College Football Blitz, Week 2: Refs cost Oklahoma State, Lamar Jackson dazzles
By John Buhler
The second week of the 2016 college football season didn’t have the high-profile games but was still an exciting one. Here are the award winners in Week 2.
After what had to be the best opening weekend in college football history, Week 2 of the 2016 NCAA season definitely exceeded low expectations on Saturday. A few top-25 teams lost and a handful of Power 5’s vs. cupcakes got a little too close for comfort.
What Week 2 taught us was that we really don’t know who’s good or bad in Division I in college football. The SEC rebounded by going 14-2. Its two losses came against fellow SEC teams. The Big 12 had a terrible week. The ACC and the Big Ten continue to look strong in the early part of the season.
Here are the weekly award winners of College Football Blitz in Week 2:
Offensive Player of the Week: Kalen Ballage, Arizona State RB
While one could point out how abysmal the Texas Tech Red Raiders defense is by giving up 68 points to a Power 5 opponent, it’s hard to discredit Arizona State Sun Devils running back Kalen Ballage’s eight touchdown performance.
Ballage only ran 13 times but had 137 yards and seven touchdowns! He also had two catches for 48 yards and a receiving touchdown.
Throw in a 22-yard kick return and Ballage would end up with eight touchdowns on a combined 16 touches for 207 all-purpose yards. For every 25.875 yards gained by Ballage in this game against Texas Tech, he found his way into the end zone.
With the Pac-12 South being wide open, can Ballage help get the Sun Devils to the Pac-12 Championship in Santa Clara this December? He’s not going to break his FBS eight touchdown performance the rest of the way, but Ballage should be a huge part of the Sun Devils’ success this season.
Next: Defensive Player of the Week