College Football 2014: Week Three Heroes

Another weekend of college football is in the books, so let’s go through who was great on the gridiron with my Week Three Heroes:

Brigham Young: According to ESPN’s Power Football Index, the Cougars have the best chance of all teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision of going undefeated this year. They’re 3-0 now, and on track, beating Houston 33-25 on Thursday night in Provo. Impressively, BYU has outscored its first three opponents (UConn, Texas, Houston) 101-50 and

Should BYU continue to win, their quarterback, Taysom Hill, is going to continue to garner national attention, which bodes well for a possible Heisman Trophy run. There are few more electrifying players in the game than Hill, who had a pretty good night for the Cougars, going 21-34 for 200 yards and a touchdown (plus, two interceptions) passing and added 160 yards and a rushing TD in the ground game. One of the best double-threat quarterbacks in America right now.

Gunner Kiel: Making his college debut, the much-heralded Cincinnati quarterback who originally committed to Indiana, then LSU, redshirted his freshman season at Notre Dame and eventually transferred to become a Bearcat, posted eye-popping numbers: 25-37 for 418 and six touchdowns as the Bearcats withstood a late Toledo rally to win 58-34. Pretty impressive opening game for a player who has a chance to transform a middling Cincy program.

Boston College: Rank underdogs against a USC team who’d stoned Stanford on the road last week, the Eagles managed to ask some serious questions about the Cardinal’s offensive potency, notching more than 45-0 rushing yards (and over 500 in total) against the same front Stanford struggled to penetrate seven days ago. Their defense also kept the Trojan offense mostly in check.

The 37-31 victory will be remembered as one of the school’s all-time greats.

East Carolina: The Pirates – not for the first time – beat Virginia Tech 28-21 a week after the Hokies recorded a huge road win against Ohio State. ECU’s quarterback Shane Carden threw three touchdowns and ran for the game-winning score with 16 seconds left. The win was set up by a furious first quarter that ended with East Carolina up 21-0, and the Hokies were never able to come back. Big win for the Pirates!

South Carolina: Great day for the Carolinas as Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks relied on for a 38-35 victory over highly-fancied Georgia. It was a remarkable transformation, particularly by the defense, after they were shredded by Texas A&M two weeks ago. This week, it was a late defensive stand that secured the upset, with the Gamecocks holding Georgia out after the Bulldogs had a first-and-goal inside the South Carolina 5-yard line. A gutsy win!

KD Cannon: If it wasn’t clear last week, it certainly is now. The freshman Baylor receiver is the new big-play threat for Art Briles’ explosive offense. A week after he caught six passes for 223 yards, Cannon was at it again against a vulnerable Buffalo pass defense, catching another six balls for a comparatively-disappointing 189 yards and a touchdown. The No 8 Bears continued on their winning ways, cruising to an easy 63-21 final.

UCLA: As a USC fan, this is hard to write, but the Bruins deserve credit. Specifically, backup QB Jerry Neuheisel came in for the injured Brett Hundley and threw two crucial touchdowns, including the game-winner (33 yards to Jordan Payton) with three minutes left to play, lifting his squad above Texas, 20-17, in a hard-fought battle inside AT&T Stadium. Neuheisel went 23-30 for 178 yards and those two scores off the bench.

UMass: I love a good fake punt for a touchdown and the Minutemen provided a sparkling example when punter Brian McDonald engineered a perfect play, faking the punt – he pretty much did everything but put boot to ball – and finding a wide-open Rodney Mills for the 53-yard strike against a Vanderbilt team who, you’d imagine, might’ve sensed a fake, given it was fourth-and-five near midfield.  Alas, the Minutemen fell to the Commodores 34-31.

Arkansas: The Razorbacks beat a team from a Power Five conference for the first time since October 13, 2012, handing out a lesson in running football to Texas Tech’s beleaguered defense.

The Hogs recorded a 49-28 win that was particularly notable because, of Arkansas’  511 total yards, 449 were on the ground. Jonathan Williams rushed for 145 yards and 4 touchdowns on 22 carries and stable-mate Alex Collins carried 27 times for 223 yards and two scores. All up, Arkansas ran in seven touchdowns and quarterback Brandon Allan only threw the ball twelve times.

Bo Wallace: The Ole Miss quarterback completed all but five passes (23 of 28) for 320 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-15 rout of Louisiana Lafayette. He connected on his first fourteen attempts, helping the Rebels to 554 yards of total offense and an easy victory. How the Rebels stack up against top SEC competition will be very interesting to gauge as they get into conference play.

J.T. Barrett: A week after struggling and being sacked six times by a fierce Virginia Tech defense, the Ohio State quarterback got the bounce-back game he desperately needed, throwing for matching a school record with six touchdown passes (five of which came in the first half) as the Buckeyes trounced out-gunned Kent State 66-0.