Week 8 was pretty vanilla. Outside of unranked LSU smoking #7 Ole Miss at home, no other ranked team lost, and no other upsets occurred. There was no change to the Top 6 in the AP Poll, and we still have the parody of all Power 5 conferences represented in the Top 10. What will this weekend bring? Hopefully, some fireworks as teams position themselves for their conference championships. As always, CJ Lang and Britt Sanders will guide you this college football season through all the storylines, player profiles, and game previews you will need. Enjoy!
Favorite Storylines
Bo…Is that you? (CJ)
Bo Nix shared the National QB Club’s High School QB of the Year award with Spencer Rattler in 2018. He was the #1 Dual Threat QB in the 2019 class and committed to Auburn, where he started as a Freshman. His time at Auburn was mediocre as he averaged 2,400 passing yards and 13 TDs per season, but he could never get Auburn over the hump. Playing in the SEC West is no easy task, but Auburn is/was a powerhouse, and with an outside chance to beat Bama each year, there was always a glimmer of hope. But he was 21-13 as a starter at Auburn and in the SEC, that just isn’t gonna cut it.
So on to Eugene, Oregon he went via the transfer portal and has been killing it! He is currently on pace to throw for over 3,360 yards and 24 TDs resurrecting his collegiate career as he leads the #8 Ducks towards a PAC-12 title and CFP appearance. He currently has the 5th most TDs in all of FBS and ranks 3rd in rushes per attempt. He is also top 5 in almost all statistical passing categories in the PAC-12. With only one ranked opponent remaining (#14 Utah), a rematch of last year’s PAC-12 title game, Nix is firing on all cylinders on a high-powered offense and finally living up to the recruiting hype he had three years ago.
The Race to 12 (Britt)
The Big 12 conference has the opportunity to be in a very exciting contest down the stretch. It currently has three teams within the Top 25 during the best part of the college season Oklahoma State, TCU, and Kansas State. Each team has its own unique brand at this point of the season, with the most acceptable of the three being Kansas State after losing Adrian Martinez early in last week’s game. Last week Oklahoma State had an exciting upset over Texas thanks to an excellent second-half defensive game plan and Texas not seeming very interested in winning.
On the other hand, TCU is the strong favorite, as evidenced by being ranked the highest of the three. Especially having a three-prong attack on offense led by Max Duggan, who is having a career year thus far and leaning on RB Kendre Miller and a potential first-round draft pick in WR Quintin Johnson. If things stays stable, which they never do, the Big 12 Championship should be between TCU and Oklahoma State. TCU currently has the edge offensively and defensively. Oklahoma State has Kansas State this week, and TCU faces an inept West Virginia. This is a look-ahead week waiting for the much-anticipated matchup between the two.
Player Spotlights
Quarterbacks
Will Levis (SR – Kentucky) 6-3, 232 (CJ)
The Penn State transfer has the Wildcats in the conversation this year. After getting mop-up duty for two years in State College, Levis transferred to everyday playing time in Lexington and has done a fantastic job. After a breakout season last year where he had 2,826 and 23 TDs, he has Kentucky primed for a run at the SEC East title. They have their fate in their own hands. Even though they lost to South Carolina, who has a rough schedule ahead of them, Kentucky still has to play the other two teams in the standings, #1 Georgia and #3 Tennessee. Levis will march the Wildcats into Knoxville this weekend to try and stop the Vols from playing lights out. He is playing well right now. Over the last two weeks against Ole Miss and Mississippi State, he averaged 220 passing yards, 2 TDs, and a 74% completion percentage. The caveat is he leads the SEC in INTs, and I don’t think Tennessee will allow RB Chris Rodriguez and that ground game to get established so that Levis will be slinging it. Let’s see how he can do against a top-tier team.
Drew Allar (FR – Penn State) 6-5, 232 (Britt)
The countdown to “midnight” has begun. Drew Allar has officially been let out of the cage. Yes, he played a short stint earlier in the season; however, last week, he got into some late-game action against Michigan. This week Penn State plays Ohio State, opening the opportunity for Allar to play and show off his yet-to-be-refined skill set. However, something is afoot at Penn State; QB Sean Clifford is the perfect game manager in college. Yet, for Penn State, that won’t cut it if they want more success. I also believe head coach James Franklin is starting to feel a little fire under his seat. Even though Penn State is ranked #13, it has always been on the precipice of the next step but has yet to take it. Wilder things have led to a coaching replacement, which should all boil to Franklin looking for a spark for this offense to click into its next gear. A spark that Allar most definitely would provide.
