The Draft "Expert" - Wk 4 2027 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospect Rankings
Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another exhilarating Draft "Expert" blog post! Now I don't want to assume or anything, but as you can probably tell by the title, in this one we will be taking a look at my week four quarterback prospect rankings for the 2027 NFL Draft!
One of the more exciting weeks of the young college football season as most teams have entered conference play, which means (in some cases) we will get a better idea of how good each team and/or quarterback prospect are. Sure some of the games played this weekend were stronger than others, but I still think it's an exciting time of the season.
When looking at this week's list, I can say that I was actually pretty impressed by the play of most of these quarterbacks listed. Regardless of if their team won or lost, I think a lot of the quarterbacks listed made a positive account of themselves this past week.
With that it does mean that there really wasn't a ton of changes from last week's list, though we do see a new face in the blog post as a once thought of high value prospect has seen his way out of the top-10 after a poor display on the road. That's not me ruling out the possibility of him returning some point this season, but for now he will have to sit on the outside looking in.
With all that being said let's get right into it! I Logan Blackman, host of the Logan Blackman Show and self proclaimed Draft "Expert" am proud to present to you my week four quarterback prospect rankings for the 2027 NFL Draft! Enjoy!
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1. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
Wk 4 - 20/27 389 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/1 carry 0 yds 0 touchdowns @ West Virginia (41-24 W)
Season - 95/141 1,271 yds 11 touchdowns 5 interceptions/13 carries 106 yds 1 touchdown
The more I watch Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker the more I love him as a prospect. Now, I will say I was rather high on the former North Texas prospect coming into this season, but with each passing week I sit back and think to myself that I should have just had him as QB1 to start the season, as I said I wanted to do in my insanely early quarterback rankings YouTube video. With that I definitely do not want to sit here and bore you with the same thing we hear every single year, but it is hard for me not to see the parallels between Mestemaker and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. I know I know it's one of the most played out narratives in all of college football, every single draft we have to figure out who the "next" Josh Allen is but again, it can at times be hard to ignore. Not only does he wear the same number as Allen, but his arm talent/arrogance mixed with his in game fearlessness makes those narratives truly come to life (not to mention the story). He's just been so much fun to watch up to this point in the season, which makes me question what we saw week one on the road against Tulsa even more. Like, what was that game? Did that actually happen? Because that's not the same Oklahoma State that we've seen these past three weeks, as they possess one of the most potent offenses in the country lead by the one we're talking about here. Sure what Mestemaker did against Murray State was nice, but the true "back up your play against Oregon" test came this past weekend as him and the Cowboys opened conference play on the road against a then 3-0 West Virginia Mountaineers team. Coming into this game as -1.5-point underdogs, Mestemaker and co. made no mistakes about what kind of team they are by taking home an impressive 41-24 road victory. Mestemaker put up an excellent performance in the win, going 20/27 for 389-yards (season high) with three touchdowns and one interception while getting sacked zero times. Speaking of sacks Mestemaker would avoid a potential strip sack on their opening drive before finding an open Justin Bowick down the field for a 21-yard gain.
With the center getting driven back by the West Virginia defensive lineman, Mestemaker smartly slides and steps up to the right before hitting an open Bowick for the eventual 21-yard gain. Despite not putting up a ton of rushing yards since the Oregon game, it's clear that the defense respects him as a runner as he sucked the linebacker with his legs in to open up the throwing lane even more, getting the ball out before the defensive lineman could get a hand to him for the big gain for the offense. Unfortunately the drive would ultimately stall out shortly after that play, as the Cowboys would be forced to punt the ball away after eight (total) plays. The run game would more or less be the focal point of their next drive, as they traveled 63-yards in 11-plays to help set up a 30-yard field goal from Sam Keltner to make the score 7-3 with 3:12 remaining in the first quarter. A field goal would be the result of Oklahoma State's next drive as well, with Mestemaker connecting on passes of 28 and 13-yards to help set up a 19-yard attempt from Keltner to get them back to within eight (14-6) midway through the second quarter. The Cowboys would finally find the end zone on their next possession, with Mestemaker hitting on a pair of 21-yard passes to ultimately make the score 14-13 with 1:25 remaining in the first half.
The first one was a very nice throw from Mestemaker. On third and nine on your own side of the 50 with pressure coming off of the edge, Mestemaker remains tall and calm in the pocket before firing it into Wyatt Young for a 21-yard gain. Now, it helps when a defender in coverage falls over, but this was still a well thrown ball to help pick up a big gain and get them to the West Virginia side of the 50. As for the touchdown most of the credit goes to Justin Bowick, and rightfully so. Strong throw from Mestemaker, but Bowick's unwillingness to go down ultimately lead to the score, as there's no reason why he shouldn't have been brought down around the 10-yard line. All in all two impressive plays from Mestemaker and the Cowboy offense, helping bring them back to within one late in the second quarter. Oklahoma State would have one more drive in the first half, but it would only result in a punt after going three and out. Their first drive of the third quarter couldn't have ended much worse, as Mestemaker would register his first interception of the game a few plays after completing a beautiful ball down the near sideline to Chris Barnes for a 52-yard gain. Unfortunately again though the drive would end with a Mestemaker interception, coming deep in West Virginia territory.
Two plays that convey two completely different emotions. On the first one, knowing that he's got to get it out quick, Mestemaker floats the ball perfectly down the field hitting Barnes in stride for a 52-yard gain, which could have gone for even more had he not slipped. The second one was just a bad read and throw from Mestemaker here as he tried to connect with Barnes again on third down. Throwing it too far inside he hit the Mountaineer defender right in between the numbers for the easy interception, killing what looked to be a scoring drive for the offense. Mestemaker would more than make up for the interception on their next possession, connecting on passes of 27 and 40-yards before hitting Terrence Lewis in the flat who would take it into the end zone from four yards out to tie the game up at 21 (following a successful two point conversion) midway through the third quarter.
Two excellent throws here from Mestemaker as he and the offense looked to push the ball down the field following his first interception of the game. The first one is a very nice layered throw from Mestemaker, getting it over the outstretched arm of the initial defender and into the hands of Lewis for a 27-yard gain. Great job as well at putting the ball more on his receiver's body, allowing him to potentially pick up some extra yards after the catch. Also, nice job by Lewis of holding onto the ball through the contact, again picking up 27-yards in the process. The second one Mestemaker does a nice job at scanning the entire field, manipulating the defense with his eyes before firing the ball down the field to Young for a 40-yard gain. Just two great throws from Mestemaker, leading to his second touchdown pass of the game to again tie the game up at 21 (again, following a successful two point conversion) midway through the third. Mestemaker would continue to let it fly on their next possession, connecting with Young again for 48-yards to help set up a 2w-yard touchdown run by Caleb Hawkins to give them their first lead of the game with 2:40 to go in the quarter.
Again, just a perfectly thrown deep ball here by Mestemaker, hitting Young perfectly in stride for a 48-yard gain. With pressure around him, Mestemaker remains calm and tall in pocket before dropping the ball right in the bucket and over the out stretched arm of the West Virginia defender in coverage. You really can't throw a football much better than Mestemaker did right here, which again lead to a 22-yard Hawkins touchdown run on the following play to make the score 28-24 later on in the third quarter. Would you believe me if I said Mestemaker and Young would hook up on another 48-yard passing play on their next drive? Well you better, because that's exactly what happened only this time it would come along the near sideline, with Young ultimately taking it down to the Mountaineer 10-yard line.
Half rolling to his right on the opening play of the drive, Mestemaker is able to deliver a strong pass down the field despite a West Virginia play coming through right at the very end. Along with the throw great route here by Young, as he was able to shake his defender thus allowing an open receiver for Mestemaker to hit down the field for the aforementioned 48-yard gain. Despite making it all the way down to the Mountaineer 10-yard like the Cowboys would have to eventually settle for a field goal, with kicker Sam Keltner converting from 29-yards out to make the score 31-24 just over a minute into the fourth quarter. Mestemaker and Young would continue to flash their North Texas connection on Oklahoma State's next drive as well, with the pair going for 28 before connecting in the end zone from six yards out to give them a 38-24 lead with 5:42 remaining in the fourth.
