AP Player of the Week: Alabama's Jalen Milroe wins top honors for 2nd time in 3 weeks

Published Sep. 30, 2024 9:31 a.m. ET

Associated Press

The Associated Press national player of the week in college football for Week 5 of the season:

Jalen Milroe, Alabama

The Crimson Tide quarterback was the catalyst in a wild 41-34 win over Georgia and is player of the week for the second time in three weeks.

His late 75-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Williams put the Tide in front again after they had blown a 28-point first-half lead.

Milroe finished 27 of 33 for a career-high 374 yards and two touchdowns, and he ran for a season-high 117 yards and two scores. His 491 yards of total offense were third-most by an FBS quarterback this season.

Milroe's eight rushing touchdowns are the most in the country this season, and he is second in points responsible for with 108.

Runner-up

Ashton Jeanty of Boise State ran for 259 yards and four touchdowns in the Broncos' 45-24 win over Washington State. Two of Jeanty's TD runs were longer than 50 yards.

The junior running back went over 250 yards for the second time of the season. He leads the nation with 211 yards rushing per game and 13 touchdowns. His average of 10.3 yards per carry is the highest in the country among players with at least 30 attempts.

Honorable mention

Hajj-Malik Williams, who made his first start for UNLV after Matthew Sluka left the team after three games because of a dispute over an NIL payment, had a hand in four touchdowns as the Rebels beat Fresno State 59-14.

The Campbell transfer completed 13 of 16 passes for 182 yards and three TDs and rushed for 119 yards and another score in his first start in the Football Bowl Subdivision. His performance helped the Rebels improve to 4-0 and make The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time ever. They are tied for 25th with Texas A&M.

Six stats

— Best defensive performance of the season belongs to Boston College's Donovan Ezeiruaku. The defensive end made 14 tackles, including 10 solo stops, to go with with three sacks, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hurries and a forced fumble in a 21-20 win over Western Kentucky.

— Six Nebraska kickers since 2021 have combined to make 57% of their FGs (30 of 53), the worst rate in the FBS over that span. John Hohl missed a field goal and had two other attempts blocked in the Cornhuskers' 28-10 win over Purdue.

— Iowa State's 20-0 win over Houston marked its first road conference shutout since a 24-0 win at Kansas State in 1971.

— N.C. State's 171 total yards in a 24-17 win over Northern Illinois were the sixth fewest by a winning team that scored 24 points since 2004, according to PackInsider.

— Southern California RB Woody Marks has caught a pass in 49 straight games, the longest active streak in the FBS.

— Clemson has scored 165 points in its last three games, its most in a three-game span since 2019 when it scored 166 against Wofford, N.C. State and Wake Forest.

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AP voters: Aaron Beard, Tim Booth, Pat Graham, Stephen Hawkins, Pete Iacobelli, Mark Long, John Marshall, Eric Olson, Ralph D. Russo, John Zenor.

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