Y-Option's Go Go Go Awards - Week 14
The Best of the West. Our distinct take on college football weekly awards and as always, seen through the lens of the West Coast
Week 14 marked the end of the regular season on the FBS level and the start of the postseason in the FCS. A weekend that will unfortunately be remembered for the postgame shenanigans as much as the thrilling rivalry games and CFP berth defining results. But now the conference championship matchups are all set and its time to celebrate the great performances on the field in Week 14 by a group that has excelled all season long.
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 14 winners as we keep you in the know and on the GO GO GO!
“My 5-Star QB” - Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders
With any other name, the buzz around the #26 rated quarterback in the Class of 2021 would be fairly low, especially for one that decided to go to an FCS university out of high school. But the Sanders name brings expectations and notoriety and with the highest NIL valuation in college football, Shedeur Sanders has been in the spotlight since Day 1. And while his first season in Boulder had more statistics than wins, Year 2 with the Buffs has been something that will forever make him a Colorado legend.
Black Friday was truly a dark day for Oklahoma State’s defense having to go against Sanders and the Buffs. The senior (on Senior Day no less) was 34-41 with 438 pass yards and 5 scores through the air. It was the 2nd time this season and 4th time in his career he’s eclipsed 400 yards and tied his career high in passing touchdowns (the 4th time he’s done it and 2nd in a Buffs uniform). The 82.9 completion percentage is his 3rd highest in a game since moving to Boulder.
While the tiebreakers left Colorado out of the Big 12 Championship Game, the 9-3 Buffs will have a solid bowl game in their future which their head coach (aka Shedeur’s dad) has made it known that #2 will be playing in the postseason. Sanders will have a chance to extend the school’s single-season passing record that he broke this weekend (that he also broke in 2023). The 2024 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm winner already has the Colorado single-season record for completions and passing touchdowns and is on pace to break his own records from last year in completion percentage and QB rating. He needs just 1 TD pass to tie the school’s career record of 63 held by Cody Hawkins & Steven Montez.
“Go Go Gone” - Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty
Its one of the all-time great seasons by a college football running back. And not just because he is now a 6-time winner of the “Go Go Gone” Award. Friday against future conference rival Oregon State, the Boise State superstar put on yet another epic performance to lead his team to a 34-18 win over the Beavers to end the regular season with 10 straight wins.
Ashton Jeanty logged a career-high 37 carries for 226 yards and a score, his 9th straight game with at least 1 rushing touchdown. It was Jeanty’s 7th career game with 200+ rushing yards to tie a Mountain West Conference record and the 5th time doing it this season. He also racked up the explosive runs with 7 runs of 10+ yards including a 60-yard scamper. Jeanty now has 9 runs of 60+ yards this season, the most by an FBS player since at least 2016 and more than double any player this season.
Jeanty heads into the Mountain West Conference Championship Game (in a rematch of the 2023 game with UNLV) with 2,288 rushing yards this season, the 5th most in college football history and most since Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon in 2014. His 29 rushing touchdowns is tied for the school record and 9th most in college football history. Meanwhile, his 312 rush attempts this season don’t even register in the Top 100 all-time.
“That Dude!” - Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter
The current betting favorite for this year’s Heisman also calls Colorado home. And now Travis Hunter matches Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo as a 3-time “That Dude!” winner this season.
Friday morning, Hunter racked up 10 catches for 116 yards and 3 scores on offense with an interception and 2 PBU on defense, proving to be a the most unique player in college football this season:
1st FBS player with 3 touchdowns and an interception in the same game since at least 1996
1st FBS player with multiple games with multiple touchdowns and an interception in the same game since at least 1996. Of the 4 times it has happened in that span, Hunter has 2 of them.
Tied school record with 3 receiving touchdowns in a game, done 6 times previously in school history including Hunter in Week 1 vs. North Dakota State. And is the only player in CU history to do it multiple times.
Extended his school record with a 7th game this season with 100+ receiving yards this season, while his 10 career games with 100+ yards is 3rd in Buffs’ history.
14 receiving touchdowns this season, breaking the Colorado record of 12 set by Nelson Spruce in 2014.
Becomes 2nd player in CU history with 90+ catches, trailing only Spruce’s record of 106, also in 2014.
On the season, Hunter ranks in the Top 10 in all the receiving categories: 5th in receptions (94), 5th in receiving yards (1,152) and 2nd in touchdowns (14). He’s tied for 15th in the country with 4 interceptions and his 11 PBU’s are tied for 11th.
“Headset Hero” - Oregon head coach Dan Lanning
The only remaining unbeaten in college football continued their dominance in their first season in the Big Ten Conference by beating a familiar foe. The Ducks beat their rival Huskies by 28 points, their largest margin of victory over Washington since 2012, to reach 12-0 for the 2nd time in program history. At the same time, it gave Dan Lanning his 1st win over Washington after going 0-3 against them the last 2 seasons.
It was a fairly dominant performance for the Ducks, outscoring their rivals in all 4 quarters and nearly doubling them in total yards (458-244). The defense showed off their patented aggression, tying the school record with 10 sacks while racking up 16 TFL, the most by an Oregon squad since at least the 2006 season, as they held UW to a season-low 43 rush yards. The 49 points matched their season high, ironically against their other rivals, Oregon State, back in September. The Ducks finished their home season 7-0 for the 2nd year in a row, 7th time in program history and have won 15 straight overall at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon will now head to Indianapolis for their first ever Big Ten Championship Game where they will meet Penn State for the first time since the Rose Bowl following the 1994 season. With a win, the Ducks would be guaranteed a bye in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff. Dillon Gabriel will also have the opportunity to break the FBS career record for starts as a quarterback of 63, set last season by then Oregon QB Bo Nix.
All solid choices for the Go Go Go awards; supported with the stats! Specifically, the numbers for Hunter and Jeanty are incredible.
Go Ducks!