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Week 3 Scouting Notes – Texas A&M vs. Miami

The week three slate was a bit limited in terms of quality match ups, so I went for the game with the highest rated players I haven’t seen yet, which were Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and nickel/safety Antonio Johnson of Texas A&M. I’ll give my thoughts on those two below, as well as a few others who took my eye, in what turned out to be quite a defensive battle in the end.

Texas A&M

The quarterback play over the first two games of the season wasn’t good enough for the Aggies, so Jimbo Fisher pulled the plug on Haynes King and gave the reins of the offense to LSU transfer Max Johnson.

Johnson didn’t set the world alight here, but the offense looked much better than it did the previous week in their surprise loss to Appalachian State. Johnson looked composed in the pocket and showed off some wheels too on a few designed runs, and although his stat line isn’t great (10/20 for 140 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions), he looks like he has done enough to keep the job going forward. 

I was pretty high on running back Devon Achane in the summer, so I was eager to see him here against a good defense. Achane isn’t going to be an every down back in the NFL, he just doesn’t have the size to handle that kind of workload at 5’9 185. What Achane does have though is speed, and not just good speed, no, we are talking sub 10.20, 100 meter speed, which is flat out flying.

Miami held him in check pretty well, but he still carried the threat to break one on every play. It’s not just in the run game, as he has very natural hands too in the passing game, and is a danger in open space when they flare it out to him. The speed alone will make him a top 100 player, but a big season could push him into the top 64 for a team who values speed over power.

The Aggies were without their two five-star freshman receivers for this game, as they were both suspended for breaking a curfew, so picking up the slack was the very versatile Ainias Smith. Smith only had 4 catches, but he made the most of them, stretching Miami for 74 yards and looked a threat with his limited touches. What doesn’t show up on the stat sheet is Smith’s blocking downfield ability. He isn’t the biggest at 5’10 190lbs, but he will mix it up with anyone, and was very effective in this game at springing blocks and getting extra yards for his teammates. Smith has spent time in the backfield during his career but now lives mostly in the slot, and that’s where he’ll make his money in the NFL. I seem to be higher on him then most, but I think there’s a day two player here, if some off-field concerns are cleared up by draft time.

Defensively the Aggies were excellent in this game, particularly in the secondary, and we’ll start our notes on that side of the ball with the star attraction, nickel/safety Antonio Johnson. 

Johnson is mostly lined up as a slot corner and is matched up against speedy slot receivers or hulking tight ends on virtually every play. He has the size (6’3 200lbs) to be physical with the tight ends and the speed (estimated 4.4, 40 yard dash) to keep up with the receivers. He was great here against Miami, especially when lined up against tight end Will Mallory. He is also a force in the run game, willinging throwing himself into blockers and blowing up run plays. He is a versatile defensive chess piece and will almost certainly be a first round pick in the draft.

Someone who caught my eye for the first time was cornerback Tyreek Chappell, who is a true sophomore, so not draft eligible yet. He has a very physical style of play and was sticking to the Hurricanes receivers like glue. He was smooth in phase and very competitive at the catch point, which was impressive as he isn’t the biggest. He had two pass break ups in this game, one a contested catch on a slant in man coverage, and the other was a beautiful play, coming off of his man to make a play on the ball on a different receiver down the sideline. I like the way he plays and I’ll be keeping an eye on him in the future.

Someone who seems to have been around forever is safety Demani Richardson, who has been on my safety list for the last couple of years and I’m still quite high on.   Although he only played the first quarter here, after getting ejected (questionably) for targeting, he was having a very influential game leading the back line of the defense. He is a very aggressive downhill thumping safety but can play in reverse too and cover backs and tight ends well, so he isn’t a one dimensional guy. Straight line speed may be a concern, so his 40 time will play a big part in where he ends up getting drafted.

Miami

My eyes were on star quarterback Tyler Van Dyke for the Hurricanes, who had risen up draft boards over the summer and was firmly in the mix to be QB3 on most people’s lists. Now he never made it that high on mine, but he did have a very good end to last season and you could see why he was getting plenty of summer buzz. Unfortunately, this season hasn’t started well for him and he looked out of sorts in this game too against an aggressive Aggies defense. Mechanically there’s a lot to like, he has a smooth set up and a good arm with some nice zip, but there are accuracy and decision making questions, and it’s topped off with some general inconsistencies from play to play as well, so there’s a lot of work for him to do to rescue this season. The good news is though that it’s just week three and there’s plenty of time to rebound, and if he doesn’t, he can always go back next year and try and get back up those rankings.

There really weren’t many positives for Miami offensively, but one young offensive lineman stood up well to the Aggie onslaught, while the others crumbled. Redshirt freshman guard Jalen Rivers has nice size at 6’5 325lbs and played like a veteran, rather than someone making just their sixth career start. He has strong hands and grip control to ride defenders away and looks pretty agile on the move. The size and athletic profile indicates a potential move to tackle in the future, where he could excel.

I’ve never been high on tackle Zion Nelson, but there were still plenty of people thinking he had first round ability entering this year, but I can slam that door shut for them now. He hasn’t started the last two games and when he was on the field the same old problems were there. If you haven’t figured it out after 2452 career snaps, my guess is you never will. Not draftable in my opinion, but no doubt someone will take a chance on him at some point believing they can light his fire.

The Hurricanes did a nice job defensively in this game and their whole secondary really caught my eye. They have an impressive young safety pairing of James Williams and Kamren Kinchens, both true sophomores who look like stars in the making. Williams is massive (6’4 224lbs) but moves around effortlessly in space, whilst Kinchens has that true headhunter mentality and physical style of play that I love in a safety. 

They are for the future, but for right now, Miami has a couple of very intriguing cornerbacks in D.J Ivey and Tyrique Stevenson. Both have excellent size and length and they gave up nothing to the Texas A&M wide receivers in this game. Ivey was targeted three times but gave up zero catches and was all over receivers for the entire game. I’ve seen plenty of him over his five years at Miami, and he’s never graded overly well for me in the past, but if this game is any indication of his level of play now, then he’ll be moving up boards in no time at all. 

Stevenson is a Georgia transfer who looked good in a limited role for the Bulldogs but struggled for me last season in his first year in Miami. He was only targeted once in this game and like Ivey gave up zero catches. He has a great athletic profile and is someone who is still highly regarded, and more performances like this will justify the hype he is currently getting. 

By Keith Lucken. Follow Keith on twitter – @lordlucken

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2022 CFB: It’s Tennessee – Florida Rivalry Week

The stage is set for a barnstormer in Knoxville, Tennessee this upcoming weekend as the 20th ranked Florida Gators take on the 11th ranked Volunteers. 

This is a rivalry that has been dominated by the Gators in recent history as they currently hold a five game win streak against the Vols, but things might be looking different this year. In years past the game has been considered to be a matchup that gives the winner a significant boost in their chances of getting to an SEC championship. That might not be the case in 2022, but the 52nd matchup should be full of drama for the neutral to feast on.

The Volunteers could really benefit from a win here, and they have the roster to make the big leap to 4-0. Yet on the flip side Florida is looking to sour the mood in Knoxville as they look to steal another one in this timeless rivalry. 

The Teams

Tennessee has a very impressive offense that should have Billy Napier losing sleep. The connection between quarterback Hendon Hooker and wide receiver Cedric Tillman is one of the best in the nation, and they’ve already put up some big plays in 2022. Expect Hooker to have plenty of time in the pocket as the Florida pass rush has been abysmal through three weeks, having only three sacks to their name. If the Volunteers dominate, expect most of the traffic to run through the air, where they already rank sixth nationally in passing yards. Coach Heupel has this offense ascending to new heights, and Neyand should be rocking on Saturday.

