Welp. Last week, Jordan McCloud was riding high and was the clear frontrunner for the Colt Brennan Award. Now, after a shaky performance in a loss, the race is wide open again. But it is not just because of McCloud’s stumble. Rather, other contenders have come on extremely strong to make this third year of the award the most contentious yet. With two regular season weeks left, anything is possible.
Top 5 Performances of Week 12
– UTSA’s Senior Night went swimmingly as the Roadrunners blew out USF 49-21. It was only fitting that Frank Harris had a great final home regular season game (411 passing yards, three touchdowns. 112 rushing yards, three touchdowns).
I talked in more depth about Harris’ impact on the program in Week 12’s Five Stars of the Week. But it is not hyperbole to say that Harris was a major reason that UTSA made the jump from Conference USA to the American.
A shoutout should be given to Joshua Cephus (nine receptions, 163 yards, one touchdown) who led both teams in receiving yards in the game.
– Jacksonville State ran all over Louisiana Tech for 522 yards in a 56-17 win. While Zion Webb (10 carries, 122 yards, three touchdowns, 6-of-17 for 106 passing yards) and Anwar Lewis (14 carries, 122 yards, one touchdown) both ran wild for the Gamecocks, Malik Jackson had the most explosive day for any ball carrier in the nation. On only nine carries, he rushed for 193 yards and two touchdowns. At 8-3, the Gamecocks are unfortunately ineligible for the C-USA title game and a bowl (they are under the same rules that has kept James Madison ineligible the last two seasons). So Saturday’s game against 9-3 New Mexico State will be the final game of the season for this team. Expect Jacksonville State to be extra fired up for that one.
– Ja’Quez Cross had himself quite a day as Arkansas State reached bowl eligibility in a 77-31 blowout of Texas State. He turned 13 carries into 139 yards and three touchdowns, and three kick returns into 166 yards with a touchdown.
Shoutout to linebacker Melique Straker who had an 87-yard pick-six and 13 total tackles with 1.5 for loss.
– New Mexico upended Fresno State 25-17 for the Lobos’ first road victory over the Bulldogs since 1994. Jacory Croskey-Merritt was the main source of the Bulldogs’ woes, toting the rock 21 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns that came at crucial times.
Croskey-Merritt is in a threeway tie for second in the nation with 16 rushing touchdowns with only Blake Corum (20) ahead of him. A game against Utah State (120th in rush defense) on Friday gives him a decent shot of taking the lead.
– UNLV had one of the biggest victories in program history as it went into Colorado Springs and beat Air Force 31-27 after trailing 27-14 at halftime. Ricky White launched himself into serious Colt Brennan Award contention with eight catches for 169 yards and a touchdown on the second play of UNLV’s first drive.
White ranks first in the Mountain West Conference and sixth in the nation in receiving yards and should be an All-American at the end of the season.
Honorable mentions: Joey Aguilar, Shane Bonner, Peny Boone, Antario Brown, Jermaine Brown Jr., Malachi Corley, Michael Dowell, Jordan McCloud, Quali Conley, John Michael Gyllenborg, Ashtyn Hawkins, Seth Henigan, Caullin Lacy, Bryun Parham, Andrew Peasley, Michael Pratt, Kaidon Salter, Elijah Sarratt, Javon Tracy, EJ Warner, Dante Wright
Top 5 Players to Watch in Rivalry Week
– UTSA and Frank Harris have a road game against No. 23 Tulane at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC on Friday. The winner locks up a spot in the AAC title game while the loser would need SMU to lose Saturday to Navy then rely on tiebreakers to lock up the second bid. In any case, Harris will need to have a star performance in New Orleans in a clash of two teams with zero conference losses.
– Ricky White and UNLV host San José State at 3:00 p.m. on the Mountain West Network. Though the Rebels are 9-2 and the Spartans are 6-5, in conference it is much closer (the Rebels are 6-1 while the Spartans are 5-2). A loss would potentially leave UNLV in a precarious position where an Air Force win over Boise State would leave it up to computer rankings for tiebreakers. The Spartans rank 12th in the nation in passing yards allowed, so this will be a good test for White to see if he can snatch up the Colt Brennan Award.
– Jordan McCloud and James Madison will have to get over an emotional loss to Appalachian State as they travel to Coastal Carolina at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2. McCloud had some rough moments against the Mountaineers (one interception, one fumble lost, -4 yards rushing) but had a clutch final drive to tie things up at the end of regulation. If the Dukes had been able to pull off the win, McCloud might have sealed up the award. Instead, his stock took a hit and opened the door for other contenders. The Chanticleers will be another tough opponent which could make or break McCloud’s chances in James Madison’s final game of the season.
– Kaidon Salter and No. 25 Liberty go to UTEP at 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. He is almost certainly the frontrunner with incredible stats (2,409 yards passing, 28 touchdowns, five interceptions, 823 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns). The only thing that could cost him is Liberty’s incredibly weak schedule (46th in ESPN’s FPI rankings). At the same time, if the Flames can stay undefeated, it will be hard to argue against Salter to win the award.
– Caullin Lacy and South Alabama face Texas State at 7:00 p.m. on NFL Network
Lacy had a strong seven-game stretch to put himself into Brennan contention before a subpar performance against Arkansas State for his standards set him back. But nine receptions for 126 yards against Marshall has him just outside the “Top 5 Performers This Season” list. As the current third overall receiver in yards in the country, it would be ridiculous to say he could not have another strong performance against Bobcats that would catapult him to the top of the list.
Top 5 Performers This Season
5. Seth Henigan QB – Memphis
4. Frank Harris QB – UTSA
3. Jordan McCloud QB – James Madison
2. Ricky White WR – UNLV
1. Kaidon Salter QB – Liberty
About the author
I’m a Washington Huskies fan who is still amazed but not surprised that we didn’t have more success under Chris Petersen (I blame Jake Browning). Sports are my life. I know nothing else. I graduated from Bethany Lutheran College with a degree in Communication. I’ve been a part of a newspaper since 8th grade, including my college’s official newspaper where I was co-copy editor.