Running Backs
Zach Charbonnet (SR – UCLA) 6-1, 222 (Britt)
Zach Charbonnet has been a primary driver in UCLA, reaching its current point. Amassing almost 1,000 all-purpose yards and with a 1.90 yards per team attempt. Charbonnet has made some serious buzz in the NFL draft circles off this phenomenal season. He is a transfer from Michigan who decided to stick around for his senior year. A decision that seems to be the right one, given his name appearing in the Top 5 rankings for the 2023 draft class. He has had only one game under 100 yards rushing and is facing Stanford, a team that currently allows 5.4 yards per rush. Charbonnet is continuing to string great games together, and this won’t be any different. Charbonnet is adding some serious fuel to a rather bland matchup. If you want to get even more excited, I’d take the over on Charbonnet’s rushing line this week to 109.5 yards.
Khalan Laborn (SR – Marshall) 5-11, 212 (CJ)
Laborn was the #1 All-Purpose Back in the 2017 class and originally committed to FSU. After only 63 rushing attempts in three years, he entered the transfer portal and moved up the map to Marshall. He is one of only two 1,000-yard rushers in FBS this season (Chase Brown-Illinois) and has the 4th most rushing TDs in FBS, the 4th most yards from scrimmage in the nation, and leads the Sun Belt Conference in every rushing category. He has averaged 143 rushing yards and 2 TDs per game and even had 163 rushing yards in a huge win against Notre Dame. Three weeks ago, he rushed for 191 yards against Gardner-Webb, and last week he had 151 yards against James Madison, who has the #1 rushing defense in the nation! This dude is a beast and will look to continue his hot streak in primetime this Saturday night on NFL Network against Coastal Carolina. Tune in!
Wide Receivers
Jaylin Hyatt (JR – Tennessee) 6-0, 180 (Britt)
A tale as old as time appears to be playing out this season for Jaylin Hyatt. What at first seemed to be the benefactor of Cedric Tillman missing time due to injury now appears to simply be a player displaying his next-level growth. Hyatt is the team’s field stretcher with an ADOT of 19.2. Beyond that is his very obvious speed, and if the NFL has shown us anything, it’s an inclination to lean into speed. Posting more than double the next player’s receiving yards in 12 touchdowns, Hyatt looks to be given a fantastic opportunity to make more buzz in the NFL draft community. Cedric Tillman is said to be coming back into the fold this week. This move will boost Tennessee’s offense and allow a glimpse into what Hyatt’s role may be projected in the NFL. If Hyatt can maintain a similar role to what he did with the vacancy of Tillman, it will shine favorably on his abilities in the NFL.
Ali Jennings (JR – Old Dominion) 6-2, 196 (CJ)
We can’t go another week without profiling the West Virginia transfer who currently leads all of FBS in receiving. Ali Jennings is tearing up the NCAA and is getting zero recognition, so we will try to do him some justice here. Ali was a 3-star prospect in the 2019 class out of Virginia. After committing to WVU, in two seasons, he only had 26 catches, 240 yards, and 2 TDs. He then transferred to ODU and had a breakout season in 2021. He led the Monarchs in receiving with 1,066 receiving yards, the 3rd most in ODU history. He has, through seven games, 905 receiving yards and 8 TDs, and is on pace to smash the school record. In five of his seven games this season, he has over 120 yards receiving and is coming off a big game against Georgia Southern, where he had nine catches for 130 yards and a TD. He averages over 18 yards per reception and can play anywhere on the field. ODU still has an outside shot at the Sun Belt Championship game, but I would not be surprised if this is the last we see Jennings playing on Saturdays.
