Well, the lights don’t get much brighter than they were on Saturday night. With a chance to really turn this season into something truly special for the Vols, Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt absolutely dominated a shaky Alabama secondary. It’s been particularly impressive how Hyatt has had to stand and deliver in the absence of Cedric Tillman. Yet, all the dude has done is make plays. On Saturday, no one can hang with Hyatt, who caught six passes and turned it into 207 yards and five touchdowns.
Hooker was dealing, for sure – his stat line reads 21/30 for 385, five touchdowns and a pick, with 56 rushing yards to go with it. That’s impressive against what was supposed to be a vaunted Tide defense. But, to me, what really makes his game impressive is the poise under pressure with which he plays. With 15 seconds left in the game, Hooker completed two gutsy passes that got the Vols offense in position to win the game with a field goal. That was as impressive as any single touchdown he’s thrown all season. The moment has never seemed too big for Hooker.
Meanwhile, out west, we had a couple of really strong quarterback performances from guys who might’ve been in the Heisman race early on, but fell out of it as their team lost. Michael Penix, Jr. posted an ungodly stat line against Arizona. The Huskies quarterback went 36/44 for 516 yards, four passing touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. Utah upended USC’s season, and to the surprise of no one who has watched the Utes, Cam Rising was doing some gutsy Cam Rising things. His stat line reads 30/44 for 415 yards and two passing touchdowns, with 60 rushing yards and three more touchdowns on the ground to boot. But, what the box score didn’t capture was the heart with which this dude plays. Going for and converting the two-point attempt that would essentially decided the game took some stones.
Blake Corum pulled away for another back-breaking run in the Big Ten on Saturday. Up by seven, Corum ripped one for 61 yards to go up 31-17 in the third quarter. The Wolverines rushing attack, helmed by Corum and Donovan Edwards, has been relentless. Corum finished the game with 166 yards and two touchdowns. Edwards finished with 173 yards and two touchdowns. Speaking of Big Ten running backs, nobody is talking about Chase Brown, but the Illinois running back has quietly surpassed 1,000 yards and currently sits atop the FBS as its rushing yard leader. Against Minnesota, in a game that had massive implications for the Big Ten West race, Brown hung 180 yards on the Golden Gophers.
You could’ve made a strong case for Bryce Young to be in this week’s top five. His return to the offense and how it performed compared to the week before with Jalen Milroe at the helm should tell you all you need to know about how valuable he is to the Tide. But, I don’t typically put losing performances in the Heisman Watch. *shrugs*
Lastly, we have to go to this week’s “gaudy stat line of the week,” and I’ll mention Blake Watson of Old Dominion, who rushed for 256 and three tuddies as the Monarchs upset Coastal Carolina, and effectively ended the Cotton Bowl hopes of the Chanticleers.
HEISMAN POINTS (WEEK 7)
- Hendon Hooker
- Jalin Hyatt
- Cam Rising
- Michael Penix, Jr.
- Blake Corum
HEISMAN POINTS (SEASON)
- Hendon Hooker, CJ Stroud – 14
- Caleb Williams – 11
- Bryce Young – 9
- Blake Corum – 6
- Brock Bowers, Cam Rising – 5
- Jordan Addison, Stetson Bennett, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jalin Hyatt – 4
- Will Anderson, Sam Hartman, Anthony Richardson, Bijan Robinson, DJ Uiagalelei – 3
- Michael Penix, Jr., Will Rogers, Deuce Vaughn, Mike Wright – 2
- Bo Nix, Dorian Thompson-Robinson – 1
If you haven’t already, be sure to go subscribe to the College Football Roundup Podcast, on which Steven McCash and myself break down all the action from the college football world and look ahead to the week to come.
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.
Subscribe to the SoBros Network Patreon here – $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers!