This will be Florida’s first away game of the season, they started off the year red hot when they upset the seventh ranked Utah Utes. The sky was the limit for Richardson from that point, or so many thought. Since then the quarterback has put up two unimpressive performances that have left many with more questions than answers. With two interceptions, the Florida quarterback has shown lackluster ball security and that will be very costly against a team like Tennessee. 

The Florida quarterback will be looking to really turn it around this weekend, and will need to if Florida is looking to keep up with that Tennessee offense. Florida has found most of its success on the ground thus far, but it may not be so easy this weekend as the Vols have the 19th ranked rushing defense in the nation. The RB duo of Montrell Johnson Jr. and Trevor Etienne will have an uphill battle, but if the Gators’ offense is able to generate success through the air then that should ease up some of the pressure for the running backs. Richardson, who has all the athleticism in the world, should also keep that defense in check with his ability to use his legs. 

With all eyes on the offense, it can be easy to forget about some of the talent that both teams possess on defense. Despite highlighting that the Gators’ pass rush has not been impressive, keep an eye out on sophomore defensive lineman Gervon Dexter Sr. He has got the size and the athleticism to make a huge impact for Florida. The lineman is 6-foot-6, 312lbs and should be drawing double teams all game.

Tennessee’s defense really showed up big two weeks ago when they marched into Pittsburgh and carried the day in the overtime victory against the Panthers. Keep an eye on the linebacker Jeremy Banks who has already 14 total tackles and a forced fumble this season. It would also be remiss not to highlight defensive back Kamal Hadden who has had a phenomenal start to the season with two passes defensed, an interception, and a forced fumble. 

What to Expect

If Florida wants to come into Nelyand and upset the Volunteers, Anthony Richardson will have to play his best game of the season. The quarterback is just barely completing fifty percent of his passes through three games, and also threw less touchdowns than the Tennessee backup Joe Milton just last weekend. The Tennessee run defense will create problems for Florida’s backs, so if Florida is to win this thing they need to find success through the air. Richardson will be facing one of the loudest crowds he will ever hear, and the quarterback cannot be rattled by that. 

Tennessee will want to keep that foot on the gas. This is a big game, they have run the rivalry in recent years, but now they want to run the future. The key is keeping Richardson in check, whilst allowing your own highly rated signal caller to play his game and find his star receiver. Expect this to be one of the best games all week, a must watch for many.

By Will Lane – @TheWillieLane

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Week 2 – Five things we’ve learned

What was I saying about how Week 1 can be an aberration? A deviation from the commonly accepted norm that makes fools of us all, especially those of us who try to pick out the things we’ve learned from that opening week? My defence here, if you can give every team a Week 1 mulligan then I’m sure as hell going to take one as well. Thanks for nothing, Dallas…

Onto Week 2 and we can – hopefully – start to get an idea of what teams are looking like the real deal and who is scratching their head wondering what the hell just happened?

Are we ready to accept the Lions as a… decent team?

I’m not willing to say they are good – they’ve given up 38 and 27 points in the first two weeks – but they’ve also put up 35+ and are sitting 1-1 with an offense that looks like it can carry itself beyond Jared Goff’s clear limitations ala the 2018 Rams.

Now I’m not saying that Amon Ra St. Brown is Cooper Kupp and Dan Campbell is not Sean McVay but TJ Hockenson, D’Andre Swift, Jamaal Williams are all contributing in a big way. Let’s not forget that Aidan Hutchinson is already turning into an absolute game-wrecker, and you’d think will only continue to improve.

The green shoots of recovery were there for Lions fans to see during the 2021 season, these shoots are beginning to flower in the Motor City. They’ll be a fascinating watch and if they’re playing meaningful football in December, that’s a huge win for the franchise and the city.

The AFC South continues to underwhelm

Generally accepted wisdom as recently as three weeks ago was that the Colts were the Class of the AFC South, damning with faint praise sure, but you can only win the division you’re in. Turns out the Colts may struggle to do that as they laid another turkey and put up another goose egg – to mix my wildlife metaphors – in Jacksonville as they were shutout 24 to nothing. Nil. Nada. Zip. Bugger all. 

Jonathan Taylor was held to 54 yards, Matty Ice looked frozen in his 195 yard, 3 INT game. The Jags aren’t exactly a frightening prospect, they’ve got some potential but don’t figure to be a player in a stacked AFC. However with the Titans showing signs of going first-to-worst and Houston being generally mediocre, the Jags suddenly look like a team who could go and snatch an AFC South that – yet again – nobody seems to want to win.

Joe Flacco Lives!

As Nick Chubb sauntered into the Jets endzone for the third time on Sunday we’d just breezed past the 2 minute warning. Cade York’s PAT was no good and left the Jets with a 13 point deficit, 115 seconds and a ferocious Dawg Pound to contend with. Oh, and their QB was Joe Flacco. Y’know? That guy.

Turns out that Joe Flacco is that guy. The kinda guy who put up 14 points in a combined 11 plays with no timeouts remaining to end the game and seal a remarkable Jets win against a Browns team who were the only team to be more Chargers than the Chargers this week.

It’s clear that Zach Wilson will be taking over from Flacco upon his eventual return but if this is the final victory of Flacco’s career then what a way to go out. Good for you, old timer.

The Dolphins vs Bills is the Game of Week Three

How can it not be? I know people will cape for Green Bay – Tampa but a pair of 2-0 AFC East teams, one is who we thought they were, the other is who we hoped they would be. Tua threw for over 450 yards and six Tuddys! SIX! I don’t think Miami can expect to give up 38 points against Buffalo and come out with a win but their resilience on Sunday was superb. Their second half possessions went as such – TD, Punt, TD, TD, TD, TD. 

Meanwhile, the Bills completely decimated the Titans and have got me dreaming of that Week 6 matchup against the Chiefs but for now, a divisional game in Miami will do. Book it in folks, this is gonna be a barnburner.

The Vikings are still coming for the Packers…

If Kirk Cousins stays out of primetime games.

Bleurgh, what a nasty night for the Vikings as they were dismantled by an Eagles team quickly becoming the class of the NFC (overreaction Tuesdays!). Justin Jefferson was quietened, Dalvin Cook was silenced, Kirk Cousins was…Primetime Kirk Cousins.

For every North, there must be a South. For every right, there must be a wrong. For every Deion ‘Primetime’ Sanders, there must be a Kirk ‘Graveyard Slot’ Cousins. His continued poor performance on a national stage is confounding and must be infuriating for Vikings fans.

I still believe in the Vikings, in the same way the Packers can brush off their Week 1 dismantling from Minnesota, so too can a road game against an excellent Eagles team be ‘one of those things’ early in the season. Just…get it together Kirk.

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2022 CFB: Week 3 – Winners & Losers

There weren’t quite as many upsets through Saturday’s games in week three, yet it was still a slate packed full of action. 

For a long time on Saturday evening Notre Dame were written into the losers column, as were UCLA and a number of other teams who just managed to turn close games into wins against inferior opponents.

The best thing about watching college football in the UK is that the action is still ongoing when you wake up at 6.30 on a Sunday morning. This week that was just in time to watch the end of the Arizona State game…

Winners

Maryland

The Terrapins have started the season quietly and effectively, picking up three wins against three teams that could easily have prevented a real challenge for some of their lesser conference rivals. 

