Last week, we had some excellent games and close calls for those in the Top 25. #11 Alabama was lucky to stave off a late surge from Arkansas, and the Game of the Week, #7 Washington vs. #8 Oregon, lived up to the hype. And my bank account is still hurting from the 29-0 lead Colorado gave up on Friday night to Stanford. Follow along as we guide you through all the storylines, player profiles, and game previews you need this College Football season. Enjoy!
College Football Primer Week 8 (Devy Fantasy Football)
Favorite Storylines
Spy Game
This week, Michigan, recently coming off their head coach’s suspension for violating recruiting rules, is in the news again, but this time for a potential sign-stealing scandal. According to the NCAA, you have every right to try to analyze signs if you choose to, but you must not do it in person. Well…we have a “fall guy.” An off-field analyst for Michigan, Connor Stalions, has been suspended without pay while the NCAA investigates a potential sign-stealing violation ahead of Michigan’s game against rival Michigan State.
At his halftime interview last week, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said during their game against Michigan, “There’s some things going on that aren’t right as well, so we’ll talk about how to handle it.” Ohio State, Michigan’s arch nemesis, also came out this week and said they had to change their signs last season right before their game against Michigan because they expected Michigan to steal signs. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has denied knowing anything about this scandal. More will come out as the investigation concludes.
Case Dismissed
Former Baylor head coach Art Briles had the charges that got him fired in 2016 dropped in court this week as the judge could find no evidence of wrongdoing or negligence by Briles. After being fired from Baylor, Briles had coaching jobs in the Canadian Football League, a Texas High School, and the Italian Football League. Briles and his legal team hope this decision will help clean his reputation, which has been questioned since the firing.
As head coach of the Houston Cougars from 2003-2007, he compiled a record of 34-28. Then he took the Baylor job and had a record of 65-37 before being fired. With Baylor, he was 3-3 on bowl games, but his offenses were known to be high-powered. It will remain to be seen if he graces the sideline of an NCAA team again, but this week’s result could pave the way.
Player Spotlights
Quarterback
Josh Hoover (FR – TCU) | 6-1, 196
Chandler Morris was the QB who replaced QB Max Duggan, who led the Horned Frogs to last season’s National Championship game. In 2021, Morris was the starter over Max Duggan but got hurt in the opening game, and Duggan never gave it back. Two weeks ago, against Iowa State, Morris again hurt himself, and it looks like he will be out for multiple weeks. Freshman QB Josh Hoover came in as his replacement against Iowa State and almost led TCU to victory, going 11-19 with a TD and an INT. Last week, Hoover had 439 passing yards, 4 TDs, and 2 INTs en route to a 44-11 victory over BYU. Hoover was not highly recruited out of high school, yet he finds himself as the new starter for TCU. This week, Hoover will lead his team into Manhattan, where he will try to go 2-0 as a starter against the 4-2 Kansas State Wildcats.
Running Back
Nick Singleton (SO – Penn State) | 6-0, 222
Last season, Singleton had a great campaign. He set the Penn State Freshman record for most rushing TDs in a season (16) and was only the third Freshman RB in Penn State history to run for 1,000 yards, joining Saquon Barkley and D.J. Dozier. In my devy leagues, he was one of the most sought-after backs to acquire. Last season, he had 485 rushing yards and five TDs through the first six games. This season, through six games, he has just 362 rushing yards but six TDs. You can see that’s a slow start, but he is one big game away from getting back on that 1,000-yard pace. This week, Penn State travels to the Horseshoe for a marquee game at Ohio State. Ohio State has a Top 25 rush defense, allowing only 109 rushing yards per game. Last season, the Buckeyes held him to just 45 rushing yards, so that big game may have to wait.
