This is going to be a weekly plea for understanding that it’s an impossible task picking out 10 and only 10 individual performances from around college football to spotlight each week.
There were numerous 150-yard-plus rushing performances that didn’t make the cut, 180-yard-plus receiving performances you’ll have to go find on your own, gaudy passing stats that just weren’t gaudy enough, game-wrecking defensive performances that had to be left on the cutting room floor here. There were plenty of downright glaring snubs, we fully acknowledge that.
All the more reason to really appreciate the 10 individual performances from Week 9 (listed alphabetically) that earned our game ball recognition.
Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar: Aguilar had the third-highest passing total across the FBS this week, completing 20-of-26 passes for 396 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs in Tennessee’s 56-34 win at Kentucky. That marked the most passing yards for a Tennessee QB since 2019 and included passing touchdowns of 62 and 35 yards in Aguilar’s best game as a Vol. He also spread the ball around as three of his receivers topped 100 yards.
Auburn LB Xavier Atkins: Auburn snapped a four-game losing streak with a much-needed 33-24 win at Arkansas, and Atkins had his fingerprints all over the victory. The star linebacker had a career-high 13 tackles with 4 tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, and a forced fumble. Atkins’ first sack came on third down in the first quarter to force a punt. Then late in the third quarter with Auburn trailing 21-16 and Arkansas driving after a 50-yard reception down to the 11, Atkins delivered a tackle for loss on the Razorbacks’ QB Taylen Green on the next play (after sacking him earlier in the drive) and Arkansas eventually had to settle for a field goal, keeping it a one-score game. And then Atkins punctuated his huge game in the fourth quarter after Auburn went up 27-24 on a 49-yard Rayshawn Pleasant pick-6. Two plays later, Atkins punched the ball out from wide receiver O’Mega Blake after a reception for a fumble that Auburn recovered, leading to a quick field goal. His 13 tackles were the most for an Auburn player since 2022, and he’s the first Tigers player since 2005 with multiple 4-TFL games.
Louisville RB Isaac Brown: Brown led all FBS players with 205 rushing yards this week, averaging 14.6 yards per carry. That included a 73-yard run on his first touch of the game to set up an early touchdown and later a 67-yard touchdown run as the Cardinals rolled to a 38-24 win over Boston College. Brown is now averaging 8.7 yards per carry for the season (652 rushing yards, 4 TDs).
Rutgers WR KJ Duff: The sophomore had just one 100-yard game entering the weekend, so to say this came from off the radar is an understatement. Duff led all FBS players with 241 receiving yards on 6 catches, including a 72-yard touchdown. He averaged 40.2 yards per catch while leading Rutgers to its first Big Ten win of the season, 27-24 at Purdue. Incredibly, 183 of those yards came in the second half, including that long TD, then catches of 42 and 37 yards on another TD drive and a 32-yard reception on a game-tying field goal drive in the final minutes as Rutgers rallied from a 17-7 second-half deficit. Duff’s 241 receiving yards were the second-most ever by a Rutgers player and most in a conference game.
Pittsburgh QB Mason Heintschel: The true freshman has transformed Pittsburgh’s season from a 2-2 start before he took over to now four straight wins. Heintschel had his best game yet in the Panthers’ 53-34 win over NC State, completing 28-of-48 passes for 423 yards and 3 TDs. He’s averaging more than 300 passing yards per game through four career starts.
Texas LB Anthony Hill: Texas was down 17 points early in the fourth quarter at Mississippi State in a must-win game to keep its season alive, and it’s safe to say the Longhorns would not have rallied for a 45-38 overtime win at Mississippi State without Hill’s impact. Texas was still down 10 midway through the fourth quarter when Hill combined on a sack QB Blake Shapen on second down and then sacked him solo on third down to force a key three-and-out. After the Longhorns tied the game at 38-38 with under 2 minutes left, completing a 24-point fourth quarter, Hill came through big yet again. Mississippi State got it across midfield on its final drive before stalling out, with Hill pressuring Shapen on a first-down incompletion and then sacking him on third down while forcing a fumble that resulted in an 8-yard loss and a punt to get it to overtime. Hill finished with 10 tackles in addition to his 3.5 tackles for loss (2.5 sacks) and 4 pressures.
Rice RB Quinton Jackson: In a 37-34 double-overtime in over UConn, Jackson did it all for Rice. The redshirt-junior had a career-best day, rushing 21 times for 168 yards and 3 TDs (8.0 YPC) and hauling in 3 receptions for 80 yards and a TD. That included a 73-yard touchdown run, a 75-yard touchdown reception and touchdown runs of 6 and 23 yards in overtime.
Georgia Tech QB Haynes King: King is the engine behind Georgia Tech’s first 8-0 start since 1966, and he delivered his best statistical game of the season in a 41-16 win over Syracuse. King completed 25 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 3 TDs while rushing for 91 yards and 2 scores on 12 carries. With that, he broke the Georgia Tech single-game completion percentage record (80.6) and became the fifth FBS player since 1995 with 300 passing yards, 90 rushing yards, 3 TD passes and 2 TD runs while completing at least 80 percent of his passes. He led the Yellow Jackets to seven scoring drives on 10 possessions before exiting the game in the fourth quarter.
North Texas QB Drew Mestemaker: For all the talk about tough decisions, this one was as easy as it gets. The redshirt-freshman phenom set the AAC record with 608 passing yards (on 37-of-49 passing with 4 TDs and an INT) in a 54-20 win over Charlotte. Mestemaker was also honored as the Associated Press’ national player of the week. Since his top receiver didn’t make the cut individually, let’s give a special shout-out here for Wyatt Young’s 9 catches for 190 yards and a TD.
BYU S Faletau Satuala: BYU had just taken a 7-point lead early in the fourth quarter when Satuala followed two plays later with a 40-yard interception return for touchdown to make it a 41-27 lead at Iowa State, which is how the game would finish to send BYU to an 8-0 record. The sophomore safety also had a game-high 10 tackles, including a tackle for loss. For the season, Satuala leads BYU with 53 tackles and 2 forced fumbles and is tied for second with 6.5 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions.