For all of the talk around the SEC, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, the Ohio State Buckeyes are just out there kind of quietly eviscerating their opponents week in and week out. That’s giving quarterback CJ Stroud the chance to stack up some stellar performances, and boy, is that guy putting on a show or what? Michigan State was the latest to fall victim to this Buckeyes offense, and Stroud put them in the dirt. He was 21/26 for 361 yards and a whopping SIX touchdown passes (with one pick). The Buckeyes hung 49 on the Spartans in their own house. Stroud now leads the FBS with 24 passing touchdowns on the season.
Meanwhile, Vols quarterback Hendon Hooker had another quality outing against a much more lively opponent in 25th ranked LSU. His numbers weren’t exactly eye-popping, but it was the impressive nature of the throws he was making and the firm command of the offense he had that really felt “Heisman-esque” if you will. He was 17/27 for 239 yards and two passing touchdowns, with 56 more yards on the ground. I think he’s positioned himself nicely in this year’s Heisman race. He’s done enough to get in the mix, and if he has a day against Alabama (which he’s totally capable of), he could emerge as one of the guys getting an invite to New York for what is shaping up to be a special season for Tennessee.
We all know good and damn well that the Heisman trophy flat out will not go to a defensive player, but if it did, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more deserving than Alabama’s Will Anderson. In a game that was ugly as dog shit, the Tide needed someone like Anderson on defense to really take over. He felt like a brick wall on Saturday night. While he didn’t register a single sack, he had a whopping eight quarterback pressures that might as well have been sacks. When you’re talking about straight up value, that was one of those games that you truly see the value Anderson has on that defense.
Out west, we had a few strong performances from the Pac-12. UCLA absolutely stomped Utah in a surprising contest that saw Dorian Thompson-Robinson throw for four touchdowns, and get an additional score on the ground. Zach Charbonnet had 198 rushing yards and a score in that game as well. USC’s Caleb Williams made a hell of a throw…I dare say, an NFL throw...to Mario Williams for a touchdown, one of two touchdowns that Williams threw to Williams on Saturday night as the Trojans trounced Washington State 30-14.
Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers continues to post some major yardage. He attempted 48 passes on Saturday, completed 31 of them, and turned it into 395 yards and three touchdowns. This Bulldogs offense is a ton of fun to watch when it’s on. Five different players scored a touchdown against Arkansas, and 11 different guys caught a pass from Rogers. He is now sitting atop the FBS in passing yards with 2,110, and the Bulldogs find themselves ranked 16th in the nation at 5-1.
Finally, when you have an outright gaudy performance, you know you’re going to get some love in the SoBros Network Heisman Watch. I couldn’t have written this without mentioning Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda, who WENT OFF to the tune of 320 rushing yards and SIX…count ’em…SIX rushing touchdowns. Have yourself a day, Israel.
HEISMAN POINTS (WEEK 6)
- CJ Stroud
- Hendon Hooker
- Will Anderson
- Will Rogers
- Dorian Thompson-Robinson
HEISMAN POINTS (SEASON)
- CJ Stroud – 14
- Caleb Williams – 11
- Hendon Hooker, Bryce Young – 9
- Brock Bowers, Blake Corum – 5
- Jordan Addison, Stetson Bennett, Jahmyr Gibbs – 4
- Will Anderson, Sam Hartman, Anthony Richardson, Bijan Robinson, DJ Uiagalelei – 3
- Cam Rising, Will Rogers, Deuce Vaughn, Mike Wright – 2
- Bo Nix, Dorian Thompson-Robinson – 1
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.
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