It seems like we are getting to the point of the season where the contenders and pretenders are starting to shake themselves out. But for some reason, this just felt like a weird week of football. It started off with one of the worst performances I have ever seen with Temple (against USF) only gaining 85 total yards. They had 33 carries for negative 4 yards the whole game. Yes, you read that correctly. Negative 4 rushing yards.
There were also some close calls with top 20 teams, with Oklahoma and Penn State getting close wins against Baylor and Iowa, respectively, and Florida miraculously (or predictably) beat Kentucky yet again. Some teams took it even further, considering there were many upsets. TCU knocked off what seemed to be an unstoppable Oklahoma State offense, Florida State lost another game and is still winless on the season, and Oregon lost to a road game to conference foe Arizona State. Some teams, like Alabama and Virginia Tech, dominated their opponents behind some big performances from certain players. While none of the players from those teams made this week’s list of video game stat lines, look out for some appearances in the coming weeks if they keep playing how they have been.
Offense: QB Caleb Evans, Louisiana-Monroe
Stats: 28-34, 343 yards, 1 TD, 16 carries, 129 yards, 5 TD
Evans may have had two extra overtimes to accumulate his stats, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. His throwing stats are efficient and very good by themselves, but his running stats make it worthy of the offensive stat line of the week. 5 rushing TD’s in a game for any position is incredible, but Evans did it in a game with an offense that isn’t based around quarterback runs (sorry military schools and Georgia Tech). The rushing yards weren’t too bad either. He averaged just over 8 yards per carry and finished with 129 yards. Evans also didn’t have a turnover, and his team needed every ounce of this performance as they eked out a 56-50 win in double overtime over Louisiana.
Defense: DB Shamad Lomax, New Mexico State
Stats: 9 tackles, 2 passes defended, 3 INT, 1 TD
Week 4 brings us the first defensive back that makes the list and he is plenty deserving of it. Lomax had a dominant game against UTEP. Not only did he get a solid 9 tackles (especially solid for a DB) and defended two passes, he also had three interceptions IN THE FIRST HALF. Yes, Shamad Lomax picked off the UTEP quarterback three times in the first half, and even returned one for a touchdown for good measure. UTEP may not be the best of competition, but that is a really impressive performance and is even better because his team added to the win column with a 41-14 victory.
Special Teams: K Dominik Eberle, Utah State
Stats: 4/4 field goals, 52 long, 7/7 extra points, 19 points scored
There weren’t any ridiculous performances this week, but I went with someone who just had a solid game all around. None of Domonik Eberle’s kicks were that great (other than a 52-yarder he hit), but he hit all of his chances to help his team. He also went 7 for 7 on extra points after his offense exploded for points, winning 61-10. The team may not have been doomed if Eberle wasn’t kicking, but it’s always nice to have someone to be confident in when the time does come. So, Eberle earns the spot with a solid week.
Check back next week to see who puts up video game stats for week 5!
