The College Football Week 10 All-Heart Team
Some players have to battle through injuries on Saturdays. Others face overwhelming odds or dominant competition. Then there are those who have to deal with constant criticism from fans due to lackluster play.
All of these scenarios were on full display in some of the biggest games of the weekend.
Players overcame injuries to post incredible performances, while others quieted their critics. And then there were some who simply shut down their high-quality opposition with hustle play after hustle play.
One attribute unified all of these athletes this weekend—heart. Their refusals to back down led their teams to victory, whether it was in a massive conference game with the entire college football world watching or an overtime thriller filled with crazy plays.
Here are the choices for this week's All-Heart Team, which salutes some of the most special, game-defining performances from this weekend's action. Tell us who you thought showed the most heart in college football during Week 10 in the comments below.
Alabama Defensive Linemen
1 of 10
Heading into last Saturday, LSU running back Leonard Fournette had rushed for at least 150 yards in every game of the 2015 season. His matchup against Alabama was a chance for him to seemingly wrap up the Heisman Trophy race.
But Alabama's elite defensive linemen had something to say about that.
"I heard them talking about it a pretty good bit," Alabama quarterback Jake Coker said, per John Talty of AL.com. "They were chomping at the bit to get out there and play him. They did a heck of a job."
The nation's top running back only gained 30 yards on 19 carries against Alabama on Saturday night. According to a stat from Pro Football Focus, Fournette only had one yard before contact against the Crimson Tide's dominant defensive front, which completely overtook what had been a great LSU offensive line.
"1: According to @PFF_College, Leonard Fournette totaled 1 yard before contact in 19 carries Saturday night vs. Alabama.
— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) November 9, 2015"
In just 60 minutes of game time, the likes of A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed and Jonathan Allen threw Fournette's Heisman campaign into serious jeopardy and led the way for a huge Alabama win over an undefeated LSU team.
Doing something no other defensive line had even come close to this season took an incredible amount of talent and heart.
Arkansas TE Hunter Henry and RB Alex Collins
2 of 10Arkansas' offense moved the ball all Saturday long on the Ole Miss defense, but it found itself in a nearly impossible 4th-and-25 situation in overtime while trailing by seven points. And when the Rebels quickly wrapped up tight end Hunter Henry, the upset bid was seemingly over.
But Henry refused to let the play end that way. While falling down at the 28-yard line—right in front of a celebrating Ole Miss sideline—Henry threw an over-the-head lateral back to running back Alex Collins, who caught it off a fortunate bounce at the 42.
"If there's a guy that I would want to see throw a backward pass probably 20 yards in the air in no direction other than the way he'd wanted to throw it, I'd pick Hunter Henry," Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema said, per Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. "I would do it before today's game, and I would do it tomorrow and every day after."
Collins somehow weaved his way through traffic for more than 30 yards, moving the chains and keeping the game alive. A few plays later, the Razorbacks scored a touchdown and converted a two-point conversion to knock off the Rebels away from home.
Henry and Collins pulled off the epitome of doing whatever it took to keep a play alive Saturday night in Oxford. They never gave up, even though the odds were stacked against the Razorbacks before quarterback Brandon Allen took the snap on what would be a now-legendary sequence.
Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson
3 of 10
To say the majority of the Auburn fanbase wasn't thrilled to see quarterback Jeremy Johnson return to the starting lineup is a huge understatement, as Brandon Marcello of AL.com showed in a poll before kickoff of the Tigers' matchup against Texas A&M:
"How do you feel about Jeremy Johnson starting for Auburn at Texas A&M?
— Brandon Marcello (@bmarcello) November 8, 2015"
The former starting quarterback, who was benched after throwing six interceptions in the first three games of the season, returned to the first-team role due to an injury for his replacement, redshirt freshman Sean White. Johnson's play in packages since the depth-chart change didn't inspire much confidence.
But Johnson silenced his critics and led the Auburn offense to its best yardage performance of the season in a dominant 26-10 upset win over Texas A&M in College Station. His stats weren't outstanding by any stretch, but he only threw four incompletions and played mistake-free football in a hostile environment.
