PLANT YOUR FLAG: WEEK 9 PREVIEW
PLANT YOUR FLAG: WEEK 9 PREVIEW
Another week, another impressive schedule of college football on the cards. Finally we saw the Big Ten back underway and a number of both Ash’s & Tom’s Plant Your Flag players getting some action under their belt.
Ash’s Picks
QB – Justin Fields – Ohio State
Week 8 – Nebraska
Week 9 – Penn State
Justin Fields looks to have taken offence to be called the 2nd best QB in the 2021 draft behind Trevor Lawrence and has come into the delayed start with a point to prove. Week 8 against Nebraska he made that point and then some. In the 52-17 victory over Nebraska, Fields had only 1 incompletion. His stat line on the day read 20/21 completions for 276 yards, 2 touchdowns & 0 interceptions, to add he also ran 15 times for 54 yards and a score on the ground.
Next up for The Buckeyes & Fields is Penn State who themselves are coming off the back of an embarrassing loss against Indiana and a point to prove. Fields will need to be once again at the top of his game to overcome the previously impressive and still formidable Penn State defence.
Fields and Ohio State should have enough to overcome Penn State and continue to show the NCAA why they are a top team in 2020 and Fields is one of the first names coming off the 2021 draft board.
RB – Kylin Hill – Mississippi State
Week 8 – Bye
Week 9 – Alabama
Tom mentioned last week that Kylin Hill was sitting out due to personal reasons. Those reasons appear to be more apparent now with it looking more and more likely that Hill will be opting out for the remainder of the 2020 season and train for the 2021 NFL Draft.
What impact this and the poor start to the year that Miss State have had remains to be seen. Ash’s Plant Your Flag RB appears to be in the mud for 2020.
WR – Tylan Wallace – Oklahoma State
Week 8 – Iowa State
Week 9 – Texas
Wallace had a somewhat quiet day against Iowa State in week 8 with 5 receptions for 76 yards. Oklahoma is the team to beat in the Big 12 as it stands and currently sit at 4-0 with a visit to the Texas Longhorns up next in week 9.
The Longhorns have left a lot to be decided so far in 2020 and will not want another loss to an Oklahoma team on their record in what was meant to be a Playoff bound 2020 season. Tylan Wallace will need to be at the top of his game to overcome Texas.
Texas will have their hands full with Chuba Hubbard which will potentially leave more room for Wallace to leave his mark on this game.
TE – Kyle Pitts – Florida
Week 8 – Bye
Week 9 – Missouri
Kyle Pitts 2020 season is off to a barnstormer even with the postponed game against LSU & the bye week he already sits on 274 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Tom raised a few eyes last week stating that Pitts is a potential top 10 pick and to be fair I have to agree with him on what he has shown this year. Whether he can keep up this pace is another question.
Kyle Pitts is carrying an injury but hopefully these two weeks of rest will have been ample time for him to recover and is full go against Missouri in week 9. Pitts possesses the size to dominate at all aspects of the game and the speed and hands to overcome the secondary which is rare to find in a tight end.
Florida will be coming into this game full force considering the last time they were on the field was a loss to Texas A&M and a healthy Pitts will cause all sorts of problems for the Missouri offence.
Tom’s Picks
QB – Trey Lance – North Dakota State
Trey Lance’s one and done is game for 2020 has come and gone. Now is the time for him to prepare for the 2021 draft and whether he can live up to expectations. Will he be a Top 10 pick come April, we have to wait and see…
RB – Travis Ethienne – Clemson
Week 8 – Syracuse
Week 9 – Boston College
You have to feel for Boston College week 9, not only do they have the #1 QB coming up against them but also arguably the #1 running back in Travis Ethienne. Ethienne was quite in the Georgia Tech route due to the effectiveness of Clemson which allowed them to rest players. Week 8 against Syracuse Ethienne was back to his dominant self with 3 touchdowns and 86 yards on the ground.
Expect Ethienne to once again score multiple touchdowns and top 100 yards against Boston College before once again going to the sideline in an expected route.
How high can Ethienne go in the draft, if he continues with his dominant ways in 2020 he is surely the number 1 running back and certainly pushing for a first round pick.
WR – Tamorrion Terry – Florida State
Week 8 – Louisville
Week 9 – Bye
Florida States misfortunes are starting to hit Terry hard now along with his injuries. Terry was not involved Vs Louisville and the bye week hopefully allows him to overcome his own injury.
Not much more to say then what Tom mentioned last week. The Seminoles’ poor start to the season, and now this injury, have hurt his stock. In a deep receiver class, it isn’t impossible that Terry could now be a day 3 pick in April.
Let’s hope Terry gets back to full health and improves on his draft stock before it is too late.
Much like Kylin Hill for Ash, Tom could be onto a loser for this Plant Your Flag selection.
TE – Pat Freiermuth – Penn State
Week 8 – Indiana
Week 9 – Ohio State
Ash Vs Tom in Plant Your Flag not only in the article but also on the pitch this week with Field’s Ohio State & Freiermuth Penn State coming up against each other in the Big 10.
Penn State may have suffered a shock loss in their first matchup of the year against Indiana but Freiermuth impressed in his appearance with 60 yards and a score from 7 receptions. As expected Freiermuth appears to be Sean Clifford main guy with almost double the receptions of the next receiver and is set to feature regularly, especially if Penn State are going to be involved in shootouts and need to rely on the passing game.
Freiermuth & Penn State may struggle this week against the shutdown defence of Ohio State but if anyone is going to be on the score sheet aside from Sean Clifford expect it to be Freiermuth.
Freiermuth will be rueing the delayed Big 10 season and the impressive start by Kyle Pitts which has almost certainly seen him drop to the number 2 TE in 2021. He needs a big year to once again push for that number one spot despite remaining a first round pick in many circles including the 5 yard rush family.
@5yardcollege – Where Saturdays are for rushing, too.
