Maxwell Award Player of the Week

Mitch Trubisky – North Carolina – Quarterback

North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky has been named Maxwell Award Player of the Week for his outstanding performance in the Tar Heel’s win over Florida State.

Trubisky completed 31 of 38 pass attempts for 405 yards in the 37-35 win over the Seminoles. He passed for three touchdowns and scored on a four-yard touchdown run as UNC snapped Florida State’s 22-game home win streak. After FSU tied the game at 28, Trubisky calmly led the Tar Heels on a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 34-yard scoring pass to Thomas Jackson. Trubisky was 5 of 5 on that drive for 84 yards.

Trubisky increased his streak of consecutive pass attempts without an interception to 240 and he set a school record for most passing yards in the three consecutive games with 1,290.

Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week

Ben Boulware – Clemson – Linebacker

Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware has been named Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week for his performance in the Tigers’ 42-36 victory over Louisville last Saturday night.

Boulware, a 6-0, 235-pound senior from Anderson, S.C., posted a career-high 18 tackles in the ACC Atlantic Division showdown. He had three tackles for loss, including a sack, recovered a fumble and deflected a pass. Eight of his tackles were unassisted.

On the season, Boulware now has 38 total tackles to go along with a forced fumble and an interception. He emerged as one of the nation’s best linebackers last season as a junior after spending most of his first two seasons with the Tigers contributing on special teams. Boulware recorded 45 tackles with three sacks and two interceptions last season in helping Clemson get all the way to the National Championship Game versus Alabama.

Maxwell Football Club Weekly College Football Update

Week 5

Here are the highlights of notable candidates on the Maxwell Award Watch List for the week ending October 2nd.

Who’s Hot

Deshaun Watson, Clemson, Jr., QB

Watson completed 20-of-31 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns to lead Clemson to a 42-36 win over No. 3 Louisville.   He added 14 rushes for 91 yards for 397 yards of total offense. Watson became just the second FBS player to have at least 300 yards passing, five touchdown passes and 90 yards rushing against a top 25 team over the last four years (the other was former Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd against Ohio State in the 2014 Orange Bowl).

Ryan Switzer, North Carolina, Sr., WR

Switzer made 14 receptions for 158 yards in the 37-35 win at No. 12 Florida State. He has 30 catches over the last two weeks (16 last week vs. Pitt), which is an ACC record for most receptions in back-to-back games. It was his third consecutive game with more than 100 yards receiving and marked the eighth time he topped the century mark in his career.

Derrius Guice, LSU, Soph., RB

Guice replaced an injured Leonard Fournette and there was little or no drop off in production in the Tigers’ first week under the direction of Ed Orgeron. Guice rushed for 163 yards and three scores on 17 carries in a Tigers’ effort that netted them the most yards they’ve ever produced in an SEC game.

Joshua Jacobs, RB, Fr., Alabama

The Crimson Tide featured dualing freshman in their backfield, with Jacobs joining quarterback Jalen Hurts, and it resulted in a 34-6 win over Kentucky. Jacobs, in his first career start, rushed for 100 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown, converting an impressive nine first downs.

Baker Mayfield, QB, Jr., Oklahoma

The junior threw for two touchdowns and rushed for two more in a 52-46 win at No. 21 TCU. Mayfield completed 23 of his 30 passes for 274 yards and added 55 yards rushing.

Shock Linwood, RB, Jr., Baylor

After rushing for a career-best 237 yards, Baylor senior running back Shock Linwood was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week, conference officials announced Monday. Linwood produced the career day on 25 carries and added one touchdown to help Baylor come from behind to win at Iowa State, 45-42, on Saturday. The senior running back racked up 9.5 yards per carry and tallied a long rush of 59 yards, while racking up the fourth-most rushing yards and only the 10th 200-yard game in program history.

