Take a bow: The On3 players of the week from Week 11

On3 imageby:Mike Huguenin11/14/21

MikeHuguenin

Here are the On3 players of the week for Week 10 of the season. Each week, we pick a player of the week in each Power 5 conference as well as an overall Group of 5 player of the week. Everything being equal, more weight is given to big performances against “good” opponents.

ACC

QB Phil Jurkovec, Boston College
The buzz:
In his second game back after he missed six with a hand injury, Jurkovec had 381 yards of total offense and accounted for five touchdowns in a 41-30 victory over Georgia Tech that made BC bowl-eligible. A fourth-year junior who began his career at Notre Dame, Jurkovec threw for 310 yards and two TDs and rushed for another 71 and three more scores. He had four career rushing touchdowns before Saturday. Both TD passes went to Zay Flowers, one for 39 yards and one for 48. BC had 505 yards of total offense, the most by the Eagles against a FBS opponent this season.

Big Ten

WR Garrett Wilson, Ohio State
The buzz:
Wilson missed Ohio State’s win last week over Northwestern with an undisclosed injury, but he was back Saturday against Purdue and made up for lost time. Wilson, a third-year junior, had 10 receptions for 126 yards and a career-high three TDs in the Buckeyes’ 59-31 rout. The reception total was the second-highest of his career and the yardage total the third-highest. Wilson caught a 21-yard TD pass to cap off Ohio State’s first possession of the game, had a 12-yarder early in the second quarter to make it 35-7, then a 24-yarder early in the third quarter for a 52-17 lead.

Big 12

LB Terrel Bernard, Baylor
The buzz:
Baylor’s defense shut down Oklahoma’s potent offense in a 27-14 victory over the Sooners, and Bernard — a fifth-year senior — was a big part of the defensive success. He led the Bears with nine tackles and also had two sacks as OU was limited to 260 yards and its lowest point total under coach Lincoln Riley. Bernard sacked OU starter Caleb Williams in the third quarter and backup Spencer Rattler in the fourth. It was the second multi-sack game of his career. He now leads the Bears with five sacks and is second with 62 tackles.

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Kayvon Thibodeaux wreaked havoc against Washington State to earn our Pac-12 player of the week honor. (Eric Evans/Oregon Athletics)

Pac-12

Oregon DE Kayvon Thibodeaux
The buzz:
Maybe Thibodeaux’s stats from Saturday’s 38-24 win over Washington State don’t pop out — he had six tackles and two sacks and wasn’t credited with any quarterback hurries. But if you watched the Ducks’ victory, you certainly agree with what ESPN play-by-play guy Dave Flemming said late in the fourth quarter: “He has blown up play after play after play.” Indeed, it’s safe to think Cougars QB Jayden de Laura will have visions of Thibodeaux, a junior, crashing through the line for the next few days. Washington State’s offense, a version of the run and shoot, doesn’t use tight ends, which meant LT Liam Ryan was matched up one-and-one on Thibodeaux for much of the night. It wasn’t a fair matchup as Thibodeaux wreaked havoc. The final score was deceivingly close. The Cougars got a garbage-time TD with 9 seconds left and benefited from a questionable fumble call when Ducks QB Anthony Brown was going in for a score that would’ve made it 31-14. Regardless, Thibodeaux dominated.

SEC

QB Will Rogers, Mississippi State
The buzz:
Rogers, a sophomore, quietly is putting together one of the best seasons in Mississippi State history. He helped Mississippi State rally from 25 down Saturday to beat host Auburn 43-34; it was the biggest comeback in school history. Rogers was 44-of-55 for 415 yards and a school-record six touchdowns. The yardage total was the 11th-most in a game in school history, and he now has four 400-yard games this season; Rogers has thrown for 832 yards and 10 TDs in the past two games. He threw a TD pass late in the first half to cut Auburn’s halftime lead to 28-10, then was 24-of-26 for 271 yards and five touchdowns in the second half. His fourth scoring pass gave the Bulldogs a 29-28 lead with 13:28 left in the game; he threw two more in the next eight minutes for a 43-28 advantage. Rogers has thrown for 3,724 yards this season, second-most in school history and 69 behind Dak Prescott’s record-setting total from 2015. Rogers leads the SEC in passing yards by 699, and his completion percentage of 75.7 leads the nation.

Group of 5

RB Lew Nichols, Central Michigan
The buzz:
The nation’s third-leading rusher? It’s Nichols, a third-year freshman who is averaging 129.7 yards per game. Nichols rushed for a career-high 215 yards and four TDs on 43 carries in the Chippewas’ 54-30 victory over Kent State last Wednesday to earn our Group of 5 player of the week nod. It was his fifth consecutive 100-yard outing and his seventh of the season. Nichols had one TD each in the second and third quarters, then had two in the final period. He had three 1-yard scores and a 12-yarder as Central Michigan clinched bowl eligibility and remained in the hunt for the MAC West Division title.