College Football Blitz, Week 9: Jabrill Peppers could win the Heisman
By John Buhler
Week 9 brought us one week closer to the College Football Playoff. Here are the weekly superlatives in Division I as a part of College Football Blitz.
Week 9 was the week of upsets in college football. Four previously unbeatens all suffered their first losses of the season. The West Virginia Mountaineers fell to the Oklahoma State Cowboys in Stillwater. Another Big 12 team lost for the first time in the Baylor Bears. They fell to the Texas Longhorns in Austin.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers in overtime in Madison. Even the Boise State Broncos lost to the Wyoming Cowboys in Laramie. Where it stands now, only five teams in Division I are still undefeated: the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Michigan Wolverines, the Clemson Tigers, the Washington Huskies, and the Western Michigan Broncos.
Here are the weekly superlatives from Week 9 as a part of College Football Blitz.
Offensive Player of the Week: Florida State Seminoles RB Dalvin Cook
Though the Florida State Seminoles fell to 5-3 (2-3) on the season, their running back Dalvin Cook had himself a game for the ages against the No. 3 Clemson Tigers. Cook is one of the best tailbacks in the country, but hasn’t been consistent enough to assert himself in the Heisman Trophy race.
Well, he might have forced himself back into the conversation with his performance in Week 9 against Clemson. Cook had 19 carries for 169 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He would also have two catches for 15 yards.
Cook accounted for 184 of the Seminoles’ 449 yards of offense and 24 of their 34 points. Clemson is a College Football Playoff caliber team. Florida State isn’t on Clemson’s level in 2016, but Cook did everything in his power to give the Seminoles a chance at upsetting their ACC Atlantic divisional rival.
That kind of production from a bell-cow back should be good enough to win most games in college football. The Seminoles’ defense is what ultimately let Florida State down. Cook may not win the Heisman, but he should be in the conversation to land the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best tailback.