College football Week 4: 15 players to watch

We all know about Georgia's punishing defense and the development of quarterback Stetson Bennett, but how about tight end Brock Bowers? Last week against South Carolina, he caught five passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns, including a 78-yard catch and run score and a beautiful 5-yard catch on a fade. He also carried the ball for the first time all season, which went for a touchdown. Bowers caught a touchdown pass in each of Georgia's final five games of their national championship season of 2021, including in the College Football Playoff Championship game. The Bulldogs have emphatically staked their claim as the top team in the nation, and they host Kent State at high noon on Saturday. 

College football is back on Thursday nights and with it comes an opportunity to see one of the more unique players in the country. West Virginia tight end CJ Donaldson isn't a tight end anymore -- he's only caught three passes for 10 yards all season long -- but now a running back. The freshman was recruited by head coach Neal Brown to be a ... football player. They had no idea how they wanted to use him but know he needed to get on the field. So Donaldson became the Mountaineers running back -- a position he had never played before -- and the decision has paid off. He has two 100-yard rushing games (including the opener against Pitt) and has already rushed for six touchdowns, including three last week against Towson. He's also shown an ability to break for huge plays, highlighted by his 82-yard romp last week. West Virginia travels south to face Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. 

Clemson travels to Winston-Salem for a huge ACC showdown against Wake Forest. Demon Deacons quarterback Sam Hartman missed Wake's opener with a non-football injury but has picked right up in his first two starts of the season. Two 300+ yard games and 7 touchdown passes and a shootout win over Liberty last week. This is Clemson coming in, and the atmosphere should be electric. Last year, Hartman threw for 312 yards but just one touchdown in a 48-27 loss to the Tigers. Look for the defending Atlantic Division champs (that's Wake, remember) to throw their best punch at Clemson. 

Tennessee is heading into a brutal stretch (Florida, at LSU, Alabama, UT-Martin, Kentucky, at Georgia), so a win over the Gators is a must. Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has totally revamped his career this season after struggling in 2021. Last week he caught 5 passes for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns against Akron, just one week after catching 11 passes in an overtime win over Pittsburgh. After each score this season, he goes over to the sideline to celebrate with his receivers coach Kelsey Pope. He credits Pope with instilling confidence in him and working to maximize his skills. It has paid off as he's nearing career highs in receptions, yards, and touchdowns after just three games. 

North Carolina's Drake Maye has been one of the biggest revelations of the season. The freshman had the unenviable task of taking over at quarterback to replace arguably the best QB in program history in Sam Howell. He's taken that torch and run with it, throwing for 930 yards and 11 touchdowns to just one interception. He's had to do so without his top receiver in Josh Downs and on a team whose defense has been so bad that he's had to win shootouts to keep the Tar Heels undefeated. I mean, people forget that the Heels beat America's darling Appalachian State in that ridiculous 63-61 game a few weeks ago. Carolina hosts Notre Dame on Saturday in what will be a huge measuring stick of what Maye and this team are right now. 

Everyone in Madison, the Big Ten, and in the nation have been waiting for Graham Mertz to become the quarterback that many felt he'd be as Wisconsin's highest-rated recruit. It hasn't happened, at least not consistently, since he arrived in 2019. He's looked decent this season, completing 71% of his passes for 697 yards and 6 touchdowns ... with just two interceptions. Last year, he threw more picks (11) than TDs (10), so it is huge that he's cleaning that up. With an elite running back behind him (Braelon Allen) and an emerging receiver (Skyler Bell) it will be imperative for Mertz to protect the ball in a huge showdown at Ohio State. If Wisconsin is a legit Big Ten contender, he needs to hold his own against an improved Buckeyes defense. 

The last time most of the nation saw Bo Nix, his Ducks were getting flat-out embarrassed by the defending champion Georgia Bulldogs in the season opener, 49-3. The loss furthered the narrative that was stuck to him at Auburn as a guy who isn't ready to lead an elite program. Since then, Nix has played extremely well, completing 80% of his passes while throwing for 499 yards and 7 touchdowns. Last week against BYU, Nix threw two touchdowns and rushed for three scores in a huge win that put Oregon back in the rankings. The Ducks head up to Washington State for a tough matchup against an improving Cougars team.

