College football Week 11: Players to watch

Butler leads the nation in yards-per-reception (24.0), and he's been getting better every week. He's had over 100 yards receiving in each of the Cyclones' last three games, all wins. He's also caught a touchdown in each of his last four games, and some have been huge plays (touchdown grabs of 83, 51, 48, 21 and 4 yards in that time). Iowa State is ranked No. 22 and hosts Baylor this week.

Thirty years ago, there were some great games featuring independent teams. Now we have BYU at UMass. You can look down on that, or you can embrace seeing Minutemen quarterback Ross Comis perform. Last week against Liberty (albeit in triple overtime), he threw for 540 yards and four touchdowns. Those 540 yards passing are just eight less than what he's thrown over the last five games combined! Comis has been in a platoon situation for much of his career but is now the starter for the rest of the season, as Andrew Ford is out with a torn MCL. With games against BYU and Georgia left on the slate, the senior will be going full throttle.

The ACC's Atlantic Division is up for grabs on Saturday night when Clemson heads to...Boston College? Yes, the Eagles are a game back of Clemson in the standings, and a win here would give BC the tiebreaker. Needless to say, Dillon needs to have a big game. That may be difficult, as he tweaked an ankle injury last week against Virginia Tech that already forced him to sit for two games earlier this season. He is fourth in the nation with 128 yards per game, but last season the Tigers held him in check. If BC has designs to get back to the ACC title game for the first time since 2008, Dillon needs to not only be on the field but also to be tearing it up with his cleats.

Quarterback Dwayne Haskins gets most of the attention when you discuss Ohio State's offense...and deservedly so...but Dobbins may hold the key to how successful the rest of the season will be for the Buckeyes. He hasn't had the season most expected but has had his moments, like last week against Nebraska. He got 23 carries against the Cornhuskers (more than his last two games combined) and piled up 163 yards and three TDs in the win. The Buckeyes head to Michigan State on Saturday in a must-win game, and Dobbins will need to help balance the offense to get a key victory.

A couple of weeks ago, it looked like Iowa could be headed to the Big Ten championship game. But losses to Penn State and Purdue have just about ended those hopes. Still, the Hawkeyes have a chance to derail Northwestern's conference title hopes (they host the Wildcats on Saturday) and may have the nation's best tight end. Fant leads Iowa in receptions and touchdown receptions amid a season filled with adversity. He suffered a concussion earlier in the season, and his brother tweeted negative things about the coaching staff. Sure, his stats have taken a hit with the rise of fellow tight end T.J. Hockenson, but that doesn't mean Fant isn't as important as he was as a preseason All-American.

Last week the Wolfpack ended a two-game losing skid by bowling over Florida State. Finley by far had his worst game of the season in the blowout loss to Clemson on Oct. 20 but has turned it around the last two weeks. He threw for 473 yards in a loss to Syracuse two weeks ago and went 21-of-27 for 240 yards last week in a win over the 'Noles — throwing three touchdowns in each game. NC State may be out of the ACC title race, but it still has its sights on a big-time bowl game and gets rival Wake Forest in Raleigh for a nationally televised Thursday night game this week. 

Mississippi State is up next in the season-long battle to see who can hang with Alabama. The Bulldogs will try with their dual-threat quarterback, Fitzgerald. He leads the team in passing and rushing and while it is his legs that have given him his greatest success, his arm has gotten better as well. Last week against Louisiana Tech, he threw for 243 yards (tying a season high) and four touchdowns. (He's thrown for only 10 all season). Oh, he had his fifth 100-yard rushing game as well, which goes to show how lethal he is when it is all working together. Of course, Alabama's defense lives to shut down that kind of stuff, but Mississippi State nearly pulled the upset in their matchup last season. The tide might be right for it to happen this time around.

