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Top performers: Oct. 30-Nov. 3
Updated: Sunday November 04, 2001 3:42 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com So many choices, only one player of the week. That's the dilemma following a Saturday filled with remarkable performances. Like big numbers? LSU provided them en masse, with QB Rohan Davey throwing for 528 yards and WR Josh Reed catching 19 balls for 293 in a 35-21 defeat of Alabama. Both marks were records for a Crimson Tide opponent.Like big-time running backs? Michigan State's T.J. Duckett certainly is one. He carried 27 times for 212 yards against Michigan, then caught the winning touchdown with no time remaining. Like defense? Washington State safety Lamont Thompson left a big impression, grabbing a school-record four interceptions to finish off UCLA. But CNNSI.com's player of the week honor goes to a guy with no earth-shattering numbers, who barely stepped on the field for much of his game. But Arkansas freshman Matt Jones turned in one of the all-time clutch performances in the Razorbacks' historic 58-56, seven-overtime victory over Ole Miss.
Jones, a true freshman from Fort Smith, Ark., played only one year at quarterback in high school and was recruited primarily as a receiver. But after none of the Razorbacks' first three quarterbacks, Zak Clark, Ryan Sorahan or Tavaris Jackson, could lift their offense out of the doldrums, coach Houston Nutt, starting with the Sept. 29 game against Georgia, began inserting the speedy Jones in spurts to run the option. In the Hogs' Oct. 27 upset of Auburn, Jones ran 10 times for 99 yards and completed his first pass for a 21-yard touchdown. He got the call again Saturday against the Rebels and suddenly found himself playing a central role in the longest game in major college history, exchanging touchdowns with Ole Miss' Eli Manning. In the third extra frame, he dashed 25 yards for a touchdown on the Hogs' first play. On their next two possessions, he produced a scrambling 24-yard touchdown pass and an 8-yard run for a score. Ole Miss finally seemed to have Arkansas on the ropes in the sixth overtime, scoring first and converting its two-point conversion. But Jones led them downfield for another score and, on the two-point attempt, made an extraordinary throw in between defenders to send things to OT No. 7, where Arkansas finally won it. Jones, despite playing very little of regulation, finished with 18 carries for 110 yards and two TDs, and 3-of-6 for 61 and one. Afterward, an exhausted Nutt could only voice his admiration for the freshman's resiliency. "He has ice water in his veins," the coach said. Here are the weekend's other top performers:
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