(This is a weekly article on Student Union Sports covering the most ridiculous stat lines of the week)
We all expected rivalry week to be a crazy week, but I think this even exceeded our expectations. It started off with a very impressive Washington win over Washington State, continued with a big surprise in Iowa killing Nebraska, Air Force beating Boise State, and Memphis beating Temple. And that was just on Friday. Saturdays games brought clarity to the Playoff race, with Louisville getting eliminated and the top seeds all keeping hold on their spots, other than the result from The Game. If you are a college football fan and were not watching Ohio State vs Michigan, then you aren’t really a college football fan. The Game had an incredible amount of hype around it and the actual game even surpassed that hype. Being from Toledo, I have been in the middle of OSU and Michigan fans every year and I have witnessed first hand the feuds that arise between the two schools. In fact, I watched the game with two of my childhood friends. One is a student at the University of Michigan and one has grown up an Ohio State fan. Watching the interactions and the celebrations (or heartbreak) during the game was a sight to see (I am not entirely sure that the Michigan friend has even left his room since the game ended). On top of all of these high-profile games, there were some crazy box scores. Three teams scored over 70 points, highlighted by this crazy game between Pitt and Syracuse (yes, I promise you that it was not a basketball game). This resulted in a lot of individual performances that were sights to see this week from every position. Here are the top performers on each side of the ball:
Offense: QB Patrick Mahomes, Texas Tech
Stats: 30-46, 586 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT
This game was an absolute shootout. Mahomes had over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns at halftime. We knew going into the game that neither team had much of a defense (the over/under on the game was 83 points). Mahomes impressed yet again, putting up almost 600 yards on a very efficient 65% passing and no interceptions. This is nothing new, as Mahomes has put up some very good stats throughout the year, totaling 5052 yards and 41 touchdowns to 10 interceptions so far this season. Unfortunately, Texas Tech his performance throughout the season was not good enough to boost his team, as the Red Raiders finished 5-7 and are going to miss out on a bowl for just the third time since 2000. Next up for Mahomes is deciding on his NFL future, as he is eligible to enter the draft but has the option to return for his senior season. As of now, Mahomes is projected to be picked between rounds 2 and 4, meaning there’s a good chance we see him leading the Red Raider offense for another season, which will be a treat to see.
Special mention to Middle Tennessee WR Richie James. This dude did everything for the Blue Raiders in a shootout against Florida Atlantic (score was 77-56, yes it was football). James had 4 catches for 120 yards and 1 TD, but also added 22 carries for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns and completed 5 of 6 passes for 76 yards on top of all of that. Not too shabby of a day for the sophomore.
Defense: DE Harold Landry, Boston College
Stats: 7 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 3 sacks
Nobody is going to mistake Boston College for a college football powerhouse these days, but the Eagles are certainly on their way back up to prominence. After an abysmal 3-9 record last year (complete with an 0-8 conference record) Boston College is now bowl eligible and won 2 conference games. Harold Landry helped this happen, as he was an anchor on their defense this whole season. Landry is tied for the NCAA lead in sacks after a 3 sack performance against Wake Forest. He also notched 7 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss, making sure he has an impact in the game to make Boston College bowl eligible. Landry is likely to come back for his senior season and will be looking to improve his already-decent draft stock and to take the Eagles to back-to-back bowl games.
Special Teams: DB Adoree’ Jackson, USC
Stats: 4 kick returns, 161 yards, 1 TD, 3 punt returns, 66 yards, 1 TD
The talent of Adoree’ Jackson has never been in question as he has been a star in college football since he has started. Now in his junior season at USC, he has shown how much of an impact he can make. However, his biggest impact against Notre Dame this past week was on special teams. While he did have a 52 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, it was his two return touchdowns that made news. USC went into the second quarter with a 10-7 lead, but Jackson made sure Notre Dame had no chances to pull off the upset. With under 2 minutes left until the half, Adoree’ returned a Notre Dame punt 55 yards for the touchdown. USC never looked back once they had that lead, and Jackson helped with that too. After an Irish touchdown near the end of the third, he returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a another touchdown.
Join me again next week to see the top performances from Championship week!