I feel like a broken record at this point but once again these are two very impressive throws here from Mestemaker. The first one we see Mestemaker use his eyes to clear out the high safety to the near side of the field before flipping back to Young who absolutely cooked his defender along the sideline. Nice and easy throw and catch between quarterback and receiver, helping set up a six yard touchdown between the two with Mestemaker putting the ball in a spot where only Young could make a play on it. In these situations as a quarterback all receivers ask of you is to given them a chance to make a play, and Mestemaker again places it over the defender and into the arms of Young for the score. Taking advantage of a favorable match-up (as you can see Young point it out pre-snap) to further extend their lead in the fourth quarter. The run game would help the Cowboys come away with a field goal on their next drive, as they would eventually see out an impressive 41-24 road victory in conference play. Like I said before, Morgantown may not be the toughest place to play in the country, but it's far from an easy atmosphere to play in, especially at night and yet Mestemaker and co. were able to take care of business. As each week passes the better Mestemaker gets, with this game show everything that he has to offer. Now ranked in the top-25 (coming in at 19) Oklahoma State will have to wait a week to take on their next opponent, which will be at home against the 3-1 UCF Knights. The two schools have only faced off twice in their history, with the Knights coming away with both wins by a combined score of 62-17. With that I do expect Mestemaker and co. to take care of business in a weeks time.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 2
Wk 3 - 1
Wk 4 - 1
Wk 5 - BYE
2. Arch Manning, Texas
Wk 4 - 14/19 201 yds 0 touchdowns 1 interception/11 carries -1 yd 0 touchdowns @ no.14 Tennessee (20-17 W)
Season - 73/115 862 yds 7 touchdowns 3 interceptions/32 carries 82 yds 0 touchdowns
There was a good amount of hype going into this game this past weekend, as the top ranked Texas Longhorns traveled to Knoxville to take on the then 14th ranked Tennessee Volunteers. This is a game that hasn't taken place since 1968, a game that saw the Longhorns come away with a 36-13 victory in the Cotton Bowl Classic. Ironically, every game these two have gone against each other was in the Cotton Bowl, with Texas holding a 2-1 record over Tennessee in the process. I mean hell, this game was so hyped up that Tennessee decided to change the patchwork in their stadium, something that hasn't been done in decades to account for all the burnt orange that was going to be in the stands. With that a lot of people out there were intrigued to see how quarterback Arch Manning would fair in his first SEC road game of the season, especially since Texas went 1-2 in SEC road games last season with their lone win coming in an overtime thriller against Mississippi State. Now this Longhorn team does feel a little bit different than the teams of years gone by, as I don't think previous teams (in recent memory) would have taken down the then top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes a couple weeks ago, even with the game being at home. As for Tennessee is wasn't a team coming in with any big time wins as they went up against the likes of Furman, Georgia Tech, and Kennesaw State, beating them by a combined score of 146-42 (24 of those 42-points were scored by Georgia Tech). So this wasn't like Texas was going up against this formidable team, but anything can happen in college football and it nearly did, as the Longhorns were able to escape with a 20-17 road victory. As for Manning he did not put forth his best showing statistically, going 14/19 for 201-yards with no touchdowns and one interception while registering a season low -1-rushing yards. That being said things would start off pretty good for Manning and co, as he would fire one down the seam to Emmett Mosley V for a 43-yard gain, taking them from their own 35 to the Tennessee 22-yard line.
Though the ball did kind of hang up there for Manning it's still a very solid throw. From a collapsing pocket Manning sees that there is no one covering the backend of Tennessee's defense, meaning that Mosley will have room to work with as he'll have a step or two on his defenders. If the ball wasn't slightly under thrown maybe this results in a touchdown (maybe) but not to fear Texas fans as the offense would ultimately find the end zone a few plays later with Raleek Brown taking it in from nine yards out to give them their first lead of the game just over four minutes into the opening quarter. Things wouldn't go as smoothly for Texas on their next drive as they would be forced to punt the ball away after going three and out, with Manning's eight yard sack on first down putting them in a hole they ultimately couldn't recover from. Manning would come out firing on their next possession, connecting on passes of 15 and 14-yards before hitting Jermaine Bishop Jr. on a beautifully thrown ball down the far sideline for a 29-yard gain, getting them down to the Tennessee five yard line.
You really can't throw a ball much better here if you're Manning, floating it perfectly into the bread basket over the out strecthed arm of the defender for a 29-yard gain. I mean, from the broadcast view it looks as though this pass will either get broken up or over thrown, but again this was just a perfect ball and as the old saying goes, you can't defend a perfect ball, helping get Texas down to the five yard line. Unfortunately for them they'd be unable to punch it across the goal line, ultimately settling for a 22-yard field goal from Gianni Spetic to go up 10-3 just over 30-seconds into the second quarter. Texas' next possession would be rather short, but not in a good way as Manning would throw an interception on their second play of the drive with 12:13 to go in the quarter.
This is just a poor decision from Manning. Though he tried to use his eyes to manipulate the safety, unfortunately the safety remained in the middle of the field and was able to track the ball to make the pick. To make things a little more hairy the corner was playing over top of the receiver, meaning that this throw had very little room for error, but unlike the previous throw I highlighted this was not a perfect pass, leading to Manning's first (and only) interception of the game. Thankfully Tennessee would fail to capitalize on the turnover, but unfortunately for Texas they would really struggle to move the ball on their next few drives, going three and out on their next three drives, including their opening drive of the second half. To make matters even worse that final punt would see Tennessee returner Qua Moss take it 57-yards for the score, tying the game up at 10 less than four minutes into the quarter. Manning would help Texas push the ball down the field on their second drive of the half, hitting Cam Coleman down the far sideline on a very well thrown ball for a 30-yard gain.
With a defender barreling down on him, knowing he's going to take a hit Manning remains tall and calm and delivers a very nice ball to Coleman down the sideline for a 30-yard gain. Given everything is was a really good throw, and when it comes to a receiver like Coleman sometimes you just have to put it in their area code and they'll come down with it, as Coleman made a very strong catch to bring it in through the defender for the nice gain. Thanks to a roughing the passer penalty Texas would find themselves at the Tennessee 30-yard line. The thing is the Longhorns would only be able to move the ball three more yards, having to settle for yet another Gianni Spetic field goal (this one from 44-yards out) to make the score 13-10 with exactly nine minutes to go in the quarter. That being said Manning would nearly help get them down to the one yard line on third and seven, as he'd hit Jermaine Bishop Jr. down the near sideline on a very well thrown ball, just a shame Bishop couldn't get his foot in bounds.
As I said above this was so close to being a perfect throw from Manning and a very nice catch from Bishop, it's just a shame that he was just out of bounds resulting in an incompletion. I don't put incomplete passes in my blog posts often, but there are special exceptions, with this being one of now. Again, the Longhorns would have to ultimately settle for a field goal on the following play to make it 13-10 with nine minutes remaining in the third. Texas would struggle to move the ball on their next couple drives, going three and out on their next possession before punting the ball away again after six plays. Manning would connect with Ryan Wingo for gains of 18 and 14-yards on their next drive, but it would ultimately be the run game that would help them register their second touchdown of the game with Raleek Brown eventually taking it in from four yards out to give them a 20-10 lead with less than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter. That score would really be the offense's final contribution to the game as they would go three and out on their final drive, holding onto a 20-13 road victory in conference play. Though this was far from their cleanest game, I'm sure Texas will take the victory. As for Manning though the interception wasn't great, he did make a couple very impressive throws throughout the course of the game to help the Longhorns come out on top. Going into the bye week with a win is a great feeling, especially when you have the much hated Oklahoma Sooners waiting for you on the other side. Can't wait for that one in Dallas.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 1
Wk 3 - 2
Wk 4 - 2
Wk 5 - BYE
3. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (+1)
Wk 4 - 25/34 298 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/7 carries 44 yds 2 touchdowns @ no.21 Florida (52-28 L)
Season - 102/144 1,222 yds 8 touchdowns 3 interceptions/28 carries 108 yds 4 touchdowns
After putting forth one of the performances of the young season last week against then seventh ranked LSU, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and co. were on the road this week to take on the newly ranked Florida Gators. Despite coming in as the fourth ranked team in the nation, Ole Miss were interestingly four point underdogs, a fact that even surprised new Florida head coach Jon Sumrall who stated, "who has us favored against these guys? (reporter told him Vegas) There's a lot of good drugs out there, huh?" Like, on one hand I get it, as the Rebels were coming off of an insanely emotional win against their former head coach who left them right before their first ever College Football Playoff appearance. But on the other hand I thought Ole Miss had a lot more talent than Florida, despite the Gators starting 3-0 for the first time since 2019. Don't get me wrong the Swamp can be a very dangerous place to play for opposing teams, but I guess I didn't have a ton of expectations for a Florida team that had a whole new roster after they finished 4-8 last season. Despite it all the Gators were able to pull it off, taking home a very impressive 52-28 victory. For the Rebels, this was definitely a smack to the face. I'm not saying they still can't make the aforementioned Playoff, but I'm sure many Ole Miss fans were having some pretty crazy dreams following their win against Lane Kiffin and co.. The main reason for those dreams is because of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who still had a solid outing despite the double digit loss. In the game Chambliss would go 25/34 for 298-yards with one touchdown and one interception while also racking up a further 44-yards on the ground with two more touchdowns there as well. Things really couldn't have started off much worse for the Rebels as following a Gator touchdown on their opening drive, they would turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert on fourth and one from their own 35-yard line. Thankfully the defense would hold Florida to a field goal, making the score 10-0 midway through the first quarter. Ole Miss would struggle moving the ball on their next couple drives as they would be forced to punt the ball away after four plays on both of them. That being said Chambliss would flash some of his playmaking ability on the first of those drives, escaping pressure and picking up 11-yards with his legs before ultimately falling a yard short of the first down marker.
