There were several must-watch games on the Week 7 schedule, but this is college football — every game is must-watch TV. The South Carolina Gamecocks nearly upset the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Oregon Ducks knocked off the Ohio State Buckeyes in Autzen Stadium. And naturally, there was no shortage of eye-popping performances.
Without further ado, the Week 7 College Football Players of the Week.
College Football Players of the Week | Week 7
Quarterback of the Week: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Dillon. Gabriel.
The most prolific passer on the college football field right now is more than just padded stats, and he proved as much against Ohio State’s vaunted defense. In arguably the Game of the Year, Gabriel completed 23 of 34 passes for 341 yards, two touchdowns, and, more importantly, no interceptions.
MORE: 2024 College Football Power Rankings
He also added 32 yards on four carries, including a 27-yard keeper passed the pylon early in the further quarter to give Oregon a 29-28 lead. Field goals by both teams and a game-sealing scramble from OSU QB Will Howard later, Gabriel left Autzen Stadium with the Ducks’ second all-time (and second straight) victory over the Buckeyes.
History didn’t stop there for the standout signal-caller, as he moved up to No. 3 in career passing yards (16,655), trailing only Houston’s Case Keenum and Hawaii’s Timmy Chang.
Honorable mentions: Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV; Alonza Barnett, James Madison; Brett Gabbert, Miami-OH; Riley Leonard, Notre Dame; Parker Navarro, Ohio; Luke Altmyer, Illinois; Bryson Daily, Army; Cade Klubnik, Clemson; Devon Dampier, New Mexico; Jordan McCloud, Texas State; Evan Bullock, Louisiana Tech; Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt; E.J. Warner, Rice.
Offensive Player of the Week: Tyler Warren, TE, Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions QB Drew Allar may have thrown three picks, but the passing game was humming. And by “the passing game,” I mean TE Tyler Warren, who hauled in 17 passes, tying the FBS single-game record for a tight end.
He finished the game with 224 yards and a TD, which was a thing of beauty in its own right. On a trick play coming out of halftime, Warren snapped the ball to backup QB Beau Pribula and worked his way downfield.
Pribula lateraled to Allar, who launched a 32-yard bomb to the end zone. It’s not as if Warren was wide open, either, as he had to moss a USC Trojans safety for the score.
DOUBLE PASS AND WHAT A CATCH! pic.twitter.com/DSOQOIa14t
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 12, 2024
Honorable mentions: Quinton Cooley, RB, Liberty; Jai’Den Thomas, RB, UNLV; Jack Hestera, WR, Utah State; Jalen Royals, WR, Utah State; Ricky White III, WR, UNLV; Tre Stewart, RB, JSU; Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa; Tawee Walker, RB, Wisconsin; Chrishon McCray, WR, Kent State; Jamal Haynes, RB, GA Tech; Cam Skattebo, RB, ASU; Evan Stewart, WR, Oregon; Ismail Mahdi, RB, Texas State; Anthony Hankerson, RB, Oregon State; Savion Red, RB, Nevada; Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State; DJ Giddens, Kansas State.
Defensive Player of the Week: Kyle Kennard, EDGE, South Carolina
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets transfer Kyle Kennard has lit up every offensive line across from him this season, and Alabama was no exception in Week 7. The South Carolina Gamecocks may have come up short, 27-25, but Kennard did all he could to keep his squad in the game.
In fact, he earned two of those points by sacking Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe in the end zone, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty and a safety. Kennard ranked fourth on the team with seven total tackles and led the way with two sacks and three TFLs.
Honorable mentions: Travion Barnes, LB, FIU; Casey Larkin, DB, Army; Silas Walters, DB, Miami-OH; Solomon Brown, CB, Buffalo; Skyler Gill-Howard, DT, NIU; Brandon Berger, DL, Ball State; Howard Cross III, DT, Notre Dame; Preston Zachman, S, Wisconsin; Aaron Graves, DT, Iowa; LT Overton, EDGE, Alabama; Jackson Woodard, LB, UNLV; Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas; Kitan Crawford, DB, Nevada; Matayo Uiagalelei, EDGE, Oregon; Tyreek Skipper, S, Louisiana; Tyrone Lewis Jr., S, Louisiana.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Drew Stevens, K, Iowa
An Iowa special teamer? Not surprising, right? But we aren’t talking about the Hawkeye’s punter this week — it’s Drew Stevens’ time to shine. He connected on all four of his field goals and extra points, matching Washington’s point total of 16 on the day.
While kicks of 25 and 37 aren’t anything to write home about, Stevens connected from 46 and 51 yards out, the latter of which was Iowa’s final score of the game.
Honorable mentions: Cole Becker, K, Utah; Lachlan Wilson, P, Cal; Caleb Junko, P, Pitt; Tyler Pastula, P, SDSU; Ivan Mora, P, Wake Forest; Ethan Daune, P, Buffalo; Ryan Hanson, P, JMU; Corey Wren, KR, UTEP; Jakob Anderson, P, Rutgers; Silas Bolden, PR, Texas; Ryan Barker, K, Penn State; Alijah Huzzie, PR, UNC; Luke Wysong, PR, New Mexico; Jackson Ross, P, Tennessee; Rece Verhoff, K, Marshall; Alex Smith, P, Georgia Southern.
Freshman Player of the Week: Ryan Browne, QB, Purdue
Purdue dropped to 1-5 and 0-3 in the Big Ten following their loss to Illinois in Week 7. But the Boilermakers pushed the Fighting Illini to the brink, losing on a failed two-point conversion in overtime.
More impressive? They were on their redshirt freshman QB who had 27 career attempts to his name. With Hudson Card out with an injury, Ryan Browne was thrust into his second career start after working with the first team vs. Northwestern late last season.
FREE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
You couldn’t tell on the field, as he went 18 of 26 for 297 yards and three TDs, adding another 118 yards on 17 carries with zero turnovers. A true underdog, Brown moved to Florida from Michigan alone to continue his high school career — amid the pandemic, no less.
Yet, Browne’s battle with adversity wasn’t over yet, as he had to play a post-graduate season at Milford Academy in New Berlin, New York, before landing with Purdue. But he was prepared for his moment to shine — whenever it came — and it was clear to see against Illinois. Head coach Ryan Walters may have a QB conundrum on his hands when Card returns.
Honorable mentions: Christian Bodnar, S, Liberty; Damon Walters, DB, Northwestern; Ricardo Jones, S, Clemson; Demond Williams Jr., QB, Washington; Kam Shanks, WR, UAB; Isaac Brown, RB, Louisville; Ahmad Hardy, RB, ULM; Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.