College football Week 3 studs: Top 10 players of the week – Nick Fitzgerald joins elite company

Texas Tech scored every way and Kansas ran the ball into oblivion. Week 3 of the college football season saw plenty of huge performances across the nation.

Week 3 of college football saw some great games. Several games came right down to the wire and there were a couple of sneaky, good battles that shaped up what led to being a pretty entertaining weekend overall.

It was yet again a big day for many quarterbacks via both their arm and their legs. Heisman cases continue to be piled up with big performances from some of the best in college football and the Alabama Crimson Tide remained a juggernaut on the offensive side of the ball once again.

Two coaches on the hot seat that needed big performances from their teams saw their offenses do great things. Here are the players that certainly earned helmet stickers this week in college football.

10. Darius Anderson, RB – TCU

• 12 car, 154 yds, 2 TD

Anderson broke the TCU record for the longest touchdown, albeit in a losing effort. He ran down the sideline 93 yards for a huge touchdown in the loss against Ohio State. Anytime a player takes down a record from LaDainian Tomlinson, it’s a pretty impressive feat.

9. Blake Barnett, QB – USF

• 23/40 att, 411 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Finally getting his chance to have real reps at the college level, Barnett has done a great job for South Florida. His 411 yards helped lead to a big win on the road at Soldier Field against Illinois. In a game that was marred by penalties and otherwise sloppy play, it was Barnett who shines brightest.

8. Jerry Jeudy, WR – Alabama

• 3 rec, 136 yds, 2 TD

The Alabama offense has been unstoppable on the season thus far. They had another huge day on the road against Ole Miss. Jeudy had some huge receptions with 136 yards on just three receptions. The combination between him and Tua Tagovailoa is already one of the most dangerous in the nation.

7. Dwayne Haskins, QB – Ohio State

• 24/38 att, 344 yds, 2 TD
• 3 car, 8 yds, 1 TD

Haskins showed out once again for the Buckeyes. He helped rally Ohio State after they were trailing TCU in Dallas and continues to prove he is the next superstar quarterback for the program. His ability to throw the ball downfield adds an element the Ohio State offense has lacked under J.T. Barrett.

6. Texas Tech offense

• Alan Bowman – 43/59 att, 605 yds, 5 TD
• Ta’Zhawn Henry – 24 car, 111 yds, 4 TD
• Antoine Wesley – 13 rec, 169 yds, 3 TD

It was a showcase of big plays for the Texas Tech offense against Houston. The Red Raiders are always explosive and capable of stuffing the box score and they did so in a big way on Saturday. Bowman passed for five and Henry ran for four touchdowns, while Wesley caught three of his own. The Red Raiders racked up 704 yards of offense en route to 63 points.

5. Kansas run game

• 48 car, 400 yds, 4 TD

Pooka Williams led the way with 158 yards against Rutgers in the blowout win and four different backs scored on the day for the Jayhawks. Deron Thompson had 70 yards and a touchdown and Khalil Herbert had 64 yards and a score as they rolled up 55 points against Rutgers. This is the first two-game win streak against FBS opponents for Kansas since 1999.

4. Nick Fitzgerald, QB – Mississippi State

• 14/21 att, 243 yds, 2 TD
• 15 car, 107 yds, 4 TD

Nick Fitzgerald ran all over Louisiana. He picked up two touchdowns through the air but it was how he gashed the defense constantly with huge runs and four touchdowns in the process. This was Fitzgerald’s second four-touchdown rushing effort in his career as he now has more than 35 career passing and 40 rushing touchdowns to join Tim Tebow and former Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott as the only SEC quarterbacks to pull off that feat.

3. David Blough, QB – Purdue

• 39/55 att, 572 yds, 3 td
• 6 car, 18 yds, 1 td

Blough played the game of his career in one of the most entertaining games of the weekend. He threw for 572 yards and accounted for four touchdowns, albeit in a heartbreaking loss as time expired to Missouri.

2. Kyler Murray, QB – Oklahoma

• 21/29 att, 348 yds, 3 TD

If there were any doubts about whether Murray could take over the quarterback spot for Oklahoma, he’s put those to rest. He had another huge performance against Iowa State who tried to put the Sooners on upset alert in Ames, but Murray aced his first road start and could be the Heisman front-runner through three weeks.

1. Trace McSorley, QB – Pennsylvania

• 11/22 att, 229 yds, 2 TD, 1 int
• 9 car, 54 yds, 3 TD

McSorley remains one of college football’s superstars yet again with another big dual performance. He passed for a couple but ran for three touchdowns on the afternoon in a blowout win to set a new career-high.