2022 College Football Insider Week 9

Quote of the week

TEAM TO WATCH: CLEMSON

The Tigers got a huge win at home against then-No. 14 Syracuse, largely thanks to backup quarterback Cade Klubnik. Down by 11, the Tigers inserted Klubnik for DJ Uiagalelei late in the third quarter. Klubnik led three scoring drives after taking the helm, helping Clemson to 17 unanswered points and a 27-21 win. Clemson’s defense held strong in the second half, keeping Syracuse scoreless. The Tigers extended the longest active win streak in the FBS to 14 games and recorded their 38th straight home win.

The College Football Playoff hopeful Tigers have four games left, but the toughest stretch of their schedule is behind them. If they win out, they could return to the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl for the third time in the last seven seasons. Clemson next plays Notre Dame on November 5 at 4:30 p.m. PHX.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: LSU

Previously unranked LSU earned its most decisive win of the season over No. 7 Ole Miss and jumped to No. 18 in this week’s AP Poll as a result. LSU fell behind 17-3 early, then proceeded to outscore the Rebels 42-3 en route to a 45-20 victory.

With credit given to the offensive line by Head Coach Brian Kelly, LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels was responsible for five touchdowns on the day— three on the ground, and two through the air. Daniels now has more rushing TDs in a season (9) than any quarterback in school history.

The momentum generated by the win is critical as the Tigers prepare to host No. 6 Alabama on November 5 after both schools have a bye this week. The SEC West hangs in the balance as LSU has a chance to push the Tide out of the College Football Playoff field for good.

“We are here now. South Carolina is on the rise. We are here to compete with anyone, and we are just going to keep getting better and better each week…We can compete against anybody. “

- South Carolina RB MarShawn Lloyd on beating Texas A&M for the first time ever in advance of the Gamecocks being ranked for just the second time since 2014

game of

two conference foes enter this game after dominant week eight

with OSU toppling Iowa 54-10 and Penn State beating Minnesota 45-17.

Second-ranked Ohio State will face one of its toughest opponents of the season in the Nittany Lions, whereas the undefeated Buckeyes will likely be Penn State’s last ranked matchup of the year—making a win critical in keeping the host’s Big Ten Championship hopes alive.

Penn State avenge its ugly loss at Michigan by

hopeful CJ Stroud and the 15.5-point

Buckeyes? We’ll find out starting

Quarterback Joe Burrow had a career day in the Bengals’ 35-17 win over the Falcons. It was his second career game with 400+ passing yards, 3+ passing touchdowns and 1+ rushing touchdown, becoming just the fourth player in the NFL with multiple such games (Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Kyler Murray). Burrow led the league in week seven passing yards (481), completions (34) and passer rating (138.2).

Burrow’s 481 passing yards was the second most of his career, and his four touchdowns tied his career high—reminiscent of his 418-yard, four-TD standout performance in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl. He connected with fellow Fiesta Bowl alum and LSU teammate Ja’Marr Chase for 130 yards and two TDs and became the first player in NFL history to have five games with 400+ passing yards in the first three years of his career. The Bengals next play the Browns on Monday, October 31.

Big NEWS!

The Guaranteed Rate Bowl features Bowl Season’s only Big Ten vs. Big 12 matchup. As we eagerly await the Dec. 27 kickoff, we’re bringing you weekly game highlights, player reports, and other updates from the two conferences. Here’s the BIG news for week nine:

Big Ten Big 12

• The Big Ten has four teams in the AP Top 25 heading into week nine: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan, No. 13 Penn State and No. 17 Illinois. Maryland also received votes.

• Of the six FBS teams that remain undefeated, two are from the Big Ten: Michigan and Ohio State.

• Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford became the career completions leader at Penn State, completing 23 of 31 passes for 295 yards and four TDs in the 45-17 win over Minnesota. He also became just the second Nittany Lion to throw for 9,000 yards in his career.

• With its 54-10 win against Iowa, Ohio State has now scored at least 45 points in six straight games, the longest streak by a Big Ten team since 1903. Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw four touchdown passes in the contest, marking the 12th time in his career that he has thrown for at least four scores to pass J.T. Barrett for the most in school history.

• The Big 12 has three teams in the AP Top 25 this week: No. 7 TCU, No. 9 Oklahoma State and No. 22 Kansas State. Texas also received votes.

• TCU is one of the six FBS teams that remain undefeated. Oklahoma State joined TCU in becoming bowl eligible on Saturday, with Kansas, Kansas State and Texas one win away.

• TCU is just the second team in Big 12 history— and first nationally since 2016—to beat AP ranked opponents in four straight games.

• The Big 12 is the only conference in which 80 percent of teams have a .500 or better record. The Big 12 and SEC are the only conferences in which every team has at least three wins. Sixty percent of Big 12 teams are listed in the top 26 of ESPN’s power index: Texas (6), Oklahoma State (14), TCU (15), Baylor (17), K-State (23) and Iowa State (26).

MORE THAN JUST A GAME ®

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: JASON DE LUIGI’S CONTRIBUTIONS GO BEYOND BOX SCORE

When the Beaver County (PA) Sports Hall of Fame was ready to announce its 2020 class, the pandemic caused the ceremony to be rescheduled three times. For Fiesta Bowl Yellow Jacket

Committee Member Dr. Jason De Luigi, the hall’s third inductee in the sports medicine field, it was worth the wait.

De Luigi earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2001. He joined the Army after medical school and was twice-awarded an Army Commendation Medal (2007, 2010) and a Bronze Star Medal (2009).

He began a sports fellowship at Georgetown University following his military service, paving the way to roles like Head Team Physician with the Washington Wizards and Medical Director and Head Team Physician with the Washington Mystics.

He moved to Arizona in 2018, where he now works for the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix Rising, and will soon serve as the Medical Director of the 2023 Waste Management Phoenix Open. He joined the Fiesta Bowl Organization in 2019, immediately impressed with the organization’s charitable impact.

“This is much more than a football game,” said De Luigi. “It is a major impact on the community. This is a terrific way for me to be part of the game but also be more part of the community.”

CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: NOTMYKID

Each year, more than 100,000 youth and adults from the Valley of the Sun receive services from notMYkid such as drug prevention, early intervention, peer and one-on-one counseling, and intensive outpatient treatment. Founded in 1999, the organization—one of 40 Fiesta Bowl Charities grant recipients for 2022-23—educates and helps families maintain positive and healthy kids.

Before the pandemic, notMYkid was only a prevention organization. Given the changing educational environment, notMYkid quickly adapted to provide much-needed mental health services for children given COVID’s lasting impact on student performance and mental health. In 2021, it opened a 13,000 square-foot campus in Scottsdale where families can receive treatment and services.

“We realized we needed to create that space to have families come to us,” said Sarah Grado, Grants and Contracts Administrator for notMYkid. “We have to offer all services because these kids are going to need [it]. We knew the healthcare system was not ready to handle this wave of adolescent mental health needs.”

With the help of the Fiesta Bowl Charities grant, notMYkid provides mental health services to children at their campus and through school programs.

“We’ve wanted to partner with Fiesta Bowl Charities for a really long time,” said Grado. “We were just waiting for the right opportunity. They are all about being active and helping and how physical health is tied to mental health.”