College football Week 5: 15 players to watch

Abanikanda had himself a day last week against Rhode Island. The junior from Brooklyn carried the ball 19 times for 177 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. If you roll your eyes that he did that against URI, well, he piled up 154 yards and a TD in an overtime loss to Tennessee a few weeks ago. Since getting the lion's share of the carries in that Tennessee game, Abanikanda has rushed for over 133 yards in all three games and now goes up against a Georgia Tech team that just made a coaching change and has one of the worst defenses in the ACC. 

Alabama heads to Arkansas in what should be a great SEC atmosphere for an exciting showdown. The Crimson Tide must deal with the Razorbacks' dual-threat quarterback KJ Jefferson, which makes the matchup with Will Anderson Jr. so compelling. Anderson is the best defensive player in the nation, and how he can not only put pressure on Jefferson but actually contain him and get him down (or force incompletions) will be paramount to Bama's success. Last season, the Tide barely escaped their matchup with Arkansas with a 42-35 win. This game will be at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in front of a raucous crowd. Keep an eye on Anderson all afternoon. 

When Corum is healthy, he's been outstanding over the past two seasons. Last week against Maryland, he carried the ball 30 times for 243 yards and 2 touchdowns...which comes on the heels of a 5-TD performance against UConn two weeks ago. Here's an interesting stat: Corum is 7th nationally in rushing yards, yet just 4th in the Big Ten...which goes to show the stable of great running backs in that conference. The Wolverines head west to face Iowa, who may have a laughingstock offense but has allowed just 23 points all season long. Corum rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown in a blowout win over the Hawkeyes in last year's Big Ten championship game. 

Jaren Hall is having a great season and is coming off a phenomenal game against Wyoming last week. Hall completed 26 of 32 passes for 337 yards and 4 touchdowns in the 38-24 win over the Cowboys. He's been even more efficient this season, completing 71% of his passes and tossing 9 TDs to just one interception. The Cougars' loss to Oregon last week likely ended any hopes for BYU to crash the playoff, but Hall has shown he is one of the best signal callers in the nation. BYU hosts Utah State, who have given up 41.3 points per game during their three-game losing streak, on Thursday. 

Alabama-Arkansas. If the Razorbacks have any chance at pulling out a win in Fayetteville, Jefferson needs to have a big game. Jefferson is the heart and soul of the Razorbacks -- he's rushed for a touchdown in every game this season while also being an efficient passer. He's completing nearly 70% of his pass attempts this year while throwing 8 touchdowns to just one pick. And Nick Saban knows what Jefferson can do, as he went 22-of-30 for 326 yards and 3 TD passes in a 42-35 Crimson Tide win last season. 

Freshman Quinshon Judkins has taken over the reins as the Rebels' featured back as we head into the thick of the SEC season. That was evident last week as he got 27 carries in an 8-point win over Tulsa, and he rewarded Lane Kiffin's trust with 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. He's hit the 87-yard mark in all four games this season and has now found the endzone twice in back-to-back games. Ole Miss hosts Kentucky at high noon on Saturday. 

Granted, UCLA hasn't played a murderer's row to get to their 4-0 mark, but they have a chance to show that they are for real as they host Washington on Friday. Going up against quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will be a tall task (more on him later), but edge rusher Laiatu Latu feels he's up to the task. Last week against Colorado, he recorded three sacks and even knocked down a pass. This is remarkable since a year ago, Latu medically retired from football after suffering a neck injury that kept him out of playing since 2019. Latu, who played that 2019 season at Washington, unretired and transferred to UCLA this past offseason and has already become a difference maker for an emerging defense. How Latu and the Bruins perform on Friday could show us if UCLA is a legitimate Pac-12 contender. 

