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NOTE: CollegeFootballPoll.com's Dave Congrove is a nominating member for the Outland Trophy, presented by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. The Outland Trophy is considered to be the Heisman equivalant for those who strive to be the nation’s best interior lineman on offense or defense. Semifinalists for the 2019 Outland Trophy will be announced on Wed., Nov. 20 and the three finalists will be revealed on Tues., Nov. 26.
Oklahoma (5-0) vs. Texas (4-1) at Dallas, 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX: Our weekly Outland Trophy sojourn takes us to the historic Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the 115th meeting between the Longhorns and Sooners in the AT&T Red River Showdown, played in Dallas for a 91st straight year.
Oklahoma was idle last Saturday, which has been the only thing to settle its offense down, where sophomore center Creed Humphrey (#56, Shawnee, Okla.) is at the front of an crew that continues to rack up amazing numbers. The Sooners currently lead the country in total offense at 643.8 yards per game, which is 73 yards more than the next-highest average (LSU, 571.0). They’re second nationally in scoring at 53.4 points per game. They average 9.9 yards per play, which is 1.6 yards more (or 16 percent higher) than second-best Alabama (8.3) and, to date, is far ahead of the FBS single-season record of 8.6 yards per play they set last year.
The Sooners have scored at least one touchdown in all 20 quarters this season – a school record to start the season – and have scored at least 34 points in 15 straight games – the longest streak in school history – and in 26 of their last 27.
Humphrey and the Sooners’ line has provided stellar pass protection as well as run blocking for quarterback Jalen Hurts. Oklahoma’s aerial game is in full stride, leading the nation with a 217.4 pass efficiency rating and is fifth in passing at 355.4 yards per game. Hurts leads all quarterbacks with 99.8 rushing yards per game, but he’s also had a passing efficiency rating of at least 245.0 in each of his first four games this season, the only FBS player since at least 1996 to record more than two such outings (min. 18 attempts) in a season.
Humphrey is one of four Sooners captains along with fellow Outland Trophy Watch List member and nose guard Neville Gallimore(#90, Sr., St. Catharines, Ontario). Gallimore is fourth on the Sooners’ defense with 3.0 tackles-for-loss and has 11 tackles overall, eight of them solo. He also has one sack. The defensive front will be tasked with stopping a Texas offense that also puts up big numbers; the Longhorns are 13th in the nation in scoring (41.8) and 19th nationally in total offense (483.6 yards per game).
For the Longhorns, two graduates are up front on the offensive line. Three-year letterman Zach Shackelford (#56, Belton, Texas), an All-Big 12 selection last year, and left guard Parker Braun (#73, Hallsville, Texas), an All-ACC graduate transfer from Georgia Tech, have allowed quarterback Sam Ehlinger to create out of the pocket. Ehlinger rushed for a season-high 70 yards against Oklahoma State two weeks ago to become the 52nd 1,000-yard rusher in school history; he’s the sixth quarterback in Texas history to achieve that feat and the first since Colt McCoy (2006-09).
Louisville (3-2) at Wake Forest (5-0), 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ACC Network: Wake Forest has captured the nation’s attention with its first 5-0 start since 2006 and can earn the first eight-game win streak in school history (dating back to 2018) with a win Saturday. The Demon Deacons’ offense is clicking with left tackle Justin Herron (#75, Gr., Silver Springs, Md.) up front as the program’s most experienced player (43 career starts). Wake Forest is coming off a school-record seventh straight game topping 400 yards of total offense in a 440-yard effort against Boston College two weeks ago.
Herron (pronounced her-RON) has helped the ACC’s total offense leader (515.0 ypg, 10th nationally) score in 19 of 20 quarters this season and in 28 of its last 29, dating back to last season. Wake Forest is also the least penalized team in the nation.
On the other side, Louisville offensive tackle Mekhi Becton (#73, Jr., Highland Springs, Va.) led the Cardinals to 664 total yards in a 41-39 win over Boston College last week. Becton, a watch list member, had seven knockdowns and didn’t allow a sack as Louisville, winners in three of their last four, had 236 yards on the ground.
Memphis (5-0) at Temple (4-1), Noon ET Saturday on ESPN2: Memphis center Dustin Woodard (#53, Sr., Chandler, Ariz.) is riding a 43-game starting streak, one of the nation’s longest (Ethan Reed, Louisiana Tech, 45). The only two games he didn’t start were the first two games of his true freshman season. Woodard moved to center this season after playing both guard positions previously and blocked for three of the Tigers’ top four offenses in school history the past three seasons that racked up more than 20,000 yards combined (20,269).
Woodard has helped the Memphis’ offense crank out big yardage again this season. In last week’s 52-33 win at ULM, running back Kenneth Gainwell rushed for 209 yards and is sixth nationally with 124.0 yards/game. Among backs with at least 75 carries, Gainwell leads the nation with 8.16 yards/carry. Meanwhile, quarterback Brady White is in the top 15 nationally in several categories, including passing efficiency (7th), yards per attempt (8th) and completion percentage (13th).
For Temple, left guard Jovahn Fair (#70, Gr., Akron, Ohio) was second-team All-AAC last year and leads the line that’s pushing opponents around. After five games, running back Re’Mahn Davis has the most rushing yards (503) among true freshmen in the FBS and is third in the AAC overall. Temple is one of nine FBS teams and the only AAC member to have three players with at least 300 receiving yards – Jadan Blue (34-427-2), Branden Mack (26-335-2) and Isaiah Wright (31-305-4) have all been crucial in the Owls’ offense.