Week 3 college football players to watch

Remember when Allen was a buzz-worthy player who was mentioned as a possible No. 1 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft? Well, his stock fell after a poor showing at Iowa in the season opener. He bounced back last week with a good showing against Gardner-Webb, but the buzz won't be back unless he can perform well against better competition ... like Oregon this week. The Ducks could lure the Cowboys into a shootout, allowing Allen to show a national audience what all the talk was about. 

All Brewer did last week was rush for a career-high 262 yards against Louisiana-Lafayette. The senior running back is now less than 1,000 yards from becoming Tulsa's all-time leading rusher, and boy, this team sure likes to run the football. Against the Ragin' Cajuns, the Golden Hurricane ran the ball 72 times for a whopping 424 yards and eight touchdowns. Three of those scores came from Brewer, the American Athletic Conference's Offensive Player of the Week.

How about A.J. Brown? In two games, Brown has caught 16 passes for a nation-leading 389 yards and four TDs, albeit against lesser competition. The sophomore receiver who was drafted by the San Diego Padres to play baseball has been so good this season that an opposing defender spared no expense heaping praise on him. This week, Brown and the Rebels travel to Cal to face the Bears.

While everyone is talking up quarterback Baker Mayfield's performance at Ohio State last week, a lot of credit must go to his offensive line that stood up to the Buckeyes' outstanding defensive front. The key to that line is tackle Orlando Brown Jr. This kid is a stud who will have a long NFL career and held up outstandingly against that Ohio State front — a front that includes Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard. It may be safe to say that the Sooners won't see a defensive line that good the rest of the way, which is great news for that offense.

Clemson's vaunted defensive line will face its ultimate test Saturday going up against improved Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and the starved-for-revenge Louisville Cardinals. Dexter Lawrence, Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant and Clelin Ferrell will have their hands full trying to not only put pressure on Jackson, but to keep him from creating big plays with his legs. The Tigers recorded 11 sacks last week against Auburn and held those other Tigers to just seven yards on passing plays. They will need to be at their absolute best to keep their ACC dominance going.

It's Tennessee-Florida week, and this game has a lot surrounding it. Hurricane Irma just ripped through Florida, putting this game in doubt. It will go on, and it is a huge matchup in the SEC East. How will Vols QB Dormady handle a stout Gators defense that will be performing in front of an emotional crowd? Tailback John Kelly will get the bulk of Florida's attention, and with Tennessee's defense struggling, it will be up to Dormady to step up his game as he did against Georgia Tech in Week 1. 

Last week's game against Boise State was bittersweet for Falk. He broke the Cougars' all-time passing mark but struggled so head coach Mike Leach sat him for a bit. Once reinserted into the game, Falk was smashed by a Broncos defender and fumbled the ball away that was returned for a TD. Falk sat again, and his backup, Tyler Hilinski, led Washington State into overtime and eventually to the win. Falk, a dark-horse Heisman candidate, will be back in the saddle this week against Oregon State, but will he get a shorter leash? Or will his focus match his talent and lead to a monster outing?

Last season, Fitzgerald rushed the third most yards in a season of any SEC quarterback ever, trailing only Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton and Johnny Manziel. Last week at Louisiana Tech, he threw for just 124 yards but connected on three TDs and rushed for 111 yards and another two scores. This week he will take on a stingy LSU defense that will test Fitzgerald's development as a passer as well as a runner.

Two weeks ago, Henderson had a huge game against Louisiana-Monroe, rushing for 169 yards and two TDs. Along with Patrick Taylor (131 yards, TD), the Tigers' rushing attack came up huge in the win. Memphis will need that against No. 25 UCLA on Saturday to keep Josh Rosen and the Bruins' passing attack off the field. In a scheduling oddity, UCLA will have to adjust to playing at 9 a.m. Pacific time so Henderson could have an opportunity to wear down the Bruins' rather soft defense.

