College Football Week 4: Top 5 players of the week
By Brad Weiss
1. Riley Ferguson, QB, Memphis Tigers
Prior to the 2016 season, Riley Ferguson was a Junior College quarterback. He decided to transfer to the University of Memphis, as the program was losing their star quarterback to the NFL Draft. That man was Paxton Lynch, who went on to be a first-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos.
On Saturday, Ferguson etched his name alongside Lynch’s, as the junior notched seven touchdowns in the Tigers’ blowout victory over Bowling Green. Ferguson threw for six touchdowns in the game, rushed for one, and racked up 359 yards through the air. Incredibly, he did this in only one-half of football.
Ferguson was making only his third start for the Tigers but was named as the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. During the blowout, Ferguson’s seven touchdowns were a conference and school record, and should give the signal-caller some confidence heading into their biggest game of the young season. Ferguson and company will hit the road to face the 16th-ranked Ole Miss Rebels.
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For the season, Ferguson has thrown for 843 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has done a nice job of protecting the ball, as he only has two interceptions through the team’s first three games. The Ole Miss game will be their first road game of the season, and we will get a good indication of how good Ferguson is this week.