College football Week 11: 15 players to watch

Florida State has stopped its mid-season three-game losing streak by pounding Georgia Tech and Miami the last two weeks. Those wins have coincided with the emergence of sophomore running back Trey Benson. Benson, who carried the ball just 51 times over the first seven games of the season, has 33 carries over the last two weeks and totaled 239 yards and two TDs. Last week, Benson ran over the Hurricanes for a career-high 128 yards and even caught a 25-yard pass. Florida State is ranked again and travels to Syracuse this weekend. The Noles have won 12 of 13 against the Orange.  

Daniels' 25-yard run in overtime and his dart of a pass to complete the two-point conversion that toppled Alabama last week are the talk of the SEC. Daniels, an Arizona State transfer, went blow for blow with last year's Heisman trophy winner Bryce Young in that fourth quarter. Down four with just over 4:00 left in regulation, Daniels led the Tigers down the field and tossed a beautiful pass to Mason Taylor in the corner of the endzone. Then down seven, his rush and pass in OT will be remembered for years in Baton Rouge. Now the Tigers must be weary of a possible letdown on the road against Arkansas. 

The Demon Deacons enter their game against North Carolina riding a two-game losing skid where Hartman has been uncharacteristically loose with the football. He threw picks and lost three fumbles against Louisville two weeks ago and then tossed three picks against NC State last week. Wake goes up against an improving but not really stout Carolina defense that Hartman has torched before. Last year, he threw for 398 yards and 5 touchdowns in a 58-55 loss. In 2020, he threw for 429 yards and totaled 5 TDs in a 59-53 loss. He's got the stats in his favor. Now he needs to get the win. 

Tennessee and Hendon Hooker's magical season came to a screeching halt in Athens last week. The Vols offense that had been so dominant looked so stagnant against Georgia in a 27-13 loss. Hooker, a Heisman favorite, threw for just 195 yards and scored no touchdowns in the loss and will likely look to get back on track against Missouri this week. Going into the Georgia game, Hooker threw 21 touchdowns and just one interception (he threw a second one against the Bulldogs). The Volunteers will need to win the rest of their games in convincing fashion if they want to grab back into the playoff chase. I look for Hooker to have a big day against a Missouri team that looked better against Georgia than the Vols did. 

Can Ole Miss close the door on Alabama? The Tide has struggled on the road, and Oxford will be ready to pounce. Judkins could have a big game. He's coming off a 205-yard effort against Texas A&M, which put him over 1,000 for the season.  The freshman from Pike Road, Alabama, even set his season high with 34 carries in the win over the Aggies. Look for the Rebels to lean heavily on Judkins to both keep the Tide's offense off the field and to make their own offense much more efficient. 

North Carolina heads down the interstate to face Wake Forest with a lot on the line. A win gives the Heels the Coastal Division title and a berth in the ACC Championship game to face Clemson. The last two Wake-Carolina games have been shootouts: 58-55 and 59-53, both Heels wins. This will be Maye's first start in this series, and he looks to continue his dark horse Heisman campaign. Maye leads the nation with 31 passing TDs and is 4th in passing yardage, and leads the Heels in passing (obviously) and rushing yards. 

Max Duggan gets the press but running back Kendre Miller has been heating up. His 158 yards and touchdown in the win over Texas Tech last week keeps up his streak of four games of at least 100 yards (and 6th time in 7 games) and scoring at least one touchdown in all nine games this season. He possesses the unique ability to run very physically (he's excellent at shedding would-be tacklers) while also being able to find cutback opportunities and hit holes as they develop. TCU heads to Texas for a key Big 12 matchup as the Horned Frogs try to hang on to a possible College Football Playoff spot. 

Modecai had a ridiculous game against Houston last week. Here we go: 28 of 37 for 379 yards and 9 touchdowns. Yes, nine touchdowns. That set the school and AAC record and tied an NCAA record with seven of those TDs in the first half. The 77-63 score set the record for most combined points in an FBS game in regulation. This came after an awful showing against Cincinnati in his last game (105 passing yards, 1 TD, 5 sacks).  Mordecai, an Oklahoma transfer, has SMU still in the thick of the AAC race and takes his Mustangs to last place South Florida on Saturday. 

Brian Kelly typically had a strong secondary during his tenure at Notre Dame. So did current head coach Marcus Freeman during his stops as an assistant at Notre Dame and Cincinnati. Freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison could be the next defensive back to shine under Freeman's leadership. He was everywhere against Clemson last week, picking off two passes and returning one for a touchdown. Freeman compares him to a cornerback he used to coach -- Cincinnati star and current New York Jet Sauce Gardner. Notre Dame takes on Navy on Saturday. 

There's a really interesting matchup in the Pacific Northwest on Saturday as Washington travels south to face Oregon. It is also a showdown between two of the top transfer quarterbacks: the Ducks' Bo Nix and the Huskies' Michael Penix Jr. While Nix is squarely in the Heisman race, it is Penix who leads the nation in passing yards. That stands to reason since he simply slings it every week. He's averaging 49.6 pass attempts over the last five games, including 52 in a win over Oregon State last week. If Washington goes down, they'll go down slinging. 

Brad Roberts is one of the service academies' top players this season. Roberts leads the Mountain West in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns this season. He's rushed for over 130 yards in three of the Falcons' last four games, including 135 yards last week in a win over Army.  Air Force hosts last-place New Mexico on Saturday, a team Roberts lit up for 142 yards and 2 TDs last season and 177 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2020. 

It is no secret that I'm a big fan of Bijan Robinson -- and why not? Robinson keeps chugging along and having a sensational season. Last week he roared for 209 rushing yards and a touchdown in a big win over Kansas State that puts the Big 12 championship game in the Longhorns' sights. He has seven straight 100-yard games with a TD in 8 of 9 games this season. Texas hosts undefeated TCU, which is a must-win if the Horns want to reach Arlington.

La'Damian Webb has been extraordinary over the last two weeks. On Halloween weekend against Arkansas State, he carried the ball 28 times for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-3 win. Last week, he got 35 touches for 247 yards and 4 TDs in a 38-31 win over Georgia Southern. Webb has made the rounds. He began his college career at Jones College before playing at Florida State in 2020. He would transfer to Troy before backing out in the spring and heading back to Jones. He led NJCAA in rushing yards per game last season and then transferred to South Alabama. He's a little over 100 yards away from 1,000 on the season despite fighting through a rib injury in October. South Alabama hosts lowly Texas State on Saturday. 

Williams is having a sensational season that tends to slide under the radar. The Oklahoma transfer is third in the nation in passing touchdowns and 9th in yards and has 28 touchdowns and 1 interception all season. With the Heisman race still, well, a race Williams could make a surge by having a big day over lowly Colorado on Friday and with key games against UCLA and Notre Dame before, hopefully, an appearance in the Pac-12 championship game.  

Craig "Sqwirl" Williams is one of the great stories of the season. The fifth-year junior has had a myriad of injuries, including tearing his ACL and MCL, which has taken him off the field and taken his massive skill set from him when he can play. He entered Baylor is a slim, quick back but now has a much more mean frame and running style. It exploded for him last week as he put up 192 ground yards last week in a big win over Oklahoma ... which is impressive for a guy that had run for just 456 yards his entire career entering the game. Richard Reese, who was banged up and limited to four carries against the Sooners, is the unquestioned lead back ... but a healthy Williams could give the Bears a push toward a spot in the Big 12 championship game. A win over Kansas State would be a major step towards achieving it.