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5 crazy good stats in college football

 

Paxton Lynch (QB, Memphis) has not thrown an interception in his last nine conference games.

If you haven’t heard of Memphis’ quarterback Paxton Lynch, it’s time to start paying attention. He’s legit. To go with his current conference interception-less streak, he boasts a CFF grade of +27.5 and is in the top five in the nation in NFL rating, completion percentage, overall accuracy percentage and accuracy under pressure. This includes a win against PFF's sixth-ranked defense, Ole Miss (+126.9). Lynch has turned himself into a potential first-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft. In addition to his insane stats and production, he’s huge. At 6-foot-7 he is taller than all the current starting quarterbacks in the NFL (Joe Flacco is the tallest at 6-foot-6). The next game to mark on your calendar is November 21 against another top ten defense in the Temple Owls (+116.7).

Shock Linwood (RB, Baylor) is currently the most elusive running back in the country.

The junior playing in his home state of Texas is leading the country in PFF’s elusive rating at 151.8. This stat attempts to reflect how hard the runner is to tackle independent of the quality of blocking around them. The raw numbers are 45 missed tackles on 121 attempts and an average of 4.18 yards after contact. While Baylor’s schedule has been fairly easy so far, it does include a win over PFF’s fifteenth-ranked rushing defense in West Virginia (+69.2). Linwood’s top spot in the elusive rating is backed by the eye test if you watch the film. He is very comparable in size and running style to current Pittsburgh Steeler and former Memphis all-time great running back DeAngelo Williams.

Joe Schobert (OLB, Wisconsin) creates quarterback pressure on 30 percent of his pass rushes.

On roughly one third of Schobert’s pass rushes, the opposing quarterback has been hurried, hit or sacked. Converted into PFF’s pass rushing productivity (PRP) stat, Schobert leads all outside linebackers and defensive ends at 24.4. Schobert is not just leading, he’s dominating. The current second place rusher has a ranking of 19.2. Last year’s leader? Schobert at 19.4. The junior Badger posted a +28.0 grade in 2014 and has clearly taken his game to another level in 2015 at +25.9 through eight games. Not one Division 1 school offered Schobert a scholarship out of high school. Three years later, he would start on every single one of them.

Jourdan Lewis (CB, Michigan) is currently the top shut-down cornerback in the county.

Jim Harbaugh had a pretty good cornerback during his coaching days at Stanford in current Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman. He has another one 2,000 miles away in Ann Arbor. Jourdan Lewis owns the top PFF cornerback grade at +15.9. Opposing quarterbacks have posted a quarterback rating of 36.1 when targeting Lewis. In addition, Lewis has allowed only 18 receptions on 51 targets and leads the nation in passes defensed with twelve (the second place CB has eight). Lewis passed a major test in this last week’s epic game against Connor Cook (+26.1) and the CFF fifth ranked passing offense, Michigan State Spartans (+47.5). Lewis was also just named as a finalist for the 2015 Jim Thorpe award which goes to the top defensive back in the county.

Keyarris Garrett (WR, Tulsa) has been targeted 100 times through eight games. He has one drop. 

The senior from Texas has some serious mitts. While his Tulsa team has struggled in the AAC so far this season, Garrett has not. Through eight games and 668 snaps, he has dropped the ball once. Garrett has an overall grade of +8.2 and has 58 receptions for 966 yards and five touchdowns this season. He was un-coverable against Memphis on Saturday when he posted an AAC record 14 catches for 268 yards and three touchdowns. Garrett is averaging 12.5 targets per game which is equal to Amari Cooper’s FBS leading pace from 2014. The 6-foot-4 receiver is having a nice bounce back year after breaking his leg early in 2014.

Guess what folks? Ezekiel Elliott is still perfect in pass protection through eight games and 58 pass block snaps.

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