SMU were in the US capital to provide Saturday’s opposition, bringing with them the talented Tanner Mordecai and an offense that is incredibly fun to watch. The Mustangs went back and forth with the home team, but Mordecai was nowhere near as careful with the football as his opposite number Taulia Tagovailoa. Dante Trader and Beau Brader picked off the SMU QB, and Ahmad McCullough recovered two fumbles to help Maryland on their way to a 34-27 win.

That’s not to say that the Terrapins don’t have issues of their own to overcome. A stop-start game saw them commit 15 penalties, much to Mike Locksley’s annoyance. However, Tagovailoa and his talented supporting cast got on with the job regardless, putting up 439 yards of offense and winning the turnover battle to pick up their third win of the season.

A very difficult trip to Ann Arbor is up next weekend, but so far so good for the Terps.

Oregon

When the world saw the Georgia Bulldogs bulldoze through Oregon in week one, there were questions about the Ducks and how successful they’d be under a new coaching staff in 2022.

Well, in the two games since their opening day defeat, Dan Lanning’s men have flipped the narrative. Playing a ranked team in BYU on Saturday, Oregon looked dominant as they piled on the points through the first three quarters in a 41-20 win that was never in question.

Veterans of the Box Nix experience are well aware of the peaks and troughs that are associated with his game. Against the Cougars, he looked every bit the leader of a well polished offense as he put the ball in tight windows and hit his targets consistently all game long. With the score at 17-7, he hit Terrance Ferguson where only he could grab it over the middle of the field, and from that point onwards it was easy sailing for the Ducks.

The Oregon defense also deserves a shoutout, they managed to limit Jaren Hall to just 19 yards on the ground and the entire BYU offense only managed 61 total yards of rushing. An impressive feat which will no doubt see the Ducks bounce up the rankings this week. 

Hunter Dekkers

Long term Iowa State QB, Brock Purdy, was entrenched as the starter in Ames for four years. The man that followed him was always going to have a tough task given Purdy’s consistency and the number of games he helped the Cyclones to.

Step forward Hunter Dekkers, Purdy’s backup for the last two years. Through the first three games of the season the former four-star recruit has been impressive. Against Southeast Missouri and on Saturday against Ohio, Dekkers has completed more than 77% of his passes for seven scores and only one interception. He did throw two picks against Iowa, but he still led his team for the winning touchdown in a real battle of attrition.

A 3-0 start and an impressive connection with star receiver, Xavier Hutchinson, is certainly not a bad way to endear yourself to the Cyclones’ faithful.

Losers

Arizona State

The comments underneath the final score graphic on Arizona State’s Twitter page were strangely positive following their defeat to Eastern Michigan on Saturday. A lot of the comments simply praised the way that Eagles played, but some were delighted that the 30-21 defeat may spell the end of Herm Edwards’ time as Head Coach of the Sun Devils.

Eastern Michigan scored on four of their five opening drives and never trailed against their PAC-12 opponents. It’s a damning indictment of Arizona State that, even with talented transfers such as Emory Jones, they couldn’t keep up with the Eagles.

Edwards now holds a 26-20 win-loss record with the Sun Devils, but with one anonymous coach calling ASU the ‘biggest dumpster fire’ in college football during the offseason, the writing might now be on the wall.

Miami 

With all the optimism around the Miami Hurricanes this offseason, a matchup with a Texas A&M team that had just dropped a game to App State felt like a huge opportunity to make a statement.

Unfortunately, the Hurricanes couldn’t get the job done in College State. A series of drops and 50/50 passes by Tyler Van Dyke didn’t help Mario Cristobal’s team as they struggled to cope with a strong A&M defense. Nothing could have summed that up more than the final play for the Hurricanes on offense where Van Dyke threw a nice ball right into the outstretched hands of his receiver, only for the ball to hit the floor.

For what it’s worth, the Miami defense did well to limit Texas A&M and Max Johnson in his first start for the Aggies. Three sacks, six tackles for a loss and another three QB hurries show that the ‘Canes defense got to Johnson early and often, but it wasn’t enough to come away with the win.

With Clemson looking dominant early in the season, a loss like this will hit Miami hard.

Northwestern

It seems like yesterday that Northwestern were picking up the plaudits for a good opening day victory against Nebraska in Dublin. Since then they’ve dropped two games, first to Duke and on Saturday to Southern Illinois.

The Wildcats turned the ball over a lot in the defeat, with Ryan Hillinksi throwing two interceptions and fumbling to sum up his difficult day against the Salukis. By contrast, Southern Illinois looked assured, only turning the ball over once in a good performance after they dropped their first two games against Incarnate Word and Southeastern Missouri.

With Big Ten action about to get underway, this has been a very disappointing start for Northwestern as all the positivity from Dublin has ebbed away. They have one more opportunity to kick start their season against Miami (Ohio) next week, before games against Penn State and Wisconsin.

By Andy Moore (@ajmoore21)

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F10Y CFB – Player to Watch; Tyler Van Dyke, Miami

Welcome back to our Player of the Week space for a third week, here on the Full 10 Yards College Football staff, we seem enamoured with ACC passers, with Jake covering Malik Cunningham of Louisville recently, adding to his thoughts on UNC’s first year QB, Drake Maye.

In this column so far, I’ve given you my thoughts on Isaiah Foskey and Jordan Addison, but this week I am shining the spotlight on Miami quarterback, Tyler Van Dyke. A player that my colleague Raj is super high on, as you can hear here. 

Van Dyke has had a decent enough start to the season, albeit Miami have played two out of conference opponents who are way below the level of the ACC, beating Bethune-Cookman 70-13 and followed that up this past weekend with a 30-7 win against Southern Mississippi.

Van Dyke has thrown for 454 yards on 33 completions with 3 scores and an interception so far. No bad, but tougher games are ahead, especially with Texas A&M next up! 

Anyway, let’s find out who Tyler Van Dyke is…

Van Dyke was a highly rated and highly recruited high school prospect out of Connecticut, rated as four-star QB with a plethora of offers from Power-5 schools from all over the map. Michigan, UCLA, Wisconsin and NC State, the highlights alongside Miami, in a group of around 20 offers.

A Redshirt Sophomore who stands at 6’4 and 224lbs – So great measurements for a quarterback in today’s NFL – and he made his Miami debut in 2020 against Florida and played a second game that season against UNC. However it was 2021 when Van Dyke really burst on to the scene.

Taking over from D’Eriq King after 2 and a bit games due to injury, Van Dyke played the rest of the season throwing for 2,931 yards, 25 touchdowns and only threw the ball to the other team on six occasions. The 2021 season also included an ending in which Van Dyke threw for over 300 yards in each of the final six games, which for anybody’s first batch of starts in college football, shows strong promise for the future, especially considering Miami was 5-1 throughout those final six.

So what kind of quarterback do we have here and what makes him so highly rated?

After diving into the film this week, it’s clear to see that Tyler Van Dyke has some NFL type attributes that will make him an attractive draft prospect in the next year, or maybe two depending on when he declares. And what’s more is that I feel that some of the attributes that he has fit the modern NFL as well, so we have a player who will fit the league.

Let’s start with the first thing that jumps off the page, which is his arm talent. Think of all of the best QBs in the league right now; Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert… They can all hit throws at all three levels of the field and they can fit them into tight windows too, well, so can Van Dyke.

Apologies this week – There is a lack of All-22 available for Tyler Van Dyke so it’s all broadcast film, let’s start with the opening game this year against Bethune-Cookman.