Tight Ends
Sam LaPorta (SR – Iowa) 6-4, 249 (CJ)
Sam LaPorta is a great tight end in a bad passing offense. He has the 2nd most targets of any TE in the nation behind Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, yet he averages a measly 9.0 yards per reception amongst TEs, which ranks 229th in the nation. He has not scored a TD this year but as talented as he is skilled with his size, speed, blocking ability, and catch radius, Iowa can not get him the ball. Yes, he has the 2nd most targets, but he only has 36 catches. Iowa QB Spencer Petras has a lousy 53.1% completion percentage, and let’s be honest, passing was never Iowa’s thing. LaPorta is doing what he can to help. He had nine catches and 101 receiving yards against Illinois two weeks ago and six catches for 55 yards against OSU last week. Iowa has a favorable schedule moving forward, so hopefully, they can utilize LaPorta more, and he can get an invite to Reese’s Senior Bow to show his true skill set.
Oronde Gadsden II (SO – Syracuse) 6-5, 210 (Britt)
Syracuse has been a very fun team to root for and watch this season. Their offense is condensed to three main weapons, Garrett Schroder, Sean Tucker, and Oronde Gadsden II. Gadsden, a sophomore tight end, is a wide receiver, otherwise known as a split tight end. He has doubled Syracuse’s next receiving option with 593 yards through the air. When it comes to tight ends, it’s always slim pickings, but Gadsden makes for an interesting deep dive. He has the height to be a tight end, but his size is more customized for a wide receiver. And given his size, he moves very well for a 6,5 210-pound athlete. He is very efficient with 3.24 yards per team pass attempts and has 38% of the team’s touchdowns. Syracuse is facing Notre Dame this week, allowing 7.4 yards per pass and ranked #63 nationally on defense. Unlike Clemson, Notre Dame does not have the ability to shut down Gadsden, which is why I think he will get back on track this week.
Games Of The Week
#2 Ohio State vs. #13 Penn State (+15) (CJ)
This may be the last true test of playing a legit team for Ohio State before the big matchup on Nov. 26 vs. their rival Michigan Wolverines. Penn State is coming off a big win vs. Minnesota last week, where QB Sean Clifford had 295 passing yards and 4 TDs. They will need Clifford, RB Nick Singleton, and the rest of the Nittany Lions offense to be at the top of their game, as Ohio State is no slouch. They come into State College with the nation’s 2nd best scoring offense led by QB C.J. Stroud, the 2nd best scoring defense, the third-best pass defense, and the eighth-best rushing defense.
It’s tough to build some hype here on a matchup that looks lopsided, but last week against Iowa, the OSU offense struggled to settle for four red zone field goals after having a prime starting field position. They can not make those same mistakes against Penn State, who touts the nation’s 3rd best pass completion percentage, allowing opposing QBs to complete only 50.3% of their passes. Penn State played their “White Out” game last week, so this week will be a “Stripe Out” game where they ask fans to color coordinate per the section they sit in. As 15-point underdogs wear whatever they need to make this a close game!
#19 Kentucky vs. #3 Tennessee (-12) (Britt)
This game is likely to be very one-sided. Tennessee is playing on a completely different tier offensively and doesn’t look to slow down. The intrigue for this game is one of those games where we, the viewer, get to do some light 2023 draft quarterback scouting. Will Levis and Hendon Hooker are both names making quite a bit of buzz in the NFL. Will Levis is most likely known for allegedly drinking mayo with coffee. Levis, thus far, has been unable to recapture lightning in the bottle as he did last year. This is likely because the lightning from last year was named Wan’Dale Robinson. This year he gets to lean on two very impressive rookies, Dane Key and Barion Brown. Key is the more prototypical X wide receiver for Kentucky, while Brown is the YAC God, where giving him an inch of space may result in a touchdown. RB Chris Rodriguez will likely have his name called this upcoming draft, albeit on the third day. He is a dynamic running back to watch.
Conversely, Hendon Hooker has sent everyone into a tizzy, mostly due to his age, currently 24 years old. His growth may be limited from an NFL standpoint, but his execution right now is next level. Hooker is dropping dimes everywhere; recently, Jalin Hyatt has been the beneficiary of those deep balls. Hyatt currently has 769 receiving yards; with Cedric Tillman returning, this offense will be humming. If I had to wager on this game, I would be taking Tennessee simply because of how high-octane their offense is right now. While that may be susceptible to a potent defense like in Georgia, Kentucky does not have the offensive firepower nor a top-tier defense to slow down Tennessee.
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