Don't look now, but Pittsburgh could be in the ACC Championship Game. Yes, the Panthers (who lost to horrible North Carolina) is leading the Coastal Division after beating Virginia last week and get Virginia Tech for their final home game this week. The Panthers have used Qadree Ollison as their main back, but Hall has been excellent when he gets the rock. Despite 44 less carries than Ollison, Hall has matched him in touchdowns (seven) and is averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Last week against Virginia, he rushed for 229 yards and three TDs. He also has motivation. Last year, Virginia Tech stuffed Hall on a goal-line stand late in the Hokies win that cost the Panthers a bowl bid. 

Shea Patterson gets the love for the No. 4 ranked Wolverines, but Higdon has been solid all season. He's rushed for over 100 yards in each of his last seven games and has been a workhorse in most of those contests. This week Michigan heads to Rutgers, which will hopefully (for them) be an easy game and give guys a break from the pressure cooker of the College Football Playoff race and their upcoming battle with Ohio State. It also could mean Higdon could have a big day against the Rutgers defense.

It's "Bedlam" time in Oklahoma, as the Sooners and Cowboys face off for state football supremacy. Hill's performances have been erratic this season, but he's coming off a 119-yard game in a loss to Baylor. Last year against Oklahoma, Hill put up 228 yards and two touchdowns in the 62-52 loss. He'll need another big game to keep up with the Sooners' offense. 

McMaryion is having a fantastic season. He's completed over 70 percent of his passes for 2,416 yards and 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Last week against UNLV, he threw his first pick in five games (14 TDs tossed in that time frame) and currently sits in the top 25. The Bulldogs head to Boise State in a huge Mountain West contest that could be a conference championship game preview. In last year's matchup of these two teams in the MW title game, McMaryion was absolutely awful but Fresno only lost by three, 17-14. If he plays like he's capable of, the Bulldogs could be headed back to the championship game.

Minshew lives on this list now because he's having a great season, yet no one really knows about it. In a close win over California last week, Minshew had over 50 passing attempts for the third straight game. He threw only one touchdown — giving him 27 on the season — but he had another 300-plus yard game for the ninth time in nine games this season. The Cougars can win out and find themselves in the Pac-12 championship game. They play a trap game of sorts at Colorado this weekend before hosting Arizona and Washington. If Minshew can keep this up, Washington State could win its first conference title since 2002.

I know it seems lazy to point out that the clear front-runner for the Heisman Trophy and the quarterback for the No. 1 team in the nation is a player to watch, but you really need to seriously keep an eye on this guy. Last week's game at LSU was the first time he threw a pass in the fourth quarter. A November game was the first time the Heisman front-runner threw a fourth quarter pass in 2018. He has 27 touchdown passes and just one interception. Last week, with a bum leg, he sprinted for a 44-yard touchdown run. He's averaging 12.2 yards per pass attempt (trailing only Oklahoma's Kyler Murray), and he's been sacked just four times all year. Bama plays a pretty good Mississippi State defense this week, but to this point it hasn't mattered what team he's played against. 

Taylor is the leading rusher in the nation thanks to forgetting his horrible outing against Northwestern two weeks ago and coming out blazing against Rutgers (who doesn't) last week. After gaining just 46 yards against the Wildcats, he piled up 208 yards and three touchdowns against the Scarlet Knights. The Badgers are not out of the Big Ten West race just yet but pretty much need to win out to get back to the conference championship game. The next two weeks are key, as they head to Penn State then Purdue before closing out with Minnesota. Taylor needs to bring the smash mouth running game if Wisconsin hopes to win.

After a few weeks of fantastic SEC games, this week is lacking a bit (especially since we are just finishing off the Halloween candy and we already have our SEC title matchup). CBS' noon game is Ole Miss at Texas A&M and while that may not have the fever of Alabama-LSU or Georgia-Kentucky, there will be some talent that will be on display at Kyle Field. Williams is coming off his best game in a month (107 rushing yards, two TDs against Auburn). Despite a couple of poor showings this season (three games where he's rushed for less than 32 yards), he is second in the conference in rushing yards.