I know this play ultimately didn't count for much, but it's still impressive seeing Chambliss' elusiveness and his ability to just make something out of nothing. Now, is this something that he'll be able to get away with at the next level? Probably not, but that still doesn't take away from his overall play making ability. He would be slow to get up after taking the hit before the first down marker, but thankfully for the Rebel faithful he wouldn't miss any game time. That being said other than a 14-yard completion on the first play of their next drive, Ole Miss would be forced to punt the ball away again after just four plays. Thanks to a kick catch interference penalty by Florida on their ensuing punt, Chambliss and co. would be set up nicely at the Gator 48-yard line. Things would start off rather well for the Rebels on this drive, picking up 16-yards on the opening play with the run game to get them down to the plus 17-yard line (face mask penalty helped too). Unfortunately the drive would pretty much stop there, as they'd be forced to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro to give them their first points on the game with about 10-minutes to go in the second quarter. Chambliss would come away with completions of eight, 18, and 10-yards on their next possession, but three straight incompletions ultimately saw them settle for another Carneiro field goal, this one from 46-yards out to make the score 17-6 with 1:11 to go until halftime. Ole Miss would come out firing on offense their first possession of the second half, with Chambliss firing one down the near sideline to Deuce Alexander for a 49-yard gain, helping get them down to the Florida 12-yard line.
With Alexander absolutely cooking his defender with a little stutter go route, Chambliss is able to sky one to his open receiver for a nice 49-yard gain. With one of the strongest arms in college football, Chambliss is effortlessly able to push this ball down the field to Alexander, helping set up an eight yard touchdown run by him to make the score 17-14 (following a successful two point conversion) just under two minutes into the third quarter. Chambliss would help the Rebel offense convert on a few third down situations on their next drive, with JT Lindsey even helping convert on fourth and one despite bobbling the direct snap. A play following Lindsey's run Chambliss would find the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the game, making it a 24-21 game with 5:21 remaining in the third.
As I've stated a few times before Chambliss is just an electric play maker, able to make the initial defender miss before cutting up the field and diving through contact to come up with his second rushing touchdown of the game. Sure it may not have been this massively long touchdown run, but it still shows Chambliss' play making ability to help the Rebels get back to within three later on in the third quarter. Things would not really go Chambliss' way on Ole Miss' next drive as he would get rocked right before he could release the ball down the field, fumbling the ball with the Gators jumping on it at their own 43-yard line. Chambliss would more than make up for the fumble their next time out, hitting on passes of 21, nine, and 32-yards before hitting Deuce Alexander in the end zone from two yards out to make the score 38-28 just under three minutes into the fourth quarter.
As you can probably tell these are just two of the four passes that I mentioned above, but these two are by far the most impressive out of those ones. For the first one with Florida playing zone, Chambliss has to be careful where he places this ball as the receiver's route is carrying him right into the path of it. With that Chambliss places this ball perfectly, putting it in a spot where only his receiver could make a play, which of course Samari Reed does to pick up a 21-yard gain. As for the second clip Chambliss tells his best receiver to make a play, which again he does. Despite a bunch of contact from the Florida defender, Deuce Alexander was able to fight back towards the ball to bring it in for a 32-yard gain. With two defenders jumping in his face, Chambliss was able to make a strong and accurate throw down the field, ultimately helping set up a two yard touchdown pass to Alexander a few plays later, bringing them back to within 10 early on in the fourth quarter. Chambliss would continue to fight after the Gators would make the score 52-28, connecting with Caleb Odom down the seam for a 33-yard gain. Unfortunately on the following play he would register his first interception of the game, ultimately sealing the Florida victory in the process.
Starting with the positives, Chambliss is able to fire the ball into Odom in a tight window in the second for a 33-yard gain. He does a nice job at holding the deep safety off just enough with his eyes, quickly flipping back to the right and ripping it into his tight end who is able to fight for a few more yards after making the catch. As for the interception the Florida safety read it the entire way, spying Chambliss the entire way. Trying to make a play Chambliss forced the issue, leading to a game sealing interception (as if the game wasn't already sealed up). This was a rough loss for Ole Miss following their win against LSU, crashing back down to Earth falling by the score 52-28. Despite the loss I do think Chambliss put forth a very solid performance, as he was really the only reason they were actually in the game as long as they were. With Chambliss at quarterback you'll always have a chance, but you have to help him out at least somewhat in the process. Thankfully for Chambliss and co. they have their bye week coming up, giving them more time to correct things before traveling to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commordores.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 6
Wk 3 - 4
Wk 4 - 3
Wk 5 - BYE
4. Dante Moore, Oregon (-1)
Wk 4 - 8/10 77 yds 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions/1 carry 10 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.12 USC (41-27 W)
Season - 69/99 926 yds 9 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries -7 yds 0 touchdowns
If you payed any attention to the college football world last Saturday night, you would know that this section is going to be much shorter than every other quarterback listed here. Going up against the USC Trojans in Los Angeles, Dante Moore and the Oregon Ducks were looking to continue their winning ways after unsurprisingly blasting the Portland State Vikings by the score 84-0. Despite being on the road for the second time this season, Oregon came into this game as -3.5-point favorites, with Moore looking to re-gain the faith of college football fans and NFL draft prognosticators alike. Now, the Ducks would wind up coming away with a rather impressive 41-27 victory (weirdly only one point off of last year's score of 42-27) but it would be with Nebraska transfer Dylan Raiola under center as Moore would be forced leave the game midway through the second quarter due to a big time hit that would ultimately give him a concussion. Despite appearing in only two and a half drives for the Ducks, Moore would still put forth a solid showing, going 8/10 for 77-yards while also registering a season high 10-rushing yards on one carry (the one that saw him receive the hit). On his first drive of the game the rushing attack would help get them down to the USC 35 from their own 20-yard line thanks to a 45-yard run by Jordon Davison. Moore would complete a few passes the rest of the way but the Ducks would ultimately have to settle for a 30-yard field goal from kicker Gage Hurych to take a 3-0 lead with 3:34 to go in the first quarter. Their next drive would see them go three and out but Moore would produce a big play for the offense on their following possession, hitting Jamari Johnson down the middle of the field for a 37-yard gain, taking them to the USC 24-yard line.