NC State heads to Clemson for the Wolfpack's biggest football game in quite some time. NC State is ranked in the top ten, and they believe they have the better team and in this matchup and the best quarterback in the ACC. Leary recovered from a broken leg in 2020 to have a great 2021 season (35 TDs, 5 INTs) and was on the short list of preseason ACC Player of the Year rankings prior to the season. But is Leary the guy that threw for 320 yards and 4 TDs against lowly UConn last week or the one who struggled (121 yards passing) two weeks ago against Texas Tech? Well, last year, he was sensational in a win over Clemson, tossing 4 touchdowns in the double-overtime win. If Leary and the Pack can pull it off, they could be the beasts of the ACC. 

Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. has been everything the Washington Huskies hoped he would be and more, and now he has the program back, challenging for a Pac-12 title. Last week against Stanford, Penix threw for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns in the 40-22 win, bringing the Huskies' record to 4-0. He's already passed for 1,388 yards on the season, which is tops in the country and is less than 300 yards shy of the best season he had at Indiana. Plus, he's becoming a darling of the NIL culture with his line of suggestive shirts. Washington heads to UCLA on Friday night.

Nothing like a 10:00 am local start for a football game, but when it is Navy vs. Air Force, there is no such thing as an early start. Air Force is known for running the football (they lead the nation), and Navy is known for stopping it (5th best in the country), so the Falcons' leading rusher will be a guy to watch on Saturday morning. In the first leg for the Commander In Chief trophy, Roberts needs to continue his dominance. In Air Force's three wins, he has averaged 137 yards rushing and 7 total touchdowns. He ran for just 54 yards and didn't find the endzone in their lone loss. 

Tyler Scott has been on a tear over the last two weeks. Last week against Indiana, the junior caught 10 passes for 185 yards and 3 TDs in the win over the Hoosiers. The week prior: 8 catches for 119 yards and a TD. He's already matched his touchdown total from last season and is less than 100 yards from matching his receiving yards output. Cincinnati heads to Tulsa on Saturday night. 

Spears has been outstanding in finding the endzone this season. He's already rushed for six touchdowns this season -- just three behind his career high from last season. He's also coming off his best game, piling up 114 yards rushing, 74 receiving yards, and 2 TDs in a loss to Southern Miss. Spears is a guy you want to root for. He suffered a devastating ACL tear in the opening month of the 2020 season and needed about half a season before he started to feel comfortable again (ironically, that game was against this week's opponent, Houston). In the Green Wave's finale, he carried the ball 30 times for 264 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tulane is improving (they've already beaten a Kansas State team that just toppled Oklahoma) and get a national audience on Friday when they head to Houston. 

Was last week the game where we finally got the DJ Uiagalelei we thought we were going to get a year ago? He went toe-to-toe with Wake Forest's Sam Hartman and threw for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns in a come-from-behind overtime win that opened many eyes. Uiagalelei was, quite frankly, bad last season. For context, this season, through four games, he has already thrown 10 touchdowns with just one interception. In 2021, he threw just 9 TDs and 10 INTs. Now he moves from beating the team that won the Tigers division last season to face the one that has designs on winning it this year -- NC State. Another showdown with another one of the ACC's top teams and top quarterbacks. Another great showing, and Clemson could prove they are a legit College Football Playoff contender.

Vaughn is having another fantastic season, though he's not finding the endzone at the rate he did a year ago. No sweat, as the Wildcats are coming off a huge win ... beating Oklahoma in Norman. Vaughn rushed for 116 yards in that one, bringing his season total to 468 yards and his 9th 100-yard rushing game in his last 10 games. His last game before that stretch was a 52-yard game against this week's opponent, Texas Tech. K-State won that game, and Vaughn did score two touchdowns, but he had more success receiving than running that afternoon. 

The Lincoln Riley-Caleb Williams pairing has worked even better at USC since moving from Oklahoma. Williams has thrown for over 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns without throwing a pick and feels more comfortable in the offense in his second year. However, he is coming off a rough game where he completed only 16 of his 36 passes in a 17-14 win over Oregon State. But even though he struggled all day, he led the Trojans on an 11-play, 84-yard drive in the closing minutes and took the lead on a TD pass to Jordan Addison. He went 5-of-8 for 57 yards on that drive and rushed for another 7 yards. USC hosts embattled Arizona State this week.