Must-See Games For Week 6

October 9, 2020 by Rich Cirminiello, MaxwellFootballClub.org

Note: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a member of the Maxwell Football Club and a voter for the Maxwell and Bednarik Awards.

The Maxwell Football Club honors the nation's top offensive player with the Maxwell Award, and the best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Some of the games and candidates on the "must-see list" this week include QB's D'Eriq King of Miami and Trevor Lawrence of Clemson going toe-to-toe, while another ACC matchup of Virginia Tech at North Carolina presents the nation's leading rusher (Virginia Tech's Khalil Herbert) vs. the nation's top rushing defense.

Texas (2-1) vs. Oklahoma (1-2) - Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET (FOX) - How odd is the 2020 season? Oklahoma enters the 116th Red River Showdown looking for its first FBS win of the year. And both schools are coming off deflating losses, taking the air out of the Big 12’s playoff hopes. But this is still the Sooners and the Longhorns in Dallas, so it matters. While the winner could use this weekend as a catapult, the loser might head into a tailspin. There’ll be an interesting dichotomy behind center; this is Texas senior Sam Ehlinger’s fourth start in the rivalry, but just the first for Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler, who’s had some rookie moments the last two weeks.

Virginia Tech (2-0) at North Carolina (2-0) - Saturday, 12:00 p.m. ET (ABC) - Just five of this year’s 15 ACC programs remain undefeated. Two of those schools will meet Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium. That Carolina is 2-0 is no surprise. Mack Brown’s team was heavily favored against Syracuse and BC, and the Sam Howell-led offense has yet to hit its stride. Virginia Tech, though, is a different story. The Hokies have been one of the teams hardest hit by the virus, yet have scored 83 points in wins over NC State and Duke. The team has been sparked by a league-leading ground game consisting entirely of transfers, RB Khalil Herbert (Kansas), QB Braxton Burmeister (Oregon) and RB Raheem Blackshear (Rutgers).

Tennessee (2-0) at Georgia (2-0) - Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS) - Tennessee is tied with Notre Dame and Florida Atlantic for the second longest active winning streak in college football. And if the Vols can beat rival Georgia Between the Hedges Saturday, head coach Jeremy Pruitt will have the signature win he covets. UT has not been competitive in the last three meetings, and this matchup will not be any easier. The Bulldogs have settled on Stetson Bennett at quarterback, but the offense doesn’t quite look championship caliber. It’s on defense where Georgia is exceptional. Featuring stars at each level, the Dawgs rank top 5 nationally in scoring and total D.

Miami (3-0) at Clemson (3-0) - Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC) - Are you back, Miami? Like, all the way back? Then go out Saturday night and at least give Clemson a scare for four quarters. The Tigers are clearly the class of the ACC—again. QB Trevor Lawrence is dealing like a future No. 1 overall draft pick, and another wave of stars is emerging on defense. The Canes, at a minimum, are confident after handling Louisville and Florida State. And rested following last week’s bye. They also have their own difference-maker behind center, D’Eriq King, who could cause fits for a Clemson defense that’s yet to be tested.

Top Performances From Week 5 (10/2-10/3)

Maxwell Award (Top Offensive Player)

QB Sam Buechele, SMU - Buechele won the highly anticipated battle with Memphis’ Brady White… and the game this past Saturday, as the league-leading Mustangs moved to 4-0. Buechele and WR Reggie Roberson, who was later injured, torched the Tiger secondary in the pivotal AAC showdown. Buechele completed 32-of-45 for 474 yards, three TDs and no picks, while engineering the go-ahead drive in the waning minutes.

QB Matt Corral, Ole Miss - After struggling and losing reps to John Rhys Plumlee as a redshirt freshman in 2019, Corral looks like a different player so far in 2020. Lane Kiffin has that kind of effect on young quarterbacks. Corral helped deliver Kiffin his first win at Ole Miss with a terrific all-around performance. Not only did Corral complete 24-of-29 for 320 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers, but led the Rebels in rushing and threw the game-winning strike in overtime.

RB Khalil Herbert, Virginia Tech - Undermanned. Undefeated. For the second straight week, the Hokies found a way to win a game, despite being decimated by personnel losses. Saturday versus Duke, Tech rode the ground game to a 38-31 win in Durham. Herbert, a Kansas transfer, rushed for 208 yards and two scores on just 20 carries, while totaling a school-record 358 all-purpose yards.

QB Mac Jones, Alabama - Jones is employing his full array of weapons, which is a central reason why Bama throttled its first two opponents. The Crimson Tide easily disposed of Texas A&M Saturday, 52-24, as Jones completed 20-of-27 for 435 yards, four touchdowns and a pick. Even better, receivers Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith and John Metchie all produced big plays, the latter catching five for 181 yards and two scores.