Wide Receiver
Elic Ayomanor (FR – Stanford) | 6-2, 210
Stanford has had a rough season up until last week. Losses to USC and Oregon were probably unsurprising, but losses to Arizona and Sacramento State were perhaps very surprising. But they shocked the college football world last Friday night by returning from a 29-point deficit at Colorado to win in double OT 46-43. The man who led that comeback was Freshman WR Elic Ayomanor. He had 13 catches for 294 yards and three TDs, including absolutely “Moss’ing” Colorado star WR/CB Travis Hunter on a 30-yard TD to force a second overtime. Ayomanor will look to build on his 501-yard season as the Cardinal play #25 UCLA at home this weekend.
Tight End
Dallin Holker (JR – Colorado State) | 6-5, 235
The BYU transfer, Dallin Holker, is having a great season thus far, even if his team is .500. Holker is second in the nation for TEs in receptions, yards, and TDs and leads all TEs in targets with 56. He is undoubtedly having his best season yet, with 39 catches, 497 yards, and six TDs. He has excellent size and quickness and looks like a complete NFL prospect. The Rams travel to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas to take on UNLV this week. UNLV has the 122nd-ranked passing defense in the nation, allowing opponents 284 passing yards per game. Targets should be aplenty for Holker this weekend.
Games of the Week
#7 Penn State vs. #3 Ohio State (-4.5)
As far as Big Ten games go this year, this is the biggest one yet. Two undefeated teams will face off in Columbus as they march to a Big Ten title and a CFP birth. Both teams have only played one-ranked FBS opponent (Penn State also beat FCS #12 Delaware). And both of these teams have not just high-scoring offenses, Penn State ranks #5 and OSU ranks #21, but defenses as well. Penn State comes in with the #1 defense in the nation, allowing 193 yards per game, while the Buckeyes rank seventh in yards allowed per game.
One of those things will have to break. The QB play from each of these teams has been good but not great. Penn State QB Drew Allar has over 1,200 passing yards with 12 TDs and 0 INTS. Ohio State QB Kyle McCord has over 1,600 passing yards with 11 TDs and 1 INT. Penn State has a two-headed monster at RB with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, and both rushers have over 320 yards and at least three TDs. Similarly, Ohio State has RB TreVeyeon Henderson and converted LB Deamonte “Chip” Trayanum, who have almost 300 rushing yards and three TDs each.
The wide receiver corps will probably set this game apart. Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr., who looks to be the #2 overall pick in next year’s draft, headlines a solid WR room with Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming. Not to mention, OSU TE Cade Stover has the third most receiving yards amongst all TEs this season. Penn State is not as deep with receivers, which could be their downfall. Expect a close game, but I think OSU defends the ‘Shoe.
#17 Tennessee vs. #11 Alabama (-8.5)
It seems like forever ago in Week 2 when #3 Alabama lost to #11 Texas. After reeling off five straight wins, Alabama is again flirting with the Top 10, and with a win this week over #17 Tennessee, that may be the push they need. Last season, this game was spectacular. The “Jalin Hyatt” coming out party where the Tennessee WR, now NY Giant, had 207 receiving yards and five TDs on just six catches. #6 Tennessee upset #3 Alabama 52-49 in that game on a FG as time expired. This year, we could see another one of those nail-biter games.
This game will look a lot different as these teams sent several starters from last year’s game to the NFL, like #1 overall pick Bama QB Bryce Young, RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, and WRs Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman. This season, Bama QB Jalen Milroe beat out Tyler Buchner and Ty Simpson as the starting QB. So far, he has 1,397 passing yards, 13 TDs and 4 INTs. Offensively, Alabama is a shell of its former self, ranking 86th in total offense. Luckily, their 15th-ranked defense has been helping prop up their ranking.
On the other hand, Tennessee also has just one loss this year, losing at the Swamp last month. The much-hyped Michigan transfer QB Joe Milton has had a plodding start like Milroe, throwing for only 1,264 yards with 10 TDs and 4 INTs. Luckily for the Vols, RB Jaylen Wright is having a career season. The Junior has 571 yards this season, eclipsing 118 rushing yards in three games thus far. This game will come down to which offense can break through. They both have Top four defenses in the SEC. I think home-field advantage helps Alabama, especially when Tennessee laid an egg in the one big road game they had. This one is too close to call. The team who has the ball last will win.
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