Quarterbacks
1. Collin Klein — Kansas State at Kansas. Klein is undefeated in six starts and coming off 258 total yards and four touchdowns in Saturday's 41-34 win over Texas Tech. While he’s capable of Josh Freeman 2008 numbers, he’s not nearly as talented. Kansas ranks last in the NCAA in every major defensive category — allowing 565 total yards and 49.0 points per game on average this season.
2. Geno Smith — West Virginia at Syracuse. Smith is a dual threat quarterback in a proven offensive system (see Case Keenum, 2009). Through six games, he ranks fifth in passing yardage (359.3 ypg) and has gamebreaking wideouts in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. The Mountaineers are first in the Big East with 503.5 total yards per game and 11th nationally…Syracuse has struggled mightily against the pass this season, giving up 354 yards and five touchdowns to Matt Barkley in Week 3 and 324 to Tulane’s Ryan Griffin in Week 6.
3. Landry Jones — Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech. The Sooners have a 91 percent scoring rate and average 547.2 total yards per game. After a slow start, Jones ranks third in the NCAA with 2,177 yards on 171 of 253 passing (68 percent). Despite Texas Tech’s high rating against the pass, their opponents have had so much success rushing they’ve attempted only 140 passes, where they allow an average of eight yards per pass play. The Sooners are fourth nationally in total offense, ninth in passing efficiency, and 20th in redzone scoring.
4. Chandler Harnish — Northern Illinois at Buffalo. Harnish is starting to garner national attention for his accomplishments this season and added 430 total yards to his legacy in last week's 51-22 win over Western Michigan. In their last six meetings with Buffalo, the Huskies haven’t scored under 31 points and are averaging 39.6 points per game, while scoring 99 points in the second quarter.
5. Andrew Luck — Stanford vs. Washington. Stanford has at least 37 points in every game this season and Luck’s been the centerpiece of an offense that ranks third nationally in passing efficiency. With WR Chris Owusu questionable, expect Stanford to almost exclusively rely on their trio of tight ends (Fleener , Toilolo, Ertz) who combined for 206 yards and three scores in last week’s 44-14 win over Washington State. Washington is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the PAC-12 coming off their Week 7 win over Colorado.
Mid-to-Low End options
Bryant Moniz — Hawaii vs. New Mexico State
James Franklin — Missouri at Texas A&M
Alex Carder — Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
Ryan Tannehill — Texas A&M at Iowa State
EJ Manuel — Florida State vs. Maryland
Kellen Moore — Boise State vs. Air Force
Austin Davis — Southern Mississippi vs. SMU
Taylor Martinez — Nebraska at Minnesota
Case Keenum — Houston vs. Marshall
Jeff Godfrey — Central Florida at UAB
Quarterbacks
1. Collin Klein — Kansas State at Kansas. Klein is undefeated in six starts and coming off 258 total yards and four touchdowns in Saturday's 41-34 win over Texas Tech. While he’s capable of Josh Freeman 2008 numbers, he’s not nearly as talented. Kansas ranks last in the NCAA in every major defensive category — allowing 565 total yards and 49.0 points per game on average this season.
2. Geno Smith — West Virginia at Syracuse. Smith is a dual threat quarterback in a proven offensive system (see Case Keenum, 2009). Through six games, he ranks fifth in passing yardage (359.3 ypg) and has gamebreaking wideouts in Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. The Mountaineers are first in the Big East with 503.5 total yards per game and 11th nationally…Syracuse has struggled mightily against the pass this season, giving up 354 yards and five touchdowns to Matt Barkley in Week 3 and 324 to Tulane’s Ryan Griffin in Week 6.
3. Landry Jones — Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech. The Sooners have a 91 percent scoring rate and average 547.2 total yards per game. After a slow start, Jones ranks third in the NCAA with 2,177 yards on 171 of 253 passing (68 percent). Despite Texas Tech’s high rating against the pass, their opponents have had so much success rushing they’ve attempted only 140 passes, where they allow an average of eight yards per pass play. The Sooners are fourth nationally in total offense, ninth in passing efficiency, and 20th in redzone scoring.
4. Chandler Harnish — Northern Illinois at Buffalo. Harnish is starting to garner national attention for his accomplishments this season and added 430 total yards to his legacy in last week's 51-22 win over Western Michigan. In their last six meetings with Buffalo, the Huskies haven’t scored under 31 points and are averaging 39.6 points per game, while scoring 99 points in the second quarter.