QB Devin Leary, NC State - Dave Doeren has looking for one of his quarterbacks to step up and seize the starting job. And it appears that’s what Leary did Saturday at Pitt. After adding a spark off the bench in last week’s loss to Virginia Tech, the sophomore shined against the rugged Panther D. In his first start of 2020, Leary completed 28-of-44 for 336 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner to Emeka Emezie with 23 seconds left.

QB Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina - Coastal Carolina is now 3-0 for the first time, with wins over a Big 12 school and a team that shocked a Big 12 program on the road last month. Best of all, the Chanticleers are being led on offense by a redshirt freshman under center. McCall fueled an unexpectedly easy win over Arkansas State, 52-23, by throwing for 322 yards and four touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing.

RB Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State - Kansas State just might have the second coming of Darren Sproles in Manhattan. And that’s exciting news for all except Big 12 defenses. Like Sproles, Vaughn is diminutive, but his impact on the Wildcat offense has already been sizable. The 5-5, 168-pound true freshman ignited the KSU offense versus Texas Tech after QB Skylar Thompson went out with an injury. Vaughn accounted for 194 yards, 113 as a runner and 81 as a receiver, and scored twice in the 31-21 win.

QB Zach Wilson, BYU - Wilson is making money every time he steps on the field this fall. The junior has completed 60-of-71 throws through three games and was near-perfect in Friday’s 45-14 blowout win over Louisiana Tech. Wilson dissected the Bulldog defense for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-26 passing to capture the highest Pro Football Focus passing grade among Week 5 quarterbacks. And BYU is 3-0 for the first time since 2014.

Bednarik Award (Top Defensive Player)

CB Andrew Booth, Clemson - After being one of the nation’s most heralded high school cornerbacks of 2019, Booth is beginning to perform at that level. Tasked with facing the up-and-coming Virginia receiver corps this past weekend, Booth proved up to the challenge. He broke up a pair of passes, pulled down an acrobatic, one-handed pick and earned the top coverage grade among Week 5 corners, according to Pro Football Focus.

DT Curtis Brooks, Cincinnati - Cincinnati is ranked and has allowed just 17 points over the last two weekends. Brooks is an unheralded part of the Bearcats’ success, even if it rarely shows up in a box score. For instance, in Saturday’s 28-7 defeat of South Florida, the senior had just four tackles. However, he ate up blocks, helped hold the Bulls to just 83 yards rushing and was Pro Football Focus’ highest graded interior lineman of Week 5.

LB Zaven Collins, Tulsa - QB Zach Smith led the offense and Collins sparked the D as Tulsa overcome an 18-point deficit to snap No. 11 UCF’s 21-game home winning streak. True to his track record, Collins was everywhere for the Golden Hurricane. He had a team-high 10 tackles, including 3.5 behind the line, broke up two passes and intercepted another, as the Knights scored just three second-half points.

LB Leighton McCarthy, Florida Atlantic - After a series of delays and cancellations, the Willie Taggart era has finally begun in Boca… and it has started with a win over Charlotte. While the passing game misfired, the D stepped up in the 21-17 victory. McCarthy, in particular, created chaos for the 49ers backfield. The senior, whose off-ball speed will be featured, starred with 10 stops, four tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble. McCarthy earned Pro Football Focus’ second highest Week 5 grade among EDGE defenders.

OLB Azeez Ojulari, Georgia - The Dawgs are a bit of a patchwork on offense, but that D is among the nastiest in America. Georgia stifled Auburn in Saturday night’s showdown, yielding just 216 yards and a couple of Anders Carlson field goals. Ojulari created mayhem off the edge for the Tiger backfield. While he had just five tackles, three were behind the line of scrimmage including a sack of QB Bo Nix.

LB Joseph Ossai, Texas - It was a rough weekend for Texas, whose struggles with TCU continued in a 33-31 upset loss in Austin. But Ossai once again impressed NFL scouts with his range, quickness and knack for making plays behind the line. The disruptive 6-4, 253-pounder had 11 tackles, 3.5 stops for loss, a hurry and a strip-sack of Horned Frog QB Max Duggan.

LB Bumper Pool, Arkansas - 20. That’s the number of SEC games Arkansas had lost in a row entering Week 5… and the number of tackles Pool made Saturday night to help snap the conference losing streak. The Razorbacks stunned Mississippi State, which just a week earlier knocked off defending national champ LSU. Arkansas allowed just one play of more than 20 yards, frustrating QB K.J. Costello and Mike Leach’s entire Bulldog offense.

NT Darius Stills, West Virginia - In a rare Big 12 game dictated by the defenses, Stills stood out and showed why he was on the preseason Bednarik Award Watch List. The senior, with the cat quickness from the interior, helped hold Baylor to less than one yard a carry and harassed QB Charlie Brewer all afternoon in an OT victory. Stills finished with four stops for loss, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.