"He went through a storm early in the season," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said, per Wesley Sinor of AL.com. "He kept working...To perform on the road in this environment the way he did says a lot about him. I'm very proud of him."
Through all of the negativity that came his way during Auburn's ugly start to the 2015 season, Johnson was a vocal and emotional leader for the Tigers on Saturday night. That's playing with tremendous heart.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Clemson LB B.J. Goodson
4 of 10
Clemson linebacker B.J. Goodson's hustle play on a fourth-down stop against Florida State probably would have been enough to get him on the All-Heart Team this week.
Goodson stopped Seminole star Dalvin Cook in a short-yardage situation near midfield to set up an important touchdown drive from the Tigers offense. Florida State went from driving for a game-tying or go-ahead score to down by 10 points after that pivotal stop by Goodson.
"Here's Clemson's fourth-and-1 stop from the press box. It was kind of loud. https://t.co/TEDZFyAXKM
— Larry Williams (@LarryWilliamsTI) November 8, 2015"
"They kept doing that hurry-up toss play, fastball stuff," Goodson said, per Daniel Shirley of TigerNet. "I just saw a hole and shot it. I should have wrapped him up, but I got a good lick on him, I guess."
When Florida State's offense took the field again with a 10-point deficit, Clemson's Ben Boulware stripped the ball away from Travis Rudolph after a long completion. Goodson pounced on it, and the Tigers were able to run out the clock in a 23-13 win.
Goodson finished Saturday's game with nine tackles, two sacks and the all-important fumble recovery from Rudolph. His hustle made a huge difference for the No. 1 Tigers.
Florida K Austin Hardin
5 of 10
Florida kicker Austin Hardin has had a rough time recently for the Gators. Entering Saturday's game against Vanderbilt, Hardin had missed his last four field-goal attempts.
In fact, when Florida scored a first-quarter touchdown against the Commodores on Saturday, it sent in Neil MacInnes, a dental student who won a roster spot after a 216-person tryout during Florida's recent bye week, to kick the extra point.
MacInnes missed, and Florida didn't find the end zone again. So when the Gators got the ball back late in the fourth quarter, trailing Vanderbilt 7-6, they went back to Hardin for a go-ahead 43-yard field-goal attempt.
The scholarship kicker that was benched for a brand-new walk-on earlier in the game nailed it, and the Gators would go onto clinch the SEC East with a 9-6 victory. Hardin had flipped the script on his season.
"[ESPN Video] A. Hardin 43 yd FG GOOD: Austin Hardin 43 yd FG GOOD https://t.co/tgxvA7aM7g #Gators
— Florida Gators (@BR_Gators) November 7, 2015"
"He just did what he does best," Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis said, per Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel. "He put it through the uprights. For him to come through like that just shows how clutch he is."
MTSU DB Jeremy Cutrer
6 of 10Jeremy Cutrer almost gave the game away for his MTSU Blue Raiders on Saturday against Marshall.
Late in the fourth quarter, Cutrer was whistled for a 15-yard late hit that put Marshall in excellent position to hit a game-winning field goal. But the Thundering Herd shockingly missed a 32-yard field goal, sending the game into overtime.
Cutrer made the absolute most of his second chance. In the third overtime period, with MTSU leading by three, the defensive back stormed around the Marshall line and laid all the way out for a game-winning block. He slapped down the ball with his excellent effort, giving the Blue Raiders a 27-24 stunner over the defending Conference USA champion.
"When I got that personal foul on that drive, everybody was telling me to be smarter," Cutrer said, per MTSU's official website. "I knew something was in store for me. I messed up that time, but I still had something coming."
Instead of staying down on himself after the personal foul penalty that almost lost the game for the Blue Raiders, Cutrer became a hero and helped turn around what had been a rough few weeks for his team.
Nebraska QB Tommy Armstrong Jr.
7 of 10
Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. went to the halftime locker room Saturday night with his 3-6 Huskers down 17-13 to an undefeated Michigan State team. He was 8-of-16 in the opening half with incompletions and an interception on five of his last six attempts.
Those numbers didn't matter for Armstrong Jr. in the second half. He connected six passes of 20 or more yards and led Nebraska to four touchdowns on five drives, including a controversial 30-yard game-winner to Brandon Reilly.