This is an excellent job by Moore at climbing the pocket and making an accurate throw down the field between two USC defenders to his big tight end for the aforementioned 37-yard gain. Moore may not be the most interested quarterback in regards to running with the football, but he's still a very good athlete who is able to make accurate throws on the run, as we saw there. That pass would ultimately be Moore's final one of the game, as his 10-yard run and hit would come just two plays later, with Raiola coming in and capping the drive off with a touchdown before helping the Ducks complete an impressive 41-27 road victory. Again, there's not really a whole lot to discuss when it comes to Moore's performance as he only played two and a half drives, but again he still played well when he was in. With Oregon having a bye this week Moore will have time to recover from his concussion. Lord knows if he'll be ready to play or not by the time the game rolls around, but regardless we will be in for a fun one as the Ducks play host to the current 23rd ranked UCLA Bruins.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 3
Wk 3 - 3
Wk 4 - 4
Wk 5 - BYE
5. Darian Mensah, Miami (FL) (+1)
Wk 4 - 23/27 338 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/4 carries 21 yds 1 touchdown v Central Michigan (52-3 W)
Season - 94/106 1,211 yds 14 touchdowns 0 interceptions/9 carries 52 yds 1 touchdown
Another game, yet another dominant Miami victory. Up to this point in the season the Hurricanes have been on a tear, with quarterback Darian Mensah continuing to put up some ridiculous numbers while being considered as one of the favorites for the Heisman Trophy. Though the season is still young, Mensah has managed to complete a rather eye watering 88.7% of his passes, with only 12 of his 106-attempts falling to the ground. As you probably know by now I'm not the biggest fan of people using completion percentage to determine how accurate (or inaccurate) a quarterback is or isn't, but completing damn near 90% of your passes through four games is pretty crazy regardless of how you spin it. If I had to nit pick anything at all I would say that a lot of his throws have been to wide ass open receivers, with Malachi Toney and co. making an utter mockery of opposing defenses week in and week out. Again that's just me nit picking, I am not trying to take anything away from Mensah's flying start, and the game this past weekend was no different as Miami unsurprisingly took down Central Michigan by the score 52-3. In the win Mensah would go 23/27 for 338-yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also registering a joint season high 21-rushing yards (totaled that v Florida A&M as well) with another touchdown there to boot. Weirdly enough, this was actually Miami's first Saturday game of the season, with the previous three taking place on either Thursday (Florida A&M) or Friday night (Stanford and Wake Forest). Now this was still a night game, so it probably didn't feel too different for the Hurricanes, though you couldn't tell early on as they would punt the ball away after just six plays on their opening drive, leading to the Chippewas taking a 3-0 lead after putting together an impressive 11-play opening drive. Not to worry though Miami fans as Mensah and co. would put together a nice scoring drive their next time out, with Javian Mallory capping off a nine play 71-yard drive to give them a 7-0 lead with two minutes to go in the first. Mensah would really let it fly on Miami's next drive, connecting on passes of 31 and 20-yards before hitting Daylyn Upshaw in the end zone from 11-yards out to make the score 14-3 towards the beginning of the third quarter.
Out of the three pass attempts I mentioned above these two stood out the most. On the first one Mensah does an excellent job at buying time in the pocket while keeping his eyes down the field, eventually finding Elija Lofton open along the sideline for a 31-yard gain. As nice of a job it was by Mensah to move around the pocket, Lofton also did an excellent job at providing his quarterback someone to throw to down the field. Just an all around great play to help get them to the Central Michigan 38-yard line. A few plays later Mensah would toss up a beautiful deep ball to Upshaw in the end zone from 11-yards out, giving him his first passing touchdown of the game. This was a really simple throw for Mensah to make and he put it right on the money, helping the Hurricnaes continue to grow their lead early on in the second quarter. Miami would be set up with excellent field position to start their next drive, as a Central Michigan fumble would se them up at the plus 27-yard line. Mensah would come out an hit Javian Mallory out of the backfield for a 20-yard gain before tossing one up to Malachi Toney in the end zone from eight yards out to extend their lead to 21-3 midway through the second quarter.
This is just Mensah giving his best receiver a chance to make a play, placing this ball in a spot where only Toney could get it for the score. Toney may not be the biggest receiver in the world, but the dude is considered to be one of (if not the) best receiver(s) in the country. Obviously Mensah knows this and again places a nice back shoulder in a spot where only his receiver could make a play on it, further extending Miami's advantage midway through the second quarter. Mensah would continue to sling the rock on their next possession, connecting with Cooper Barkate on back-to-back 14-yard completions before hitting him in the end zone from 13-yards out to make the score 28-3 with about three minutes to go in the first half.
The first play I've highlighted comes right after Mensah's first 14-yard completion to Barkate, with this one not only showing Mensah's underrated ability to move around the pocket, but also Barkate's ability to come back to his quarterback to give him someone to throw to down the field. By most accounts Mensah was dead to rights in the backfield, but he was able to side step the first defender before getting the off just before the second defender could get to him, finding Barkate along the sideline for a 14-yard gain. Given the circumstances this is a lot farther of a throw than what you would initially think, and yet he's still able to get an accurate ball off to help get them to the Central Michigan 39-yard line. The touchdown pass would come a few plays later, with Mensah just ripping one to his open receiver for the easy score. Just a nice display of "grip it and rip it" (mixed with a slight ball tap) from Mensah, giving him his third passing touchdown of the first half while helping Miami build a 28-3 lead wth 3:22 to go until halftime. Mensah and the passing attack would come up massive for the Hurricanes prior to halftime. Despite starting at their own three yard line, Mensah would register completions of 16, 23, and 35-yards to help set up yet another Miami touchdown with just six second remaining in the first half.
With the Hurricanes greedily wanting to punch it across the goal line one more time before the half, Mensah stepped up and delivered some very nice passes to help take them from their own three all the way down to the Chippewa one yard line. Whether it be along the sideline, down the middle, or in double coverage, Mensah's accuracy and ball placement were on display in a big way, with the 23-yard pass to Toney getting to his receiver just before the defender could make a play on it. Again just three really strong throws from Mensah, helping eventually set up his first rushing touchdown of the season, coming from five yards out (false start penalty pushed them back) to make the score 35-3 going into the locker room. Usually this is where I'd say that was Mensah's final contribution to the game, but the truth is that he would appear in one more drive for the Miami offense, keeping the drive alive on third and 17 by tossing one up to Vandrevius Jacobs along the far sideline for a 21-yard gan.
Absolute moon ball here from Mensah as this thing sat in the air for a while before landing in the waiting arms of Jacobs for a 21-yard gain. With the safety a risk at making a play over the top, Mensah has a pretty small window to work with despite Jacobs having a step or two on his defender, who I'm sure thought would have more help from the aforementioned safety over top. Mensah just dropped this right in the bucket, helping extend the drive to lead to an eventual touchdown from a yard out (fumble in the end zone recovered by Miami) to make it a 42-3 game with six minutes to go in the third. Now that would be Mensah's final contribution to the game, as the Hurricanes would ultimately see out an unsurprisingly dominant 52-3 home victory. Barring the opening drive Central Michigan were never really able to get things going on offense, or stop Mensah and Miami's high powered offense. The only thing that could have stopped that offense was themselves, as the Hurricanes had a whopping 13-penalties for 107-yards in this game. That'll get you beat against better competition, and this week they'll be on the road as they travel to take on the Clemson Tigers, a team that Mensah put up some very good numbers against a season ago. With Clemson boasting one of the worst pass defenses in the ACC, I would imagine that a red hot Mensah would continue his fine form this weekend.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 5
Wk 3 - 6
Wk 4 - 5
Wk 5 - @ Clemson
6. CJ Carr, Notre Dame (-1)
Wk 4 - 14/22 237 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/3 carries 10 yds 1 touchdown @ Purdue (49-10 W)
Season - 67/95 963 yds 9 touchdowns 1 interception/8 carries 13 yds 2 touchdowns
At what point do we just consider Notre Dame a Big Ten team? I mean hell, despite the fact that we're only a few games into the season, the Fighting Irish have gone up against a whopping three Big Ten schools in four games, beating up on the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan State, and most recently Purdue by a combined score of 117-33. Like the only non-Big Ten school they've played has been Rice. Thankfully for those who cheer for their conference to do well (could never be me) Notre Dame does not face any more Big Ten schools the rest of the season, which is kind of sad given that we won't see them take on the USC Trojans, who have played each in all but one season consecutively since 1946, with the COVID putting a pause on the rivalry back in 2020. Though I'm not a fan of either team, it does suck knowing that we won't see the pair square off again in the regular season until 2030. Obviously they could still meet again in the postseason, but it still sucks none the less. Back to the original talking point and that is that Notre Dame has had a pretty dominant start of the season, with three of their four aforementioned wins coming against teams that occupied three of the bottom four spots in the Big Ten last season. That being said this was their first true road game of the season, and they made sure to completely cover the -27.5-point spread by beating the Purdue Boilermakers by the score 49-10. This was somewhat of a strange one not because the Irish dominated on the score sheet, but because the Boilermakers controlled the clock (35:16 to 24:44) but still managed to finish with less than half of the yards Notre Dame registered in the game (218 to 444). As strange as that may seem, what's not strange was the performance from quarterback CJ Carr, who put forth another solid showing in this young season. In the win Carr would go 14/22 for 237-yards with three touchdowns and one interception while also picking up his second rushing touchdown of the season. Things wouldn't start off the best for Carr and the Irish offense. Despite him registering a 14-yard completion on their opening play from scrimmage, Notre Dame would ultimately be forced to punt the ball away after just four plays. Their next drive would also end after just four plays, but this time Carr would help cap the drive off with a touchdown, connecting with Jordan Faison for a 17-yard gain before hitting Micah Gilbert in the end zone from 27-yards out to give them their first lead of the game with about four minutes to go in the quarter.
