Y-Option's Go Go Go Awards - Week 10
Our distinct take on college football weekly awards and as always, seen through the lens of the West Coast
Week 10 was a heavy bye week on the West Coast with Colorado, Cal, Utah and both Pac-12 schools having the week off. In the Big Ten, #1 Oregon sent a message at the Big House, UCLA continued to play stronger on the road, and Washington edged USC in a battle of former Pac-12 now Big Ten schools. The Big 12 saw a few upsets at the top of the standings to perhaps open a door for the Buffs & Sun Devils while Arizona State and Arizona continue to head in opposite directions.
A reminder on what these awards are: they will honor the top players and coaches of the week through the eyes of the West Coast. The 4 honors we will give out every week to coaches and players that pump passion into every play and just keep GO GO GO-ing:
“My 5-Star QB” - whether or not you were a 5-star recruit out of high school, you played like one this weekend.
“Go Go Gone” - the most explosive player of the week. Think big chunk plays as explosives and turnovers are the biggest predictor of wins and losses.
“That Dude!” - player who made an impact on either side of the ball. Not always about your numbers on the stat sheet.
“Headset Hero” - either a head coach or assistant coach who had their team ready and/or made the right in-game adjustments
Here are our Week 10 winners as we keep you in the know and on the GO GO GO!
“My 5-Star QB” - UCLA QB Ethan Garbers
A 2nd straight road game (with a bye week in between) and a 2nd straight UCLA victory makes Ethan Garbers a 2-time winner of the “My 5-Star QB” award. Garbers led the Bruins to a 27-20 victory at Nebraska, giving DeShaun Foster’s squad back-to-back road wins for the first time since 2022. UCLA is actually 3-2 on the road this season while still searching for their first win at the Rose Bowl in 2024.
Garbers was extremely efficient through the air on Saturday, completing 17-of-25 passes for 219 yards and 2 scores. His 8.76 yards per attempt were his second highest of the season, trailing only his previous game (10.08 ypa) at Rutgers. Over his last 2 games, the redshirt senior has completed 49-of-63 passes (77.8%) for 602 yards with 6 TD and 0 INT. Compare that to his first 5 games this season when he completed 60.1% of his passses with 4 TD and 9 INT.
The former 4-star recruit from Newport Beach also did it with his legs. Garbers led the team in rushing for the 2nd straight week, racking up 56 yards on 6 attempts including a career-long 57 yard scamper. The Bruins racked up a season-high 139 rushing yards, their first time breaking 100 yards this season after doing it in 11 of 13 games last season.
“Go Go Gone” - Oregon WR Traeshon Holden
The high point of the Ducks season so far is their thrilling 32-31 win over then #2 Ohio State on October 12th. Unfortunately for Traeshon Holden, the memory of him in that game will be of him being ejected for spitting on Ohio State defensive back Davison Igbinosun. Holden penned an apology after the game but the Ducks sat him out of their next game at Purdue.
The former Alabama transfer returned for the Illinois game with 2 receptions for 7 yards but it was apparent early on Saturday he would be needed for more after Tez Johnson left the game during Oregon’s first series at Michigan. Johnson appeared to land on his shoulder after going out of bounds on a reception and only returned to the sidelines in street clothes with his right arm apparently in a sling. Holden took the opportunity and ran with it… literally.
A former 4-star recruit in the Class of 2020 out of Narbonne in Southern California, Holden matched his career-high with 6 catches while nearly doubling his previous career high with 149 receiving yards. While none of them reached the end zone, Holden had 3 catches of 35+ yards (38, 44, 47) and all 3 of them led directly to Oregon touchdowns.
After the game, his quarterback Dillon Gabriel praised his teammate for how far he’s come the last few weeks. "The way he's practiced, even these past two weeks, it's different, and I respect him for it," Gabriel said. "I'm extremely proud of him, I told him that, but got a bunch of belief in him as a player and a person... You just look a guy that week, and then you look at him now, he's worked his butt off to get to this point."
“That Dude!” - Arizona State RB Cam Skattebo
Perhaps no player in college football describes what the “That Dude!” award is all about more than Cam Skattebo. That’s probably why the Sun Devil running back becomes the first to win this award twice this season.
Its not just that he put up 274 yards from scrimmage (153 rush, 121 receiving) in Saturday’s 42-21 win at Oklahoma State. Its about how he does it with a flair for the dramatic. Think 2nd quarter of a 7-7 game and the Sun Devils facing 4th and 1 at the 50-yard line. After striking out on two 4th down attempts in the loss to Cincinnati, Kenny Dillingham and Marcus Arroyo didn’t get gun shy on the call. Skattebo slipped out of the backfield where Sam Leavitt found him wide open just past the line of scrimmage and the senior won the footrace to the end zone for a 50-yards score.
The list of Skattebo accolades from this game is long, here’s a sampling:
Only Sun Devil to have 150+ rush yards and 100+ receiving yards in the game since at least 1996
1 of 2 Sun Devils since at least 1996 to have 100+ yards rush and 100+ yards receiving in the same game since Demario Richard in 2015 vs. New Mexico (151 receiving, 104 rushing)
Only FBS player this season to have 150+ rush yards and 100+ receiving yards in the same game. Just the 5th time its happened since 2020, 3 times last year (Oklahoma State’s Ollie Gordon, Missouri’s Cody Schrader, & Memphis’ Blake Watson)
Only Sun Devil since at least 1996 to have multiple games of 250+ scrimmage yards, not just in the same season but period
1 of 2 FBS players to have multiple games this season with 250+ scrimmage yards along with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty
Skattbo also topped 1,000 rush yards on the season in the game and his 1,001 rush yards are 7th most in FBS this season while his 11 rush TD is tied for 14th most. His 404 receiving yards are 2nd most by an FBS running back this season while his 1,405 scrimmage yards are 4th most in FBS.
“Headset Hero” - Oregon head coach Dan Lanning
While the Michigan team they beat on Saturday does not really resemble the incumbent National Champion Wolverines, what the Ducks did on Saturday is no less impressive. Oregon pummeled Michigan to the tune of a 38-17 beatdown, befitting of the now unanimous #1 team in the land. Dan Lanning’s squad is the first road team to win by 21+ points in the Big House since 2020 (Wisconsin, 49-11)
Now 9-0 for just the 3rd time in program history, Oregon outgained Michigan 470-270 which is the most yards racked up by a visiting team at the Big House since Ohio State in 2019. Michigan was only able to muster up 111 yards in the 1st half and punted on 4 of their first 5 possessions with the lone score in that stretch coming after a muffed punt return. The Ducks have put up 400+ total yards in 8 of their 9 games this season and now have scored 30+ points in 8 straight games.
On the season, the Ducks rank in the Top 25 in both scoring offense (23rd, 35.3 PPG) and scoring defense (10th, 15.8 PPG) while also being ranked in the Top 10 in passing efficiency both on offense (7th, 169.15) and defense (8th, 107.79). Oregon’s final 3 games of the regular season are against Maryland, at Wisconsin and finishing up at home with rival Washington.
I look forward to these Go Go Go awards each week and they don’t disappoint. Always interesting to read the analysis behind the picks. Well done.
Go Ducks! Keep up the great work Yogi. I'm thrilled the BIO Network included you and Ashley in the transition.