The national player of the week for college football during Week 7 is Tyler Warren from Penn State.
Warren made headlines by catching 17 passes, tying the record for receptions by a tight end in the Football Bowl Subdivision.
His remarkable performance contributed to the Nittany Lions’ thrilling 33-30 overtime victory against Southern California.
Warren also set a new record for receiving yards by a tight end both at Penn State and within the Big Ten, amassing a total of 224 yards in the game.
This performance is especially significant as it marks the most catches by a tight end since 1982 when Northwestern’s Joe Harvey recorded 17 receptions for 208 yards against Michigan.
Notably, Warren is the first FBS tight end to exceed 200 receiving yards in a single game since Utah’s Dalton Kincaid achieved 234 yards against USC in 2022.
During the third quarter, Warren secured a 32-yard touchdown pass, pushing him over 1,000 career receiving yards, and he has notched at least one catch in each of his last 22 games.
In a close second for the honor was Dillon Gabriel, the quarterback for Oregon, who threw for 341 yards while contributing to three touchdowns in the Ducks’ nail-biting 32-31 win against Ohio State.
Gabriel connected for touchdown passes of 10 yards to Evan Stewart and 48 yards to Tezz Johnson, and he also scrambled for a 27-yard touchdown in the final quarter.
He was pivotal in leading the Ducks on an 11-play, 74-yard drive that set up Atticus Sappington’s winning field goal.
This marked the second time this season that Gabriel surpassed 300 passing yards, concluding the game with a season-high total of 373 yards of offense.
Several players received honorable mentions as well.
Whit Weeks, a linebacker for LSU, turned in a standout defensive performance with 18 tackles, which included a sack that helped take the game to overtime and another tackle for loss during the team’s 29-26 victory over Mississippi.
Weeks also broke up a pass in overtime and forced a crucial fumble that allowed for a field goal late in the first half.
Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty had his third 200-yard rushing game this season, gaining 217 yards on 31 carries in a 28-7 triumph at Hawaii.
Notably, his performance included a 54-yard run for his eighth rushing touchdown of 50 yards or longer this season.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck showcased his talent by completing 36 of 48 passes for a career-high 459 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-31 victory over Mississippi State.
This performance marks the highest passing yardage by a Georgia quarterback since Eric Zeier totaled 485 yards against South Carolina back in 1994.
A few noteworthy statistics emerged from the week:
Army stands out as the only FBS team to score a touchdown on its first offensive drive in every game thus far, having also scored TDs on its first two drives in five out of six games.
Tennessee has recorded just 62 points over its last three games, marking the fewest in such a span since the Volunteers managed only 49 points against Arkansas, Auburn, and Florida in the 2020 season under Jeremy Pruitt.
Boise State currently leads the nation with an average of 4.83 sacks per game, matching its season-high of eight against Hawaii.
Iowa State’s Jontez Williams has intercepted a pass in three consecutive games, joining Texas A&M’s Marcus Ratcliffe as the only FBS players to achieve this feat this season.
Louisiana Tech’s freshman quarterback Evan Bullock accomplished a remarkable feat by throwing four touchdown passes over the course of four consecutive drives in a commanding 48-21 victory against Middle Tennessee, also scoring on the fifth drive.
Furthermore, Navy has achieved an impressive record by scoring touchdowns on all 18 of its drives that entered the opponent’s 20-yard line (red zone), a feat unmatched by any other team since at least 2019.