The Week in Review
Seven of the 20 games played this weekend resulted in a Vegas underdog victory. On Thursday night, the Miami Hurricanes and transfer quarterback D’Eriq King handled the UAB Blazers. Arkansas State’s two-quarterback system upset Kansas State due to a breakout performance from Jonathan Adams Jr. The upset of the week though was Ragin Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette taking down Brock Purdy and the 23rd ranked Iowa State Cyclones. Purdy, who was seen by many as a potential late first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft threw for only 145 yards and an interception. It is worth noting that Purdy didn’t have his star tight-end Charlie Kolar, but the Cyclones had no answer for the special teams play of the Ragin Cajuns.
Elsewhere the other high-end devy quarterbacks had success in their first game of the 2020 season. Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne both had good games leading the number one ranked Clemson team over the Sage Surrat-less Demon Deacons. Lawrence threw for 351 yards and one TD while adding two short rushing TDs. The top back in the country, Etienne ran for over 100 yards and a score, while showing off his improved pass-catching abilities with three grabs for 47 yards. We even got to see true freshman quarterback DJ Uiagalelei take a few snaps. What was missing from this game was any wide receiver breakout from the sophomores Frank Ladson Jr. or Joseph Ngata. Amari Rodgers was Lawrence’s top target going for 90 yards on his five catches.
Many expect Clemson to be on a crash course with Mack Brown and the Tar Heels for the ACC Championship. Despite a slow start, North Carolina had a huge fourth quarter with three touchdowns from their junior running back Javonte Williams. Sam Howell didn’t look quite as impressive as in his true freshman breakout season, but his 295 yards was enough to overcome his two interceptions. Dyami Brown showed off his playmaking abilities with six catches for 94 yards. His partner in crime Dazz Newsome did not have the offensive game we expected but showed off his athleticism on a punt return touchdown that was ultimately called back due to an illegal block.
It took two overtimes for the Roadrunners, but UTSA ultimately took care of business against Texas State. True sophomore running back Sincere McCormick had a great game rushing the ball 29 times for 197 yards and a score and adding two catches for eight yards. McCormick had a breakout freshman season, and we should start talking about him in the 2022 running back discussion. The breakout player of the week though was someone who you had to buy the pay-per-view to see their debut.
The Breakout Player of the Week – Spencer Rattler, QB, Oklahoma.
The Impact
This offseason it was unclear who would get the starting job in Norman, at that point I wrote about how redshirt freshman Spencer Rattler was a devy buy-low. Over the course of the offseason, it became more and more clear that Rattler had the tools to win the job, but it wasn’t until September 1st when Lincoln Riley named him QB1. Rattler was well worth the price of admission as he dazzled. While we expected gaudy numbers against Missouri State, Rattler made their defense looks like they were in beginner mode on Madden. Rattler had 290-yards and four TDs with only three incompletions. I was ready to write up a breakout review of the true freshman receiver Marvin Mims who set the Texas High School record for most receiving yards in a single season. Mims did have a nice breakout first game with 80-yards and a TD, Spencer Rattler stole the spotlight and set the stage for a great season.
The Prospect
Spencer Rattler was the number one pro-style quarterback in the class of 2019 and is the first starting quarterback that Lincoln Riley has recruited himself. Oklahoma lists the 2022-eligible quarterback at 6’1” and 200 lbs Rattler has already put an emphasis on adding to his frame. Though he doesn’t have prototypical NFL quarterback size, he does NFL-caliber arm talent. Rattler broke records in high school, being the only Arizona quarterback to surpass the 11,000-yard mark, he will now focus on the Sooner record of 4,720 yards set in Sam Bradford’s sophomore season. I like Rattler’s chances to outplay Sam Howell and Kedon Slovis (once the Pac-12 returns to play) as the best quarterback in the 2022-eligible class.
The Analysis
Rattler did not miss a throw starting seven-for-seven with 201-yards and three TDs. Missouri State only ran 12 plays before they were in a 28-point hole led by Rattler. Rattler hit Mims and Rambo for over 50-yard touchdowns before dumping off a screen to the versatile Seth McGowan who weaved his way 37 yards downfield for another score. Rattler finally did miss his target at the end of the first quarter which yielded a Sooners’ field goal. Rattler’s day ended at halftime when he had already compiled a stat line of 14 for 17 for 290 yards and four TDs with no interceptions thrown. He had an amazing 82% completion rate and averaged over 17-yards per-attempt. What an amazing start to his career as the Sooners starting quarterback.
What is Coming
We are still waiting to see if a receiver emerges as the alpha for Trevor Lawrence and the Clemson Tigers. Next week we should see the first action in his senior season for Oklahoma State star Chuba Hubbard. We also have a great ACC matchup between Miami and Louisville, Tutu Atwell didn’t have a monster game, but Heisman hopefuls Malik Cunningham and D’Eriq King will have a shootout. Sam Ehlinger went off this week for 426 yards, but devy darling Bjian Robinson did not have a start to his career that many expected with only 38 yards. No Longhorn had over nine rush attempts so we will see if Bijan can breakout against Texas Tech in a couple of weeks.
Thank you for reading my article! If you enjoyed it, keep an eye out for my future articles. You can also follow me on Twitter @DynastyDiagnos1 and reach out with any questions, comments, or ideas you’d like me to explore for a new article.
