The Week in Review
As we mentioned in last week’s article, the game to watch this week was an SEC powerhouse matchup between the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and the seventh-ranked Auburn Tigers. Stetson Bennett got his first win as a starting quarterback behind the strong running of Zamir White and the outside playmaking of redshirt sophomore Kearis Jackson. The Bulldogs ended up rolling Auburn 27-6 that emphasized the rawness of sophomore quarterback Bo Nix. The lone positive takeaway for the Tigers was Cartavious “Tank” Bigsby; the true freshman running back displayed his receiving chops hauling in seven catches for 68 yards despite his rushing troubles against the strong Georgia front.
First ranked Clemson had no problems with Virginia, but still showed that they have areas for improvement in their 41-23 victory over Virginia. Last week’s mini-breakout player Lavel Davis Jr. was held in check by Clemson’s defense with only two catches for 58 yards, but overall Clemson’s defense was clearly not dominant. The Cavaliers put up 417 yards of offense, the most Dabo has allowed since 2017. On the offensive side of the ball, Clemson conveyed why they deserve the top seed in the country. Trevor Lawrence had the strong game that we expect from the projected first overall selection in the NFL Draft with over 300 yards and three TDs against no interceptions. Travis Etienne tallied 187 yards from scrimmage and found the end zone twice. Amari Rodgers and Frank Ladson Jr. have emerged as the top two receivers in the offense, combining for 11 catches for 143 yards and two TDs (both Rodgers).
Clemson’s five-star true freshman running back Demarkcus Bowman entered the transfer portal and quickly landed in Gainesville where the Kyle-to-Kyle connection remains tops in the country. Kyle Trask came back down to earth this week but still was able to throw 29 times for 268 yards and four TDs with only one interception in the Gators victory over the Gamecocks. Kyle Pitts scored another two TDs on his four catches in which he racked up 57 yards. Pitts has completely dominated defenders when called upon and is making a strong case for a top ten pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
North Carolina had a surprisingly close matchup with Boston College, which was decided by a late fourth quarter BC two-point conversion. The 12th ranked Tar Heels emerged victoriously, but sophomore quarterback Sam Howell again did not live up to his offseason hype with only 225 yards passing and a two-to-one TD to interception ratio. The Tar Heels’ explosive receiving tandem of Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome was held in check, combining for only 66 yards receiving. Boston College’s sophomore receiver Zay Flowers was impressive again this week with eight catches for 60 yards. He could be a sneaky day two or three pick in the NFL Draft in a few years.
Chuba Hubbard, the Oklahoma State senior running back finally looked like the 2,000-yard rusher that we saw in his 2019 campaign. Hubbard ran for 145 yards and two TDs on his 20 carries leading the Cowboys over the Kansas Jayhawks in what looked like a get-right game for all of Oklahoma State’s offensive playmakers. Still, without Spencer Sanders, Shane Illingworth threw for 265 yards and three scores compounded by the team’s 298 yards on the ground led by Hubbard. The talented receiver Tylan Wallace also made his mark on the game with over half of the team’s receiving yards and two scores. Wallace hauled in nine catches and racked up 145 yards.
Myles Brennan got the LSU Tigers season back on track with 337 yards passing and four TDs against Vanderbilt, a get-right game for the Tigers in their own right. Sophomore running back John Emery Jr. appears to have made a solid case for the Tigers’ featured back, piling up 103 yards rushing and a TD on only 12 carries. Terrace Marshall Jr. cemented his role as the team’s alpha receiver with 67 yards and two scores on the same number of catches.
Upset Alert
This was a great week to bet on the underdogs as six ranked teams fell to unranked opponents. Devy hopefuls tuned into the Texas versus TCU game hoping to see a showcase of true freshman running backs Bijan Robinson and Zach Evans. All of us hopefuls were disappointed as the highlight was a Robinson kick return that almost went to the house to open the game, was called back. After that, Zach Evans got two offensive touches for nine yards and Robinson didn’t get a single offensive touch. TCU took down the ninth-ranked Longhorns 33-31 on the legs of quarterback Max Duggan.
Devy players need to be well aware of Pittsburgh’s true freshman receiver Jordan Addison who recorded his third-straight game with a receiving score but did little after the first-quarter 75-yard score. Quarterback Kenny Pickett has been gaining some NFL Draft hype but failed to lead the Panthers to victory against redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Leary and his North Carolina State Wolfpack.
