Take a bow: The On3 players of the week for Week 9

Here are the On3 players of the week for Week Nine 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

North Carolina QB Drake Maye
The buzz: Maye, a redshirt freshman, had 449 yards of total offense and threw five TD passes as the Tar Heels downed Pitt 42-24. UNC improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the ACC; the Tar Heels have a two-game lead in the ACC’s Coastal Division. Maye was 34-of-44 for a career-high 388 yards, and also rushed for 61 yards. It was his fourth game with at least 400 yards of total offense, and the third time in the past four outings he has reached that plateau. He leads the nation in total offense at 388.8 yards per game and is tied with C.J. Stroud for the national lead with 29 TD passes.

Big Ten

Ohio State DE J.T. Tuimoloau
The buzz: Tuimoloau had six tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, two interceptions (including a pick-six), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the Buckeyes’ 44-31 win at Penn State. His first interception came in the first quarter and set up Ohio State at Penn State’s 41; the Buckeyes scored three plays later for a 10-0 lead. The forced fumble came on a strip-sack, and it occurred at Penn State’s 24 with 8:26 remaining in the game and the Buckeyes leading 23-21. Ohio State scored on the first play of the ensuing possession for a 30-21 lead. The pick-six was a 14-yarder with 2:42 left in the game and gave Ohio State a 44-24 lead. The interceptions and forced fumble were the first of his career. Tuimoloau, a sophomore, had 3.5 career sacks coming into the game.

Big 12

Kansas State QB Will Howard
The buzz: With Adrian Martinez injured, Howard made his first start of the season and guided K-State to a 48-0 rout of Oklahoma State. Howard threw for 296 yards and four TDs in the easy win. The pass-yards total was a season-high for the Wildcats and the fifth-highest for K-State in the past eight seasons. In addition, the Wildcats had thrown just six TD passes in their first seven games. All of Howard’s TD passes came in the first half, which ended with K-State leading 35-0.

Pac-12

USC QB Caleb Williams
The buzz: Williams and the Trojans rolled up 611 yards of offense and went 11-of-17 on third down in a 45-37 victory at Arizona. USC was without its top two receivers – Jordan Addison and Mario Williams missed the game with injuries – but it didn’t matter. Williams was 31-of-45 for 411 yards and five TDs. Williams completed passes to 10 receivers, and all five TD passes went to guys who had zero TD receptions coming in. He threw two to Tahj Washington and one each to Raleek Brown, Kyle Ford and Brenden Rice.

SEC

Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker
The buzz: The SEC East showdown between Kentucky and Tennessee instead was a beatdown, thanks to Hooker and the Vols’ offense. The Vols scored on the fifth play of the game on a 55-yard pass from Hooker to Jalin Hyatt and led the rest of the way. Hooker threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 23 yards and another score as the Vols rolled 44-6. Hooker threw another TD pass to Hyatt with 22 seconds left in the first half for a 27-6 lead. He scored on an 8-yard run late in the third quarter and finished off the scoring with another TD pass, this one to Jabari Small, midway through the final period. He finished 19-of-25, his sixth game this season with a completion percentage of at least 70.0.

Group of 5

UConn DE Pryce Yates
The buzz: UConn’s defense led the way as the Huskies downed Boston College 13-3. It was UConn’s first win over a Power 5 school since 2016 and just its fourth over a FBS program since the start of the 2018 season. Yates had seven tackles, 2.5 sacks, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry as the Huskies held BC to 286 total yards. The seven tackles were a career-high for Yates, a redshirt freshman, while the TFL total doubled his career total coming into the game.