The college football Week 11 slate separated contenders from pretenders. Oklahoma was finally ousted from the ranks of the unbeaten while Georgia and Alabama proved their dominance. With a bevy of games to comb through, here are the top performances from Week 11 in our College Football Team of the Week.
College Football Team of the Week | Week 11
Midweek MACtion is in place, so our Team of the Week may have a different feel all the way through November. With action as far back as Tuesday, some players may be “out of mind” due to their game time as we aim to highlight the best performances from the entire week of play.
Statistics matter, but so does the strength of the opponent, the time in which the player performed at his best, the individual players he went against, and where he won. For more specifics on the selections, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter (@CamMellor).
QB: Will Rogers, Mississippi State
Will Rogers led the Bulldogs to their largest comeback victory in school history on Saturday. He topped the Auburn Tigers with a torrid of points after Mississippi State found themselves down 28-3 in the waning stages of the first half. Rogers finished the game with a whopping 6 touchdowns and 415 yards on 44-of-55 passing.
He’s rapidly ascending the FBS QB Rankings with accurate passes that even exceed the Air Raid offensive principles. The Air Raid is always going to be friendly to quarterbacks, but the throws that Rogers is making right now are outside of those friendly confines. He’s dotting accurate shots to all levels of the field and playing with great pace. All of a sudden, the sky is the limit for this aerial assault.
RB: Charles Williams, UNLV
Charles Williams continued to set new standards at UNLV with his latest outing. After becoming the school’s all-time leader in rushing yards last week, Williams exploded for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Rebels’ second straight victory. Williams had touchdown rushes of 5, 7, and 47 yards in the contest, with the latter icing the game with just under 2:00 left on the clock.
Williams also became the new UNLV placeholder for most carries in a game, breaking former Rebels RB and NFL All-Pro Ickey Woods’ school record of 37 rushes with his 38 against Hawaii. UNLV has now won two straight after losing their first 14 games under head coach Marcus Arroyo. With Williams leading the charge and Cameron Friel playing well at quarterback, this UNLV team seems to have turned the corner.
RB: Lew Nichols III, Central Michigan
You had to be tuned in back on Wednesday night against Kent State — and if you were, you were treated to quite the performance. Lew Nichols III paved the way with 43 carries for Central Michigan, rushing for 215 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. CMU clinched bowl eligibility with the victory, but with the way Nichols is running, they’re eyeing a MAC West title at this point.
Nichols now has 1,297 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns and has officially emerged as one of the MAC’s top running backs.
WR: Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
Garrett Wilson put forth a ridiculous outing against Purdue on Saturday. With the eyes of the nation thinking upset, the Buckeyes demolished the Boilermakers — and Wilson was the highlight. He scored 4 total touchdowns — including a 51-yard run on an end-around –, but his receptions were remarkable.
Wilson had 10 catches for 126 yards and 3 TDs as he displayed what potentially makes him the top receiver for the 2022 NFL Draft. His body control on an end-zone fade set social media off, but Wilson’s consistency on every route and every snap was unmatched.
WR: Jameson Williams, Alabama
Somehow the Crimson Tide found themselves trailing 3-0 to New Mexico State on Saturday. And that’s just when Jameson Williams took over. Hauling in 3 touchdown receptions, Williams opened up the Alabama scoring with his 50-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter. He scored two more times in the second quarter en route to a day’s worth of work: 6 receptions, 158 yards, 3 touchdowns.
WR: Myles Price, Texas Tech
Hauling in the catch of the week, Myles Price’s sideline reception late in the game against Iowa State commanded attention. His performance may get overshadowed by his kicker’s incredible game-winning 62-yard field goal, but Price was integral in the Red Raiders’ victory. Price finished with 9 receptions for 175 yards and a touchdown.
His 2 receptions on the game-winning drive also went a long way towards getting into Jonathan Garibay’s 62-yard field goal range. Overall, it was a terrific performance from an ascending player.
TE: Chigoziem Okonkwo, Maryland
Despite the losing effort, Chigoziem Okonkwo continues to impress in 2021. He hauled in 8 receptions for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns against Michigan State. Okonkwo served as the security blanket for Taulia Tagovailoa and yet still averaged 14 yards per catch. He was terrific both at the catch point and after the catch, routinely bowling over defenders or making them miss.