After taking down LSU last week, Mike Leach’s air raid did not have the same success falling to Arkansas 21-14. K.J. Costello threw another 59 times this week, but with that type of volume, mistakes were made as he threw three interceptions. Mississippi State’s best player left the game with an apparent head injury after only one touch in the game. The former Gator quarterback Feleipe Franks was able to weather the storm and lead the Razorbacks to their first win of the season.
The 25th ranked Memphis Tigers went into Dallas and lost 30-27 against the SMU Mustangs. Memphis’ star receiver had himself a game with eight catches for 169 yards. However, he was far outshined by SMU’s leading receiver. Reggie Roberson Jr. lived behind the secondary catching five balls and averaging almost 50 yards per catch. Roberson Jr. tallied an impressive 243 yards and two TDs taking down the Tigers. It was not without a cost though. On SMU’s go-ahead drive quarterback, Shane Buecele hit Roberson deep downfield in what could have been a third score, but he went down with a non-contact knee injury after completing the 43-yard pass. With injuries that look like this, we always fear a torn ACL, which would be devastating for the senior receiver who opted to return to SMU over going into the 2020 NFL Draft because of missing the last five games of the 2019 season with a foot injury.
The UCF Knights’ hopes of a College Football Playoff run were likely shattered this week as they fell to Tusla 34-26. Sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel has looked like a Heisman candidate up to this week, but this upset defeat likely ends his run as well. Throwing for 330 yards and a TD as well as an interception on 51 attempts, the sophomore had one of the worst games of his young career completing only 54% of his passes. UCF appeared to have the game in hand with an 18-point first-half lead before Zach Smith threw three TDs and snapped the Knights’ 21-game home winning streak.
Finally, we all have déjà vu with Oklahoma losing this week on a late-game interception thrown by Spencer Rattler. The Sooner quarterback threw for 300 yards and was responsible for three TDs. However, bad decision making at the end of the game is what is going to define this game despite the impressive numbers. Rattler has all of the tools to succeed but is still very raw. On the other side of the ball, Iowa State’s running back Breece Hall put the team on his back and willed them to victory with big play after big play. On 28 carries Hall racked up 139 yards and two TDs. The sophomore running back is showing all the skills of an NFL level talent and has little competition as the best back in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Trey Lance Sighting
North Dakota State played their sole game in the fall of 2020 and defeated the Central Arkansas Bears. Trey Lance is expected to enter the 2021 NFL Draft and be the third quarterback selected in the first-round off his very impressive 28 TD to zero interception redshirt freshman campaign in 2019. For Lance, this was truly the tale of two halves, as he struggled mightily in the first, though his receivers were clearly not NFL-quality players. Lance finished by completing 50% of his passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He did turn the ball over twice though on a strip-sack as well as an interception. Lance showed off his rushing acumen gaining 143 yards on the ground and scoring twice.
Tua who?
The second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide rolled over the 13th ranked Texas A&M Aggies who are refusing to feed their top offensive weapons Isaiah Spiller (11 touches) and freshman Demond Demas (zero touches). Alabama’s quarterback Mac Jones is looking like a completely new man coming off his role filling in for the injured Tua last season. Jones is completing almost 75% of his passes with a six-to-one TD to interception ratio and the third-best QBR in the country at 94.3 according to ESPN. Unlike the Aggies, Jones is getting the ball to all of his playmakers as Najee Harris, Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith all found the end zone. Waddle is looking like an elite playmaker topping 100 yards receiving and scoring in both games played. Waddle caught five balls for 142 yards and a TD this week. Devonta Smith added another six-catches working the intermediate routes for 63 yards and a TD. Najee Harris was only called on 12 times on the ground but scored twice despite compiling only 43 yards. However, the most electric player for the Tide was this week’s breakout player of the week, sophomore receiver John Metchie III.
