COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 3: QB COUNTRY PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Through the first full month of the season, QB Country trainees make up 12 of the top 50 (or 25%) FBS passing leaders in efficiency and 11 of the top 50 in QBR. This week four of the eight Manning Award Star of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8 honorees are QB Country trained. Top performers from the week of September 12 included:
FBS Co-Players of the Week:
Bo Nix, Oregon
Bo went 13-of-18 for 222 yards and two TDs and added 35 yards and three TDs on the ground in a 41-20 win over #13 BYU. In his last eight quarters, Bo has as many touchdowns (ten) as incompletions (ten) and becomes the first Oregon QB since Marcus Mariota in 2014 with three rushing and two passing TDs in a game. Bo earned Davey O’Brien Great 8 and Manning Award Star of the Week honors, and was a Pac-12 Player of the Week nominee.
Chris Reynolds, Charlotte
Chris returned from injury and led Charlotte to a thrilling 42-41 win over Georgia State, going 31-of-43 for 401 yards and five TDs. He threw the game-winning TD with just 17 seconds left to play (the fourth final-minute, game-winning drive of his career). Chris was named a Manning Award Star of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8 QB.
First Team:
Holton Ahlers, East Carolina
Holton set the AAC career passing yards record and ECU’s all-time yards record in a 49-10 win over Campbell. He went 17-of-20 for 263 yards and three TDs and added a rushing TD in the contest, earning a spot on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll. Holton has 11,019 passing yards and 12,332 total yards in his career.
Stetson Bennett, Georgia
Stetson led Georgia to a dominant 48-7 victory over South Carolina, going 16-of-23 for 284 yards and two TDs and added a score on the ground. He earned Manning Award Star of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8 honors for the third time this season.
John Rhys Plumlee, UCF
John set career marks for completions and passing yards going 25-of-36 for 339 yards and a touchdown in UCF’s 40-14 victory over FAU. He also added 121 rushing yards and two TDs on the ground and earned AAC Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O’Brien Great 8 honors.
Phil Jurkovec, Boston College
Phil entered this season as the only ACC QB with 3,000 career yards and added considerably to that total on Saturday, notching his seventh career 300+ yard passing game. He went 25-of-37 for 320 yards and two TDs in BC’s 38-17 win over Maine.
Southern Miss QBs
Zack Wilcke teamed with fellow QB Country trainees Ty Keyes, Trey Lowe and Jake Lange to fuel a 64-10 victory over Northwestern State. Zach went 9-of-18 for 102 yards and a touchdown; Ty went 6-of-9 for 192 yards and three touchdowns and added a score on the ground; and Trey (2-of-2 for 79 yards) and Jake (1-of-1 for 27 yards) rounded out the performance. The foursome were a combined 18-of-30 for 400 yards and five TDs.
FCS Player of the Week: Cephus Johnson, SE Louisiana
Cephus earned Southland Conference Offensive Player of the week honors, going 14-of-20 for 228 yards, 2 TDs, and adding 60 yards rushing in a 70-6 win over Central Connecticut.
Best of the rest:
Carter Bradley, South Alabama: 26/37, 227 yards and 1 TD (1 INT) in near upset of UCLA on the road
Dante Casciola, Dayton: 11/18, 182 yards, 3 TDs and 43 yards rushing in 46-3 win over Kentucky State
Garrett Greene and Will Crowder, West Virginia: Garrett was 3-of-6 for 45 yards passing, 59 yards rushing and a TD and Will was 6-of-6 for 57 yards passing and a TD in a 65-7 win over Towson
Michael Hiers, Samford: 28/47, 327 yards, 4 TDs in 33-28 win over Tennessee Tech
KJ Jefferson, Arkansas: 19/31, 385 yards, 2 TDs (1 INT), 40 yards and one rushing TD in 38-27 win over Missouri State
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina: 16/24, 251 yards, 3 TDs in 38-26 win over Buffalo
Drew Pyne, Notre Dame: 17/23, 150 yards, 2 TDs in 24-17 win over Cal in first career start
Riley Leonard, Duke: 11/12, 155 yards, 2 TDs (1 INT), 66 yards and 2 rushing TDs
Garrett Shrader, Syracuse: 13/29, 181 yards, 3 TDs, 83 rushing yards in 32-29 win over Purdue; named a Manning Award Star of the Week