1 – Georgia QB Gunnar Stockton (vs. #5 Ole Miss)
26/31 – 289 yards – 4 touchdowns / 59 rushing yards – 1 touchdown
If there were still any questions as the whether Gunnar Stockton was worthy of leading a program like Georgia, those were certainly answered on Saturday in the Bulldogs 43-35 shootout victory over the Rebels. Stockton accounted for all five of the Bulldogs scores, including three to tight end Lawson Luckie and one on the ground, and led a two score comeback in the fourth quarter after the Bulldogs found themselves down 35-26 entering the quarter. The Georgia defense has had plenty of problems, especially in the first half of games, so Stocktons performance in big games thus far has kept them afloat and allowed them to reach their 6-1 record. For the season, the junior has posted a 10/1 touchdown to interception ratio and is completing 70.5% of his passes. Georgia will get a bye next week before a showdown with rival Florida to kick off November.
2 – Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love (vs. #20 USC)
24 carries – 228 yards – 1 touchdown / 5 receptions – 37 yards
Stop me if you’ve heard this before but after a slow start to the season, the Fighting Irish have become a runaway train down the stretch behind the legs of Jeremiyah Love. In the historic battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh, Love ran all over the Trojan defense to eclipse the 200 yard mark for the first time in his career. That performance also boosted Love into the top five rushers for the season. With just five games remaining for Notre Dame, three of which being against sub-.500 ACC teams, The Irish are staring down another playoff berth and as long as Love can continue his recent run of performances, they could go far yet again.
3 – UAB WR Iverson Hooks (vs. #22 Memphis)
11 receptions – 172 yards – 3 touchdowns
Sometimes in the sport of football a head coach firing lights a spark under a team. We’ve seen in from UCLA this season, and this weekend we saw it from G6 basement dweller UAB against an undefeated Memphis team that was in the driver seat for a Playoff berth. After the firing of Trent Dilfer, Alex Mortensen (son of ESPN legend Chris Mortensen) took the reigns and helped guide the Blazers to their biggest win in years. Sophomore receiver Iverson Hooks was a huge part of the win, scoring three times (including a 20-yarder to cap a 99-yard drive in the fourth quarter) and putting up 172 yards as quarterback Ryder Burtons go to target (caught 11 of Burtons 20 completions). At 3-4, the Blazers margin of error to make a Bowl game are paper thin with South Florida and North Texas still on the calendar but this win could certainly build momentum with road trips to UConn and Rice coming up next.
4 – Alabama EDGE Yhonzae Pierre (vs. #11 Tennessee)
5 solo tackles – 3 sacks – 1 forced safety
The Crimson Tide is rolling in on the rest of the SEC once again. After a confounding loss to Florida State to open the season, the Tide have now moved to 6-1 with wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and now Tennessee as they continue to look better on both sides of the ball each game. It was the defense that stepped up against one of the nations elite offenses, holding the Volunteers to just 20 points in a 37-20 win. Pass rusher Yhonzae Pierre got the big plays started when he got Joey Aguilar for a safety to take a 9-7 midway through the second quarter for what would be his third sack of the game. On Tennessees next drive to end the half, Aguilar would throw a 99-yard pick six to Zabien Brown to put Alabama up 23-7 at halftime and ultimately sealing the Tides fourth straight Top 25 victory. The hardest stretch of the schedule is now over for Alabama and they clearly hold a share of the driver seat for a shot at an SEC Championship if they keep this play up.
5 – Louisville Defense (vs. #2 Miami)
4 interceptions – 63 rush yards allowed
On of the biggest upsets of the weekend happened Friday night in Miami when the Cardinals toppled the previously unbeaten Hurricanes 24-21 behind a stellar night from the defense. They never allowed the Miami run game to get moving, holding Miami to just 63 yards on the ground and forcing Carson Beck to throw to move the ball. That was also a problem for Miami, as Beck threw four interceptions to four different Cardinals defenders, including a game ender by T.J Capers that will be one of the highlight plays of the weekend. Louisville has had one of the more unhearalded defensive units in college football this season and has been a driving force behind their 5-1 start. The ACC is a mess this season due to general bloat of teams, so Louisville will need to run the table still and hope one or two other conference foes fall in order to make the ACC Championship but this team, and defense, is for real regardless.