Despite the view we can see the receiver (#8) at the bottom of the screen we can see that this is a 10 yard out that is being run on the left (field) side of the screen, Van Dyke is on the right (boundary) side hash and has absolutely no issues making, and with a good amount of zip on the ball.

Here’s a second example, also from the opener; Van Dyke once again throws to the wide side of the field, but what I like about this is that he doesn’t need to muscle it in there, and this is a longer throw than my first example in terms of air yards. This play has the kind of high-low read that an NFL team would be expecting from any starting QB too, and it’s executed really nicely with a long pass which with finesse.

This next clip is going to mesh together that finesse with another great trait that I saw from Van Dyke this week – This ability to hang in the pocket and deliver passes even with pressure in his face. This one in from the NC State game last year.

Tyler shows that he’s not scared by a big body and flailing arms coming towards him – He lofts this one up there and allows the receiver to get underneath it for a score. I accept that the corner doesn’t get his head around and could have defended this better but still, it’s another example of the variance that Van Dyke can put on his throws.

Ok so we can see that he’s able to quarterback from the pocket and he’s got a more than decent arm, so let’s give an example of how he can navigate the pocket. Don’t get me wrong, Van Dyke isn’t a statue in there, he can escape a crumbling pocket but he isn’t a mobile QB.

This is a nice example of the kind of pocket movement and awareness that he can show, not always but we’re talking about a young guy here. This is against Southern Mississippi from this past weekend. A nice example of clean footwork on the 5 step drop, which he does with urgency and purpose, he slides to his right, and then up in the pocket and sidesteps the defender before delivering the pass. That’s pretty advanced stuff, keeping eyes downfield and keeping poised like that.

The final positive thing I want to mention is how he’s going to fit into the modern NFL with his proficiency in the quick game, using RPO playing to his advantage and play-action in general. I feel like this is a big strength of his and will make him a sought after player when he comes out.

Check out how fast this ball is out against NC State. This is NFL stuff again, and will have some teams looking at this and thinking that they could work with this guy.

As a side note, the pass-catcher here (#85) is Will Mallory, one of the top tight ends in the draft class. Well worth keeping an eye on, and the next clip also involves him catching a pass…

This is so nice. Again, the sort of play that is seen on Sundays. Mallory is showing his versatility playing some H-back here, he leaks out on play-action and we can add some pocket moving stuff in here for Van Dyke which shows he’s fine throwing on the move for an easy conversion on what was 3rd and 1. This kind of concept can be used in the red zone too, so it adds another layer to Van Dyke’s game since he’s so comfortable doing it.

And the final clip on the quick game before I show you one bad clip.

This is a quintessential RPO play here against Pittsburgh last season and the sort of things that some NFL teams are incorporating in their offenses up and down the league nowadays. It’s easy money and easy yardage when done correctly and the QB makes a good decision.

Overall I believe there are a tonne of positives right now and a lot of reasons to be excited about Tyler Van Dyke – You feel like there’s a but coming don’t you? And there is…

But, there is one aspect of his play that kind of stands out, and it’s not surprising at all giving that he’s 11 starts into his college career.

 Van Dyke isn’t being asked to read the whole field and he doesn’t go through his progressions at all at times, and on some plays he only has two reads to go through, as the play is designed to be a half-field read.

One example being the second clip above on the out route that he hits – There are only receivers on one side of the field and everyone running a route is moving vertically or to the right and the offensive line walls off any backside pressure. I saw this a lot and there’s not a lot of head movement at all, which to me, right now, isn’t a huge deal. However, he can’t go into the NFL when the Hurricanes’ offense doesn’t ask him to carry out full field reads and execute concepts where he has to read the whole defense. You can get away with it for a few games, but NFL defenses will learn your tendencies and pull pressure on where you don’t like it quickly.

It also causes issues in college – This clip is of the interception that he threw this week against Southern Mississippi.

On his play, Van Dyke does go through his reads, you can see that he starts with the left side of the field but quickly moves on, across the field to the right – ending with the high-low read with the tight end underneath and receiver over the top.

There’s a hitch and a hesitation, and not a lot of head movement to deceive the defenders to that side of the field. It’s not a terrible throw but timing on out breakers is so important and the mixture of hesitation and telegraphing the throw with his eyes really costs him here.

Not terminal but something to work on throughout the season. 

So we can see the strong points – Is he going to be playing on Sundays next year and what kind of draft range are we looking at?

I feel that Tyler Van Dyke is a talented QB who has time on his side. He has the physical tools and enough evidence of advanced aspects of his game having a high enough ceiling to warrant an early draft selection.

However, there are enough things about his play and the offense that would give me pause. Right now, I have a mid-to-late second round grade on Van Dyke, which is a very respectful grade, especially considering his inexperience.

He’s one to watch throughout the season. I will be looking at how much more the Miami coaching staff is placing on his plate and how he is responding to the increased demands as time goes on. If he responds well and Miami has a good year, then I would be happy for Van Dyke to capitalise on a good season and head to the NFL.

Although, if that isn’t the case, he does have time on his side with him having so much more eligibility remaining. What would he rather, get drafted in the second round and maybe enter the NFL undercooked, in a draft class where Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are going to get all the attention?

Or wait a year and maybe be at that level where he is being talked up as one of the better QBs in the class? Food for thought, for sure. 

So looking ahead to this weekend?

As mentioned above, it is Texas A&M this week for the Hurricanes, and they are a wounded beast at the moment.

Fresh off their embarrassing loss to Appalachian State, the Aggies will be playing with some extra fire in their bellies, I am sure, and won’t make it easy for Van Dyke to play his game and serve up another defeat and make it back-to-back home losses.

The star of the show on the Aggie’s defense is defensive back, Antonio Johnson. A player who can affect the game in multiple ways and who you can hear me rate very highly in our Summer Scouting podcast on linebackers and safeties here.

Johnson has had a nice start to the season and is the leading tackler through two games with 17. He has also recorded a sack and a tackle for loss as well, so his strength in coming downhill and being aggressive has been on display already this year.

Not one for huge interceptions so Van Dyke won’t have to avoid him too much when throwing downfield but Johnson might be sent on a blitz or two by defensive coordinator, Mike Elko.

Elsewhere on defense, Freshman Edge LT Overton already has a sack in his early career as part of the rotation and Senior safety, Demani Richardson will be looking to make life difficult for the young passer.

So in conclusion…

There is no doubt that Van Dyke is a talented passer and should be on everyone’s watch list moving throughout the season, especially as his competition heats up, starting his week against SEC competition.

Should he be thinking about entering the NFL after this year? Well, that’s a question that he can answer throughout the season. If he does pour on another loss for the Aggies then tickets for the hype train will surely be selling quickly. 

By Lee Wakefield – Follow Lee on Twitter @Wakefield90

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2022 CFB: Week Three Game Previews

You won’t find a more comprehensive set of game previews anywhere this side of the Atlantic!

FSU @ Louisville

Saturday – 12.30am (UK) – Louisville, Kentucky

Preview: Since Adam Fuller joined Florida State as their Defensive Coordinator, one particular quarterback has given him nightmares. Malik Cunningham and Scott Satterfield’s offense have dominated the ‘Noles in the two most recent meetings of the ACC rivals – with Louisville scoring a combined 79 points in those games.

However, this is seemingly a new FSU. After scraping past LSU in week one, Jordan Travis and co had their first bye week to prepare for Cunningham and the fast paced offense that the Cardinals run. Jared Verse, Fabien Lovett and Robert Cooper have started the season in strong fashion, combining with a secondary led by Jammie Robinson to produce the 19th ranked defense in the nation going into week three.

