MARVELOUS
The Arizona Cardinals select Marvin Harrison Jr. with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
As strange as it may sound, C.J. Stroud, TreVeyon Henderson and the Ohio State offense as a whole did not meaningfully up their stock this week.
But that just leaves room for some of their generally lesser-recognized Buckeye counterparts to get some shine in this week's stock report, as we peruse the sport's trends far and wide.
From Ohio State's 33-24 win over Penn State to the rest of the most recent happenings in the world of college football, here's a look at who picked up steam this past weekend and who took a step back.
Stock Up
Jerron Cage
No spectators saw it coming, and neither did any of Jerron Cage’s Buckeye teammates.
The fifth-year senior defensive tackle produced the highlight of his collegiate career – and the Penn State game in general – when he scooped up a Sean Clifford fumble and ran it back for a 57-yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Nittany Lions.
BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN @CageJerron scoops it and scores to extend No. 5 @OhioStateFB's lead. pic.twitter.com/zpxf00wXtT
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 31, 2021
It was the sixth defensive touchdown of the season for the Buckeyes, and the play earned Cage Ohio State’s defensive player of the game award. Considering the offense mustered just two touchdowns in the nine-point win, Cage’s score was a turning point that proved crucial in the victory.
Cage started against Indiana and played the third-most snaps among defensive tackles against Penn State, and appears well on his way to more playing time after a standout performance against Penn State.
Ohio State defensive line play
Cage was not the only Ohio State defensive lineman to step up on Saturday, as the whole unit had an impressive showing worthy of a boost in stock this week.
The Buckeyes had four sacks against Penn State, although one came from safety Lathan Ransom, and it was Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison’s big hit on Clifford that jarred the ball free on Cage’s aforementioned touchdown return.
Smith has regained his starting status after missing several games in the middle of the year and has now registered sacks in each of the past two contests. In fact, Ohio State now ranks seventh in the country in sacks with 28 through the first eight games.
The line was even more impressive against the run, holding Penn State to an average of 1.1 yards per carry. The Nittany Lions finished with just 33 yards on 29 carries in Columbus, and Ohio State’s run defense is up to No. 16 in the FBS with only 106.9 rushing yards allowed per game.
Noah Ruggles
Is it possible that Noah Ruggles was Ohio State’s most impactful offensive weapon on Saturday?
Week 9's Co-Special Teams Player of the Week: Noah Ruggles of @OhioStateFB
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) November 1, 2021
Connected on all 4 FG attempts and both of his extra point attempts for 14 points in a 33-24 win vs. PSU
Hit a 26-yard FG with 2:41 remaining in the 4Q to seal the win
https://t.co/dHM5laKgB4 pic.twitter.com/a5YtMNOx6F
While the Buckeye offense struggled at times against Penn State, Ohio State’s kicker did not falter, connecting on all four of his field goal attempts and all three of his extra points. Ruggles scored 15 points on his own while the Ohio State offense finished with just two touchdowns for the game.
Ruggles remains perfect on the season with all of his 11 field goal and 47 extra point attempts going between the uprights in his first eight games as a Buckeye.
Michigan State
The other marquee matchup in the Big Ten East delivered on all fronts this weekend. With a 37-33 win over the Wolverines, Michigan State took home the spoils.
The Spartans are now the lone unbeaten team in the Big Ten and vaulted ahead of the Buckeyes for the No. 5 ranking in the latest AP poll.
No individual Michigan State player deserves as big a stock bump as Kenneth Walker, who jumped to the forefront of the Heisman Trophy conversation with another stellar performance. Against Michigan, Walker racked up 197 yards on 23 carries and became the first-ever player to punch in five scores on the ground against the Wolverines.
Ohio State’s Nov. 20 matchup got a bit more exciting with Michigan State’s win on Saturday, and the game could have major postseason implications if both teams win their next two games.
A wide open Big Ten West
Remember when Iowa was penciled into the Big Ten championship game? What a difference a few weeks make.
Most wrote Wisconsin off following its 1-3 start to the season, but the Badgers have quietly turned things around in recent weeks. Paul Chryst and company have now notched four wins in a row, including two straight against ranked opponents. The most recent came in a thorough 27-7 beating of then-No. 9 Iowa on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes’ losses have allowed Minnesota, which is 6-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play, to climb to the top of the Big Ten West standings with four weeks remaining.
Iowa and Wisconsin both have the Golden Gophers still to come on their schedules, and the results of those games will go a long way in deciding which team represents in the West in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Wake Forest
For the first time in program history, Wake Forest is a top-10 college football team in the AP poll.
For the first time ever, @WakeFB is in the top-10 of the AP Poll
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 31, 2021
1. Georgia
2. Cincinnati
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Oregon
8. Notre Dame
9. Michigan
10. Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons followed up their absurd 70-point offensive showing against Army with a dominant 45-7 shellacking of Duke on Saturday, and appear to be – as strange as it sounds – the class of the ACC.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman has put up nothing short of video game numbers in the past two outings with a combined 943 yards of total offense, 11 touchdowns and no picks against Army and Duke.
Stock Down
Iowa
We just touched on the Hawkeyes’ struggles above, but when the former No. 2 team in the country loses back-to-back games by several scores, it deserves some extra attention.
Iowa seems to have lost its mojo following an impressive 6-0 start to the season, and its sputtering offense has not looked capable of beating many Big Ten teams at all in the last two games.
The Hawkeyes scored a combined 14 points against Purdue and Wisconsin and turned the ball over seven times in those contests. Spencer Petras’ numbers have been particularly dreadful, but even though backup quarterback Alex Padilla entered the game in the fourth quarter Saturday, Kirk Ferentz said his starter was not benched.
Iowa managed just 156 yards of total offense against the Badgers and no longer look like a team that’s capable of making significant postseason noise.
Top-15 SEC contenders
Two highly ranked one-loss SEC teams stumbled this past weekend as then-No. 10 Ole Miss and then-No. 12 Kentucky each suffered their second losses of the season.
Auburn upset Lane Kiffin’s Rebels 31-20, as Heisman contender Matt Corral was held without a touchdown pass, and the Wildcats were downed by two touchdowns in a 31-17 loss to Mississippi State.
Ole Miss and Kentucky dropped five and six spots in the AP poll, respectively, and both took steps back in terms of SEC contendership.
Gary Patterson
A two-decade-long college football fixture came undone this week as Gary Patterson got the boot after 21 years as head coach at TCU.
TCU AD Jeremiah Donati statement on Gary Pattersons departure: pic.twitter.com/nxYromrStC
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) October 31, 2021
The Horned Frogs got off to a 3-5 start in 2021 and have not finished better than .600 for a full season since 2017. Patterson was asked to remain head coach of the program through the rest of the season and to transition to a new role next year, but ultimately declined that offer.
During a run that began in 2001 and spanned membership in three different conferences, Patterson became the second-longest-tenured active coach in the FBS before all was said and done in TCU.
Pittsburgh
Kenny Pickett and the Panthers received love from the stock report when times were good, so it’s only fair that they’re knocked down a peg accordingly after a loss to a struggling Miami program.
Pickett still threw for 519 yards and three touchdowns against the Hurricane, but even though Pittsburgh was well within striking distance for most of the fourth quarter, the 38-34 loss counts just the same on its resume.
Just one week after handing Clemson a convincing defeat to climb to No. 17 in the AP poll, the Panthers dropped from the rankings altogether in the aftermath of this weekend’s upset.
