1 – LSU QB Jayden Daniels (vs. #21 Missouri)
Stats: 15/21 – 259 yards – 3 touchdowns | 15 carries – 130 yards – 1 touchdown
Once again, Jayden Daniels finds himself on the Five Stars list after a remarkable performance, this time against an undefeated Missouri Tigers team. LSU found themselves trailing for most of the game, but Daniels and the offense answered after every Missouri score before finally taking the lead midway through the third quarter. These teams would trade the lead a few more times before Daniels found Malik Nabers with under three minutes left in the game and LSU would hang on to win 49-39.
It’s hard to imagine Daniels winning the Heisman after the Tigers two losses, but he’s already surpassed his 2022 passing touchdown total and is putting up career numbers across the board in this offense. LSU hosts Auburn next Saturday night and Daniels will attempt to become a three time Five Star recipient on the season.
2 – Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel (vs. #3 Texas)
Stats: 23/38 – 285 yards – 1 touchdown | 14 carries – 113 yards – 1 touchdown
It was all about revenge on Saturday for the Sooners after being embarrassed in the rivalry game against Texas last season, and the revenge was sweet. A back-and-forth battle between longtime border enemies, it came down to Oklahoma and its southpaw signal caller when the Longhorns took a 30-27 lead with 1:17 left in the game. Gabriel and the Sooners weren’t settling for overtime. Gabriel went nearly perfect (his only miss being a pass interference call) as he drove the offense 75 yards down the field before hitting Nic Anderson from three yards out with 15 seconds left and giving the Sooners what would be a 34-30 victory.
The Sooners move to 6-0 on the season and should see a rise, potentially within the Top 5, in the AP Poll this week as they head into their bye week before hosting UCF on the 21st.
3 – Louisville RB Jawhar Jordan (vs. #10 Notre Dame)
Stats: 21 carries – 143 yards – 2 touchdowns | 2 receptions – 9 yards
The Cardinals moved to 6-0 under first year head coach Jeff Brohm with a 33-20 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday night, and the star of the game was running back Jawhar Jordan. It was a defensive slugfest in the first half, but touchdown runs of 45 and 21 yards in the second half by Jordan broke the game open in favor of Louisville by putting them in the lead and allowing the defense to clamp down on Sam Hartman and the Irish.
It was a massive win for a program that had felt stalled out under their former coach, and the early results under Brohm show exactly what Louisville can be: a top tier ACC team. The Cardinals will travel to Pittsburgh to face a downtrodden Panthers squad (on the CW!) before heading to their bye week.
4 – Alabama WR Jermaine Burton (vs. Texas A&M)
Stats: 9 receptions – 197 yards – 2 touchdowns
For a period of time on Saturday, it looked like the Crimson Tide would suffer their second loss of the season The offense struggled possession after possession until the third quarter, where Jalen Milroe found Jermaine Burton on back-to-back drives for touchdowns and turned a 17-10 Aggies lead into a 24-17 Tide lead, which would be all Alabama needed to seal what would be a 26-20 victory. The struggling passing game in Tuscaloosa has hurt Burtons overall production this season, as this was his first game of the season with more than 3 receptions, but he made it count and showed why he’s one of the most underrated receivers in the country.
Alabama will continue to hum along next week when they host a fledging Arkansas team thats desperate for a win after four straight losses.
5 – Buffalo DB Devin Grant (vs. Central Michigan)
Stats: 4 tackles – 3 interceptions – 2 touchdowns
The Bulls have had a rough start to the 2023 season, going 0-4 in non-conference play including a loss to FCS Fordham before beating Akron last week. This week, they moved to 2-0 in MACtion with a 37-13 win over the Chippewas and the star of the game was safety Devin Grant. The sophomore returned interceptions for touchdowns on the first Central Michigan drive of each half.
The Bulls will look to move to 3-0 in MACtion play next week when they host Bowling Green.