As I've said numerous times before, Carr is truly one of the best quarterbacks in the country when it comes to pushing the ball down the field. On the first one Carr half rolls to the right before setting up and making a confident throw to Faison along the sideline for a 17-yard gain. Exactly how Notre Dame would have drawn it up. As for the touchdown to throw this ball off of his back foot while getting hit, to hit Gilbert in stride in a decently tight window is really damn impressive. There was little room for error on that throw, but Carr made it look routine despite again getting his base hit while letting the ball go. Two great throws to help the Irish take their first lead of the game game later on in the first quarter. Carr would continue to let it rip on Notre Dame's next drive, hitting Micah Gilbert on a slant that would go for a whopping 56-yards, taking them from their own 17 to the Purdue 27-yard line. Two plays later Aneyas Williams would take it into the end zone from 22-yards out to make the score 14-0 on the opening play of the second quarter. The Irish offense would put forth their first extend drive of the game their next time out, driving 85-yards in 13-plays with Carr eventually registering his first rushing touchdown of the game. Prior to the score though Carr would let it fly, hitting Cooper Flanagan down the seam for a 27-yard gain.
From a clean pocket, Carr floats a perfectly weighted pass to his tight end down the seam for a 27-yard gain. With Purdue playing zone, Carr does a nice job at hitting his tight end right in the hole in behind, right over the outstretched arm of the linebacker in the vacinity. You really can't throw a much better ball here as the weight and placement allowed for the aforementioned 27-yard gain. Carr would nearly come away with a passing touchdown on this drive but three of his passes would be broken up in the end zone. With that he would eventually find the end zone with his legs from a yard out to give the Irish a 21-0 lead with 5:47 remaining in the second quarter. Notre Dame would find the end zone two more times prior to halftime, as the defense would take a Ryan Browne strip sack back the other way for six before Carr would come out and register his second passing touchdown of the half, hitting Nolan James Jr. out of the backfield from two yards out to make the score 35-0 with 29-seconds to go until the end of the quarter. Prior to his passing touchdown Carr would come up with another big time throw, hitting a sliding Jaden Greathouse down the middle of the field for a 28-yard gain to help get them to the Purdue 16-yard line.
Despite Purdue sending some pressure, Carr was able to remain tall and calm in the pocket, delivering a strike down the field to a sliding Greathouse for the aforementioned 28-yard gain. With Greathouse's route carrying him towards the middle of the field/near sideline, Carr knows that this ball will have to be on a line and right on his receiver's body as to avoid any possible play by either of the safeties in coverage. Sometimes you just have to tell your playmaker to make a play, which is exactly what Carr does with Greathouse again getting low to bring it in for a 28-yard gain. A few plays later Carr would register his second touchdown, hitting Nolan James Jr. out of the backfield from two yards out to grow their lead to 35 right before halftime. Things would not go anywhere as smoothly for Notre Dame to kick things off in the second half as Carr would be picked off on their third play of their opening drive, his first of the season.
This is just a poor throw from Carr. It would have taken an inch perfect throw to fit the ball into his receiver, but even then the chances of the pass being completed would have still been near zero. He just flat out didn't see the Purdue linebacker in coverage, or he thought he'd be sucked down to the outside receiver. Regardless this wasn't a good throw, marking his first interception of the season and setting the Boilermaker offense up at the Irish 31-yard line. Thankfully for Carr nothing would come for them on that drive, as they would turn it over on downs after failing to convert on fourth and goal from the four yard line. From their the Irish would start their next drive, going three and out, ultimately coming up a yard short of the first down marker. Things would start going the offense's way on their next drive, with Carr hitting Jordan Faison down the near sideline for a 31-yard gain.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, there are not many quarterbacks out there who throw a better deep ball than Carr. Despite Purdue sending pressure, Carr is able to throw a damn near perfect ball to Faison (who makes a fantastic catch) down the sideline for a 31-yard gain. His timing and placement are always spot on, and with the corner matching Faison stride for stride down the sideline Carr puts it in a spot where only his receiver can make a play on it, which of course he does. Again, you can't really throw a much better ball here if you're Carr, eventually leading to his third and final passing touchdown of the game as he'd hit Cooper Flanagan from two yards out to give them a 42-3 lead less than two minutes into the fourth quarter. That touchdown pass would be Carr's final contribution to the game as Notre Dame would see out a 49-10 road victory. Like I said before, though Purdue had a decent amount more of the ball Notre Dame thoroughly dominated this game, with Carr putting forth another solid performance despite registering his first interception of the season. I love seeing him push the ball down the field, and I love that he was getting chippy with some of the Purdue defenders before and after picking up his rushing touchdown. Carr and the Irish will have to turn it around pretty quickly as they travel to Chapel Hill to take on Bill Belichick and the North Carolina Tar Heels Saturday at noon. Though the Tar Heels have looked good to start the season I don't really have any doubt that the Irish won't convincingly take care of business on the road again.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 4
Wk 3 - 5
Wk 4 - 6
Wk 5 - @ North Carolina
7. Drake Lindsey, Minnesota
Wk 4 - 21/29 204 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/0 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns @ Washington (27-24 W)
Season - 88/132 951 yds 7 touchdowns 2 interceptions/7 carries -14 yds 0 touchdowns
I don't care how long the season lasts or however many times I have to say it, I will not get used to liking a Minnesota Golden Gopher quarterback. Believe me I never in my wildest dreams thought this to be the case, and yet here we are, writing a section of a blog post talking about how good quarterback Drake Lindsey was once again. It's so unnatural in so many way, but as the self proclaimed Draft "Expert" I have a duty to the general public to be as neutral as humanly possible, that is until Iowa and Minnesota play each other in a few weeks time of course. You guys understand, right? Well regardless, that's the way it's going to be, but I will of course try to let tribalism get in the way during the battle for Floyd. As for this game I really didn't know what to expect from Lindsey and co., as they traveled out west to take on the then undefeated Washington Huskies. Now I'm not saying Washington is so elite team this season, but Husky Stadium is notoriously one of the more difficult places to play in all of college football, especially at night, which is why the Huskies came in as massive -12.5-point favorites. Now even though I expected the Gophers to lose on the road, that spread still seemed a little disrespectful. In the end Minnesota made the odds makers pay by taking down Washington in their trap by the score 27-24, with the defense sacking quarterback Demond Williams Jr. a whopping seven times in the game. As for Lindsey he put forth another solid performance, going 21/29 for 204-yards with three touchdowns and one interception while taking zero sacks in the win. Now things wouldn't necessarily start off the greatest for Lindsey and the Minnesota offense, as they would go three and out on their opening drive before having to punt the ball away after six plays their next time out. That being said things would start looking up for them following a Williams interception that would set them up at the Washington 15-yard line. From there it would only take them one play to find the end zone, with Lindsey hitting Quayd Hendryx for the 15-yard touchdown, giving them a 7-0 lead with 6:36 to go in the quarter.
I love seeing teams do this, going for the end zone on the first play of the drive following a turnover. Obviously field position matters when discussing whether or not to go to the end zone, and in this case it was a no brainer as they were again set up at the plus 15-yard line. With that this was a really solid throw from Lindsey. The fake the back froze the linebackers and starting with his eyes to the left kep the high safety to that side of the field, leaving Hendryx in a one v one situation coming across the field. You really couldn't have asked for a better look if you were the Gophers, with the freshman receiver coming down with the ball through contact in the end zone for their first score of the game (and the first of his career) later on in the first quarter. Lindsey would find the end zone once again on their next drive, as he'd hit Jalen Smith in the back of the end zone from nine yards out to make the score 14-0 with less than two minutes to go in the quarter.