FLEX: Rachaad White, Arizona State
Rachaad White lands in the flex spot on our Team of the Week. White was all of Arizona State’s offense against Washington on Saturday night. He racked up 184 rushing yards on 32 carries and another 53 yards on 5 receptions.
White’s 237 total yards accounted for more than 63% of the Sun Devils’ total offense, and his 10-yard touchdown run with 1:11 remaining was the go-ahead score necessary to hold off the Huskies. He now has scored a touchdown in all but one game this season and has scored multiple touchdowns in six contests in 2021.
LT: Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan
Bernhard Raimann has more than made a name for himself with NFL Draft pundits this season. He’s now even started to become a household name among college football fans. Routinely spotted blocking defenders 10+ yards downfield, Raimann’s highlight-reel night against Kent State saw him block a defender through the back of the end zone on a touchdown run. A big man with a big heart, Raimann is in a class of his own in the MAC.
LG: Julio Garcia, UNLV
Helping to pave the way for Charles Williams in back-to-back weeks, Julio Garcia once again proved his dominance. His long career with the Rebels is currently being capped with a terrific super-senior season. Garcia opened up lanes in the rushing attack and helped keep his quarterback clean in the passing game. It’s Year 6 for Garcia at UNLV, but he continues to run around like a spry chicken out there.
C: Dawson Deaton, Texas Tech
In a vintage Dawson Deaton performance on Saturday, the Red Raiders’ big man in the middle was terrific against Iowa State. He was excellent in passing sets but even more impressive on the ground. Texas Tech averaged more than 6 yards per carry, and you can bet a ton of that was due to the tone Deaton set in the middle.
RG: William Dunkle, San Diego State
William Dunkle is the best guard no one is talking about right now. The SDSU offense isn’t the flashiest in the country, but it’s certainly one of the most efficient. Dunkle is a microcosm of this efficiency, as he’s routinely dominant in the run game and in passing sets. Dunkle moved incredibly well in the rush game as the Aztecs ground out 186 yards against a formidable Nevada front on Saturday.
RT: Cooper Hodges, Appalachian State
The App State offensive attack was terrific against South Alabama on Saturday afternoon. Mountaineers QB Chase Brice had clean pockets more often than not, and it was Cooper Hodges who he had to thank for that. Hodges also helped pave the way for big rushing lanes to the right side as App State cruised to an easy victory.
Kicker: Jonathan Garibay, Texas Tech
Jonathan Garibay may never have to pay for anything in Lubbock again after his performance on Saturday night. Capping an incredible game in an incredible way, Garibay absolutely drilled a 62-yard game-winning field goal with no time left to give Texas Tech the 41-38 win.
Even aside from his game-ending kick, Garibay was perfect on the night, hitting both field goals and all 5 of his extra points. He has put himself on the NFL Draft radar, as he’s a perfect 12-for-12 on field goals this year and 42-for-43 on extra points.
Second-Team Offense
QB: Emory Jones, Florida | C.J. Stroud, Ohio State
RB: Tyler Badie, Missouri
RB: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
WR: Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
WR: Mitchell Tinsley, Western Kentucky
WR: Xavier Worthy, Texas
TE: Charlie Kolar, Iowa State
FLEX: Devin Neal, Kansas
LT: Bamidele Olaseni, Utah
LG: Nick Ford, Utah
C: Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa
RG: Amani Trigg-Wright, UNLV
RT: Luke Goedeke, Central Michigan
K: Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
Honorable Mention Offense
QB: Bailey Zappe, Western Kentucky | Malik Cunningham, Louisville
RB: Marcus Williams Jr., Louisiana Tech
RB: Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State
WR: Jacob Cowing, UTEP
WR: Devin Carter, NC State
WR: Ja’Varrius Johnson, Auburn
TE: Kemore Gamble, Florida
FLEX: Jayden Reed, Michigan State
LT: Zachary Thomas, San Diego State
LG: Kenneth Horsey, Kentucky
C: Mike Caliendo, Western Michigan
RG: Sataoa Laumea, Utah
RT: Braeden Daniels, Utah
K: Matt Araiza, San Diego State