College football Week 8: 15 players to watch

You've probably never heard of him and likely never saw him play. Well, this Thursday night the Red Wolves will be on national TV, so do yourself a favor and check him out. Bayless leads the nation with 843 receiving yards and is tied with Oklahoma's CeeDee Lamb for the most TD receptions on the year (10). He's averaging over 19 yards per catch, and that is with catching 44 passes on the year. He has gained at least 130 yards on five different occasions this season. 

Penn State has an interesting stable of backs whom they rely on for their running game. Cain is not only the primary ball-carrier, but he also leads the team in rushing touchdowns. Against Michigan on Saturday, Cain will be needed to pound away at the usual tough Michigan defense, picking up yards and converting first downs. In last week's physical showdown with Iowa, Cain carried the ball 22 times (he had just 35 carries all season up to that point) and gained 102 yards and a TD. In fact, he's scored a touchdown in five of the Nittany Lions' six games this season. He'll be a big factor in Saturday night's showdown.

Last week, quarterback Hank Bachmeier was in this space as a player to watch. Bachmeier went down in the win over Hawaii with an injury to his torso, and sophomore Cord (and Jaylon Henderson) came in admirably and led the way. With Bachmeier's availability for Saturday's game with BYU up in the air, Cord may be relied on to carry the offense in Provo. Cord was the front-runner to become the starter during the offseason but the freshman Bachmeier beat him out. Now it could be Cord's time to shine. This is a huge game at BYU for the Broncos if they want to get to a New Year's Six bowl. 

Give it up for Arizona State. Many spent the 2018 summer mocking the school for hiring Herm Edwards away from ESPN. Many spent the 2019 summer dismissing the Sun Devils after they lost N'Keal Harry to the NFL. This team was only Eno Benjamin and not much else. Well, freshman Jayden Daniels has come in this season and been a huge factor. He's already thrown for over 1,600 yards and has had three 300-yard passing games. He's also been a bit of an up-and-down player with some great highs and some troubling lows but has held his own in wins over Michigan State, California and Washington State. Arizona State has a huge game at Utah this Saturday where the winner will likely be the front-runner to win the Pac-12 South. If Daniels is at the high point of the roller coaster, good things are happening in Tempe. 

Epenesa is a guy you will see playing well on Sundays. Iowa's games aren't the most pleasing to watch, as they evoke a bygone era of defense, ball control and physicality. In their last two games, they held Michigan and Penn State to a total of 27 points (both losses), and if you caught those games then you saw Epenesa's impact. Stats don't do him justice, as he simply disrupts what offenses want to do. Beware Purdue.

Louisville played one of the more fun and exciting games last week in the 62-59 win over Wake Forest. The Cardinals had a lot of contributors, including Dez Fitzpatrick who caught five passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. His 50-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter gave Louisville a 21-point lead it barely held on to. He has caught a touchdown in the Cardinals' last four games and has hit the 100-yard mark in his last three. With Clemson coming to town, Louisville will need some big plays and Fitzpatrick is a guy who can provide a few.

Anthony Gordon may not be Gardner Minshew, but he is keeping the Washington State offense running up and down the field. Last week against Arizona State, he completed 44 of 64 passes for 466 yards and three TDs. This season he has already thrown for 2,612 yards and 25 touchdowns...though the Cougars are just 3-3 and winless in Pac-12 play. Still, if you just want to see electric offense, just tune into Washington State's home game against Colorado on Saturday night.

This is a great matchup. Hubbard, the nation's leading rusher, will be going up against one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12, Baylor, on Saturday afternoon. Hubbard has had three games this season where he's rushed for over 220 yards, three games where he's rushed for three touchdowns and has run in a TD in all six games this year. Against Baylor last year, Hubbard ran for only 51 yards in a 35-31 loss. This season, he's averaging 191 yards against Big 12 competition. 

While everyone is talking about Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin, folks are missing out on what Minnesota is doing. The Golden Gophers have no major wins notched on their belt but did just annihilate Nebraska last week. Morgan doesn't post video game numbers, but the sophomore has been reliable in 2019. He's completing 69 percent of his passes, has thrown 14 touchdowns and has been picked off only three times. He's been piggybacking on the Gophers' dominating running attack to run play action, and he's allowing Morgan to find his receivers for huge plays. Minnesota travels to Rutgers where maybe Morgan could find a way to stuff his stats a bit.  

Mukuamu had a huge game last week against Georgia. He picked off three passes, including a 53-yard pick-six just before halftime that gave the Gamecocks a 17-10 lead, stunning Bulldogs players and fans. He also intercepted a tipped pass in the first overtime to end Georgia's drive. South Carolina has played one of the most ridiculously tough schedules in recent memory and continues to with Florida coming to Columbia. A confident defensive back can be fun to watch especially against the best teams in the nation.

The Jim Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor has been viewed as successful to a point, but the Wolverines fail to win the important ones. Shea Patterson came along last season and was supposed to be the guy who brings the offensive energy to match the defensive energy and lock in some of those wins. It didn't happen in 2018, and it didn't happen in Michigan's biggest game of 2019 thus far, a 35-14 loss to Wisconsin. This week the Wolverines head to Penn State in a huge Big Ten battle with the winner keeping its playoff hopes alive, while the loser will probably be playing for a better bowl game. Patterson's efficiency, completion percentage and rating have gone down in his senior season, but he has an opportunity to turn the season's fortunes right now. Penn State's defense is suffocating, so Patterson's play will go a long way in determining what kind of game...and season...the Wolverines will end up having.

I'm a Brock Purdy fan. The guy came from nowhere to lead the Cyclones to a midseason turnaround last year as a freshman, and he has them poised to make a move in his second season. He is consistent, has control of the offense and makes tough plays. Iowa State is fun to watch because his teammates just believe in him. Purdy takes Iowa State into Lubbock to face a struggling Texas Tech squad on Saturday.

Tight end and leading receiver Jacob Breeland is out for the season, which is a big loss for the Ducks offense. Someone will need to step up as the go-to guy, and Redd could be the one. Redd has caught a touchdown in the last five games and even rushed for a score last week against Colorado. Redd isn't as sizable a target as Breeland, but he is a steady weapon who makes big plays. He'll need to make a few this week, as Oregon heads up the coast to Washington in a huge showdown for Pac-12 North supremacy. 

The Bearcats have been on quite a roll this season, and Ridder's control of the game is a big reason why. In Cincinnati's last three games — all wins — Ridder has thrown for nine touchdowns and just two interceptions while toppling Marshall and Houston and ending UCF's 19-game AAC winning streak. He hasn't been the running threat he was as a freshman, but that's because he's more confident in his arm and comfortable in the offense. The Bearcats, who could play in their first AAC championship game this December, host Tulsa on Saturday.

Surratt is really good. Really, really good. Last week against Louisville, he caught 12 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns. He has caught a touchdown pass in all six Deacs games and has caught at least seven passes in four games. In last year's game with Florida State... Wake's opponent this week...he caught just three passes for 33 yards, but one of those receptions went for a touchdown.