College football Week 6: 15 players to watch

One of the under-the-radar games to watch this weekend is Boise State-BYU. The Cougars have been led by running back Tyler Allgeier this season ... and the sophomore is coming off a huge game last week. Against Utah State, Allgeier ran for 218 yards and 3 TDs ... including a 59-yard score that broke the game open in the 2nd quarter. While Zach Wilson was getting a lot of love during last year's BYU run, Allgeier ground out 1,130 yards and 13 TDs. In last season's matchup with Boise State, he ran for 123 yards and 2 TDs in a 51-17 victory. 

Brooks doesn't fill the highlight reels with spectacular runs -- he just grinds and grinds. After a poor showing against West Virginia, he got back in stride with 91 yards and a touchdown against Kansas State as the Sooners offense looked like it is starting to get out of its funk. Brooks opted out last season after two 1,000 yard seasons in Norman and if he keeps the rhythm he had in the win over K-State then he will be a factor against Texas in the Red River Rivalry. 

Chase Brown had a whale of a game last week in the Illini's win over Charlotte. The sophomore from Canada carried the ball 26 times for 257 yards (tops in the FBS for the week) and two touchdowns in Illinois' 24-14 win ... including an 80-yard romp to end the third quarter. To put his feat into perspective, his 257 yards tops Red Grange's best single-game total and is 4th in school history. Brown now takes on Wisconsin's top-ranked rushing defense on Saturday. 

Arkansas heads to Ole Miss this week, just one week after both schools were unceremoniously spanked by the best teams in the SEC. At least Ole Miss scored in their game -- the Razorbacks did not.  Receiver Treylon Burks, who had 294 yards and two touchdowns combined over the last two games, was shut down by Georgia (3 catches, 10 yards). Ole Miss ... like pretty much everyone else ... isn't in the defensive realm as the Dawgs so Burks should get his on Saturday. In last year's matchup with the Rebels, he caught 11 passes for 137 yards and a TD in a 12-point win. A huge game for two darkhorse SEC West teams.

It wasn't the best day for Corral and the Rebels as they went into Tuscaloosa and got hammered by the Crimson Tide. Alabama was up 35-0 before Corral and the offense did anything of note, so it was a crushing loss for both Ole Miss and Corral's Heisman hopes. The Rebels couldn't convert on fourth down and they struggled moving the ball until the game got out of hand. Interestingly, they go up against another SEC team that was soundly spanked last week in their big opportunity, Arkansas. Last year, Corral played miserably, tossing SIX interceptions against the Razorbacks in a 33-21 loss. Look for him to exorcise several demons this Saturday in Oxford. 

I've talked about Corum several times in this space during the season, and though he's cooled off a bit from his hot start (407 yards and 7 TDs in his first three games) he's due to break out. He struggled to get going against Wisconsin, though the Badgers are the Big Ten's top rushing defense this year. Nebraska, this week's opponent, is middle-of-the-road defensively but did a fantastic job slowing down Michigan State last week. I'm banking on a bounce-back game for Corum.  

One of the best matchups this season will be Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson going up against the Iowa Hawkeyes' secondary. Dotson has been electric this season, catching at least one touchdown in all five Nittany Lions games. Last week against Indiana, he caught two TD passes, including a 30-yarder that broke the game open. Penn State hasn't beaten a top-five team on the road since 1994. Will Dotson be able to break free and make his mark in Iowa City. This should be a great game. 

Western Michigan has gotten off to a nice start to the season, and wideout Skyy Moore has been a major part of it. Twice this season he's caught at least 11 passes in a game and has 95+ receiving yards in each of the last three games. At Buffalo last week, he caught 11 passes for 163 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 64-yd TD grab that gave the Broncos a lead they wouldn't relinquish. In last year's game against Ball State (this week's opponent), Moore hauled in 8 catches for 105 yards. 

When you discuss Penn State's showdown with Iowa this week, you must talk about defense. Moss has three interceptions this season -- with two returned for touchdowns in the season opener against Indiana and one coming last week in the dismantling of Maryland. Iowa's defense has been fantastic, picking off 12 passes as a team, with Moss as a leader of that unit. 

Last week I was a bit down on Nix, but he may have pulled off the play of the year in Auburn's comeback win over LSU. The exact kind of play that has gotten Nix into trouble this season bailed him and the Tigers out in Baton Rouge last week. That was his first touchdown pass in three weeks and his best game since the opener against lowly Akron. Something like that will be difficult to replicate against a suffocating Georgia defense, but hey ... you have our attention. 

The Bearcats' last two games were huge towards Cincinnati's quest to reach the College Football Playoff. They went into Bloomington and South Bend and beat Indiana and Notre Dame, respectively, and now have a realistic shot at playing for a national championship. Quarterback Desmond Ridder was solid in both games, completing 39 of 68 passes for 507 yards and 3 TDs while rushing for 71 yards and 2 TDs during that stretch. Cincy plays their first conference game this week, as they get Temple on national television Friday night.

Robinson is a darkhorse Heisman candidate due to his outstanding production this season. He's rushed for 652 yards and 7 TDs already this season, capped off with dominating performance against TCU last week. Robinson carried the ball 35 times and ran for 216 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Horned Frogs. Texas' recent matchups with Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry tend to be high scoring, though Robinson didn't contribute much of that (just 17 yards rushing; 39 receiving). Look for that to change this time around.  

We all thought that Alabama's offense would go through some growing pains after losing so much talent to the NFL over the last couple of seasons ... and we thought wrong. Not only is Bryce Young having a great start to his college career, but when he can turn around and hand the ball off to Brian Robinson Jr. and have him run for 171 yards and 4 TDs like he did last week against Ole Miss it seems to be unfair. The senior has waited for his turn and is making the most of it. He's scored 7 touchdowns over the last three weeks and last week he was a workhorse, carrying the ball 36 times (which is one less carry than he had the entire season as a whole). The Crimson Tide heads to Kyle Field to face reeling Texas A&M.

Kentucky relies heavily on defense and a strong rushing attack, and that has placed them No. 16 in the current rankings. Rodriguez leads the SEC in rushing with 612 yards and has found the endzone four times this year. In the Wildcats' big win over Florida last week, he ground out 99 yards and the back-breaking touchdown in the fourth quarter to give Kentucky a 10-point lead. Since the last time LSU came to Kentucky (a loss in 2007), the Tigers have beaten the Wildcats 35-7 and 41-3. 

The rest of the world may have moved on from Ohio State as a national title contender, but that may be a bit premature. The offense has been sailing of late and the defense, albeit against subpar competition, has woken up. Wilson has been amazing all year, catching 26 passes for 462 yards and 4 TDs. He's caught a touchdown pass in four of the Buckeyes' games this season, and the one he didn't he gobbled up 124 receiving yards.