Opta Analyst’s FCS football coverage includes weekly national player and team honors throughout the regular season and will lead toward the annual season-ending FCS National Awards Banquet, scheduled for Jan. 4 in Frisco, Texas.
Penn’s Liam O’Brien, Bucknell’s Gavin Willis, West Georgia’s Reilly Mason and Southern Illinois’ Jake Curry have been selected as the Stats Perform FCS National Players of the Week for Week 11 college football games ending on Nov. 9.
In addition, the UC Davis Aggies are the Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week.
The FCS National Awards are presented by FedEx.
FCS National Awards (Week 11)
Stats Perform FCS National Offensive Player of the Week
Liam O’Brien, Penn, QB, Jr., 6-0, 195, Boulder, Colorado
O’Brien was at the controls of Penn’s wild, 67-49 win at Cornell in the Ivy League. He set program records for touchdown passes (six) and total touchdowns responsible for (seven) as the Quakers scored the most points of their Ivy League era (since 1956). He completed 22 of 30 passes for 341 yards with a 234.8 passer rating, throwing three of his TDs to Jared Richardson. He also carried the ball 13 times for 77 yards and a touchdown.
Honorable Mention: Zach Calzada, QB, UIW; Jacob Clark, QB, Missouri State; John Erby, WR, Duquesne; Grant Jordan, QB, Yale; Targhee Lambson, RB, Southern Utah; TJ Smith, QB, North Alabama; Kobe Tracy, QB, Idaho State; Cooper Willham, WR, Eastern Illinois
Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week
Gavin Willis, Bucknell, LB, So., 6-0, 230, Louisville, Kentucky
Willis put his stamp on Bucknell’s 28-27 win over Fordham, which allowed the Bison to move into a three-way tie for first place in the Patriot League. He had 13 tackles – his fourth straight game with at least that many stops – and they included a career-high four for loss. He returned a fumble 79 yards for a touchdown, had a QB pressure that resulted in an interception, and stopped another Fordham possession with his FCS-high fifth fumble recovery at his team’s 4-yard line. He also had a pass breakup.
Honorable Mention: Malachi Bailey, DE, Alcorn State; Caleb Bowling, DB, Drake; Ray Coney, LB, ETSU; Mi’Quise Grace, DL, South Dakota; Austin-Jake Guillory, DB, Harvard; Ty Howard, DB, Duquesne; Jordy Lowery, CB, Western Carolina; Franke Monte, LB, Holy Cross; Bryce Norman, LB, Southeast Missouri; Antonio O’Berry, DE, Gardner-Webb; Zae Smith, DT, HCU; Brandon Tucker Jr., LB, East Texas A&M
Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week
Reilly Mason, West Georgia, P, Jr., 6-3, 183, Sylvester, Georgia
Mason had a dominating performance while averaging 53.6 yards on five punts during the Wolves’ 38-21 loss to Tarleton State in the United Athletic Conference. He had 70- and 52-yard punts that were downed at the Texans’ 1 and 3, respectively, and added two other punts inside the 20 that resulted in fair catches. His one punt that didn’t go inside the 20 was from the UWG 4 and traveled 68 yards.
Honorable Mention: Anthony Frederique, P, Bethune-Cookman; Darius Lewis, WR/PR, Southeastern Louisiana; Nick Mazzie, PK, New Hampshire
Stats Perform FCS National Freshman Player of the Week
Jake Curry, Southern Illinois, QB, Fr., 5-11, 185, Edwardsville, Illinois
Behind the true freshman, the Salukis overcame a 28-0 deficit to stun Youngstown State 37-33 with the biggest comeback win in program history. Curry completed 19 of 26 attempts for 322 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the final three minutes, with one interception and a 207.5 passer rating. He also carried the ball 10 times for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Honorable Mention: Josh Anglin, LB, North Alabama; Deshaun Buchanan, RB, Idaho; Adam Jones, RB, Montana State; Randall King, WR/KR, Campbell; James Kratochvil, LB, Marist; Travis Terrell Jr., RB, Jackson State; Matthew Traynor, LB, Richmond
Stats Perform FCS National Team of the Week
No. 4 UC Davis (30-14 win at No. 7 Montana)
The Aggies (9-1) extended the longest winning streak of their Division I era (2003) to nine, basically silencing the large home crowd after scoring the final 17 points across an 8-minute, 19-second stretch of the third and fourth quarters. Miles Hastings passed for three touchdowns, the Connors brothers (Rex and Porter) both had interceptions, and Hunter Ridley kicked three field goals of at least 40 yards. First-year coach Tim Plough’s team next hosts No. 2 Montana State in a Big Sky first-place showdown.
Honorable Mention: Duquesne (31-6 win over Robert Morris); Lindenwood (24-12 win over No. 6 Southeast Missouri); No. 17 Stony Brook (24-6 win over UAlbany)
Top photo of UC Davis vs. Montana. (Montana Athletics)
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