Take a bow: The On3 players of the week for Week 8

Here are the On3 players of the week for Week Eight of the 2022 season. Each week, we pick players of the week in each Power 5 conference as well as an overall Group of 5 player of the week.

Everything being equal, more weight is given to big performances against “good” opponents.

ACC

Clemson RB Will Shipley
The buzz: On a day that starting QB D.J. Uiagalelei struggled and was benched, Shipley provided a needed offensive punch for the unbeaten Tigers. He rushed for a career-high 172 yards and two TDs as Clemson rallied from a 21-7 deficit to beat previously unbeaten Syracuse 27-21. The Orange came in allowing just 95.0 rushing yards per game. Shipley, a sophomore, opened the scoring on a 1-yard run midway through the first quarter, then reeled off a 50-yarder to give the Tigers a 24-21 lead early in the fourth period. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season, as well as his fourth with two rushing TDs.

Big Ten

Maryland RB Roman Hemby
The buzz: With starting QB Taulia Tagovailoa sidelined by injury, the Terps relied heavily on their rushing attack in a 31-24 victory over Northwestern. Hemby, a redshirt freshman, was the key guy, rushing for 179 yards and three TDs as part of a 257-yard rushing effort. His 75-yard TD run with 3:22 left in the game came 12 seconds after Northwestern tied it and proved to be the winning margin. The yardage and TD totals were career-highs. It was his fourth 100-yard outing of the season. (An aside: Hemby is one of three Baltimore-area natives in the top seven in the Big Ten in rushing. The others are Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim and Michigan’s Blake Corum.)

Big 12

TCU RB Kendre Miller
The buzz: Miller rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns as the Horned Frogs remained unbeaten with a 38-28 victory over Kansas State. TCU rallied from a 28-10 deficit. Miller’s TDs came in the second half; he scored on a 2-yard run with eight minutes left in the third quarter to cut K-State’s lead to 28-24, then finished off the scoring with a 9-yard run three minutes into the final period. The yardage total was a season-high for Miller, a third-year junior who now is eighth nationally with 10 rushing TDs. He has at least one rush TD in all seven games.

Pac-12

Oregon QB Bo Nix
The buzz: Nix and the Ducks scored on their first seven possessions and punted just once, on their final possession, in a 45-30 win over previously unbeaten UCLA. Nix, who transferred from Auburn in the offseason, had 334 yards of total offense and accounted for five TDs – all in the air. He finished 22-of-28 for 283 yards, and also rushed for 51 yards. It was his second game this season with five TD passes and his fourth game in a row with 300 yards of total offense. Oregon finished with 545 yards of total offense, the fifth time in seven games the Ducks have had 500. It also was the sixth game in a row with 40-plus points. Nix has completed at least 72 percent of his passes in five of the Ducks’ seven games after not doing that in more than three games in any season at Auburn.

SEC

LSU QB Jayden Daniels
The buzz: Daniels threw for 248 yards and two TDs and rushed for 121 and three more scores as LSU hammered previously unbeaten Ole Miss 45-20. That’s 369 yards of offense and five TDs; it’s the sixth time this season he has had at least 300 yards of total offense, and the second week in a row he accounted for at least five touchdowns (he did it last week against Florida). Daniels had 13 rushing TDs in his three seasons at Arizona State; he has nine in eight games this season.

Group of 5

East Carolina QB Holton Ahlers
The buzz: Ahlers, a five-year starter for the Pirates, was razor-sharp in leading ECU to a dominant 34-13 win over UCF. Ahlers was 30-of-36 for 311 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for a score; he helped ECU go 9-of-14 on third down. UCF hadn’t allowed more than 20 points in its previous six games this season. Ahlers’ 83.3 completion percentage was the second-best of his career against a FBS opponent (he was at 84.4 percent in a win over Navy last season). Ahlers’ 3-yard run gave ECU a 10-0 lead midway through the second period, and a 39-yard pass to C.J. Johnson gave the Pirates a 17-0 lead with 49 seconds left in the first half. He completed his final 11 pass attempts of the game.

Will Shipley rushed for a career-high 172 yards and two TDs as Clemson rallied past Syracuse to remain undefeated. (Courtesy of Clemson Athletics)