Take a bow: The On3 players of the week from Week 7
Here are the On3 players of the week for Week 7 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
LB Isaiah Moore, NC State
The buzz: Boston College has one of the best offensive lines in the nation, but Moore and his defensive mates mucked up things Saturday in the Wolfpack’s surprisingly one-sided 33-7 road victory. NC State limited BC to 291 total yards, including just 97 on the ground. Moore, a fifth-year senior who is starting for the fourth season, led NCSU with nine tackles and had a tackle for loss, an interception, another pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. His interception came four minutes into the third quarter, and the Wolfpack turned it into a TD and a 24-7 lead.
Big Ten
WR David Bell, Purdue
The buzz: Bell and Boilermakers quarterback Aidan O’Connell carved up a previously stout Iowa secondary in Purdue’s shocking 24-7 upset of the second-ranked Hawkeyes. Bell, a junior, had 11 receptions for a career-high 240 yards and a TD against an Iowa defense that had been allowing just 183.7 passing yards per game and had 16 interceptions. Iowa had zero picks Saturday and continued to be confounded by Bell; in three career games against the Hawkeyes, Bell now has a staggering 37 catches for 558 yards and five touchdowns. Saturday’s game was Bell’s fourth 100-yard outing of the season, his eighth in his past 11 games and his 14th in his past 20 games.
Big 12
QB Caleb Williams, Oklahoma
The buzz: A week after rallying OU past Texas, Williams, a true freshman from Washington, D.C., made his first career start a memorable one. He accounted for 361 total yards and five TDs in the Sooners’ 52-31 victory over TCU. Williams was 18-of-23 for 295 yards and four TDs, and also rushed for 66 yards and another score; his rushing touchdown was a 41-yarder late in the third quarter. He also threw two touchdown passes in the third period as OU pulled away from a 24-14 halftime lead. Williams guided OU to scores on nine of its first 11 drives; there also was a missed field goal and one punt. Four of those drives covered at least 75 yards, and two others covered at least 59.
Pac-12
LB Devin Lloyd, Utah
The buzz: Lloyd, a fourth-year junior, starred in the Utes’ come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Arizona State. Lloyd had eight tackles, two sacks, two other tackles for loss and a pass breakup in the 35-21 win. The Utes rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit, and their defense dominated in the second half, holding the Sun Devils to 97 total yards on 29 plays in the final two quarters. Lloyd, who was a member of our Midseason All-America team, now has 13 tackles for loss on the season.
SEC
RB Tyrion Davis-Price, LSU
The buzz: Davis-Price, a third-year sophomore, matched his season rushing total and set a single-game school record in the process in the Tigers’ 49-42 upset of Florida. Davis-Price had rushed for 287 yards in LSU’s first six games, then rushed for that same total against the Gators. He carried 36 times (14 more than his previous career-high) and scored three touchdowns. LSU came in ranked 127th nationally in rushing offense, at 83.3 yards per game, and with just four rushing TDs. Davis-Price had 94 yards and a TD in the first half, then added 81 yards and a TD in the third quarter and 112 yards and a TD in the fourth period. LSU’s single-game rushing record had been 285 by Derrius Guice against Texas A&M in 2016. It also was the most yards ever surrendered by Florida; the record had been 238 by Herschel Walker in the “Lindsay Scott Game” in 1980.
Group of 5
QB Jake Bentley, South Alabama
The buzz: The well-traveled Bentley, a sixth-year senior playing for his third team, had one of the best games of his career in the Jaguars’ 41-14 victory over Georgia Southern. Bentley began his career at South Carolina before moving on to Utah and, finally, to South Alabama this year. He threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for two TDs. Both rushing touchdowns came in the first half, and he also tossed two TD passes in the second quarter to stake the Jaguars to a 31-8 halftime lead. His passing yardage total was the third-highest of his career, and the three TDs were the most he had thrown in a game since December 2018.