5. Andrew Luck — Stanford vs. Washington. Stanford has at least 37 points in every game this season and Luck’s been the centerpiece of an offense that ranks third nationally in passing efficiency. With WR Chris Owusu questionable, expect Stanford to almost exclusively rely on their trio of tight ends (Fleener , Toilolo, Ertz) who combined for 206 yards and three scores in last week’s 44-14 win over Washington State. Washington is 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the PAC-12 coming off their Week 7 win over Colorado.
Mid-to-Low End options
Bryant Moniz — Hawaii vs. New Mexico State
James Franklin — Missouri at Texas A&M
Alex Carder — Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
Ryan Tannehill — Texas A&M at Iowa State
EJ Manuel — Florida State vs. Maryland
Kellen Moore — Boise State vs. Air Force
Austin Davis — Southern Mississippi vs. SMU
Taylor Martinez — Nebraska at Minnesota
Case Keenum — Houston vs. Marshall
Jeff Godfrey — Central Florida at UAB
Running Backs
1. Bobby Rainey — Western Kentucky vs. LA-Lafayette. With Marcus Lattimore sidelined, Rainey will contend for the second straight year to lead the NCAA in carries, where he currently ranks third nationally with 171 rushing attempts. He’s been Western Kentucky’s entire offense this season, accounting for 943 of the team’s 1,870 total yards and seven touchdowns, while going over 100 all-purpose yards in each of his first seven games. The Hilltoppers run a one-cut zone blocking scheme with an unbalanced 60:40 Run-to-Pass ratio…Louisiana-Lafayette (6-1) yields an average of 119.4 yards and 1.4 touchdowns to opposing running backs.
2. Bernard Pierce — Temple at Bowling Green. Coming off an impressive 34-0 shutout over Buffalo, Pierce set single-season records for rushing yards (844) and points (102), and currently holds Temple’s career record for touchdowns (44). There isn’t a more effective running back on a per-play basis in the MAC…Bowling Green allows an average of 407.7 total yards and 29.6 points per game on defense… Temple is 17-1 when Pierce carries the ball at least 18 times.
3. Trent Richardson — Alabama vs. Tennessee. As the SEC’s top offensive performer Richardson continues to make his case for Heisman consideration with 912 yards and 16 touchdowns. Alabama has an experienced offensive line that should have no problem handling the Tennessee front four which could open up running lanes for Richardson, who currently leads the SEC in 20-plus yard gains.
4. Orleans Darkwa — Tulane vs. Memphis. With QB Ryan Griffin expected to be less than 100 percent, Tulane will lean heavily on Orleans Darkwa, who should see enough touches to maintain his averages against a Memphis team that ranks bottom-third defensively against the run. The 6-0, 214-pound sophomore is a difference maker in both the running and receiving, where his 503 total yards place him fifth on the Conference USA leaderboard and in the top 20th percentile nationally at his position.
5. Giovanni Bernard — North Carolina at Clemson. The redshirt freshman outshined Miami’s Lamar Miller in a loss to the Hurricanes last week and has gone over 100 yards rushing in all but one game. Bernard ranks third in the ACC in total yards and leads all freshman running backs with his 109.6 yards per game this season.
Mid-to-Low End options
David Wilson — Virginia Tech vs. Boston College
Lamar Miller — Miami vs. Georgia Tech
Marcus Coker — Iowa vs. Indiana
Doug Martin — Boise State vs. Air Force
Dominique Whaley — Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech
Zach Line — SMU at Southern Mississippi
Kenjon Barner — Oregon at Colorado
Robert Turbin — Utah State vs. Louisiana Tech
Rex Burkhead — Nebraska at Minnesota
Christine Michael — Texas A&M at Iowa State
Charles Sims — Houston vs. Marshall
Perry Jones — Virginia vs. NC State
Henry Josey — Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
Montee Ball — Wisconsin at Michigan State
Dominique White — Eastern Michigan vs. Western Michigan
Brandon Oliver — Buffalo vs. Northern Illinois
Matthew Tucker — TCU vs. New Mexico
Jasmin Hopkins — Northern Illinois at Buffalo
Joe Banyard — Texas El Paso vs. Colorado State
Wide Receivers
1. Sammy Watkins — Clemson vs. North Carolina. Watkins holds 11 school records and currently leads all freshmen nationally in receiving yards per game, all-purpose yards, and touchdown receptions. Clemson’s offense is built entirely on QB Tajh Boyd’s ability feed him 10-15 touches, where he’s repeatedly come through this season for the Tigers.
