4-3) - Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)
The Aggies are the last remaining SEC team without a conference loss. That’s quite the turnaround for Mike Elko’s team, which hasn’t lost since the opener with Notre Dame.
Elko pushed all the right buttons in Saturday night’s thrilling comeback win over LSU. Now, the Aggie staff has to keep the players laser-focused on this week’s trip Columbia. The Gamecocks have been giant-killers under Shane Beamer, and they’ve already almost knocked off LSU and Alabama this season, losing those games by a total of five points. This matchup will be stacked with elite pass rushers, like A&M’s Nic Scourton and South Carolina’s tandem of Kyle Kennard and rookie Dylan Stewart.
Pitt (7-0) at SMU (7-1) - Saturday, 8:00 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
Pitt and SMU in Dallas with major ACC championship implications. Yeah, it might take a little while to get used to, but it’ll be fun Saturday on the Hilltop.
The Panthers and the Mustangs are two of the four remaining ACC schools without a conference loss. Neither was expected to be in this position before the season began. SMU is in its first year in the league, and the team looked a little shaky early on. However, Rhett Lashlee’s program has regrouped to win five straight, including a nail-biter with Duke Saturday. Meanwhile, Pitt has risen to No. 18 in the polls with its best start since 1982. In Thursday’s Syracuse game, the Panthers picked off five Kyle McCord passes, taking three back for touchdowns.
|
|
|