Louisville got off to a sluggish start against Syracuse before flipping the switch against UCF on Friday night. In that game they forced John Rhys Plumlee to stand in the pocket and try to beat them through the air. A year ago it may have been possible for the Cardinals to pursue a similar strategy against Travis, but the dual threat is much improved in the passing game since the sides last met. 

This one will be a battle of two very impressive QBs who can really take over a game on their day, the winner will likely be the team that can dominate in the trenches.

Key Matchup: Jared Verse (DE, FSU) vs Trevor Reid (LT, LOU) – Verse has exploded onto the scene for FSU. Against LSU he had two sacks, two and a half tackles for a loss and a blocked field goal. Reid can lack upper body strength, but his quick feet and athleticism mean he’s no slouch – if he can keep Cunningham upright then the Cardinals will do damage on offense.

Game Line: Florida State 2.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Georgia @ South Carolina

Saturday – 5pm (UK) – Columbia, South Carolina

Preview: The Bulldogs haven’t allowed an opposition touchdown through two games in 2022, quieting any doubts that their defense would suffer from the large exodus of 2021 talent. Last weekend’s blowout of Samford was certainly expected, but many thought that Oregon would at least stay close in week one. 

At the heart of the early season success is Stetson Bennett, last year’s National Championship winning quarterback. Through two games Bennett has looked composed and the Bulldogs have been comfortable taking the aerial approach as their first option, a marked change to recent years. South Carolina have only allowed 136.5 yards a game through the air so far this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Bulldogs revert to their usual ground and pound style on Saturday.

The Gamecocks stuttered past Georgia State in week one, before being outclassed against a strong Arkansas team last week. Everything points towards them falling to 1-2 this weekend, but if anyone can produce some magic to keep the game interesting it is Spencer Rattler. The Oklahoma transfer has made some impressive plays through the first two game, but he desperately needs the support of a productive running game to help set up play action opportunities.

Key Matchup: Kendall Milton (RB, GEO) vs Gamecocks’ Linebackers – South Carolina lost both Jordan Strachan and Mo Kaba for the season in the loss to Arkansas, making their woeful run defense even worse. Sherrod Greene and Terrell Dawkins could be the next men up, and they’ll face the unenviable task of limiting the talented Milton in this one.

Game Line: Georgia 24 point favourites at the time of writing.

BYU @ Oregon

Saturday – 8.30pm (UK) – Eugene, Oregon

Preview: Early risers in the UK could have enjoyed the end of BYU’s dramatic double overtime win over Baylor at the weekend. Thankfully any British fans of the Cougars or the Oregon Ducks can enjoy this one at the very friendly time of 8.30pm. What they’ll see is a battle between two teams that play differing styles of football. 

Oregon got completely shut down by the aforementioned Georgia Bulldogs in week one, yet they rebounded in emphatic fashion on Saturday against Eastern Washington. Bo Nix was able to settle into his new offense, and he stood tall in the pocket to spread the ball around wherever possible. The Ducks’ coaching staff are excited by the young receivers they have coming through, none more so than Troy Franklin who caught ten passes from Nix at the weekend. The BYU secondary will no doubt provide a tougher opponent this week, but it’ll be a good test of where the new look offense is.

On the flip side, BYU’s offense could be characterised as chaotic by the layman, but that would be doing a huge disservice to Jaren Hall and his dual threat ability. The second year starter has speed to burn, and his ability in the pocket is seemingly on the up as well. Chase Roberts has seemingly appeared out of nowhere as the successor to Dax Milne for the Cougars, but Kalani Sitake will want to see more from the run game in this one. 

Key Matchup: Noah Sewell & Justin Flowe (LBs, ORE) vs Jaren Hall (QB, BYU) – Hall likes to get out of the pocket a lot, if he’s allowed to run free then the result could be devastating for the Oregon defense. Luckily they have two highly rated linebackers in position to stop that, they should force Hall to throw a lot more – it remains to be seen what the outcome of that will be.

Game Line: Oregon 3.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Penn State @ Auburn

Saturday – 8.30pm (UK) – Auburn, Alabama

Preview: One of the most intriguing matchups of week three involves two ‘nearly’ teams of recent years. Both Penn State and Auburn manage to assemble good teams every year, but it’s been a while since they’ve been serious contenders at the top of their respective conferences.

It’s highly unlikely that the status quo changes in 2022, but both teams come into this one at 2-0 and both teams have got reason to be optimistic. For Penn State, that optimism is centred around Nick Singleton. After several years of running back by committee, Singleton emerged as a dominant force against Ohio in week two. Time will tell if he’s got what it takes to be the week in, week out bell cow – but the coaching staff have been full of praise for the freshman and it seems he’ll get every chance to be that guy.

Auburn had a tough end to the 2021 season, but the resilience shown by Bryan Harsin’s men in their victory over San Jose State indicates they’ve turned a corner and are ready to win. That victory did however highlight the question marks around the Tigers’ QB situation, with both TJ Finley and Robby Ashford seeing the field. Finley continues to be listed as the starter this week, and he’ll be excited to see starting receiver, Malcolm Johnson Jr, back on the field.

Last season’s reverse fixture saw a 28-20 Penn State victory, something that is clearly motivating the Auburn playing staff. If the home side can get some pressure on Sean Clifford then they’ve got every chance of moving to 3-0.

Key Matchup: Eke Leota (DE, AUB) vs Olu Fashanu (LT, PEN) – with the home-field noise at their back the Tigers’ defensive line should be driven on towards Clifford. Eke Leota is a man mountain coming off the edge and he made several game changing plays against San Jose State. Standing in his way this week is Olu Fashanu, a player that James Franklin has been full of praise for since the preseason. May the best man win.

Game Line: Penn State 3 point favourites at the time of writing.

Mississippi State @ LSU

Saturday – 11pm (UK) – Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Preview: An early-season SEC West matchup should give fans a little insight into how things will shake out between the mid-tier teams in the conference. Mississippi State have clearly had the more impressive start to the season, with wins against Memphis and Arizona under their belt. Much of that is down to the solid play of QB Will Rogers, whose big arm and solid pocket presence just brings an air of calm to the Bulldogs’ offense.

LSU were unlucky against Florida State, it’s not every week you lose a game on a blocked PAT with time expired, but they bounced back with a trouncing of Southern last weekend. Garrett Nussmeier still managed to turn in a nightmare performance despite the 65-17 scoreline, and it would appear that Jayden Daniels will be the starting signal caller going forward. 

The tight game line demonstrates how close this one feels on paper, but the LSU defense feels like it may just hold the upper hand over the Mississippi offensive line at this point. The Tigers boast a formidable front that is likely to trouble a conventional pocket passer, and Brian Kelly will be chomping at the bit to showcase he can out-coach his SEC peers. 

Key Matchup: Mehki Garner (CB, LSU) vs Caleb Ducking (WR, MSU) – Ducking has had a huge start to the year, catching three touchdowns through the first two weeks of the season. His 6’5” frame makes him an imposing matchup for any opposition CB and he’s been targeted a lot in the red zone. Garner has won the starting corner job for the Tigers over the last two weeks and he’ll have his mind set on following the long list of LSU defensive backs who have made the jump to the NFL.

Game Line: Mississippi State 2.5 point favourites at the time of writing.