2. Ryan Broyles — Oklahoma vs. Texas Tech. Broyles has three games of 100-plus yards and double-digit receptions this season, including 13 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s 47-17 win over Kansas. With a first half lines of 60/815/9 he’s capable of high-end production on a regular basis…the Red Raiders allow an average of 406.7 total yards and 29.5 points per game on defense.
3. Jordan White — Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan. In addition to having a plus matchup, White is the focal point of the No. 19 rated WMU passing attack, where he’s accounted for 47 percent of the team’s total yardage…Eastern Michigan allows an average of 1.9 touchdowns per game to opposing wideouts and ranks ninth in the MAC in pass defense…White currently places first nationally in receptions (67), and Top Five in receiving yards (803) and scoring (7).
4. Stedman Bailey — West Virginia at Syracuse. Coming off Offensive Player of the Week honors, Bailey ranks first in the Big East in receiving (634 yards), qualified YPC (18.6), and touchdowns (5). As the go-guy in Dana Holgorsen’s system, he’s capable of WR1 status on a weekly basis…Syracuse is allowing 26.7 points per game and an average of 334.1 total yards…the Mountaineers rank fourth nationally in passing offense (380.5) and 13th in points scored (40.8 ppg).
5. Keenan Allen — California vs. Utah. Allen leads the NCAA in receiving yards per game (138.0) and ranks third nationally in total yards (830). Playing opposite WR Marvin Jones, the sophomore is putting together an All-Conference type season, highlighted by five 100 yard efforts in each of his last six games. The Golden Bears run a pass-balanced pro-style offense with a 55:45 Pass-to-Run ratio…Utah is allowing 12 passing touchdowns in their first six games and ranks second in the Pac-12 in points allowed.
Mid-to-Low End options
Robert Woods — USC at Notre Dame
Chris Givens — Wake Forest at Duke
Michael Floyd — Notre Dame vs. USC
Conner Vernon — Duke vs. Wake Forest
Josh Boyce — TCU vs. New Mexico
Tyler Shoemaker — Boise State vs. Air Force
Justin Blackmon — Oklahoma State at Missouri
Ryan Swope — Texas A&M at Iowa State
A.J. Jenkins — Illinois at Purdue
Kelvin Bolden — Southern Mississippi at SMU
Lance Lewis — East Carolina at Navy
Darius Reynolds — Iowa State vs. Texas A&M
Tavon Austin — West Virginia at Syracuse
Patrick Edwards — Houston vs. Marshall
Royce Pollard — Hawaii vs. New Mexico State
LaVon Brazil — Ohio at Akron
Jarrett Boykin — Virginia Tech vs. Boston College
B.J. Cunningham — Michigan State vs. Wisconsin
Markus Wheaton — Oregon State at Washington State
Tight Ends
1. Vance McDonald — Rice vs. Tulsa
2. Coby Fleener — Stanford vs. Washington
3. Tyler Eifert — Notre Dame vs. USC
4. Dwayne Allen — Clemson vs. North Carolina
5. Cooper Helfet — Duke vs. Wake Forest
6. Tim Biere — Kansas vs. Kansas State
7. Ladarius Green — Louisiana-Lafayette at WKU
8. Austin Seferian-Jenkins — Washington at Stanford
9. Michael Egnew — Rice vs. Tulsa
10. Nick Provo — Syracuse vs. West Virginia
11. Zach Ertz — Stanford vs. Washington
12. Drake Dunsmore — Northwestern vs. Penn State
Kickers
1. Matthew Sims — Northern Illinois at Buffalo
2. Ross Evans — TCU vs. New Mexico
3. Randy Bullock — Texas A&M at Iowa State
4. Dustin Hopkins — Florida State vs. Maryland
5. Andre Heidari — USC at Notre Dame
6. John Potter — Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan
7. Grant Ressel — Missouri vs. Oklahoma State
8. Brett Maher — Nebraska at Minnesota
9. Brandon McManus — Temple at Bowling Green
10. Mike Meyer — Iowa vs. Indiana
11. Jordan Williamson — Stanford vs. Washington
12. David Ruffer — Notre Dame vs. USC