Another action-packed week of college football is in the books as we are starting to get into the meat of the schedule. There were a lot of notable games this week, highlighted by a convincing Clemson win over Louisville, a surprisingly close game between USC and Texas (is Texas back?!), and some upsets involving LSU, Kansas State, Stanford, and UCLA. There were also some exciting games with less hype, such as the 21-point comeback by the Toledo Rockets against Tulsa and a miraculous win (lowest predicted win percentage: 4%) by the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Outside of all the exciting games, there were plenty of blowouts that featured some big time performances by teams and specific players. Oklahoma State put a beatdown on the Pittsburgh defense, scoring 49 points in the first half alone. Penn State also showed no mercy to their opponent (though not the same caliber as Pittsburgh), winning 56-0 over Georgia State. There were plenty of big time performances in those games that were worthy of making our weekly video game stats list but didn’t, so let’s see who actually made the list!
Offense: QB Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
Stats: 23-32 497 yards 5 TD 1 INT
These stats pop out of the box score by themselves. Then you realize that he got those stats in just one half. The Pittsburgh defense had no answer for the high-powered Oklahoma State offense, as they hung up 49 points in the first half, hence why Rudolph pretty much took the second half off (he did have one possession where he threw an interception). Not only did Rudolph have a big game, but he’s starting to gain some traction as a serious Heisman contender. With the numbers he’s putting up, he might have a strong case.
Defense: DE Quincy Roche, Temple
Stats: 8 tackles (7 solo), 4 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble
Even though Temple was only playing UMass, Quincy Roche put up some dominant numbers for any type of game. He had 7 solo tackles, including 4 for loss. He was having no problem getting through the opposing offensive line. He also recorded 3 sacks, showing he can get to the QB with ease. Even more impressive, all of those sacks were in the 1st half! To add to an already strong case for this list, he forced a fumble and then recovered it to give Temple another crucial possession in an already close game that they would go on to win 29-21.
Special Teams: K Quinn Nordin, Michigan
Stats: 5-5 FG (long of 49), 2/2 XP, 17 points scored
Looks like Harbaugh’s sleepover to recruit a kicker has already paid off. In a game with a final score of 29-13, Quinn Nordin made all the difference. While none of the kicks were overly impressive (though 49 yards isn’t a slam dunk), the consistency he showed when called upon was more than a lot of college teams can say they have (#collegekickers).
Check back next week to see who puts up video game stats for week 4!