Miami @ Texas A&M

Sunday – 2am (UK) – College Station, Texas

Preview: Texas A&M spared a lot of team’s blushes last weekend. On a day which saw a number of big name programmes fall to upsets, the Aggies’ defeat to App State felt like the worst of the bunch. It wasn’t the case that they got blown away, but Jimbo Fisher’s team just couldn’t get the ball moving at all – with Haynes King throwing for less than 100 yards. That performance has led to reports that Max Johnson will take the first snap under center at the weekend, he’ll bring a big play threat but LSU fans will remember that he could go down injured at any moment.

Their opponents come into the game with a lot of hype but also some striking deficiencies. Miami’s offensive line was poor last weekend against Southern Miss, with Tyler Van Dyke coming under pressure throughout the game. Thankfully for Mario Cristobal, Ole Miss transfer, Henry Parrish took over in the run game, allowing Van Dyke to lean on some play action calls and a fleaflicker to put the game to bed.

Defensively, A&M struggled against Camrun Peoples and App State’s run game. There’s every chance that the Hurricanes come out the blocks and try to stuff Parrish and co down the Aggies’ throats early, before reverting to Van Dyke’s monster arm once the game progresses. Whether A&M can soak that up and finally kick their offense into life is the key question. 

Key Matchup: Miami offensive line vs A&M defensive line – this feels very obvious, but whoever wins the battle in the trenches will win this game. Miami has every chance of going into College Station and leaving with a win, but if they fail to pass block then they’ll leave with a dinged up TVD and not a lot of points on the board. It’ll be fascinating to see which unit emerges on top.

Game Line: Texas A&M 5.5 favourites at the time of writing.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21

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WEEK 2 SCOUTING NOTES – Texas Vs. Alabama

This was by far the best match up of the week 2 slate, especially from an NFL draft perspective, and although not many gave the Longhorns a chance they almost pulled off a big upset. Texas can take a lot of pride with how they responded after losing their quarterback to injury in the first half, but as usual Alabama found a way to win, even when nowhere near their best. 

Let’s start our scouting notes with the almost guys, those new look Longhorns…

Texas

Now it must be said that this was very much a defensive struggle, but before his injury, Quarterback Quinn Ewers looked every bit the phenom he’s been built up to be. He has an effortless throwing motion, a big accurate arm and led his offense with poise. This injury will knock him out for four to six weeks, which is a big shame, but let’s hope he’s back sooner rather than later. 

His replacement Hudson Card stepped in admirably, but he doesn’t have the skill set that Ewers does. He does have ability though and he was only one or two plays away from causing the upset. He will get a run of games now to show what he has, and more than likely we will see him in the transfer portal at the end of the year, as he tries to find a starting gig for the 2023 season.

The star of the Longhorn offense is undoubtedly running back Bijan Robinson. Now Alabama set up to stop him and make the quarterback(s) beat them, and they succeeded with that plan. Robinson was held to just 57 yards with a 2.7 average. That doesn’t tell the whole story though as Texas has a very inexperienced offensive line, and they had big issues against the ‘Bama front. Robinson had to feed off of scraps but what is still easy to see is how dynamic he can be. His biggest play of the game came on a wheel route, perfectly executed, for a big gain up the sideline.

Whilst the yards were tough to find on the ground in this game, and perhaps for some time to come with this young line in front of him, the talent is clear to see and he’ll remain atop most peoples running back lists, barring injury of course.

There is something special about Wide Receiver Xavier Worthy. He has the same size and skill set of DeVonta Smith, which will cause some to be wary of him, but like Smith, Worthy can take over games if targeted. He almost had an great TD laying out in the end zone, almost snagging a Ewers bomb, but he was a threat all game, going against a very talented secondary. He isn’t draft eligible yet, but his name will be a hot topic entering the 2024 draft cycle. 

There’s a little bit of Deebo Samuel about wide receiver Jordan Whittington. He has a thick build with a strong lower half, and has some very nice YAC ability. He made a couple of impressive catches here and was a nice chain mover for the offense. He did have a bad drop too though, so there are things to work on, but he has a nice look about him and hopefully he won’t get lost with all the other weapons that this offense has.

As I mentioned earlier, the offensive line is very young, but it does have one senior on it, and that is right tackle Christian Jones. Whilst there was chaos going on all around him, Jones held up incredibly well here, especially in pass protection. He spent last year at Left Tackle and that did not go well at all, so he’s back over on the right side and looks very natural there indeed. More tape like this, especially against top pass rushers like he faced here, and his name will be moving up boards.

The biggest surprise was how the Longhorns managed to almost shut down this powerful Alabama offense. Their success started up front where their big boys challenged a new look Crimson Tide offensive line, and for the most part won their battles.

The most impressive of the front seven was the versatile senior Moro Ojomo, who spent most of his time lined up as an interior player, but has more of an EDGE size and style. Listed at 6’3 281lbs, he clearly wouldn’t be able to hold up on the inside in the NFL, but he could play a five tech/big end role no problem. He didn’t trouble the stat man much, but he did have three pressures and he was a constant pest, creating disruption at the point of attack and slowing down that fast tempo Alabama offense. 

The entire Longhorn secondary played well and limited the big plays that Alabama’s offense thrives on, and the best player for me was nickel defender Jahdae Barron. Playing that role can be a thankless task, but Barron had the look of a really smooth athlete in coverage and was a force against the run too, the perfect combination for that position. He hasn’t had a great deal of playing time in his first two seasons in Austin, but he has the starting role now and looks like he could develop into a real playmaker.

Alabama

There will be people looking at quarterback Bryce Young’s stat line and assuming he had a rough game, but in all honesty he did all he could do here. When it came down to the crunch, he led his team down the field in 90 seconds for a game winning field goal.

Yes, the stats aren’t great, but he spent a lot of time with pressure in his face, as his inexperienced offensive line was continuously exposed, and a few drops from his young wide receivers didn’t help either. Like C.J Stroud the week before, Young faced adversity and carried the team to the win, and that’s why both Quarterbacks are so highly thought of. 

Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs has been a name on most people’s lips during summer scouting, as the former Georgia Tech runner swapped the ACC gutter for an SEC powerhouse. He’d flashed ability the last couple of years but now he has the platform to show a national audience how good he can be. He is the Crimson Tide’s number one running back, and looks every bit as good as his predecessors, including two former first round draft picks. Gibbs has an explosive running style, hitting the hole at speed and is decisive in his cuts. He is a fantastic receiving threat, displaying natural hands and route awareness, and this game he highlighted his catching ability grabbing 9 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. Gibbs honestly reminds me of Alvin Kamara with a splash of Christian McCaffrey, and I think all 32 NFL teams would want a back like that. There’s every chance this game will have the top two running backs selected in the 2023 NFL draft, and the both could be first rounders too.

As I alluded to earlier, this isn’t the greatest looking Alabama offensive line, but a true Sophomore did stand out and looks the real deal. right tackle JC Latham was a five star prospect out of Florida, and the number three overall recruit in 2021, according to 247 sports. He looked every bit of that lofty rating, and at times reminded me of Evan Neal when he was on the right side in the 2020 season. He excelled in pass protection, using a great base to latch on and dominate defenders. He ended up bailing some of his teammates out at times and looked to have an old head on very young shoulders. You’d expect him to move over to the left side in 2023, and like Neal before him, has every chance of being a top 10 pick come the 2024 NFL draft.

The star of this defensive unit EDGE Will Anderson had a relatively quiet game by his standards, but a quiet day for this monster still resulted in five tackles, two for a loss and one sack. He is unblockable at times and can create havoc on every snap. Only right tackle Christian Jones could slow him down, but even then he still beat him a couple of times too. He is a beast and he will be a top three pick. 

