At times, football can cruel.
This past week in college football has taught us that it’s best to focus on your opponent and not the polls (Louisville), that blueprints of certain coaches do not fit with expectations of a particular echelon of schools (Texas, Charlie Strong), that LSU needs a quarterback in the worst possible way, and that Michigan vs. Ohio State has the potential to be as epic as it has ever been in recent years. Let’s dive into the best performers from this past week in college football.
Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey – 31 carries, 284 yards, three TDs: The versatile running back has had a quiet season but his outing against California reminded us why he’s as dangerous as any other running back in the country. All three of his touchdowns came in the second half including a 90-yard score in which McCaffrey froze two defenders and squeezed his way through a narrow running lane for the house call.
West Virginia RB Justin Crawford – 24 carries, 331 yards: Although the Mountaineers were trounced by #7 Oklahoma, Crawford showed up for West Virginia in a huge way. Crawford averaged 13.8 yards per carry and reeled off runs of 29, 36, 61, and 45 yards amongst other several impressive runs throughout the night. The rushing total for Crawford was the third highest in school’s history.
Houston DT Ed Oliver – Six tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, two pass breakups: There is a reason why Oliver was the 19th ranked player in the 2016 recruiting class and he showed why in a 36-10 win for Houston over #5 Louisville. Oliver was a one man wrecking crew and made life hectic for Louisville QB Lamar Jackson and the Cardinals offensive line. It was the first multi-sack game for Oliver since week one against Oklahoma when he made his presence known to the college football world in his debut.
Oregon QB Justin Herbert – 30/43, 324 yards, four total TDs (3 pass, 1 run): A 30-28 upset for the Oregon Ducks was without a doubt the biggest win of the season for the Ducks and a lot of it was because of the stellar play by Herbert. On the game-winning drive with a little over two minutes remaining, Herbert went 6-of-9 on the drive along with a key 12-yard scramble on the third down to set up the winning toss to receiver Darren Carrington with two seconds remaining.
Western Michigan QB Zach Terrell – 29/37, 445 yards, four TDs: The Broncos has quietly constructed an 11-0 season and a spot within the top 25 and thanks to Terrell and his outstanding game, the Broncos racked up a 38-0 win over Buffalo. The 445 yards was a career-high for Terrell and the four touchdown game was the third of the season for Terrell.
Florida State RB Dalvin Cook – 28 carries, 225 yards, four TDs: Cook turned his excellent performance to an historic day as he became the all-time rushing leader for Florida State as well as becoming the sixth player in ACC history to hit the 4,000-yard rushing plateau. His 225 yards was the second most this season behind his 267-yard game against South Florida in week four of the season.
Colorado QB Sefo Liufau – 27/41, 345 yards, 23 carries, 108 yards, three rushing touchdowns: In one of the most entertaining games of the day, Liufau was an issue for the Washington State Cougars. Liufau became the second player in Colorado history to record 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game. Both yardage totals were season-highs in both categories for Liufau as well.