Remember Michael Penix Jr.? In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Penix was one of the pleasant surprises of the year as he had Indiana on the brink of playing for a Big Ten title before an injury knocked him out at the end of the season. His two-point conversion in overtime in the season opener is still debated at Indiana and Penn State. Now he's at Washington, and he led the Huskies to a decisive (okay, the Spartans got back into it) upset of Michigan State last week. Penix threw for 397 yards and 4 TDs in the win and puts the Huskies back as a contender in the Pac-12. Washington hosts Stanford Saturday night. 

Sanders went off last week in a surprisingly challenging win over Missouri State. Sanders rushed for 167 yards and a touchdown and caught a 73-yard touchdown pass in the 38-27 win. His three-yard score in the middle of the second quarter dug into a 17-0 deficit. Then as Missouri State took a 27-17 lead in the fourth quarter, Sanders scored on that 73-yard catch and run that injected a ton of energy into the team and the crowd in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks never looked back, scoring the final 21 points of the game and pulling out the win. Sanders has three 100-yard games this season (440 rushing yards) and 4 total TDs. Arkansas heads into Texas A&M for a huge game in the SEC West.

As I previously mentioned, Clemson travels to Wake Forest in one of the biggest games of the week and of the ACC season. Right now, running back Will Shipley is the best thing going on a Clemson offense that has had its good and bad moments. Shipley will be key in both creating offense for the Tigers and also, eating up the clock and keeping Wake Forest's Sam Hartman off the field. Last week, Shipley rushed for 139 yards and two touchdowns against Louisiana Tech, making it the third straight game where he's rushed for two TDs. 

Syracuse has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the young season. Quarterback Garrett Shrader has been steadily revamping what was one of the worst passing attacks in the nation a year ago. He's already thrown for 709 yards and 8 TDs in three games, without throwing an interception. He's also dangerous as a runner (201 yards, 3 TDs). And while he didn't have a great statistical passing game against Purdue last week, he drove the Orange down the field with less than a minute remaining for a game-winning touchdown that capped off a wild fourth quarter. It shows that even if he's having an off day, he is able to make winning plays in crucial moments and that Syracuse may be a darkhorse in the ACC's Atlantic Division. Syracuse hosts Virginia on Friday night. 

UTEP may not be very good, but wide receiver Tyrin Smith is one of the Miners' brightest spots. He's their guy in the passing game -- catching at least eight passes in three of four games, including 8 receptions for 183 yards in a loss to New Mexico last week. He transferred in from Cisco College before last season and was that third receiver who made dynamic plays and has now emerged as the No. 1 receiver in El Paso. UTEP hosts Boise State in a Friday night showdown. 

Even though some other players have been making Heisman noise, this still seems like C.J. Stroud is the front-runner right now. Stroud had another elite game last week against Toledo: 22 of 27 for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns. Stroud has 941 yards and 11 touchdowns already this year, with a matchup against Wisconsin coming on Saturday. The Badgers have given up just 24 points in three games this season, so it will be interesting to see how this Buckeyes offense will perform. If Stroud keeps it going, he'll stay at the front of the Heisman line. 

Cameron Ward has the Cougars looking strong early in the season, with a win over Wisconsin already under their belt. Ward has thrown for 727 yards and 8 touchdowns this season and coming off 299 yards and 4 TDs against Colorado State last week. Last season, Ward threw for over 4,600 yards and 47 touchdowns at Incarnate Word and won the Jerry Rice Award for the FCS's top freshman in 2020. Washington State hosts Oregon in a big Pac-12 matchup. 

Windmon is second in the nation with 5 1/2 sacks and leads the nation with four forced fumbles. Most of that damage was done in a season-opening win over Western Michigan, but the transfer from UNLV has been a major addition for the Spartans. He was recruited out of high school as a tight end/fullback but began his career as a defensive end before moving to outside linebacker as a sophomore. He became a middle linebacker in his junior season ... his final year at UNLV. Because he has moved around a lot on defense, he provides Michigan State a lot of flexibility in their 4-2-5 defense. The Spartans will rebound off their loss to Washington with a pivotal Big Ten game against Minnesota.