College Football Weekly Awards: Boise State, Oregon Dazzle In Week 1
The first week of the 2010 college football season is finally in the books, and the weekend of games could not have ended in more dramatic fashion.
With less than two minutes left and a little more than half the field in front of them, Kellen Moore and Boise State marched 56 yards and closed out Week One with surreal excitement.
But this was only a small portion of what was a wild and very unpredictable opening week of play.
This season on Bleacher Report, I will be handing out awards to the most outstanding performers of the week as a way to recap this always-enthralling game. This will highlight the top players at each position but also include team awards and other weekly acknowledgments as the season unfolds.
Let us dive in to the first week of awards and see which teams and players made some serious noise to start off this long awaited year.
Offense of the Week: Oregon
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Who needs Jeremiah Masoli and LeMichael James?
The Oregon Ducks tried to prove that they didn’t when their offense exploded to heights that few truly imagined in their Week One 72-0 trouncing of the New Mexico Lobos.
Their 72 points scored and 720 total offensive yards was the highest in the first week of play and was unbelievable to watch.
The Ducks did this with an excellent mixture of both the running and passing games, gaining 351 yards through the air and 369 yards on the ground.
Sophomores Kenjon Barner and Darron Thomas lead the attack for Oregon, collecting six touchdowns and 367 yards between the both of them.
Oregon has a tall task going into Tennessee this week, and while another 72-point shellacking is most likely out of the questions, the Vols defense should have plenty to worry about leading into this game.
Runners Up:
2. Air Force – 65 Points, 616 Total Yards
3. Houston – 68 Points, 497 Total Yards
Quarterback of the Week: Matt Barkley, USC
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After several months of negative energy surrounding the sanctioned USC camp, Matt Barkley did his best to remind Trojan fans that there is still some awesome talent playing for them.
Barkley tied five other players in Week One with five passing touchdowns, but unlike the other quarterbacks currently leading this category, the USC sophomore was able to steer clear of making a tally in that Interception column.
While he only threw for 257 yards, his 11.2 yards per attempt was ninth amongst FBS quarterbacks and the poise that he exerted on practically every drive was faith instilling
A shaky off season still seemed to take its toll on this shell shocked juggernaut (especially the defense), but Barkley and the offense made a huge statement in an often hostile Aloha Stadium.
Runners Up:
2. T.J. Yates, UNC – 28/46, 412 yards, 3 TD
3. Cam Newton, Auburn – 9/14, 186, 3 TD; 15 car, 171 yds, 2 TD
Running Back of the Week: Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State
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Although two other players are tied with four touchdowns in Week One, playing a BCS team (even if it was only the lowly Washington State) definitely gives Kendall Hunter’s ground performance some extra pop over the others.
But touchdowns are only half the story, as Hunter’s attempts and overall yardage sends his name straight to the forefront for this week’s award.
Hunter rambled for a FBS leading 257 yards on 21 carries, averaging more yards per carry (12.2) than all running backs that touched the ball at least 20 times.
A 66-yard scamper early in the second quarter was stopped just shy of the goal line, which could have given Hunter the outright lead for rushing touchdowns in the first week.
Hunter certainly made a statement about who needs to be stopped on Oklahoma State, let’s see how long he can keep it up.
Runners Up:
2. Kenjon Barner, Oregon – 17 car, 147 yds, 4 TD
3. Le’Veon Bell, Michigan State – 10 car, 141 yds,
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Receiver of the Week: Jheranie Boyd, UNC
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With four players collecting three touchdowns in week one, it might be hard to believe that UNC’s Jheraine Boyd, who only scored one, still gets this week’s award.
A 97-yard pass to Boyd early in the Fourth Quarter against LSU sparked UNC late, bringing some much-needed life back into the Tar Heels. But that was only part of his six catch day.
Although UNC eventually lost, Boyd’s 36.8 yards per catch is quickly turning heads and should draw immediate attention from every defense from here on out. His 221 receiving yards leads the FBS and surpassed his receiving total from the entire 2009 season (12 rec, 214 yds).
Boyd is becoming a favorite option for the T.J. Yates and the pass heavy Tar Heels, which should mean even bigger numbers from Boyd before the season is through.
Runners Up:
2. Lyle Leong, Texas Tech – 11 rec, 142 yds, 3 TD
3. Justin Blackmon, 8 rec, 125 yds, 3 TD
Offensive Line of the Week: Air Force
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Winning the battles in the trenches is often the difference between taking home a win and losing the game. A strong offensive line can go a long way and this often overlooked unit needs some sort of weekly recognition.
Replacing all five starters on the offensive line from last season hasn't seemed to phase the Air Force
The Air Force offensive line picked apart the Northwestern state defense in their warm up game, keeping their quarterback safe and allowing their running back to break out for an impressive day.
Air Force rushed for a league leading 437 yards, scoring an amazing seven touchdowns in the process. And although the Falcons don’t like throwing the ball too often, when they did, the O-Line stood their ground and didn’t give up a sack. That’s some serious push.
Runners Up:
2. Florida State – 0 sacks,11.0 yds/pa att,
3. Wake Forest – 0 sacks, 8.3 yds/carry
Defense of the Week: Miami (FL)
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Like modern man and his internet, Miami and their swagger have gone hand-in-hand since most can remember. This “swagness” has often been the missing key to their success in years past.
The Hurricanes showed glimpse of this much needed emotion last season, but failed to sustain it throughout the entire season.
