College Football Week 12: QB Country Players of the Week
With the regular season coming to a close, a number of QB Country trainees are coming up clutch in games with important postseason implications. This week’s honorees included QBs that have led their squads to league titles, bowl eligibility, a surge in the rankings, and kept playoff hopes alive. We’ve also spotlighted several trainees who have shined at the FCS, D3, and JUCO levels this season. Here’s the full list:
Co-Players of the Week:
Taylor Powell, Eastern Michigan
Taylor went 30-of-39 for 315 yards and 3 TDs, posting career bests for passing yards and completion percentage, to lead EMU to a 31-24 comeback road win against MAC rival Kent State. His performance earned him Manning Award Start of the Week recognition.
Eli Sawyer, SE Louisiana
Eli went 19-of-24 for 238 yards and 3 TDs as SELA (FCS) earned the Southland Conference Championship and an automatic berth in the FCS Playoffs with a 40-17 victory over Nicholls State. The Lions have won five straight behind Eli and fellow QB Country trainee Cephus Johnson heading into the playoffs and are ranked #17 in national polls.
First Team
Bo Nix, Oregon
In one of the gutsier performances of the season, Bo played through a foot injury suffered the previous week to lift Oregon to a win over #10 Utah. He finished 25-of-37 for 287 yards and a TD and made his only run of the night late in the fourth to pick up a key first down and keep Utah off the field.
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
KJ returned from injury to go 17-of-22 for 168 yards and 3 TDs and added 47 yards on the ground as Arkansas beat #14 Ole Miss 42-27 and became bowl eligible.
Carter Bradley, South Alabama
Carter threw two of his three TD passes in the fourth quarter to rally South Alabama to a 27-20 win over Southern Miss. He finished 15-of 22 for 238 yards and now holds USA’s single-season program records for passing yards, completions, and touchdowns.
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte
Chris went 20-of-30 for 268 yards to lead Charlotte to a 26-21 victory over LA Tech in his career finale as a 49er. Chris, who last week was named one of ten Burlsworth Award Semifinalists for the second straight year (an award given to the top player who began his career as a walk-on) went over the 10,000 career passing yard mark in the game. He was asked about his legacy as Charlotte’s all-time passing leader: “I hope what sticks with these guys in the locker room is how I handle business and do things daily. I hope that is what people remember the most from a legacy standpoint.”
Drew Pyne, Notre Dame
Drew went 13-of-25 for 156 yards and a TD and the Irish rolled to a 44-0 win over Boston College. Drew raised his record to 8-1 as a starter this season.
Will Rogers & Chance Lovertich, Mississippi State
Will went 30-of-37 for 301 yards and 5 TDs and Chance was a perfect 6-of-6 for 36 yards and a TD as Mississippi State rolled to a 57-7 victory over East Tennessee State.
Tyler Shough, Texas Tech
Tyler went 15-of-21 for 141 yards and a TD as the Red Raiders beat Iowa State 14-10.
D3 Spotlight
Landon Cotney, Huntingdon College
Landon helped lead Huntingdon to a USA South Conference championship this season, throwing for more than 2600 yards and 22 TDs and adding 8 rushing TDs. The Hawks won eight consecutive games to close out the season and earn a berth in the NCAA D3 Playoffs. He finished among the D3 Top 25 in passing yards, touchdowns, points accounted for and total offense.
JUCO Spotlight
Lawson Pratt, Pearl River CC
Lawson earned All-MACCC honors, finishing the year with 1198 yards passing and seven touchdowns to lead Pearl River to its most wins (six) in 12 years. Pratt was fourth in the MACCC in completion percentage (63.4), sixth in completions (137), eighth in yards (1198) and ninth in yards per game (133.1) and rushed for 158 yards and five touchdowns.