The Breakout Player of the Week – John Metchie III, WR, Alabama
The Impact
Alabama recently lost one of their best receivers in school history in Jerry Jeudy who is fourth all-time in receiving yards and second all-time in receiving TDs in Alabama history. Jeudy declared for the NFL Draft after his junior season and was drafted in the first round, selected with the 15th pick by the Denver Broncos. Alabama also lost one of their best deep-threat receivers of all-time in Henry Ruggs III who found the end zone less than only three other Alabama receivers. Ruggs III ran a blazing 4.27-second 40-yard dash, which made him irresistible to Raiders owner Mark Davis, who selected him 12th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Compounding these two huge losses for the Alabama offense, they also lost their best quarterback of all time in Tua Tagovailoa, who debatably had the best passing career in college football history. Tua was the most likely of the junior trio to come back for a senior season, coming off the season-ending hip injury that ended Bo Jackson’s professional football career. This did not deter the Miami Dolphins from selecting Tua fifth overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. With these major losses, everyone expected the Mac Jones led offense to take a step back in 2020. However, Alabama is currently outpacing the offensive stats by the Tua led team. The sophomore breakout of John Metchie III is making a huge impact on keeping the Tide an elite offense.
The Prospect
The four-star Canadian receiver who eventually played football in high school in Maryland and went to prep school in New Jersey. Metchie stands at 6’0” and 195 lbs. Clearly, he has the frame to take on SEC defenders. A red flag on Metchie’s scouting profile is his reported 4.64-second 40-yard dash, although his tape clearly shows the speed to beat defenders deep even against SEC level players. He reported on his HUDL page that he runs in the 4.45-second range; I’d expect it to be closer to the 4.5-second range though he has two more years with the Alabama strength and conditioning staff to improve upon that. In 2019 Metchie played in all 13 games. However, in a receiving room with Jeudy, Ruggs, Waddle, and Smith he got very few opportunities with the ball.
Metchie sparked devy enthusiasts’ interest in the 2019 Alabama Spring game. Playing with the second offense and catching passes from Mac Jones and Taulia Tagovailoa the true freshman receiver caught five passes and 133 yards receiving on his sole five targets. Nick Saban said of the performance, “He made some good catches, didn’t drop the ball. He plays fast. He’s got some strength. I think this guy’s going to help us next year, and I think he’ll be a good player for us.” Alabama’s safety Xavier McKinney who the New York Giants drafted in the second round said of the young receiver’s performance, “In practice, he pretty much goes off every day. To me, he’s like another Waddle”.
The Analysis
If you are to search for who is leading college football receivers statistically this week, John Metchie III is the first name you will see. After two games the sophomore receiver has pulled in seven catches for 223 yards and two scores. He leads the list of eligible receivers based on his 31.9-yards per catch average. It was this week’s matchup against Texas A&M that will go down as Metchie’s break-out performance. Metchie scorched the Aggie defense on five catches that went for 181 yards and two TDs. He would have had another 73-yard score in the third quarter on a double move had Mac Jones not overthrown him.
Metchie’s performance so far has him making up 30% of Alabama’s passing yardage and 33% of their TDs through the air, thus the sophomore currently has a Dominator Rating of 31.8%. Since Metchie was originally born in Ghana and moved to Canada before coming to the United States we will have to take any reports of his age or birth date with a grain of salt, but a breakout as a true sophomore is very impressive nonetheless, especially in the context of being in a receiver room with potentially four first-round picks playing ahead of him. Metchie will be eligible for the 2022 NFL Draft and provides hope to a class that is not enticing compared to the two prior to it. With Waddle and Smith likely moving on to the NFL after this season, Metchie will have a junior season as Alabama’s main target in which he could theoretically rise as high as 2022’s WR2 behind the Georgia standout George Pickens. Metchie offers substantial upside in devy drafts this offseason and will likely be climbing up devy ranks as he continues to produce in Alabama’s high-octane offense.
What is Coming
We should be in store for a lot of offensive shootouts next week as there are a number of top offenses facing off. Clemson will face their first real test of the season against the seventh-ranked Maimi Hurricanes. Louisville will be facing Georgia Tech in which we will get to see more of the standout freshman Jahmyr Gibbs, against a personal favorite of mine in the speedy Tutu Atwell. Sam Howell and the Tar Heels will take on their first ranked opponent in Virginia Tech. Howell’s offense has struggled to connect in the passing game, and this will be a real test. We also have a game that we expect neither offense to struggle in: Texas versus Oklahoma. Both teams are coming off upset losses and will have their season in jeopardy in this edition of the “Red River Rivalry”. As always, I am looking forward to another great week of college football and will have a keen eye on the young players for next week’s devy breakout player of the week.
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