The swagger has definitely poked its head out again in the Hurricanes first game of the season, shutting out their first week opponent, declaring that their D is going to cut through offenses with Danny Trejo’s recent weapon of choice.
Miami is a fun defense to watch when all gears are functionally properly and they definitely looked that way against the feeble Florida A&M. The Hurricanes only allowed 110 total yards (58 pass, 52 rush) and took an interception back for a score.
Miami could be dangerous if they replicate this performance against tougher opponents over the next few weeks.
Runners Up:
2. Florida – 4 INT, 1 TD, 2 sacks, 212 total yards allowed
3. California – 81 yards allowed, 2 sacks
Defensive End of the Week: Kyle Wilber, Wake Forest
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As expected with cupcake games, Wake Forest absolutely manhandled the Presbyterian Blue Hose, perhaps making both their offense and defense seem mightier than they actually are.
But, even against this mediocre opponent, Kyle Wilber begs attention to be the top defensive end of the first week.
Wake Forest held Presbyterian to only 70 yards and Wilber played an enormous part.
Three sacks to open up the season is the instant attention grabber, but the five extra tackles to go with them propel him to the top the list. Although Wilber and the Deacons have a slightly more difficult opponent in Duke this week, another explosive day like this is not completely out of the question.
Runner Ups:
2. Chris Carter, Fresno – 3 sacks, 4 total tackles
3. Brian Duncan, Texas Tech – 3 sacks, 5 total tackles
Linebacker of the Week: Akeem Ayers, UCLA
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Expectations were high for UCLA’s defense coming into the season but they failed to prove that they can live up to last year’s accolades.They allowed Kansas State to do something they only allowed once in 2009: score more than 30 points.
But this was not because of lack of effort from Akeem Ayers.
Ayers recovered two fumbles, hammered out 11 tackles, which included one sack and one tackle for a loss, and even broke up a pass to bring up a key third down.
Ayers, playing his third year as a starter, appears to be primed for another huge season and should quickly rise the watch list for the nation’s top defensive player.
Runners Up:
2. Jake Knott, Iowa State – 9 Total Tackles, 2 INT
3. Lavonte David, Nebraska – 13 Total Tackles
Defensive Back of the Week: Maurice Langston, Mississippi State
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As the only member of a secondary to rake in two picks, Mississippi State’s Maurice Langston takes an early lead in the category and catapults him to the top of Week One’s defensive back list
The stout, senior cornerback (5-10, 180lbs) has not necessarily been a standout player for the Bulldogs in the past. However, if he can find a way to keep up at this pace, people might be talking differential about Langston before the end of the year.
It might be hard for him to duplicate his performance against No. 22 Auburn this week so let him enjoy his week at the top.
Runners Up:
2. Ray-Ray Armstrong, Miami – 1 Int, 1 TD
3. Janoris Jenkins, Florida – 1 Int, 1 TD
Special Teams: Oregon
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Cliff Harris showed off his special teams prowess against New Mexico on Saturday, taking two punt returns back to the house in the same quarter.
Harris made it look easy in both of his return, each over 60 yards.
With their plethora of touchdowns, Oregon’s special team collected a ton of points through extra points (9) and also tacked on three field goals on three tries.
Runners Up:
2. Penn State – 5 for 5 XP; 3 for 3 FG, 1 Kick off TD
3. LSU – 1 Punt Return TD, 32.6 yds/punt return, 27.2 yds/kick return
Team of the Week: Oregon
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Oregon showed off their strength on all three sides of the ball in their season opener against New Mexico and the world should be taking notice.
Not only did they rack up an enormous amount of points using a rather untested offense and surprising special teams, they also were able to put together a shut out in the process.
Oregon’s defense held the Lobos to only 107 total yards, keeping them to a minuscule 25 yards on the ground.
The Ducks excelled at every aspect of the game on Saturday and are primed for another run at a National Title.
Runners Up:
2. Miami – 45 PF, 0 PA, 405 Total Yards For; 100 Total Yards Against
3. Alabama – 48 PF, 3PA, 591 Total Yards For,175 Total Yards Against
Coach of the Week: Chris Petersen, Boise State
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Chris Petersen’s success at Boise State is hardly a secret. He made sure that the Broncos' talent was nationally known by not being afraid to put the perfect season on the line straight from the get-go.
While even the announcers were writing Boise State off with three minutes left in the game, Petersen kept with the plan…stop VT and get the ball in Kellen Moore’s hands with at least a few minutes on the clock.
1:47 was all he got and 1:47 was all he needed.
Great play calling by the coach helped set up this comeback on both sides of the ball and once again, leaves the gates wide open for more BCS chaos over the next season.
It should be another crazy ride for the perennial BCS-crasher.
Runner up:
2. Chip Kelly, Oregon
3. Butch Davis, North Carolina
Player of the Week: Kellen Moore, Boise State
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After a three day weekend of devouring as much football as humanly possible, Kellen Moore and Boise State was the digestive that made the entire meal sublime.
While Moore did not exactly light the scoreboard with his stats (23/38, 215 yds, 3TD), his game winning drive during prime time television on the final holiday of summer illuminated the reason why American’s absolutely love the game of football.
With 1:47 left, down by four points, and with millions of eyes peering down on him, Kellen Moore looked like he was in the backyard playing catch, completing four of five passes and eventually hooking up with Austin Pettis on a 13-yard post rout to take the lead and win the game.
An amazing comeback to what was an outstanding game during an absolutely ridiculous first week of college football.
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