The college football world has been introduced to Justin Herbert, and all feels right when there's solid quarterback play in Eugene. Herbert burst on the scene with 365 yards and three TDs against Nebraska last week and has now completed 42 of his 54 passes this season. The Ducks head to Laramie, Wyo., this week to face what should be a raucous crowd cheering on its own big-time QB. Herbert could really launch himself into the national discussion with another big showing.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner is getting off to a great start in 2017. Jackson became the first Power 5 quarterback to throw for 300 yards and rush for 100 yards in consecutive games with a dominating performance at North Carolina. The Cardinals get No. 3 Clemson this week, and Jackson would love nothing more than to enact revenge for last year's tough loss at Clemson.

LSU's All-American pass rusher Key will make his season debut this week against Mississippi State Saturday. The Tigers already boast one of the top defenses in the nation, and adding their reigning sack leader only makes them more powerful. Mississippi State comes into the game averaging 53 points per game and will make for one great chess match in both teams' SEC opener.

Landry looks to be a star linebacker at the next level, but he isn't as known playing at Boston College. Anytime you get to play Notre Dame as the Eagles do this week, however, more eyes will be on you. Landry led the nation in sacks a year ago and last week notched his first one of the 2017 season. The pass-rushing end can cause havoc on the Irish offensive line. This is the kind of game Landry excels in and one that will put Notre Dame QB Brandon Wimbush on his toes ... if not his back.

Morris has been on fire this season. Last week at Kansas, the senior quarterback threw for 467 yards and five TDs in the win over the Jayhawks. Morris transferred from Michigan after the 2014 season and threw for more yards against Kansas last week than he did during his career with the Wolverines. Next up is another road trip to a Power 5 school, Syracuse, whose defense has performed well this young season. 

Patterson's 489-yard passing performance against Tennessee-Martin last week broke Chad Kelly's school record and earned the sophomore the SEC's Offensive Player of the Week award. His five passing TDs were just one off Eli Manning's school mark. After two games, Patterson leads the nation in passing yards per game (459) and passing TDs (9). Patterson and Ole Miss head west to face the 2-0 Cal Bears in a key SEC-Pac-12 showdown.

Rashaad Penny has picked up where Donnel Pumphrey left off. Penny was one of the big reasons San Diego State went into Tempe and stunned Arizona State, 30-20. He ran for 216 yards and a TD and caught a pass and scurried for a 25-yard score (on a 3rd-and-21 play, no less) in the win. Now the Aztecs get a Pac-12 team in San Diego (No. 19 Stanford) this Saturday and another opportunity for Penny to get his name out there outside of SoCal. 

We all know about Josh Rosen's ability, but he may provide for an exciting game on Saturday at Memphis. In their first game against Texas A&M, the Bruins woke up in the fourth quarter to make a monumental comeback and steal a win. And due to last week's defensive effort against Hawaii, UCLA was kind of in a shootout. Figure this week's start time in Memphis (9 a.m. PT) and the offense seemingly "waking up late" so far this season, and we could see Rosen put on quite a show in a nationally televised game. 

In the season of the quarterback in college football, a lot of names are getting thrown around. The one who may be on the minds of NFL GMs is Rudolph. He has a cannon for an arm and has now gone 185 passes without an interception. Of his six touchdown passes this season, four have gone for 40+ yards. Rudolph has feasted on lesser opponents so far but will get his chance to show his stuff when the Cowboys travel to Pitt this weekend. 

Deebo Samuel has returned two kickoffs this season; both he returned 97 yards, and both went for touchdowns. He's also caught 10 passes this season with two going for touchdowns. Furthermore, he's rushed the ball twice with one of those ending in a touchdown. He's a playmaker who, against Missouri last week, followed up his kick return for a touchdown with a 25-yard TD run just 15 seconds later. The Gamecocks host Kentucky in a key SEC East battle Saturday, and needless to say the Wildcats will try to keep the ball away from Deebo.

Last week, Wisconsin gave Florida Atlantic a big dose of Taylor to the tune of 26 rushes for 223 yards and three TDs. Taylor became only the fourth true freshman to rush for 200 yards in a game — two of the other three would eventually win Heisman Trophies. He'll get a test against a tough BYU defense that has already faced LSU and Utah.