As I've spoken about a few times before Lindsey has what we call "arm arrogance," meaning he feels as though he can make every single throw on the field regardless of how tight the window is. Like there's really no reason that this ball should have been completed in a normal circumstance, let alone when the quarterback is throwing off of his back foot. Thanks to the play action that they had been setting up by handing the ball off each of the previous four plays, the linebackers crashed to make for a bigger throwing window. With Washington playing man-to-man defense, that means both crossers will be in one v one coverage, which means all that's left for Lindsey to do is fire it in there for the score. Great play design/setup mixed with a great throw from Lindsey helped the Gophers double their advantage later on in the opening quarter. Lindsey would register his third passing touchdown of the game on their next drive, hitting a motioning Javon Tracy in the flat for a three yard score, capping off an impressive 11-play 74-yard drive that would see them take a 21-7 lead with 5:48 remaining in the second quarter. Much like the first half, Minnesota would struggle to move the ball on their opening two drives of the second half, going three and out before again punting after six plays. With that Lindsey would come up big for the Gophers to help avoid another three and out on their next possession, firing one down the middle of the field to Roman Voss for a 28-yard gain on third and 10.
You know how I sometimes say "that room had little room for error?" Well for this one, this throw had absolutely no room for error, as this pass had a better chance at getting picked off than it did at being completed, and yet Lindsey was able to fit it in there. This is such an insane throw from Lindsey, and to come on third and 10 makes it that much more impressive. Like, you really cannot place a ball better here, because anything other than perfect would have seen this pass be intercepted. I also have to say nice job by Voss at bringing this ball in through the crowd for the 28-yard gain, helping lead to a 31-yard field goal from Luke Drzewiecki to give them a 24-10 lead with less than a minute to go in the third quarter. The Minnesota defense would come up big with an interception on the first play of Washington's next drive, unfortunately though Lindsey would return the favor shortly after, coming 13-seconds into the fourth quarter.
This play started bad from the jump, with Lindsey bobbling the snap before rolling to his right and forcing it down the field for the easy interception. Look, I know it's third and 12 and you want to try and pick up a first down, but up by 14 the smarter decision is to just throw it out of bounds. Just a poor decision from Lindsey, with this interception eventually leading to a Washington touchdown, making the score 24-17 with 11-minutes to go in the fourth. Lindsey would try his best to make up for the interception, throwing a nice back shoulder ball to Noah Jennings along the near sideline for a 22-yard gain on the opening play of the drive.
As the old saying goes, "you can't defend a perfect pass." This was just an inch perfect back shoulder ball here from Lindsey, ripping the ball into a spot where only Jennings could make a play on it, picking up 22-yards in the process to get them closer to the 50-yard line. The run game would be the main focal point for the rest of the drive, leading to another Luke Drzewiecki field goal, this one from 51-yards out to give them a 27-17 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Not a whole lot else would come from this game in regards to the Minnesota offense as they would go three and out on their final two drives and ultimately see out an impressive 27-24 road victory. As I said before Husky Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football, and yet the Gophers were still able to come away with a win. Lindsey was once again impressive for Minnesota, sure the interception wasn't great but the dude made numerous impressive throws throughout the course of the game to help them secure the win. Back at home this week, Lindsey and co. will play host to the Michigan Wolverines, a team coming off of a debilitating last second loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. Despite being a home underdog, I wouldn't be surprised if Minnesota pulled off the upset, as much as that pains me to say.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 8
Wk 3 - 7
Wk 4 - 7
Wk 5 - v Michigan
8. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA
Wk 4 - 15/24 209 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/6 carries 2 yds 0 touchdowns @ Maryland (54-3 W)
Season - 62/99 820 yds 4 touchdowns 2 interceptions/35 carries 143 yds 1 touchdown
I don't really know what I was expecting from this game going in, but I can promise you that this is not how I thought it would go. Now that's not me saying that I didn't think UCLA could come out on top in their cross country trip, but traveling from Los Angeles, California all the way to College Park, Maryland can make things a little hairy, with the Terrapins falling to the Bruins by the score 20-17 in the reverse fixture last season. If I had to tell you my thoughts on each team going into the game I would have said I felt UCLA was the better outfit, but I would have never guessed that they'd come out on top in this game by the score 54-3. Regardless of which way you shake, beating any team by 51-points is crazy, and is made even crazier by the fact that it was a cross country trip in conference play. The whole fact this was a conference game is a completely different story for another time (I hate it) but good Lordy UCLA put the fear of God himself into Maryland last Saturday, out gaining the Terrapins 475 to 181 in total yards while forcing five turnovers in the process, with four of those being interceptions. Now the Bruins did have two turnovers of their own but I'm not going to be spending too much time on them as in this section we will of course be focusing on the performances of UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who continues to put forth some solid performances up to this point in the season. In the win Iamaleava would go 15/24 for 209-yards with one touchdown and no interceptions while registering a season low two rushing yards on the day. Things would seemingly start off well for the Bruins on offense as Iamaleava would hit on passes of 13 and 11-yards before Noah Fox-Flores would cough up the ball after catching a five or so yard pass from Iamaleava, turning the ball over at Maryland 28-yard line.
I know I just spent a little time talking about the Fox-Flores fumble, but I don't want to take away from this play made by Iamaleava. In a third and five situation with pressure barelling down upon him, Iamaleava rolls to his right and rips it into Semaj Morgan for a 13-yard gain before taking a little shot after letting the ball go. These are the kind of things that he can do with the ball in his hands, no play is truly dead in the water as he is able to help the Bruins pick up a first down on third and five. Now I'm sure some UCLA fans would have rather that pass fall incomplete had they known what was about to happen, but again I don't think that the fumble takes away from this play. That being said the Bruin defense would come up big, forcing the Terrapins to punt the ball away after seven plays. UCLA would follow suit by going three and out on their next drive before turning the ball over on downs their next time out with Iamaleava getting sacked on fourth and three from the Maryland 38-yard line. The offense would finally get going at the end of the first quarter/the start of the second quarter following a Maryland interception, with Wayne Knight taking it into the end zone from 45-yards out (on fourth and one) to give UCLA their first lead of the game less than two minutes into the second. The run game would come up big again on their next drive with Knight and Anthony Woods registering carries of 33 and 13-yards before Woods would take it into from a yard out to make the score 14-0 midway through the second quarter. Iamaleava would let it fly on their next drive, connecting on passes of 20 and 27-yards to eventually help set up another rushing touchdown with 5:13 to go in the quarter.
Two nice and easy throws here for Iamaleava to make down the far sideline, both resulting in gains of 20 or more yards to help get them to the Maryland five yard line. On the first one with the corner tracking the receiver and the linebacker staying in his zone, Knight was able to sneak out of the backfield virtually undetected (thanks to the hesitation by said linebacker) for his quarterback to hit for a 20-yard gain. As for the second one the fake handoff caused the Maryland linebackers to suck towards the line of scrimmage. Once they see the running back doesn't have the ball their eyes look to Iamaleava who's seemingly booting out to his left, this allows Loftin to sneak right in behind. With no eyes on him, Iamaleava is able to hit his wide ass open tight end down the sideline for a 27-yard gain. Two plays later Jaivian Thomas would punch it into the end zone from three yards out to give the Bruins a 20-0 (failed extra point attempt) with 5:13 to go in the second quarter. UCLA would be forced to punt the ball away after seven plays on their final drive of the quarter, taking a 20-3 lead with them into the locker room. The same would be said for their opening drive of the second half, going three and out with Iamaleava fumbling the ball (he did also recovered it) on third and one. The defense would come up massive for the Bruins their next couple times out, intercepting Terrapin quarterback Malik Washington twice and returning both for touchdowns to take a 34-3 lead midway through the third quarter. The offense would continue to struggle moving the ball on their next drive, punting the ball away after just six plays. Points would finally come to them early on in the fourth quarter, with kicker Mateen Bhaghani converting from 40-yards out to make the score 37-3 10-seconds into the quarter. Iamaleava would register his first (and final) passing touchdown of the game on UCLA's next drive, hitting Aidan Mizell while taking a shot while rolling to his left on a play that would result in an 83-yard score.
