College football Week 16: 15 players to watch

Hall currently leads the nation in rushing yards (1,357) and fourth in rushing touchdowns (17). He's rushed for over 100 yards in eight games and totaled 91 and 97 yards the weeks he didn't. He has scored at least one touchdown in all 10 games, and multiple touchdowns six times. Hall is looking to be the first Cyclone to finish in the top ten in voting since Troy Davis in 1996. The last time he faced their Big 12 title opponent, Oklahoma, he ran for 139 yards and a pair of TDs in the 37-30 win.

Heiligh was huge against Troy last week, keeping the Chanticleers' perfect season intact. He caught 11 passes for 138 yards against the Trojans with the second of two touchdowns coming with 35 seconds remaining to give Coastal Carolina the 42-38 win. He's caught a TD in seven of the ten games he's played this season and will be a major factor if the Chanticleers are to beat Louisiana for the Sun Belt title. 

The biggest name in the biggest game this weekend will be a guy who missed the first meeting between the two teams. Trevor Lawrence missed Clemson's loss to Notre Dame back on November 7th due to testing positive for COVID-19 and while his replacement, D.J. Uiagalelei did a nice job, not having a guy that has played in two national championship game is a noticeable loss. Lawrence looked great in his return to action against Pitt but was mediocre in an easy win over Virginia Tech. From here are out, every game is a must-win if Clemson is going to get back to the College Football Playoff championship game. The first step is Notre Dame in Charlotte for the ACC title. 

Patterson has been amazing this year. He has rushed for 1,025 and 18 touchdowns this season ... in a five-game season. His most prolific work was his 409 yards and 8 TDs against Kent State just after Thanksgiving. He'll face a solid run defense in Ball State for the MAC championship on Friday.

Does Northwestern really have a shot against Ohio State? If they do, it will be because quarterback Peyton Ramsey limited his mistakes and played with poise. Ramsey has been up and down this year -- a week after throwing two touchdowns and no picks in a huge win over Wisconsin, he threw two picks a no TDs in a loss to Michigan State. Ramsey throws short passes but can pop off a big play every once in a while. He needs to be quick, concise and error-free for the Wildcats to stun the nation. 

Louisiana has lost one game all season long ... and it happened to be to the team they will face this week for the Sun Belt championship. Trey Ragas rushed for 77 yards in that earlier game against Coastal Carolina but failed to find the endzone (backfield mate Elijah Mitchell did score twice). He did find the endzone twice in a big win over Appalachian State win, putting the Ragin' Cajuns in this title fight.

Rattler has done a much better job protecting the football over the last five games, throwing 11 touchdowns and just two picks. He led the Big 12 in passing yards, yards per pass, and quarterback rating. Rattler played well in the Sooners' first meeting with Iowa State (24 of 35, 300 yards, 2 TDs) but a late interception sealed the win for the Cyclones. He'll get his shot at revenge with a Big 12 championship on the line. 

The Oregon-Colorado game is one of those extra games that conferences tacked on to the end of the season. One name to watch is Brenden Rice ... son of arguably the best player in NFL history, Jerry Rice. Rice, the younger, set a Colorado record by becoming the first Buffaloes player with a receiving touchdown and a punt return for a touchdown in the same game in 25 years when he did both in a loss to Utah last week. The man takes advantage of his opportunities. Rice has only caught six passes all year but he's averaging 20 yards per reception and has two TD grabs. And that punt return for a touchdown? That's his only return of the year. 

Ridder has his Bearcats on the outside looking in at a College Football Playoff berth. One of their issues in getting noticed is that Cincinnati hasn't played a game in nearly a month. Ridder showed off his arm in that last game, a win at UCF when he threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, his legs didn't fail him either, rushing for two more scores. Ridder, who just won the AAC Offensive Player of the Year, has been great this season and many people may get their first real look at him in the AAC title game with Tulsa ... a matchup that has been canceled twice already.   

When the season was on the line against their biggest rival, USC could count on Slovis to make big plays to lead a comeback win. Down 28-10 to UCLA, Slovis threw four second-half touchdowns ... including the go-ahead touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 16 seconds left ... to give the Trojans the 43-38 win and kept their perfect season alive. It would take several miracles for USC to vault into serious College Football Playoff conversations, but this may the major step for this program to be a contender moving forward. Slovis, a sophomore, will be a huge part of that. First up: beating Oregon for the Pac 12 championship. 

A quarterback has won the Heisman trophy in nine of the last ten years and a receiver hasn't won it since 1991, but DeVonta Smith may be the frontrunner for the 2020 award. Look what Smith has done this season: 83 catches (2nd, nationally), 1,327 yards (1st), and 15 receiving touchdowns (2nd). He has rushed for a touchdown this season and last week returned a punt for a TD. Mac Jones has been outstanding, but Smith is having one of the best seasons a receiver could dream of. He goes up against Florida in the SEC title game with a College Football Playoff spot on the line. 

Teague has had one of the more interesting statistical seasons. He has had a big day rushing one week and then not so much the next week. His two best games have come against ranked opponents (110 yards against Penn State; 169 yards versus Indiana). That bodes well for the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday. First off, their opponent is No. 14 Northwestern. Second, Teague only rushed for 46 yards and didn't score in the Buckeyes' blowout of Michigan State. Going by his roller-coaster history, look for Teague to have a big day

Sure, Florida killed its title hopes with a stunning home loss to LSU. In that game, Trask's two interceptions against a weak Tigers defense likely knocked him from a shot at the Heisman as well. That doesn't negate what has been an outstanding senior season. He leads the nation in passing yards and passing touchdowns (he has ten more TD passes than anyone else in the country) and did put up 474 yards against LSU in the loss. Trask does get a major opportunity to make a final statement as the Gators go up against No. 1 Alabama for the SEC championship. 

Quarterback Grant Wells has had a solid freshman season, but he and the Thundering Herd are reeling of late. Marshall has played just one game since November 14th and that was an ugly loss to Rice, 20-0. In that game, Wells threw five interceptions -- one more than he had thrown all year long to that point. Against Middle Tennessee State, Wells threw for 336 yards and 5 TDs ... with 137 of those yards going to receiver Willie Johnson. Marshall faces UAB in the Conference USA championship game and Wells will need to be focused against a really good Blazers defense. 

The first time Notre Dame faced Clemson, running back Kyren Williams had a monster game. The sophomore from St. Louis rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns ... including the game-winner in double overtime. That game has catapulted Williams the rest of the season, where he finished with 124 yards and two TDs against North Carolina and 110 yards against Syracuse. Can he punish Clemson again? We will see.