College Football Week 11: PFF’s Team of the Week and Player Awards

Another College Football Playoff candidate removed itself from the conversation in Week 11, as Oklahoma took an L to Baylor on the road. Ohio State, meanwhile, managed to evade the Purdue Spoilermakers.

Now that the first run of analysis is finalized and available in PFF's CFB Premium Stats+, we get to fill you in on this week’s top performers. Here, we present PFF’s Team of the Week and player awards from Week 11 of the 2021 college football season.

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PFF TEAM OF THE WEEK

Offense

QB: Phil Jurkovec, Boston College Eagles
RB: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin Badgers
RB: James Cook, Georgia Bulldogs
WR: Jameson Williams, Alabama Crimson Tide
WR: Garrett Wilson, Ohio State Buckeyes
WR: Xavier Worthy, Texas Longhorns
TE: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame Fighting Irish
LT: Bernhard Raimann, Central Michigan Chippewas
LG: Joshua Mote, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
C: Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa Hawkeyes
RG: Kyle Hergel, Texas State Bobcats
RT: Darian Kinnard, Kentucky Wildcats

Defense

DI: Ralph Holley, Western Michigan Broncos
DI: Devonte Wyatt, Georgia Bulldogs
Edge: Ali Fayad, Western Michigan Broncos
Edge: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama Crimson Tide
LB: Micah Baskerville, LSU Tigers
LB: Nakobe Dean, Georgia Bulldogs
CB: Natrone Brooks, Southern Miss Golden Eagles
CB: Jacobee Bryant, Kansas Jayhawks
S: Jordan Helm, FAU Owls
S: Grayson Cash, UAB Blazers
Flex: Dean Engram, Wisconsin Badgers

Offensive Player of the Week: QB Phil Jurkovec, Boston College Eagles

After getting eased into the passing game last week, Jurkovec came out against Georgia Tech in Week 11 and lit up the scoreboard early. He was ultra-aggressive, throwing the ball 19.2 yards downfield on average on 19 attempts, and he hit his downfield shots as though he'd never left the starting lineup.

The Eagles starting quarterback ended up completing 10 of his 14 throws over 10 yards downfield for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Three of those passes earned the big-time throw designation in PFF's grading system, and none were charted as a turnover-worthy play.

He made the right decisions, delivered accurate and anticipatory throws and was his usual playmaking self under pressure. In all, Jurkovec led the third-most efficient single-game passing offense we have seen from a Power Five program since 2014.

The 6-foot-5, 226-pound senior also made a decent dent on the ground, as the Eagles gave him seven designed runs against the Yellow Jackets. He converted three of those into an explosive run of 10-plus yards — two of which were among his three rushing touchdowns.

Defensive Player of the Week: LB Micah Baskerville, LSU Tigers

LSU may have lost in overtime to Arkansas, but it still doesn’t take away from the performance of Tigers off-ball linebacker Micah Baskerville.

The senior made an impact in every single facet for LSU. He recorded a PFF grade above 84.0 against the run, in the pass rush and in coverage on first review, pacing the way to a 91.5 overall mark for the game.

Baskerville came away with five total run stops and notched two sacks and one hit on four snaps as a blitzer. On 24 coverage snaps, the LSU linebacker recorded four passing stops and allowed -1 yards.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Anthony/status/1459800266837012482?s=20

This was Baskerville’s highest-graded performance in SEC play by over 20 grading points. He was a big reason why the Razorbacks produced the lowest success rate of any Power Five team in Week 11. 

True Freshman of the Week: RB Braelon Allen, Wisconsin Badgers

Allen should still be in high school. The former four-star recruit, who is yet to turn 18 years old, decided to skip his senior year and reclassify for the 2021 class. He joined Wisconsin early with the thought of playing safety or linebacker for the Badgers, but instead, Allen is playing running back — and he is doing so at an extraordinarily high level.

Allen earned an 83.5 rushing grade in his 173-yard, three-touchdown performance against Northwestern in Week 11. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound back has strong contact balance and takes on defenders like a Mack Truck. He consistently evaded the Wildcats, breaking 10 tackles and averaging 5.6 yards after contact per attempt on 25 attempts. 

https://twitter.com/PFF_Anthony/status/1459808376821534721?s=20

Offensive Line of the Week: Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State’s running back room produced the second-most-efficient ground game among Power Five teams in Week 11. The average of 4.2 yards before contact per attempt will certainly help.

The Buckeyes' offensive line gave plenty of open lanes for the running backs and presented quarterback C.J. Stroud with a clean pocket as much as possible. And that’s not hyperbole. The offensive line didn’t allow a pressure all game long across 38 dropbacks — not even star edge defender George Karlaftis had one.

Secret Superstar of the Week: CB Natrone Brooks, Southern Miss Golden Eagles

Brooks was a key contributor against the undefeated Roadrunners in Week 11, even though he entered the week averaging just 12 coverage snaps per game. 

Instead of falling flat against the Group of Five juggernaut, Brooks rose to the occasion, earning a 92.1 coverage grade for the game. He played 23 coverage snaps on the outside, allowed zero yards in coverage while intercepting one pass and forcing an incompletion on another.

Southern Miss ended up losing by 10 to UTSA after entering the fourth quarter tied at 17, but they at least had a fighting chance when it wasn’t expected — and Brooks' performance was a big reason why.

Play of the Week: Texas Tech kicker Jonathan Garibay’s game-winning 62-yard field goal

Garibay had not yet attempted even a 50-yard field goal at Texas Tech before Saturday. However, the 2018 JUCO transfer finally got his opportunity to show off his range, as the Red Raiders called on him to attempt a 62-yard field goal with the game tied in the final seconds.

Texas Tech’s win probability still wasn’t promising despite the chance at winning the game in regulation (just under 40% before the kick). But instead of the game going into extra time, Garibay shocked everyone in the country by nailing the 62-yarder with ease and etching his name into the history books in Lubbock.

62-YARD WALK-OFF FG BY TEXAS TECH pic.twitter.com/Yf2Iz12Wt0

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 14, 2021

Biggest Game-Changing Moment: Michigan tight end Erick All putting the Wolverines over the hump 

Michigan found themselves down 14-17 in Happy Valley with just a few minutes to play in the fourth quarter and the ball at midfield.

Given how they had struggled to move the ball, the Blue’s chances of winning were below 50%. They needed someone to step up and make a game-changing play, and tight end Erick All did just that by taking a shallow crosser 47 yards to the house.

MICHIGAN (-2.5) HOLDS OFF PSU pic.twitter.com/XQIsQXvB9u

— PFF NFL Podcast (@PFFNFLPod) November 13, 2021

Michigan Win Probability Change: +23.7%