College Football

Bryce Young, DTR, Will Rogers highlight Week 12 college football top performers

Updated Nov. 21, 2021 12:28 a.m. ET

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Week 12 of the college football season brought plenty of fireworks.

The week's marquee top-10 matchup turned out to be a lopsided affair, with several records tied or broken in Ohio State's thrashing of No. 7 Michigan State.

Here's a look at the top individual performances from Saturday’s games.

C.J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State

Stroud made mincemeat of Michigan State's defense, carving them up for 432 passing yards and six TDs — tying a school record — while completing 91.4% of his 35 pass attempts. With the Buckeyes cruising, Stroud took a seat for the bulk of the second half, meaning the majority of that eye-popping damage came in just 30 minutes of work. 

Milton Wright, WR, Purdue

Wright exploded in Saturday's 32-14 win against Northwestern, registering career-highs in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. The junior wideout hauled in eight catches for 213 yards and three scores, propelling the Boilermakers to 7-4 on the season. Pardon the pun but, given the game was played at the iconic Wrigley Field, Wright's showing was nothing short of a grand slam.

Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State

A double-dip of Buckeyes love? Well, when you tie and then break the school's all-time record for receiving touchdowns, you get some shine. Olave caught seven passes for a game-high 140 receiving yards against the Spartans, hauling in a pair of TDs. His first tied David Boston's record of 34 receiving touchdowns. His second gave him sole possession of that distinction with 35 receiving TDs.

Kobe Pace and Will Shipley, RBs, Clemson Tigers

Clemson sophomore running back Kobe Pace eclipsed the 100-yard rushing mark for the second time this season and rushed for multiple scores for the first time on the season in the Tigers' upset win over No. 10 Wake Forest. He ended the day with 191 yards and two TDs on 24 carries, as Clemson handed Wake its second loss of the season and earned its first ranked win of the year.

Supporting Pace in the rushing attack was freshman Will Shipley, who carried the ball 19 times for 112 yards and two scores of his own, also putting together his second 100-yard rushing performance of the season.

Will Rogers, QB, Mississippi State Bulldogs

Is it possible to bulldog a team through the air? Will Rogers made it possible on Saturday against Tennessee State. He threw for 391 yards and five touchdowns, completing 28 of 34 passes. Rogers has thrown for less than 300 yards just once this season (294 passing yards against N.C. State on Sept. 11) and in the past two weeks, he's amassed 806 passing yards, 11 TDs and no interceptions. Looks like his plan is to stand out every Saturday.

Bryce Young, QB, Alabama Crimson Tide

Sheesh –– the Young-ster is no joke. Bryce Young entered superstar status on Saturday against Arkansas, passing for a career-high 559 yards and breaking the Alabama single-game passing yards record in the process. He tied a career-high with five TD passes and he did it accurately, completing 31 of his 40 pass attempts, ending the day with a 236.1 passer rating. In the past five weeks, he has 18 TD passes and not a single pick.

Jameson Williams and John Metchie III, WRs, Alabama

Hint: These are the people that Young passed to –– and boy, were their hands working on Saturday. Williams pulled in eight passes for 190 yards and three TDs, and Metchie III caught 10 balls for 173 yards and a score. For Williams, it was his fourth straight game with 100-plus receiving yards, and over the past four weeks, he has seven touchdowns, including six over the last two weeks. 

Dorian Thompson-Robinson, QB, UCLA

It's not how you start –– it's how you finish. DTR got the memo on Saturday, and after throwing two picks in the first quarter against rival USC, UCLA's quarterback settled in and dominated the Trojans. The senior completed 16 of 22 passes for a season-high 349 passing yards and four TDs, tacking on 46 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. The 62-33 win over USC was DTR's first win over the Trojans as UCLA's starter.

Jordan Addison, WR, Pittsburgh Panthers

It's unclear if Saturday was the best game of Jordan Addison's life, but it was the best game of his college career. The sophomore receiver caught a career-high 14 passes for a career-high 202 yards and a career-high four TDs (that's a lot of career-highs, huh?). His performance helped power Pittsburgh to a 48-38 win over Virginia. In addition, it was the third game this season in which he had at least 100 receiving yards and three scores.

Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas Razorbacks

Despite a close loss to No. 2 Alabama, the Razorbacks' effort won't go unnoticed –– and arguably no one put together a stronger effort than wide receiver Treylon Burks. He caught eight balls for 179 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 22.4 yards per catch. It was his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season.

Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin Badgers

This young man just keeps getting better. The freshman rushed for a career-high 228 yards and tied a career-high with three TDs. He now has seven consecutive games of 100 or more rushing yards and topped his career-high of 173 rushing yards just a week ago. And even though the Badgers fell to Nebraska on Saturday, they are 6-1 this season in games in which Allen eclipses the 100-yard rushing mark.

Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisville Cardinals

Not a Saturday standout, but a Week 12 outing warranting inclusion. Cunningham got it done in the air and on the ground for the Cardinals in a 62-22 rout against Duke on Thursday night. The Louisville QB went 18-for-25 for 303 passing yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. He wasn't done there. Cunningham also racked up 224 rushing yards on 11 attempts — a whopping 20.4 yards per carry — and two touchdowns to put his stamp on things. With 527 yards of offense by himself, he ended with 69 more yards than Duke managed as a team.

Stay tuned for more Saturday Standouts!

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College Football

C.J. Stroud

Ohio State Buckeyes

Malik Cunningham

Louisville Cardinals

Milton Wright

Purdue Boilermakers

CFB - Michigan State Spartans vs. Ohio State Buckeyes - 11/20/2021

Chris Olave

CFB - Louisville Cardinals vs. Duke Blue Devils - 11/19/2021

CFB - Purdue Boilermakers vs. Northwestern Wildcats - 11/20/2021