I think Linebacker Henry To’o To’o is a bit overrated and he didn’t do anything in this game to change my mind. I see a lot of athletic ability but he takes so many false steps on run plays that he can’t recover and lanes open up on him. I can’t get on board with this first round talk, to me he is an early day three player.


The best player for me defensively in this game was defensive lineman Byron Young. He was a run stuffing machine and was the main reason that Bijan Robinson had so little room to work with. He has violent hands that keep his chest clean and his quick twitch gets him into space to blow up plays. He is a bit undersized to play inside full time, and Alabama uses him over the tackle in their odd front a fair bit as well, and this is probably where he’ll play at the next level. He hasn’t graded this highly for me before, so this level of play will need to remain if he wants to climb the list and into the mid rounds.

By Keith Lucken – Follow Keith on Twitter @lordlucken

Links for Keiths previous scouting notes; Week 0, Week 1.

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F10Y Fantasy Recap

Welcome to the fantasy recap, a scaled down, punchier version that the old Hype Train Station and here to give you a quick digest of the weekends action and provide some fantasy advice going forwards.

NB: Scores based on PPR leagues.

Fantasy Stars:

Justin Jefferson (MIN) – 9rec/184yds/2td 39pts

Jefferson had a monster game, justifying his top 2 WR, 1st round price tag. After Cooper Kupp went off on Thursday night, this felt like the perfect reply in the fight for the overall WR1.

Patrick Mahomes (KC) – 30cmp/360yds/5td + 3rsh/5yds 34pts

Josh Allen stoked the fire on his Hype Train on Thursday but Patrick Mahomes reminded people he is still elite with a blitzing of Arizona despite not having Tyreek Hill after he moved to Miami.

Saquon Barkley (NYG) – 18rsh/164yds/1td + 6rec/30yds 32pts

Barkley is back and in a shock 21-20 victory over the Titans he somewhat ran the show. His best performance since late 2019 was capped off by essentially being the difference maker on the winning drive and conversion.

Surprise Packages:

Dontrell Hilliard (TEN) – 2rsh/8yds + 3rec/61yds/2td 22pts

Hilliard was seen by many purely as a Derrick Henry handcuff, but he had his own section in the gameplan and as a pass catching running back he maximised his opportunities. Whether teams will now scheme to counter him I don’t know but the element of surprise certainly caught the Giants out.

Devin Duvernay (BAL) – 4rec/54yds/2td 21pts

Another unlikely player to grab 2TDs was Duvernay and neither of them were long bombs either (25yds and 17yds to be precise). With the Ravens you expect it to be Lamar with his legs or Andrews/Bateman in the air so mixing Duvernay in is going to cause some headaches.

Robbie Anderson (CAR) – 5rec/102yds/1td 21pts

Anderson caught a 75yd touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield but was in total targeted 8 times and hauled in 5 to cement his place as the WR2 on the team. Those who drafted him late as a dart throw will probably be annoyed they left him on the bench, happy they have a great asset on the cheap, but now confused whether they can trust it to happen again.

Disappointments:

Darnell Mooney (CHI) – 1rec/8yds 2pts

I can give Mooney a mulligan as the conditions in Chicago were awful but Justin Fields seemed happy to spray the ball around to every receiver who wasn’t drafted in fantasy.

Allen Robinson (LAR) – 1rec/12yds 2pts

This has been talked about a lot since Thursday night but alarm bells are already ringing over Allen Robinson. It was the Bills defence and there is time to turn things around, but still, oof.

Dameon Pierce (HOU) – 11rush/33yds + 1rec/6yds 5pts

Pierce shot up fantasy draft ADP late on as he was given the starting role but as the opener went on it was clear he wasn’t the clear cut #1. Rex Burkhead saw a lot of snaps and later Coach Lovie Smith said he didn’t have the experience of passing situations to be featured heavily, something that won’t be fixed overnight.

Waiver Wire pickups:

Jamaal Williams (DET) – Aside from the 3 listed in the surprises segment, Williams was another who had a 2td day and with his pass catching credentials and ability to complement Deandre Swift, he has a role every week and at 45% owned, he may be available.

DeAndre Carter (LAC) – 3 receptions for 64yds and a td is a decent stat-line on it’s own to make him an option. But with Keenan Allen likely to miss time Carter will be stepping up into a role he’s already proven he can fulfil.

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2022 CFB: Malik Cunningham, the Next Louisville Star? – Jake Tweedie

The 2022 College Football is just two weeks in; however, we have records being broken already. 

Louisville starting quarterback, Malik Cunningham, broke the mark for the most consecutive starts by a Cardinals signal caller with the first snap of the game. This took him to 37 games started, and there is very little chance of him slowing down.

The Louisville senior had an impressive year in 2021, finishing fifth in the ACC for rushing yards, whilst becoming the second quarterback to rush for over 1000 yards in school history. This coincided with a career-best 2841 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns to make for a hugely productive year. However, there were plenty of pundits queuing up to say that Cunningham needed to focus more on his passing game in 2022 to further improve his game.

Difficult start

The 2022 season didn’t get off to the best of starts for Cunningham. Going up against a tough Syracuse team was always going to be a hard way to start the season. This was evident as he struggled to put up decent numbers and was intercepted twice, whilst also being constrained on the ground. So, what went wrong for a player that had such a productive 2021 season?

First and foremost, the Cardinals came up against a resolute Syracuse defence. After Braden Smith’s big 45-yard throw to Tyler Hudson to the five-yard line, Cunningham was given the task of converting for the touchdown and bringing the game much closer. However, he was met by at least four defenders at the two-yard line on third and goal, before falling to the same result on fourth down.

Although this is just an isolated example, the Syracuse defence remained the same all game. They were quick to the snap and hunted him down in numbers to stop the space being there for him to run into. This set the scene, and ultimately Cunningham had just 34 yards from 13 attempts, an average of just 2.6 yards a carry. When you compare that to his average of 6.0 yards a carry in 2021, and average of 79.3 yards a game, this was significantly worse, and pinpointed to an important game-plan by Syracuse to limit his running attempts.

This also was the factor in the passing game as well. Cunningham faced the blitz a lot, and his offensive line struggled to deal with the force of the Syracuse defence. Although he was only sacked three times, he was heavily under pressure to make something happen with the ball. He threw two interceptions but was consistent with his throwing. The only problem was he was restricted to 9.5 yards a completion, which is significantly lower than his 2021 total (14.1). Without the freedom of making things happen down the field regularly, Louisville kept the ball less than normal and couldn’t pick up more points.

The Bounce-Back

Fast-forward a week and Cunningham came up against a UCF side who had an impressive 56-10 Week 1 victory over SC State. 

The first real difference between the two games was the veteran QB’s reaction to the defenders charging at him. There were some quick releases to make plays, but this was helped more by receivers being in open areas to receive the passes. On the ground, he was gifted more space by blockers creating a clear path. This allowed him to use his legs a bit more and make big plays down the field.

Cunningham’s passing seemed more direct, and he was targeting both sides of the field. This helped him pick up 8–10 yard gains in order to work first downs, but also allowed him to use the space freed up by receivers in order to pick up yards on the ground. His longest pass was less than the week before, but he was hitting the key passes more regularly and was significantly better rushing.

The game saw him surpass 100 yards for the first time this season, with a big 43-yard touchdown as his longest attempt. Cardinals fans will be delighted but this glazes over the fact his passing wasn’t anywhere near as good as it has been.