Yes Mizell does a lot of the heavy lifting on this play, as he catches the pass at the 27-yard line before taking it all the way down to the other end of the field for six, but don't take anything away from the play made by Iamaleava. I mean the dude took a shot to the rips while getting this ball out, buying as much time as he could before eventually letting it go. One of the things I love seeing from a quarterback is their ability to push the ball down the field all while knowing they're going to take a decent sized hit from the opposing defender, which is exactly what Iamaleava did here. That play would unsurprisingly be his final contribution to the game, as the Bruins would see out an insanely impressive 54-3 cross country road win. As I said before, going in I would have comfortably said that UCLA was the better team, but I did not believe the extent of their comfort would be this massive. A really impressive performance overall from the Bruins, especially from the defense would recorded two pick sixes in the win. As for Iamaleava he may not have been asked to do as much as he had the previous week, but the overall talent was definitely on display. Now in the top-25 (coming in at 23) Iamaleava and co. have their first real big test of the season, as they travel to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks, a team they have not beaten since 2017. Thankfully for the Bruins they'll have an extra week to prepare as this week is their bye, and I am very intrigued to see how they fair on national television come October 10th.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - N/A
Wk 3 - 8
Wk 4 - 8
Wk 5 - BYE
9. Jayden Maiava, USC
Wk 4 - 23/42 326 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/6 carries 1 yd 1 touchdown v no.20 Oregon (41-27 L)
Season - 110/157 1,499 yds 14 touchdowns 2 interceptions/15 carries -1 yds 2 touchdowns
If you've payed attention to the college football world long enough, you would know how big of game this could have been for Jayden Maiava and the rest of the USC Trojans. One of the bigger rivalries in the country, USC and Oregon have squared off 65-times since 1915, with the loser of each of their first seven match-ups registering zero points. Two former PAC-12 schools, both made the move to the Big Ten back in 2024, but that hasn't changed how fiery this rivalry still is, even with the Ducks winning each of the previous four match-ups (before this one) as well as 11 of the previous 17, though USC's 45-13 win in 2005 has been vacated. With all that being said each year this rivalry has a lot at stake, but this year felt like there was more at stake than usual, most notably for USC head coach Lincoln Riley. Throughout his tenure as Trojan head coach Riley has lead some of the most exciting offenses in all of college football, but one thing that has always been an issue with analysts and fans alike has been a lack of toughness, more so on the defensive side of the ball. I guess I should say that has been something that has plagued his teams ever since he was at Oklahoma, but that's besides the point. Plainly Riley's teams have flattered to deceive when going up against the rest of college football's "big boys," and this past week was the perfect time to silence all the doubters and yet once again, they fell short. With Oregon starting the season 2-1 and with this game being at home, a lot of people out there felt as though USC could actually pull off the home upset. Those feelings only grew more after Oregon quarterback Dante Moore was knocked out of the game with a concussion midway through the second quarter, but as I said a little bit ago they'd fall short yet again, losing this one by the score 41-27. I should say this was an improvement from last season, as the Trojans lost 42-27 in Eugene, so I guess they're improving one point at a time. Now I'm not saying I thought USC would be able to pull it off (I'm not that dumb) but I did think that they'd put up a lot more of a fight than they did. As for individuals Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava didn't really have one of his best games (but not his worst either, by far), going 23/42 for 326-yards with two touchdowns and an interception while also registering one touchdown of the ground. Maiava would let it rip on their opening drive of the game, hitting an open Kayden Dixon-Wyatt across the middle of the field for 20-yards before finding him again for a further 18-yards to pick up a first down on third and 12.
From a third and long situation Maiava shows off very impressive touch by floating this ball over the outstretched arm of the Oregon defender and to his freshman receiver for an 18-yard gain. This is just a really nice throw from Maiava, and a nice job by Dixon-Wyatt at leaping up to grab it to help pick up a much needed first down on third and 12. The drive would pretty much stall out after that conversion, and to make matters worse kicker Caden Chittenden would fail to convert from 33-yards out, keeping the game scoreless midway through the first quarter. Maiava would come out slinging it early on their next drive, firing one low into Tron Baker for a 12-yard gain on second and nine.
This is a really impressive throw here from Maiava. With the Oregon defender playing tight in coverage, Maiava has to just rip this low and hard into a spot where only his receiver can make a play on the ball, basically just keeping it as far away from said defender as possible. Again this is just a really well thrown ball, and a nice job by Baker at going down to get it for the 12-yard gain. Nothing else would really come from this drive, as the Trojans would ultimately be forced to punt the ball away after seven plays (in total, not after that pass). Things would look to turn USC's way their next time out, connecting with Kayden Dixon-Wyatt in the end zone from 31-yards out to give them their first lead of the game early on in the second quarter.
This is easy pickings from Maiava, as he sees Dixon-Wyatt matched-up in the slot against an Oregon linebacker. Seeing that mismatch pre-snap, he knew exactly where he was going with the ball, then executed the throw to perfection by dropping it right in the bucket for the score. Just a nice and easy throw from Maiava to again help the Trojans take a 7-3 lead just over two minutes into the second quarter. USC would mostly rely on the run game their next time out following an Oregon touchdown, with Maiava only completing one pass for nine yards on a drive that ended with a 38-yard field goal from Caden Chittenden to tie the game up at 10 with 5:32 to go until halftime. Maiava would come up big for the Trojans on their opening drive of the second half, connecting on passes of 10 and 16-yards before hitting Ethan Feaster along the far sideline on a well thrown back shoulder ball to help get them down to the Duck two yard line.
You can't throw a back shoulder ball much better here if you're Maiava. After faking it to the back, Maiava let's it fly towards the sideline and places the ball in a spot where only his receiver could make a play on the ball. With the defender matching Feaster stride-for-stride down the sideline, the only for Maiava to complete this pass would be to throw it back shoulder, and him and Feaster executed it to perfection to help get them down to the Oregon two yard line. A couple plays later Maiava would take it into the end zone for the scoring, making it a 20-17 game midway through the third quarter. Maiava would complete a few passes for some decent gains on their next possession, registering completions of 28, 15, and 12-yards before the drive would ultimately stall out with the Trojans needing to settle for another Caden Chittenden field goal (this one from 29-yards out) to make it a 27-20 game with 1:32 remaining in the third. The Trojans would finally be able to tie the game up on their next drive, with Maiava completing passes of 22 and 14-yards before hitting an open Tanook Hines rolling to his right from 11-yards out to make the score 27-27 with just over two minutes gone in the fourth quarter. Maiava would come up with another 20+ yard completion early on USC's next drive, connecting Zacharyus Williams across the middle of the field for a 21-yard gain to edge them closer to the midfield marker midway through the fourth.
First off, great job by Williams at adjusting his body to bring this ball in from Maiava that was a little bit behind him. The thing is though I don't mind the placement on this pass, as Maiava did a nice job at floating it over the initial defender and more or less on his receiver's body to avoid any possible pass breakup from the defenders in coverage. Overall this was a decently tight window throw with Williams making a contorted catch to pick up 21-yards on second and 10. Unfortunately things would take a turn for the worst as Maiava would follow that up with three consecutive incompletions, with his final one coming on fourth and from from their own 49-yard line. Oregon would of course take advantage of the positive field position, finding the end zone after eight plays to give them a 41-27 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth. Needing a touchdown to stay in the game Maiava and co. would dink and dime their way down the field, that is before Maiava would get picked off in the end zone with four seconds remaining to ultimately seal up Oregon's victory.
There's really nothing to note here on this interception as Maiava just has to push the ball towards the end zone as time was expiring in the game. Unfortunate that his pass was intercepted but again, it's not like it effected the result of the game by any stretch of the imagination. All in all though this was a disappointing loss for the Trojans, which is weird to say given that they were home underdogs but this loss means we're still looking for that signature win in Los Angeles for Lincoln Riley, and it leads me to ask when will that ever come? As for Maiava I thought he made some good throws throughout the course of the game, though would go in some lulls where it felt incompletions were just stacking on top of each other. USC will be back at home this coming weekend, taking on another PAC-12 turned Big Ten school in Washington, who are coming off of a rough 27-24 home loss to Minnesota. Though the Trojans have controlled the all time series the Huskies have actually won each of the previous three match-ups. For Lincoln Riley's sake, I hope they're able to secure the win.