Armstrong Jr. overcame a bad third-quarter interception to rally his offense to the big second-half surge that ultimately knocked off the undefeated Spartans in Lincoln.
"We had kind of an ugly play, and after that I thought Tommy just sort of hung in there and kept playing," Nebraska offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf said, per Steven Sipple of the Journal Star. "He made some huge throws late. He played with a lot of poise. I was proud of how he finished that game."
Things haven't been pretty in late-game situations for Armstrong Jr. and the Huskers this season, but they finally made the breakthrough behind the quarterback's improved decision-making in the fourth quarter. His ability to bounce back was key to the big comeback.
Oklahoma State LB Chad Whitener
8 of 10
TCU's offense was on fire heading into Stillwater on Saturday. The Horned Frogs had the nation's No. 2 attack in both points and yardage, and they reached 663 yards against Oklahoma State.
The difference in the game, though, was the previously undefeated Frogs only scored 29 points thanks to several huge stops by the Oklahoma State defense—especially from linebacker Chad Whitener.
The former backup had two interceptions against TCU star quarterback Trevone Boykin. Whitener almost returned one for a touchdown in the second quarter, and then he found the end zone on his second pick to cap a huge win for Oklahoma State.
Whitener also had 12 tackles, none bigger than this fourth-down stop of Boykin just outside the goal line. Pure effort plays such as those gave the Cowboys more than enough to keep the Horned Frogs down.
"This play sums up the #okstate def tonight. #TCUvsOKST https://t.co/7WUWOL2jYq
— Jarrett W. Payton (@paytonsun) November 8, 2015"
Whitener has been excellent since taking over a starting job for the Cowboys defense earlier this season. His heart and his intensity on that side of the ball have been crucial to Oklahoma State's 9-0 start to 2015.
USC WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
9 of 10USC wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster played through quite a bit of pain Saturday night—just a few days after getting a plate and a screw surgically inserted into his fractured hand, per Dan Weber of Scout.
But the fractured hand, missed practice time and an additional leg injury didn't stop this Trojans star from posting a much-needed eight receptions and 138 receiving yards for USC in a 38-30 comeback win over Arizona.
"USC's JuJu Smith-Schuster dropped like a felled tree after getting what appeared to be cramps in both legs pic.twitter.com/m4mqifsbC6
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) November 8, 2015"
The banged-up Smith-Schuster grabbed a 72-yard touchdown bomb from quarterback Cody Kessler in the second quarter that brought the Trojans offense to life after a slow start. By the end of the night, he had his sixth 100-yard game of the season—and his first on a bad hand.
"I've never been associated with more of a warrior than [Smith-Schuster] — for him to do what he did and commit himself to his team," USC interim head coach Clay Helton said, per Weber.
Playing through a tweaked hamstring is one thing, but grabbing eight passes just a few days after having surgery on a fractured hand is the epitome of playing with plenty of heart.
West Virginia RB Wendell Smallwood
10 of 10
West Virginia is known for its fast-paced, pass-first, light-'em-up offense under head coach Dana Holgorsen. But when the Mountaineers needed to hold on to their first Big 12 win of the season Saturday, they turned to running back Wendell Smallwood.
Smallwood, who was less than 100 percent with an ankle injury, had 22 carries for a career-high 163 yards Saturday as West Virginia snapped a four-game losing skid with a 31-26 victory over Texas Tech.
The numbers were good, even against a woeful run defense like the one at Texas Tech, but what is even more impressive is how Smallwood ran the ball in the fourth quarter. Even though West Virginia surprisingly went to the air a few times with the lead, Smallwood had 10 carries in the final frame, and five of them went for first downs.
"I think he caught us all off guard," Smallwood said, per Mike Casazza of the Charleston Gazette Mail. “The linemen were looking. We saw the ball in the air. The defensive guys were all yelling, knowing we threw the ball. We’re like, 'No, let’s keep running. Let’s keep getting first downs.'"
Smallwood did just that, allowing West Virginia to move the chains and successfully kill off the final 6:47 of a much-needed conference win.
Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