A pass completion rate of 48.3% was lightyears away from his career average of 62%, despite picking up 201 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown or an interception, but this alludes to the earlier point of improving his passing game.

Moving forward

Cunningham is a class athlete. He is quick, agile and can make plays happen, but the downside seems to be the inconsistency with his passing game. We all know that he can pick up yards on the ground and churn out first downs with his quick feet and ability to pick out spaces, but how will he improve as a quarterback and be drafted in the higher rounds if he can’t be consistent through the air?

The UCF game was one where he could have made headways in both parts of his game. But we are going back to the same problem of whether he is a better quarterback or a better rusher. The Syracuse game showcased him as a consistent passer, but he didn’t seem the usual Cunningham because of his lack of yardage on the ground. The UCF game was the complete opposite. Although he made headway in terms of picking up more yards per completion, his accuracy was far less, and there seemed more emphasis on improving his running game.

Final Thoughts

Malik Cunningham is a wonderful player to watch. A solid quarterback with the ability to make a real difference on the ground, but it comes back to the same thing: Can he do both?

From watching his games, I think he could be a very good quarterback, with the potential of getting himself out of trouble and churning out yards and first downs when required, but it will need him to sacrifice part of his running game for him to do so.

There’s a long way to go in 2022, but if the Louisville star continues the way he started this year there could be high levels of inconsistency due to that balance not always being there. However, he will always have the capability of picking up 100 yards a game on the ground, whether his passing game can be that consistent as well remains to be seen.

By Jake Tweedie – @ACCUKAnalysis1

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2022 CFB – Week Two Winners & Losers

How many upsets can you fit into one weekend?! 

With no domestic ‘soccer’, the UK college football community went all in on encouraging people to watch week two’s slate of games on Saturday. And, judging by Twitter, there were a fair few newcomers who got involved in the action.

If Texas – Alabama was your first ever taste of Saturday action then consider yourself lucky, and welcome aboard the rollercoaster that is NCAA football.

With so many upsets, there could have been any number of ways to pick this week’s winners and losers… so who made the cut?

Winners 

Lincoln Riley

So far, so good for the new man at USC. Sure, the Trojans blow out of Rice in week one was probably to be expected, but the way they dominated a decent Stanford side on Saturday should be enough to make the college football world stand up and pay attention.

Realistically, this game was over at half time with Riley’s men up by a score of 35-14. They slowed down in the second half, allowing the Cardinal offense to add 14 points in garbage time to make the score a more respectable 41-28. 

From the outside, it can’t be denied that it is the transfers that are the players making all the difference for the Trojans so far. On offense, Caleb Williams looks just as good as he did last year, except now he has Jordan Addison AND Mario Williams to throw the ball to. Both transfer receivers picked up touchdowns on Saturday, with Addison going for 172 yards in total. Impressive.

Not to be outdone, the defensive transfers are also providing a welcome boost. Solomon Byrd added two sacks and two tackles for a loss in his second game after transferring from Wyoming. Shane Lee also added a sack and Mekhi Blackmon picked off Tanner Mckee, both were new additions in the offseason. 

With Fresno State, Oregon State and Arizona State the next three for the Trojans, this run could continue for some time.

Sam Hartman

Sam Hartman is a real favourite at the Full10Yards, he plays the game the right way, he is an excellent leader and he’s turned Wake Forest into a team to take note of every week. So we were concerned when an undisclosed medical condition kept him out of the end of training camp and week one.

Thankfully, Hartman was cleared to return to the programme this week and he went straight back into the starting lineup as the Demon Deacons took on SEC opposition in Vanderbilt. Once the game got underway, it looked like the dominant North Carolina native hadn’t missed a beat.

On the afternoon, Hartman put up 300 yards on 18 completions, four of which went for touchdowns – as Wake used their trademark mesh concept to cause the Commodores all sorts of issues. A.T Perry must be the man most thankful for the return of his veteran QB, he hauled in five passes for 142 yards and a score as he seeks to make his case to NFL scouts around the country.

It’s good to have you back Sam.

Kansas Jayhawks

Having looked back through some old columns, the Kansas Jayhawks have never featured as a winner before. Well, they thoroughly deserve it this week.

With West Virginia looking to bounce back from their Backyard Brawl defeat, Jalon Daniels and the Jayhawks went to Morgantown to spoil the party. In a dramatic overtime victory, Kansas put up 55 points to upset the odds, including an 86 yard pick six for Cobee Bryant to seal the game.

Daniels isn’t one of the more known signal callers in college football, but he looked every bit the composed starter in this one. The junior threw three touchdowns, without turning the ball over, and added 85 yards on the ground as well. 

The win moves the Jayhawks to 2-0, the first time they’ve had that record since 2011. What a time to be alive.

Losers

Texas A&M 

This was a fairly easy place to start the losers section of the column. The Aggies have got so much resource, so much talent and some of the best coaches in CFB, but they’re also THE programme that always flatters to deceive.

With Arkansas and Alabama to come over the next three weeks, the visit of App State was most likely considered a chance to try some new things and play at 75% for Jimbo Fisher and co. Instead it turned into an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Camrun Peoples and the Mountaineer rushing attack.

Haynes King hasn’t done much wrong in the games we’ve seen across the last season and a bit, but the problem is, he hasn’t done anything to make the rest of the CFB world sit up and take notice. On Saturday he passed for a measly 97 yards and fumbled the ball twice, as the entire A&M offense stuttered and balked against a Mountaineer defense that gave up more than 60 points to UNC last weekend.

Things weren’t much better on defense either, a solitary sack and a grand total of zero tackles for a loss probably sums up the performance well. Arkansas will be rubbing their hands together at the thought of KJ Jefferson and Raheim Sanders running downhill at this defense front next weekend.

Anthony Richardson

Cam Newton, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott – all names that Anthony Richardson has been compared to since the Florida Gators beat Utah in week one.

Well, predictably the hype was a tad too soon. In week two Richardson struggled against Kentucky, throwing a couple of interceptions, completing less than half of his passes and rushing for a lowly four yards. Obviously football is a team game, and the Gators did very little to support their quarterback, but the highly touted sophomore made some pretty poor mistakes.

With the scores tied at 16 apiece, Richardson stared down his receiver who appeared to be running a comeback route at the first down marker, however the throw was nowhere near and Keidron Smith jumped onto it perfectly for a decisive pick six. 

There’s no-one denying that Richardson is talented, but let’s cool on the ridiculous comparisons shall we, Billy Napier?

Notre Dame

Another top ten ranked team that ended up being embarrassed by an opponent who many wouldn’t have even backed to cover the spread.

After a week one defeat to Ohio State, there were still a lot of plaudits for the Fighting Irish, they’d limited a particularly potent Buckeyes offense and were in the game for long periods. So, a return to home soil against a Marshall side that had lost their starting quarterback in the off season presumably felt like the time to really kick off the season.

Instead, the Thundering Herd came to play in style. Up 9-7 at the break, Henry Colombi and co never took their foot off the accelerator as they forced the Irish defense to adjust throughout the second half. But, it was the Notre Dame offense that literally ended up throwing the game away with three fourth quarter interceptions. Tyler Buchner forced the first of the three into tight coverage, only to see Steven Gilmore make an excellent play on the ball and carry it back into the end zone. Buchner then threw another ugly pick, before being replaced by Drew Pyne who did exactly the same thing.

Back to the drawing board for Marcus Freeman ahead of a week three clash with the Cal Bears.

By Andy Moore – @ajmoore21