EJ Scott honored by Maxwell Club

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Maxwell Football Club Weekly College Football Update
By Rich Cirminiello

Who's Hot

QB Jayden Daniels, Arizona State
Daniels isn't playing like a true freshman any longer. Oregon found the hard way, suffering its first loss since the opener. Daniels stood tall Saturday night facing a playoff contender and a secondary that leads the nation in interceptions. He delivered in key spots of the 31-28 shocker, turning just 22 completions into 408 yards and three touchdowns, capped by a gorgeous 81-yarder to WR Brandon Aiyuk.

RB J.K. Dobbins, Ohio State
Whatever running room that existed Saturday afternoon versus Penn State, Dobbins found it. And after squandering an early cushion Ohio State held on to defeat the Nittany Lions and win the Big Ten East. Dobbins, who averages around 20 carries a game, was the offensive workhorse with a season-high 36 touches for 157 yards and the game's first two touchdowns.

QB James Graham, Georgia Tech
It's taking time... and there's plenty of work left to be done for Geoff Collins and his staff. But the Yellow Jackets are making strides, as evidenced by Thursday's win over NC State. And they might have a quarterback to build around as well. Redshirt freshman James Graham showed off his versatility in the win, rushing for 112 yards, throwing for 129 more and accounting for all four of Tech's TDs.

QB Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee
Given up for dead in early October, the Volunteers have engineered quite a turnaround for Jeremy Pruitt. And Guarantano has been a big part of the current 5-1 run to bowl-eligibility. The senior has provided a lift to the offense since recapturing his starting job. Saturday in Columbia, Guarantano dissected a very Mizzou pass defense for 415 yards and two TDs, producing three different 100-yard receivers.

RB Javian Hawkins, Louisville
During his time at Appalachian State, Scott Satterfield always had a talented feature back. He has one at Louisville, too, to build an offense around in the years ahead. The Cardinals obliterated Syracuse, 56-34, for their seventh win of the year behind six total touchdowns from QB Micale Cunningham and 233 yards rushing and a score on just 23 carries from Hawkins, a redshirt freshman from Florida.

QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
Morgan was in concussion protocol all week. The Golden Gophers were traveling to 2-8 Northwestern the week after suffering their first loss... and a week before this Saturday's key Big Ten West showdown with Wisconsin. Surely, this was a trap game, right? Nope. Minnesota locked down an improbable 10-win season, with Morgan throwing four TD passes in the 38-22 victory.

QB Shea Patterson, Michigan
The Wolverines have tallied at least 38 points in four straight games for the first time in the Jim Harbaugh era... and Patterson has been the point man of the timely explosion. Sandwiched between visits from Michigan State and Ohio State, Bloomington looked like a potential landmine for Michigan. Instead, it throttled Indiana, as Patterson threw for 366 yards and five TDs, three to WR Nico Collins.

QB Malcolm Perry, Navy
Perry is not very big, generously listed at 5-9. His impact, though? Enormous. In Saturday's key showdown with SMU, the Midshipmen rebounded from their loss to Notre Dame with a 35-28 win to remain in the AAC West Division hunt. Perry was the catalyst with 195 yards and two scores on the ground and 162 yards and another touchdown on 9-of-15 passing.

The Maxwell Football Club also honors the nation's best defensive player with the Chuck Bednarik Award. Here's a look at last week's standout defenders
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Who's Hot

DE Boogie Basham, Wake Forest
Despite some late-season struggles, the Deacons are still 8-3 with a shot at a 10-win campaign. This past weekend against Duke, Wake Forest got major contributions from every unit - QB Jamie Newman on offense, PK Nick Sciba on special teams and Basham on D. The latter earned Pro Football Focus' sixth highest Week 13 grade among edge rushers for notching 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

S Talanoa Hufanga, USC
There's suddenly a lot of optimism around Troy, winners of three straight to close the regular season. True freshman QB Kedon Slovis is torching opposing defenses, while Hufanga is set to become the next in a long line of great Trojan safeties. In Saturday's rout of UCLA, the sophomore was everywhere and finished with a career-high 18 tackles, two stops for loss, one sack and one pass breakup.

CB Jordan Moore, Houston
The Cougars will not be bowling next month, but that hasn't stopped the kids from playing hard for Dana Holgorsen. Houston travelled to Tulsa Saturday and pulled a mild upset over the Golden Hurricane, largely behind the play of an inspired D. Moore, Pro Football Focus' sixth highest rated corner for Week 13, had five tackles, a half-sack, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.

LB Ivan Pace Jr., Miami (OH)
The RedHawks will be taking a head of steam into next week's MAC Championship Game in Detroit. The East Division champ used a record-setting defensive effort to hold off upset-minded Akron last Wednesday evening and finish undefeated at home. Pace, a rookie out of Cincinnati, set a single-game Miami record with six of his team's dozen sacks for minus-45 yards.

NT E.J. Scott, Appalachian State
Scott was hoping to make some memories on Senior Day in Boone, N.C. Mission accomplished. The veteran interior lineman was a force for the ranked Mountaineers, making three stops, collecting the first two sacks of his career and batting a ball that led to an interception. So dominant was Scott at the point of attack, he was the third highest graded defensive player of Week 13, according to Pro Football Focus.

S JaCoby Stevens, LSU
What does a defensive coordinator, like Dave Aranda, do when the front seven isn't generating enough heat? Turns loose an athletic and instinctive DB. Stevens, for example. One of the lesser heralded defensive backs in Baton Rouge, Stevens repeatedly impacted the Arkansas backfield Saturday evening with eight stops, four tackles for loss and three sacks of KJ Jefferson.

LB Evan Weaver, Cal
For the first time in a decade, Cal is bringing The Axe back to Berkeley. The Bears upset rival Stanford to not only reach bowl-eligibility, but also knock the Cardinal out of the postseason for the first time since 2008. As he's done all season, Weaver headlined the stingy Cal D with a game-high 13 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage.

DE Chase Young, Ohio State
Welcome back, No. 2. Young did not skip a beat after missing the past two games, wrecking the Penn State offensive line in Saturday's 28-17 victory. The Lions managed just 227 yards and 15 first downs, with their 17 points largely the result of turnovers. Young led the charge up front with nine tackles, four stops for loss, three sacks and a couple of forced fumbles.