The college football season was back in full force with a full slate of games on Saturday and we at PFF and our team of over 500 analysts has dissected and graded every player on every snap of every game to bring you the most detailed and valid set of picks you can find anywhere.
The Week 2 Eckrich Team of the Week powered by PFF saw some impressive performances and, of course, the strength of opponent also factored into the overall selections as did the PFF player grades.
Quarterback
Joe Burrow, LSU
In a true breakout game for the Tigers, Burrow dominated the Texas defense with a beautiful display of passing. Burrow finished the game completing 18–of-23 passes for 384 yards and all four touchdowns on passes targeted 10 or more yards downfield with five big-time throws in the mix.
Second-Team QB: Jamie Newman, Wake Forest
Running Back
Darrynton Evans, Appalachian State
Needing just 19 carries to go for 234 yards, Evans had superb run blocking ahead of him in the Mountaineers win. Still, he racked up three scores, five more first-down runs and had five carries of at least 10 yards as App State's offense gained 276 yards on the ground and 458 total.
Second-Team RB: Jordan Mason, Georgia Tech
Running Back
Cam Akers, Florida State
The Seminoles escaped a second overtime period at home against UL-Monroe but it wasn't because of the efforts of Akers as a reason for their struggles. Akers toted the ball a national-high 36 times and racked up 194 rushing yards. More importantly, he secured 110 of those yards after contact, forcing a ridiculous 11 missed tackles.
Second-Team RB: Jermar Jefferson, Oregon State
Wide Receiver
Rondale Moore, Purdue
The human highlight-reel, Moore was dominant against Vanderbilt in a huge bounceback win for the Boilermakers. He led the nation's receivers in targets (18), receptions (13) and yards (220) while forcing three missed tackles and gaining 134 of his yards after the catch.
Second-Team WR: Tylan Wallace, Oklahoma State
Wide Receiver
Justin Jefferson, LSU
In making history for the Tigers, Jefferson was one of three receivers with 100 or more yards through the air as Jefferson was the most impressive of the trio. He hauled in nine receptions for 163 yards and three scores including 66 yards after the catch and four more additional first-down receptions.
Second-Team WR: Denzel Mims, Baylor
Wide Receiver
JoJo Ward, Hawaii
In the nightcap, Ward hauled in 189 yards on 10 receptions against Oregon State, securing four receiving touchdowns from Cole McDonald and moved the chains on four more receptions.
Second-Team WR: Malik Knowles, Kansas State
Tight End
Jacob Breeland, Oregon
Breeland hauled in a long touchdown of 66 yards while securing 80.0% of his targeted passes in Oregon's rout of Nevada. His night ended with a statline of four receptions for 112 yards and two receiving conversions with plus-grades in pass-blocking.
Second-Team TE: Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri
Offensive Tackle
Travis Bruffy, Texas Tech
Bruffy allowed all of one QB hurry on his 50 snaps in pass protection and moved defenders off the line in the run game impressively. He finished the weekend with the national-best run-blocking grade of 92.6 among tackles.
Second-Team OT: William Sherman, Colorado
Offensive Guard
Michael Onwenu, Michigan
The Wolverines' offense struggled to move the ball against Army but Onwenu wasn't a reason why. He logged 40 snaps each in pass protection and for the run game, finishing with the nation's best grades in each facet.
Second-Team OG: Caleb Chandler, Louisville
Center
Adam Holtorf, Kansas State
The Wildcats dominated Bowling Green and Holtorf was a big reason why as he paved huge lanes in the run game. He allowed two hurries and had two penalties called against him but that's how strong his effort in the run game was.
Second-Team C: Grant Gibson, NC State
Offensive Guard
Sean Christie, Maryland
Christie paved the way for some impressive running lanes for the Maryland backs, finishing with strong grades across the board. He allowed one pressure in the passing game and had the country's highest run-blocking grade among Power-5 left guards.