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - 9
Wk 3 - 9
Wk 4 - 9
Wk 5 - v Washington
10. Julian Sayin, Ohio State (NEW)
Wk 4 - 27/36 367 yds 4 touchdowns 0 interceptions/7 carries 29 yds 1 touchdown v Illinois (42-19 W)
Season - 83/115 1,206 yds 10 touchdowns 1 interception/16 carries 7 yds 0 touchdowns
For some out there this may seem insanely low, but for others this may seem a little high, even if it is at the very end of this weeks list. Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin is someone who truly divides draft circles like no other. Sure you've got quarterbacks like Arch Manning and LaNorris Sellers who are insanely polarizing, but I would say Sayin is in a category all by himself. Compared to the two I mentioned before, Sayin does not necessarily possess the physical traits that a lot of NFL teams are looking for in a high level draft prospect. He's not the biggest (6'1" 214 lbs.), he doesn't have the strongest arm, and he's not the most mobile, and yet the dude continues to put up video game numbers at the colligate level. Sure he's got arguably the greatest wide receiver prospect of all time to his outside in Jeremiah Smith, but for what Sayin lacks in physical traits he makes up for with deadly accuracy. Now if you know me you'd know that I'm not saying that based solely on his completion percentage, as I am not someone who champions completion percentage as the end all and be all when it comes to determining how accurate (or not accurate) a quarterback is. That being said it's hard not to, right? I mean Sayin completed a whopping 77% of his passes last season, showing off excellent anticipation and ball placement, but that aforementioned arm strength becomes a negative factor for him when it comes to truly pushing the ball down the field. I think Sayin is a very good college quarterback, and time will obviously tell if he becomes a very good NFL prospect and/or player which is why I have him as low as I do, despite the numbers that he put up this past weekend in Ohio State's 42-19 home victory against Illinois. In the win Sayin would go 27/36 for 367-yards with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions (season high in all metrics), while also registering a career high 29-rushing yards with another touchdown there to boot. Fondly enough, this game was the first time Sayin registered more than zero rushing yards in a game, with his previous season high coming in at -6, which he "picked up" against Kent State. Things would start off really good for Sayin and the Buckeye offense, with him connecting with Smith for a 31-yard gain down the far sideline before tossing one up to him in the end zone from seven yards out to give them a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
When you have a receiver like Jeremiah Smith on the outside, sometimes all you have to do is throw it in their area code and they'll come down with it. In this situation though, with Illinois having two defenders in the area, the ball from Sayin needed to show his accuracy otherwise the pass would have been picked off, or at least broken up. With that Sayin puts the ball right on Smith's body, forcing his uber talented receiver to come back to the ball and make a play, which of course he did. Just a solid throw and catch from quarterback and receiver, especially when you see the throw was coming from the near hashmarks. Like I mentioned before a few plays later Sayin and Smith would connect again, this time in the end zone from seven yards out to take their first lead of the game. To the surprise of no one the pair would hook up for another score on their next drive, this time seeing Sayin launch it down the middle of the field with Smith bringing it in for what would result in a 72-yard touchdown.
I mean look, if you're stupid enough to let Smith get a clean release off the line, then you get whatever's coming to you. This really couldn't have been a much easier 72-yard score, with Sayin letting it fly down the numbers to Smith for the eventual score. Could you say the ball was slightly under thrown? Sure, but you'd be an asshole for saying that. In truth when a receiver has a step or two on the nearest defender your main goal as a quarterback is to not miss him, which Sayin didn't to help make the score 14-0 with 3:39 remaining in the first quarter. The Buckeye momentum would stall a little bit their next time out, as they would be forced to punt the ball away after going three and out. Their next drive would be the exact opposite, as Sayin would orchestrate an insane 19-play 96-yard drive to give them a 21-7 lead with 4:12 to go in the second quarter. Throughout the drive Sayin would make plays to keep it alive, helping the Buckeyes convert on five third and/or fourth down plays along the way. His most impressive one arguably was his first one, where he escaped a barrage of Fighting Illini defenders to pick up eight yards with his legs on third and seven.
This isn't something we see really ever from Sayin. As I mentioned before, one of the biggest "marks" against Sayin draft stock is his inability to extend plays with his legs, but that clearly wasn't an issue here. Like, I really don't know how he was able to get out of that, as three different Illinois defenders had their hand(s) on him before he escaped for the eventual first down. Crazy play that helped extend the drive with 11-minutes to go in the quarter. Another third down conversion from Sayin worth noting may as well be the last only, as he would remain calm in the pocket and fire one to Devin McCuin for a 14-yard gain on third and 10, all while knowing that he's going to take a shot from the defender. A play later Sayin would hit Jeremiah Smith in the end zone from nine yards out, helping give Ohio State a 21-7 lead later on in the second quarter.
Two really solid plays here from Sayin, but for different reasons. The first one, strictly throw wise, isn't really anything highlight worthy, but once you look at the hit he took as he was letting the ball go, then you look at it a little differently (or at least I do). Knowing damn well that he's going to take a shot from the Illinois defender, Sayin remains calm and tall in the pocket before ripping the ball to McCuin for the 14-yard gain. All of that mixed with that fact that it came on third and 10 makes it all that more impressive. The second one we see him throw an accurate and well placed fade ball to Smith in the end zone from nine yards out. As I've said before throwing from the far hash to the near sideline is not a short throw, but Sayin still does an excellent job at putting this ball in a spot where only Smith could come down with it, sneaking one foot in to register the pair's third touchdowns of the first half, capping off an impressive 19-yard 96-yard drive. That wouldn't be the Buckeyes final touchdown of the half, as Sayin would continue to make plays to help them extend their lead to 28-10 with 15-seconds to go in the second quarter. On a drive that saw them travel 75-yards in 10-plays, Sayin would complete passes of 10, seven, eight, two, 20, and 23-yards before taking it into the end zone himself from seven yards out to give him his first rushing touchdown of the game.
Really solid throw from Sayin here, hitting Bell down the seam in a nice window for a 23-yard gain. With two defenders in front and two defenders beheind Bell in coverage there is very little room for error if you're Sayin. With that he does a very nice job at placing this ball right on his receiver's body, having him come back to the ball to help get them down to the Illinois seven yard line. From there Sayin would take it into the end zone, making the score 28-10 right before the end of the first half. At the end of the half Sayin had registered 272-yards through the air while going 21/27 with four total touchdown, so to say it was an impressive opening two quarters would be an understatement. With that though, if you saw his full game stats above then you'd know that the passing attack slowed down a decent amount in the second half. Now that's not to say Sayin wasn't still slinging it. After punting the ball away after five plays on their opening drive of the second half, as he would hit Jeremiah Smith in the end zone from 26-yards out to make the score 35-13 midway through the fourth quarter.
With Smith absolutely cooking the defender in coverage, all Sayin needed to really do was not miss his open receiver, which of course he didn't for his fourth passing touchdown of the game. Though Smith may have been open, this was still a strong throw from Sayin as the placement and timing of the ball were very solid while throwing from the near hash. On time and away from the defender (regardless of how close he was) for the score, making it a 35-13 game with 10:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. Sayin would register a 12-yard pass on Ohio State's next drive, which would really be his final contribution to the game as the Buckeyes came out 42-19 home victors against the Fighting Illini. In the win Sayin put up some ridiculous numbers, registering five total touchdowns while showing off some athleticism to go along with his impressive timing and placement of passes down the field. I'm intruiged to see how Sayin and co. do this coming week as they travel to Iowa City to take on the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes. I know Ohio State has the better pool of talent than Iowa, but does anyone else remember what happened when the Buckeyes last came to Kinnick Stadium?
Wk 1 - N/A
Wk 2 - N/A
Wk 3 - N/A
Wk 4 - 10
Wk 5 - @ no.14 Iowa
Others
Josh Hoover, Indiana
Wk 4 - 19/29 201 yds 1 touchdown 0 interceptions/6 carries 1 yd 1 touchdown v Northwestern (29-23 W)
Season - 56/80 850 yds 11 touchdowns 0 interceptions/14 carries 21 yds 1 touchdown
Kevin Jennings, SMU
Wk 4 - 33/39 464 yds 3 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 3 yds 1 touchdown v Missouri State (34-24 W)
Season - 97/126 1,453 yds 12 touchdowns 5 interceptions/22 carries 76 yds 1 touchdown
Sam Leavitt, LSU
Wk 4 - 17/23 312 yds 2 touchdowns 1 interception/5 carries 22 yds 0 touchdowns v no.23 Texas A&M (35-6 W)
Season - 74/116 1,044 yds 5 touchdowns 6 interceptions/45 carries 220 yds 6 touchdowns
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina (10)
Wk 4 - 18/30 185 yds 1 touchdown 1 interception/13 carries 72 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.7 Alabama (49-18 L)
Season - 72/116 833 yds 6 touchdowns 4 interceptions/36 carries 244 yds 1 touchdown
Austin Simmons, Missouri
Wk 4 - 23/39 295 yds 3 touchdowns 0 interceptions/3 carries 0 yds 0 touchdowns @ no.24 Mississippi State (31-24 L)
Season - 70/107 947 yds 11 touchdowns 0 interceptions/10 carries 1 yd 0 touchdowns
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