NFL
By: Bill Carroll
The New Nutties For Week 9 is filled with the types of performances that will fire imaginations for a long time to come. A star was born on October 29th, 2022. His name is, J.T.Tuimoloau.
FBS Defense
Ohio State, Defensive End, J.T.Tuimoloau had a game versus Penn State which will be discussed for decades, after 3 solo tackles, 3 assists, 2 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, that set up a short scoring drive, a pass break up, that led to an interception, and a pick 6 were among his two interceptions.
This rare combination of statistics, accomplished by Tuimoloau, has only been achieved by an Ohio State defense only eight times since 1976. Correctly, he’s everyone’s defensive player of the week. The closest performance in recent memory was, in 2018, when, then, Ohio State defensive end Chase Young was the national defensive player of the week after recording nine tackles, four tackles for loss, and three sacks in another historic tilt with Penn State.
Honorable Mention
University of Illinois, Safety, Sydney Brown had four solo tackles, two assists, and one and a half tackles for loss, as well as two interceptions. The London, Ontario native is the twin brother of Chase and an unquestioned leader on defense.
FBS Offense
University of Southern California, Quarterback, Caleb Williams has consistently looked like a Heisman finalist, this week was no different. He posted a day of hitting on 31 of 45 pass attempts for 411 yards and five touchdowns. He also was effective as a runner with 14 net yards on 4 carries after sack yardage was subtracted. He continues to show preternatural accuracy on the move.
Honorable Mention
UNC, Quarterback, Drake Maye, is a quarterbacking legacy at Chapel Hill, his father Mark was a similarly tall signal-caller with a very strong arm. What is different is his agility speed and athletic ability, he was 34 of 44 via the pass for 388 yards and five TDs, but what sets him apart from his father, the pure pocket passer is that he has 501 yards rushing, already in 2022 and had 61 yards on 14 carries, in the victory over the Panthers of Pittsburgh.
Special Teams
Oklahoma, Punter Michael Turk not only drilled critical 61 and 60-yard punts in the fourth quarter to help pin the Cyclones deep, on his way to averaging 9.3 yards per punt on six attempts, but he also had a nifty 2-yard touchdown flip to kicker Zach Schmit for the 2-yard score and game’s first
FCS Defense
Tennessee-Martin, Defensive End, Daylan Dotson was the star on defense, his impact went beyond the statistics of his five tackles, two were solo efforts, with three assists, two TFL, both of which were sacks. He also generated two fumbles one by way of a strip sack. He recovered one of his forced fumbles in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.
Honorable Mentions
Delaware State, Safety, Romell Harris-Freeman, a Livingstone College transfer had a special performance with three solo tackles and two interceptions.
Gardner-Webb, Linebacker, William McRainey had a huge day with eight solo tackles, 3 assists, one sack, and two pass breakups, the final one came as Bryant was driving during a drive towards a possible comeback. With19.3 seconds left in the game on fourth down at Gardner-Webb’s 32, he snuffed Bryant’s hopes.
FCS Offense
North Carolina A&T, Running Back, Bhayshul Tuten rushed 30 times for a career-high 256 yards and two touchdowns in an Aggies to a 45-38 comeback victory over the Camels of Campbell. His 256-yard effort was the second-most rushing yards in a conference game, and third-highest overall single-game rushing total in Big South history. His 42-yard touchdown romp in the first quarter gave A&T its first points of the day, later he dashed for 70-yarder. He had an eye-popping 10 first down rushes, an 8.53 average yards per carry, and five runs of 11 yards or longer, beastly.
Honorable Mention
Saint Francis, Quarterback, Cole Doyle, had a true stat-stuffer day in which the College of the Canyons transfer ran for 56 yards and a score, on just four carries, passed for 264 yards and 5 more touchdowns on 22 of 28 attempts. He tied a single-game program record for TDs.
Special Teams
Towson, RB/RS/WR D’Ago Hunter was nearly omnipresent as he rushed 11 times for 52 yards, with a catch for 11 more, 90 yards on a pair of punt returns, including a 74 yard scamper for a TD, five kick returns for 181 yards and a total of 334 all-purpose yards. That total is the third highest in the FCS in 2022.
Division II Defense
Harding, Safety, Cade Pugh, matched the team lead with nine tackles in the win against Northwestern Oklahoma State. He collected three tackles for loss. Additionally, he intercepted a pair of passes. His first interception was in the end zone and resulted in a touch-back and prevented a score. He returned the second interception 63 yards to set up a Harding touchdown.
Honorable Mentions
Chowan, Defensive Tackle, Traevon Mitchell, compiled four solo, three assist, 3.5 TFLs, and two sacks in their upset over Virginia Union, both of Mitchell’s sacks came on third down.
Ferris State, Defensive End, Caleb Murphy continued his productive ways as he added five tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and Murphy, leads the nation with 13 sacks, including 12 solo.
Concord, Quarterback, Jack Mangel was on target firing for 361 yards and seven touchdowns as the Mountain Lions eclipsed 60 points again. He connected for 361 yards on just 25 attempts and 17 completions. Mangel now holds the Concord single-game record and tied the MEC single-game record for touchdown passes. This season he has twice topped 400 yards and just missed with a 399-yard day versus Charleston.
Honorable Mention
Gannon, Quarterback, Kory Curtis was in rare form as he completed 23-of-28 passes for 342 yards and 4 TDs with no interceptions, adding 9 yards rushing and 2 more TDs. On the day he accounted for 6 TDs and a 2-pt. conversion for 38 points in total. He completed 4 TD passes covering 14, 75, 55, and 8 yards along with TD runs of 10 and 1 yard. He scored the winning touchdown on a one-yard run.
Special Teams
Bowie State, RS/WR, Kwincy Hall scored the game’s winning touchdown off a kickoff return for 88 yards with 52 seconds left as the Bulldogs defeated Elizabeth City State. On the day he totaled 240 return yards on 139 yards gained on three kickoffs for and four punts returned for 101 yards. The 101 yards and 139 yards are both a single-game season-high in the CIAA. The New Nutties For Week 9 are in and we cannot wait see what the next week brings.
