College football Week 2 did not disappoint. It never does. But who emerged from a wild week of multiple overtimes, nail-biting finishes, and shock results as the top players of the week?
Week 2 college football: Caleb Williams sensational in prime-time win over Stanford
When you have 82 games spread over two days, there’s going to be a whole host of contenders for player of the week honors. While we limit the award to FBS players, the amount of FCS teams that came fired up and ready to provide shocks was incredible.
Lindsey Scott Jr. threw for 406 yards and four touchdowns — with 262 yards and two touchdowns worth of that production going to wide receiver Darion Chafin — as Incarnate Word took down Nevada. It was a nightmare night for the Mountain West, as the reigning champions suffered the ignominy of a defeat to FCS Weber State.
Holy Cross quarterback Matthew Sluka rushed for 146 yards and threw for 238 and three touchdowns, including the Hail Mary game-winner against Buffalo. Meanwhile, Parker McKinney threw for 324 yards and three scores as Eastern Kentucky outlasted Bowling Green in a seven-overtime slugfest for the ages.
Quarterback of the Week: Caleb Williams, USC
At times in the first half of their game with Stanford, it felt like USC quarterback Caleb Williams couldn’t — or wouldn’t — miss. The excitement over the Trojans’ offense that at one point threatened to reach unachievable expectations following his transfer from Oklahoma might actually be justified. They’re stacked to the tilt with playmakers. Their offensive line is actually solid. And the sophomore quarterback is exactly as advertised.
Williams completed 20 of 27 pass attempts in the Saturday prime-time all-Pac 12 clash, throwing for 341 yards and four touchdowns. He hit on 13 of his first 15 attemps in the game. While there was a good chunk of yardage after the catch on Jordan Addison‘s 75-yard touchdown, Williams led him into it. It was as complete a performance as you could find from any quarterback in college football in Week 2.
Honorable mention: Kyle Vantrease, Georgia Southern (37 of 56, 409 passing yards and one touchdown, seven rushing yards, and one touchdown); Sam Hartman, Wake Forest (18 of 27, 300 passing yards, four touchdowns)
Offensive Player of the Week: Deuce Vaughn, RB, Kansas State
Don’t you ever call Deuce Vaughn undersized. The 5’6″, 176-pound running back was an absolute force as Kansas State blew out SEC opponent Missouri 40-12 in the first meeting between the two programs since 2011. While racking up a boat oad of rushing statistics that we’ll get to shortly, Vaughn’s ability as a blocker in motion helped spring quarterback Adrian Martinez for a score early in the second quarter.
The Kansas State running back had already opened his own account at that point, with a one-yard run to give the Wildcats a 7-3 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, a 24-yard touchdown run extinguished any hope Missouri might have had of getting back into this old rivalry game. Aside from the two scores, Vaughn consistently put his speed, explosiveness, and shiftiness to devastating effect. The result was 145 yards at six yards per carry.
After the game, Vaughn delivered a humble statement, “We’re a bunch of ordinary guys doing extraordinary things.” As our Offensive Player of the Week, there’s nothing ordinary about the Kansas State running back.
Honorable mention: Khalan Laborn, RB, Marshall (163 rushing yards, one touchdown); Evan Hull, RB, Northwestern (65 rushing yards and one touchdown, 213 receiving yards and one touchdown); Ali Jennings III, WR, Old Dominion (eight catches, 200 receiving yards, three touchdowns)
Defensive Player of the Week: Drew Sanders, LB, Arkansas
It’s not that long ago that Drew Sanders was a highly coveted four-star high school recruit who could have made a college career playing tight end if it wasn’t for a decision to focus on the defensive side of the ball during a two-year stint at Alabama. He might be lining up for a different team in red this fall, but Sanders’ play in Saturday’s win over South Carolina looked like something that belonged to that special Alabama linebacker lineage.
Sanders was everywhere on Saturday. He was famed for his athletic prowess as a high school recruit, and that was on full display as he flew into the backfield to spear Spencer Rattler. By the end of a torrid afternoon for the South Carolina offense, he’d tallied 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, one quarterback hurry, and even getting involved in coverage with a pass breakup. It was a forceful, all-consuming linebacker performance that former Arkansas linebacker Grant Morgan would be proud of.
Honorable mention: Max Williams, CB, USC (seven tackles, one forced fumble, one interception)
Specialist of the Week: De’Von Fox, WR, Temple
We could probably rename this the “Tory Taylor Specialist of the Week Award” in homage to the Iowa punter who is changing the game with his consistently mind-blowing performances. In all honesty, Taylor is the only thing that keeps watching Iowa from being completely mind-numbing. He averaged 50.7 yards per punt, with two inside the 20, two touchbacks, and an extra special punt that bounced out of bounds at the 1-yard line.
Our Specialist of the Week Award isn’t restricted to kickers and punters, and in Week 2, there was an outstanding special-teams performance on the opposite side. Temple wide receiver De’Von Fox was an absolute monster on the punt block unit, using his frame to block three punts.
Of those, two drives resulted in touchdowns, with another ending in a safety. In isolation, it’s an incredible achievement. But it also contributed to Stan Drayton’s first win as head coach of the Owls.
Honorable mention: Daniel Trejo, P, Texas (five punts for 232 yards, 46.4 yards per punt); Will Reichard, K, Alabama (2 of 2 on field goals, 2 of 2 on PATs, game-winning kick)
Freshman of the Week: Nicholas Singleton, RB, Penn State
Nicholas Singleton is a special talent. Watching him carve up the Ohio defense on Saturday afternoon conjured up imagery of the Nittany Lions team with Saquon Barkley dominating college football defenses. I’m not saying that Singleton and Saquon are the same specimen of running back. That would be foolish. What I’m saying is that Singleton has the capability to take over a game in the same way that Barkley did at his very best.
Singleton is fast, super fast. He’s explosive, allowing him to get around the edge and to the second level almost in an instant. Footwork, vision, body control, he has the running back X-factor. You could see it in action Saturday as he walked the tightrope down the sideline for a 70-yard score.
Singleton also found the end zone on a 44-yard run in the third quarter. By the end of the afternoon, he had rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns at 17.9 yards per carry to earn college football freshman honors for Week 2.
Honorable mention: Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina (110 rushing yards, two touchdowns)