(This is a weekly article on Student Union Sports covering the most ridiculous stat lines of the week)
Ladies and gentlemen, it has finally happened. While Lamar Jackson did not have an awful day (well, it was awful in comparison) he has finally been dethroned from the top stat lines of the week. We had many exciting games this week, headlined by an exciting (actually, can we even call it that?) Michigan vs. Wisconsin game, an answered prayer from Tennessee vs. Georgia, and resume boosting win for Clemson over Louisville. There were also some big upsets by Indiana (over Michigan State, sorry to fellow contributor Chris Schneider) and North Carolina (over Florida State). It took some big performances in these games to pull off the wins/upsets, and those performances are the reason we are here; to see the most eye-popping, unbelievable stat lines of the week. Here are my top stat lines for an exciting week 5:
Offense: RB Jamaal Williams, BYU
Stats: 30 carries, 286 yards, 5 TDs
Man, this was a tough decision. I wouldn’t be doing this article justice if I didn’t mention Nick Mullens (QB, Southern Miss). He threw 25-36 for 591 yards and 4 TDs. Another contender was one of Mullens’ receivers, Allenzae Staggers. He caught 6 passes for 292 yards and 3 TDs. Mind you, Staggars had career totals of 11 catches, 179 yards, and 2 TDs going into this game. Now back to our winner, Jamaal Williams. He was a one man wrecking crew for BYU, who eeked out a win against a strong Toledo team. When you are averaging 9.5 yards per carry on 30 carries, it doesn’t matter who the comeptition is anyway, that is impressive in itself. This was a Toledo team who had the 10th best rushing defense in the country last year. Williams showed them what #MACtion really is about.
Defense: DL Ifeadi Odenigbo, Northwestern
Stats: 5 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 forced fumble
This was another close contest between Odenigbo and Marcus Allen from Penn State (22 total tackles). I ultimately picked Ifeadi because 4 sacks is always an impressive stat line in one game. The NCAA record is 6, but it is not every week you even see someone with 4 in a game. He also has a career high of 5.5 sacks in a season (2013) and he almost matched that in one game. His play helped Northwestern get back on track for a possible bowl game bid after two tough losses to FCS Illinois State and sudden-Western Michigan. There’s been some talk of Ifeadi sneaking into the later rounds of the NFL draft, and performances like this week will certainly help.
Special Teams: P Johnny Townsend, Florida
Stats: 7 punts, 51.9 yard average, 1 return allowed (14 yards), 5 punts inside the 20
Field position is a very underrated part of the game of football, and Townsend made sure that Vandy did not have a good time with that. Florida’s offense did not have its best day, but Townsend kept the Gators in the game by pinning the Commodores back deep in their own territory. Even when Florida was punting from deep in their own territory, Townsend still booted a 48 yard and 54 yard punt to flip the field on Vandy. A good punter can be a real asset to a team, so the only thing left to do: #TownsendforHeisman
I will see you here next week for another edition of On The Ball: Stat Lines of the Week!