Davis Webb, California, GS., QB

Webb completed 22-of-35 passes for 306 yards with four touchdown throws against the Utes in Cal’s second straight victory over a ranked team for the first time since 2009 and on only the eighth occasion since 1951. Webb leads the nation in passing touchdowns (22), passing yards (2,143) and completions (160) while he is second in passing yards per game (428.6 ypg) and fourth in total offense (410.0 ypg). The senior graduate transfer quarterback has completed 16-of-257 passes for a 155.9 passer efficiency rating that was third on Cal’s all-time single-season list and has thrown for at least four touchdowns and 300 yards in each of his first five games at Cal.

The Maxwell Football Club will also honor the nation’s best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here is an update on standout performances from the Bednarik Award Watch List candidates.

Who’s Hot

Juan Thornhill, Virginia, So., CB

Thornhill had two interceptions to help Virginia to a 34-20 win at Duke. He also had four tackles and broke up another pass. Thornhill was part of a defensive unit that forced six turnovers and tied the school record with five interceptions.

Daeshon Hall, Texas A&M, Sr., DE

Hall collected six tackles, including 3.5 for loss, in the Aggies’ 24-13 win on the road over South Carolina. The Aggies didn’t allow the Gamecocks to reach the end zone after a 75-yard rush on the first play of the game.

Marcus Allen, Penn State, Jr., DB

Penn State safety Marcus Allen registered a career-high 22 tackles in last Saturday’s overtime win over Minnesota, the most tackles by a Nittany Lion player since 2005, when Paul Posluszny also had 22 stops against Northwestern. Allen’s 22 tackles were the most by a Big Ten player since Oct. 29, 2011, when Wisconsin’s Mike Taylor was credited with 22 tackles at Ohio State.

Ifeadi Odenigbo, Northwestern, Jr., DL

Northwestern defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo had a career-high four sacks at Iowa, becoming the second player in the nation this year to record four sacks in a game and the first Big Ten player to do so since 2012, when Ohio State’s John Simon pulled off the feat against Wisconsin.

Elijah Lee, Kansas State, Jr., LB

Lee carded a game-high 14 tackles as the Wildcat defense shut out West Virginia in the first half and held the Mountaineers to 17 total points in a 17-16 loss. He also recorded one TFL, a sack, a quarterback hurry and picked up his fourth career interception. Lee became the first Wildcat linebacker since Bryan Hickman (2000-2003) to have four interceptions. Lee and the defense pitched a first-half Big 12 shutout on the road for the first time since the 2014 Iowa State game.

Psalm Wooching, Washington, Sr., LB

Wooching had three of the Huskies’ eight sacks in a 44-6 romp of Stanford on Friday. He had six total tackles and forced a fumble on one of his sacks. “It’s really good to see Psalm kind of come out of, I don’t want to say nowhere, but he’s been here a long time; he’s a fifth year guy, plays with a high motor and gives great effort,” UW coach Chris Petersen said. “He’s made plays, but certainly to have it all come together in a game like that was really good for him.”

Feature Game of the Week

Florida State vs. Miami

Saturday, 8 PM EST on ABC

This game looked like a premiere matchup at the start of the season, but with Florida State struggling and possibly out of the College Football Playoff picture, some people believe it has lost a bit of luster. It hasn’t, and this game should be a war. Saturday will show us if Miami is a contender or pretender.

Mark Richt’s team has not been tested so far, with its only significant win coming over Georgia Tech. There lots of preseason hype surrounding the relationship between Hurricanes’ quarterback Brad Kaaya and Richt. So far, the Miami signal caller has been average at best, ranking No. 10 in the ACC in passing with 935 yards, 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. The Miami defense has been solid, allowing just 253.2 yards per game, but this will be the first time they have faced weapons like the Noles have on the offensive side of the ball.

For Florida State, a victory over its biggest rival would obviously serve as a step in the right direction in righting their season. In last year’s meeting, Dalvin Cook ran for 222 yards and three touchdowns to help the ‘Noles beat Miami, 29-24, which was their sixth in a row against the Hurricanes. It is FSU’s longest winning streak in the series since winning seven straight from 1963-72. Saturday night’s matchup will be a knockdown, drag out battle for Florida bragging rights, with the Canes squeaking this one out 37-33.

— Maxwell Football Club