(This is a weekly article on Student Union Sports covering the most ridiculous stat lines of the week)
Outside of the #5 Louisville and #12 Utah losses, this week had a handful of close games that never turned into upsets. Michigan State gave Ohio State all they could handle, as did Indiana with Michigan. Overall, it was not too crazy of a week and was a good buffer between the craziness of week 11 and the impending chaos of all the rivalries in week 13. The week saw some breakout performances by small college guys and some disappointments by bonafide stars, such as Lamar Jacksons performance in a loss to Houston. This week also saw one big streak be broken, as Kansas finally won a Big 12 game for the first time in 19 tries. Speaking of the Kansas game, another topic from the week is the coaches on the hot seat. Specifically, Charlie Strong. As of this writing, the Texas Athletic Department said they were going to evaluate his status after the last game of the season. A loss to Kansas is not going to look good on his resume when they are deciding to keep him or not. Nevertheless, it was an exciting game during an exciting week filled with big performances. Here are some of the biggest performances of the week:
Offense: QB David Washington, Old Dominion
Stats: 26-36, 416 yards, 5 TDs, 4 rushes, 21 yards
While the competition was not the stiffest, Washington still put up a remarkably efficient game. Most of his throws seemed to be on target as he led the Monarchs to a win over Florida Atlantic. Washington has been efficient all season (21 TDs, 3 INT, 60% completion) so this type of performance was not out of the ordinary. The big difference is that he was unable to even break 300 yards in a game this season… until now. His 416 yards represents a career high and more than 100 more than his next best yardage total of the season. Old Dominion currently sits at 8-3 and tied for first in the C-USA East with Western Kentucky. A game against 4-7 Florida International is on the plate for the Monarchs in week 13 as they look to finish the season strong going into bowl season.
Special mention to WR Zay Jones out of East Carolina. He had 12 catches for 212 yards and 2 TDs, but the noteworthy part of his performance was the record he broke. Jones broke his former teammate Justin Hardy’s record for career receptions. Jones has 151 (!!) catches on the season (11 games) with another game to go. It is a pretty safe bet that he will break the record for receptions in a season, as he only needs 4 more catches while he averages about 14 catches per game.
Defense: DL Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
Stats: 8 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass defended
This season hasn’t gone exactly as planned for Garrett and the Aggies. Myles has been dealing with a nagging foot injury and has not put up the same type of performances as he did last year. The Aggies are now hanging on to their #25 ranking and 8-3 record with a matchup against LSU coming up. Back to Myles, he put on a show this past week. He only had 4 sacks all season so far, but put up 4.5 in this game against UTSA. Not only did he help the Aggies get the win, but he is solidifying his status as a top 5 NFL draft pick. We will be seeing Garrett tear up defenses for years to come and if it is anything like week 12, it will be a treat to watch.
Special Teams: K Matthew Wyman, Kansas
Stats: 3/3 field goals, 1/1 extra points
They did it! They finally did it! Kansas finally won a Big 12 game! Wyman was a big part of that, nailing all of his field goals including the game-winner in overtime. He has only hit 64.7% of his field goals this season, but he made them this week when it counted. Up next for Kansas is their rivalry game with Kansas State, so the Jayhawks have to be hoping that their magic will continue on for another week and another victory. Regardless, it was a good week for Kansas football and Wyman & Co. deserve a week to celebrate their big win.
Join me for a final regular season edition of On the Ball: Video Game Stats!