Second-Team OG: Samuel Jackson, UCF
Offensive Tackle
Mekhi Becton, Louisville
The Cardinals got their offense rolling against Eastern Kentucky in Week 2 and Becton was a big reason why. He finished with a clean sheet in pass protection while finishing with the nation's second-best pass-blocking grade among tackles.
Second-Team OT: Stone Forsythe, Florida
Edge Defender
Marlon Davidson, Auburn
Davidson was a force for the Tigers on Saturday, finishing with six pressures on his 31 pass-rushes. He didn't get home with a sack but won over 26.7% of his pass-rush attempts in the Auburn victory.
Second-Team Edge: Jabari Zuniga, Florida
Edge Defender
Chauncey Manac, Louisiana
No pass-rusher recorded a higher pass-rush win percentage this week than Manac who won 34.4% of his attempts. He registered seven pressures, two of which were sacks, and didn't miss a tackle all game.
Second-Team Edge: Broderick Washington Jr., Texas Tech
Defensive Interior
Garrett Marino, UAB
Marino finished the afternoon with a whopping three sacks and nine total pressures for the Blazers. He needed 36 pass-rushes to accomplish such a feat, winning the majority of his pass-rush snaps in the process.
Second-Team DI: Jay Tufele, USC
Defensive Interior
Ellison Hubbard, Colorado State
Hubbard had a strong game rushing the passer for the Rams, tallying five pressures including two sacks and an additional QB hit. He made another defensive stop in the process and had an elite pass-rushing grade.
Second-Team DI: Mustafa Johnson, Colorado
Linebacker
Nick Bolton, Missouri
The ‘other Missouri linebacker' no more, Bolton dominated the action on Saturday, recording two interceptions, a pick-six, four more stops and doing so without a missed tackle. Bolton and Cale Garrett will go a long way as a linebacking duo in the SEC with this type of play.
Second-Team LB: Kyahva Tezino, San Diego State
Linebacker
Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets shut down the USF offense and Thomas finished a strong performance with two sacks, four defensive stops and a forced fumble in the contest. Georgia Tech will rely heavily on its defense this season and this strong performance is a good sign for things to come.
Second-Team LB: Dele Harding, Illinois
Cornerback
A.J. Green, Oklahoma State
Green was the primary coverage defender on three targets on Saturday, allowing just one reception for five yards and grabbing an interception in the process. He didn't allow a single yard after the catch and made three tackles in the contest without a miss.
Second-Team CB: Shaun Wade, Ohio State
Cornerback
Jeremy Smith, Arkansas State
Smith and the Red Wolves stymied the UNLV passing attack as Smith himself made an interception and allowed all of seven yards on five targeted passes. He made an impressive tackle behind the line of scrimmage to round out his day and had an elite coverage grade overall.
Second-Team CB: Parnell Motley, Oklahoma
Safety
Julian Blackmon, Utah
Blackmon made his way to our Saturday Standouts as he saw a targeted pass on just one of his 34 snaps in coverage, picking off that pass in Utah's win over Northern Illinois. He recorded eight total tackles and rounded out his strong performance with elite grades in coverage.
Second-Team S: Tanner Muse, Clemson
Safety
Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota
Winfield had a big game on the backend of the Gophers defense, seeing two targeted passes come his way, allowing no completions and making an interception himself. All told, he allowed a 0.0 passer rating into his coverage and made two defensive stops and a sack in the process.
Second-Team S: Josh Metellus, Michigan
Flex
Patrick Surtain, Alabama
Surtain II had a big game in coverage for the Crimson Tide, forcing a fumble on one play and allowing just 25.0% of the targeted passes thrown his way to be caught. He made an interception and allowed just nine yards on the afternoon.
Second-Team Flex: Gervarrius Owens, Houston
Kicker
Matthew Trickett, Kent State
Trickett kicked the game-tying field goal as well as the game-winning field goal in overtime for the Golden Flashes as he ‘single-footedly' won the contest for Kent State.
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