Top 10 college football players of the week: CeeDee Lamb, Israel Mukuamu go off

Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa continue to assert their dominance among the nation’s top quarterbacks, but an SEC defensive player stole the show in Week 7.

In an absolute stunner, the Georgia Bulldogs went down due to a fantastic defensive performance by the Gamecocks defense. Led by a fantastic performance from the secondary, one of the players on the backend stole the top of the list away from an offensive playmaker.

Oklahoma and Alabama as always are well-represented on the list after dominating their inner-conference games.

College football players of the week

Honorable Mentions:

Tre Harbison, RB, Northern Illinois – 25 car, 113 yds, 3 TD

Kobe Lewis, RB, Central Michigan – 23 car, 161 yds, 2 TD

Jayden Daniels, QB, Arizona State – 26/36 att, 363 yds, 3 TD, 10 car, 23 yds, TD

Breece Hall, RB, Iowa State – 26 car, 132 yds, 3 TD

10. Malcolm Perry, QB, Navy

• 20 car, 218 yds, 3 TD

Navy’s option offense allows quarterback Malcolm Perry to show off his amazing athleticism and speed and against Tulsa, it was on full display. Finding the end zone on three separate occasions, Perry led the offensive charge for the Midshipmen.

9. Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati

• 14/24 att, 263 yds 3 TD, Int
• 11 car, 50 yds, TD

Few teams in college football have been more impressive than the Bearcats led by sophomore quarterback Desmond Ridder. With a total of four touchdowns against Houston, Ridder continues to lead the newly ranked Bearcats to a potential American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

8. Anthony Gordon, QB, Washington State

• 44/64 att, 466 yds, 3 TD

It is tough to not make this list when given the opportunity to throw 64 passes in Mike Leach’s offense, but Anthony Gordon made all the throws count. Even in a losing performance, Gordon threw all over the Sun Devils defense in one of the better games of the weekend.

7. Brandon Aiyuk, WR, Arizona State

• 7 rec, 196 yds, 3 TD

Staying within the same game, Arizona State was carried to a victory from a stellar receiving performance from Brandon Aiyuk. The senior had a career day in an important win for the Sun Devils in the Pac-12 race.

6. Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest

• 12 rec, 196 yds, 3 TD

Sage Surratt is beginning to open some eyes as the sophomore had his third 100-yard receiving game of the season in a shootout against the Louisville Cardinals. Ultimately, the Demon Deacons lost, but Surratt did all he could to carry his team to victory.

5. Jalen Hurts, QB, Oklahoma

• 16/28 att, 235 yds, 3 TD, Int
• 17 car, 131 yds, TD

Jalen Hurts had one of the plays of the season when the ex-Alabama quarterback avoided a strip-sack by moving the ball behind his back against the Texas Longhorns defense. Hurts continues his incredible Heisman game avoiding a potential upset in the Red River Showdown.

4. Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Alabama

• 21/34 att, 293 yds, 4 TD, Int

Is there anybody more dynamic with the football in his hands than Tua Tagovailoa? I can’t say I have ever seen anyone look as calm and comfortable in a college football pocket as Tua Tagovailoa. The Alabama quarterback continues to wreck opposing defense, cruising to an easy win against Texas A&M.

3. Joe Burrow, QB, LSU

• 21/24 att, 293 yds, 3 TD,
• 6 att, 42 rush yds

Joe Burrow didn’t top 300 yards passing but he wasn’t lacking for the big play, averaging 12.2  yards per attempt and throwing as many touchdowns as he had incompletions. Florida entered as the No. 6 scoring defense but Burrow and LSU put up 42 on the Gators. Florida was down starters due to injury, but the performance was no less impressive by the Heisman contender in his biggest test yet.

2. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Oklahoma

• 10 rec, 171 yds, 3 TD

Either CeeDee Lamb is impossible to tackle, or the Longhorns defense doesn’t know how to. We are going to give credit to Lamb for another fantastic outing against a Big-12 opponent. Lamb continues to showcase his speed and route running in Lincoln Riley’s high-powered offense.

1. Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina

• 3 interceptions, 11 tackles

Have a day Israel Mukuamu. The sophomore defensive back nearly single-handedly led the Gamecocks defense to a victory against the Georgia Bulldogs. Not only did the corner have three interceptions, but he took one of them to the house at the end of the first half. Mukuamu is the first defensive player to hold the No. 1 spot this season.

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