There were several must-watch games on the Week 10 schedule, but this is college football — every game is must-watch TV. The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 3 Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. The No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels drug the Arkansas Razorbacks through the mud. And naturally, there was no shortage of eye-popping performances.
Without further ado, the Week 10 College Football Players of the Week.
College Football Players of the Week | Week 10
Quarterback of the Week: Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss
Jaxson Dart’s career campaign continued against Arkansas in Week 10, as the Mississippi missile launcher exploded for 515 yards and six touchdowns. Perhaps more impressive was his 81% completion rate (25 of 31) while adding 55 yards on the ground.
Dart set Ole Miss records for single-game passing yards and TDs, surpassing Matt Corral and Eli Manning, respectively, in the 63-31 win. He threw for 321 of those yards and four of his scores in the first half.
Clearly, Dart’s at full command of the offense, leading Ole Miss to seven scores on its nine possessions with its starters in the game vs. the Razorbacks.
If he remains in rhythm against the Georgia Bulldogs, the Rebels could pull off the upset and thrust themselves right back into the College Football Playoff conversation.
Honorable mentions: Keyone Jenkins, FIU; Tyler Huff, Jax State; Caden Veltkamp, WKU; Maddux Madsen, Boise; Cam Ward, Miami; Jalen Kitna, UAB; Seth Henigan, Memphis; Owen McCown, UTSA; Kurtis Rourke, Indiana; Dillon Gabriel, Oregon; Zeon Chriss, Houston; Devon Dampier, New Mexico; Sam Leavitt, ASU; LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina.
Offensive Player of the Week: Jordan Watkins, WR, Ole Miss
The primary benefit from Dart’s eruption? WR Jordan Watkins, who caught eight passes for 254 yards and five TDs — both school records. That’s an average of 31.8 yards per reception.
With star pass catcher Tre Harris, Dart looked Watkins’ way early and often, allowing him to put up his video-game numbers with four minutes still remaining in the third quarter.
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His TDs were for 62, 66, three, 11, and 62 yards, showcasing his game-opening ability downfield as well as his separation rate in the red zone.
However, I’ve buried the lede a bit — the craziest part about Watkins statistical avalanche was the fact that he entered the contest with a 17-295-2 receiving line on the year.
Honorable mentions: Tre Stewart, RB JSU; Brashard Smith, RB, SMU; Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise; CJ Campbell Jr., RB, FAU; Jovantae Barnes, RB, Oklahoma; Eric Rivers, WR, FIU; Xavier Restrepo, WR, Miami; Darius Taylor, RB, Minnesota; LeQuint Allen, RB, Syracuse; Demeer Blankumsee, WR, Memphis; RJ Harvey, RB, UCF; Isiah Paige, WR, ODU; Kanye Udoh, RB, Army; Kam Shanks, WR, UAB; Damien Taylor and Gerald Greens, RBs, Troy; Omarion Hampton, RB, UNC; Eli Sanders, RB, New Mexico; Jaylen Sargent, WR, Wyoming; Cam Skattebo, RB, ASU; Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa; Raheim Sanders, RB, South Carolina.
Defensive Players of the Week: Mikail Kamara, EDGE, Indiana
Typically, when a team wins 47-10, the offense receives all of the love. Not here.
The Indiana Hoosiers throttled the Michigan State Spartans’ defense, but the other side of the ball limited shut the Spartans out for the final three quarters.
Mikail Kamara, who ranked 27th in CFN’s Top 100, was all over the field, finishing the second most tackles on the team (7) while leading the way with season highs of 2.5 sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. At 9.5 sacks on the year, Kamara is just a half-sack away from becoming Indiana’s first 10-sack player since Jammie Kirlew in 2008.
After the game, Kamara said, “For some reason, people still don’t believe in us, so we’ve gotta keep going.”
Kamara and the Hoosiers’ defense left no room for doubt in Week 10 — they’re here to be reckoned with.
Honorable mentions: Caleb Weaver, DB, Sam Houston; Kavian Gaither, LB, Sam Houston; Darius Thomas, LB, WKU; Jhalyn Shuler, LB, USF; Princely Umanmielen, DL, Ole Miss; Kobe Stewart, DL, Buffalo; Abdul Carter, DL, PSU; Marlowe Wax, LB, Syracuse; Amare Ferrell, DB, Indiana; Damaje Yancy, CB, Troy; Carson Schwesinger, LB, UCLA; Beau
Atkinson and Kaimon Rucker, DL, UNC; Mike Green, DL, Marshall; Jacob Rodriguez, LB, TTU; Laterrance Welch, DB, ASU; Phoenix Jackson, LB, Fresno; Carson Bruener, LB, Washington; Jamon Dumas-Johnson, LB, Kentucky;
Special Teams Player of the Week: Jesse Mirco, P, Vanderbilt
With a 17-7 win over the Auburn Tigers, the Vanderbilt Commodores will go bowling for the first time since 2018. And while QB Diego Pavia and the defense will receive most of the attention, don’t ignore Jesse Mirco’s outstanding performance.
The prolific punter was called on eight times in Week 10, and he delivered each and every time. He averaged 52.9 yards per attempt while landing three inside the two, two inside the 2-yard line, and bombing a long of 64 yards.
When Pavia and Co. struggled to move the chains, Mirco stepped on the field and swung the momentum right back for his defense.
Honorable mentions: Jadon Cardell, P, Sam Houston; George Eberle, P, NMSU; Michael O’Shaughnessy, P, Charlotte; Tyler Pastula, P, SDSU; Logan Lupo, P, FAU; DK Kaufman, KR, NC State; Dragan Kesich, K, Minnesota; Angus Davies, P, Tulsa; Kam Shanks, PR, UAB; Michael Salgado-Medina, P, Arizona; Jeremy Crawshaw, P, Florida.
Freshman Player of the Week: CJ Bailey, QB, NC State
The NC State Wolfpack crushed the Stanford Cardinal 59-28 in their first-ever meeting, and QB CJ Bailey was a large reason why. His 234 passing yards are far from gaudy, but he completed all but two of his 20 passes for three TDs and zero turnovers.
Bailey also completed three passes of 25+ yards and took six carries for 28 yards — all before being pulled early in the fourth quarter.
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The Wolfpack’s 59 points are the most they’ve scored against an ACC opponent, and their 527 total yards are their most vs. an FBS program since last season. It’s safe to say the future is now for Bailey and NC State.
Honorable mentions: Vaughn Blue, RB, Liberty; Hollywood Smothers, RB, NC State; Malachi Singleton, QB, Arkansas; Dylan Rizk, QB, UCF; Nick Marsh, WR, Michigan State; Jay Crawford, CB, Auburn; OJ Frederique, DB, Miami; Jeremiah Smith, WR, OSU; Kam Shanks, WR, UAB; Ahmad Hardy, RB, ULM; Nate Frazier, RB, Georgia; Kaden Anderson, QB, Wyoming; Michael Van Buren Jr., QB, Miss State; Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville; Bryson Washington, RB, Baylor; Dylan Stewart, DL, South Carolina.
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