College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week Oct. 8

Five players including Riley Ferguson from Memphis, Jalin Moore and Clifton Duck from Appalachian State, Jarvion Franklin from Western Michigan, and Sean Bunting from Central Michigan have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending October 8th, 2017 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools.

The honorees are listed here with their achievements and their school, position, class, and hometown.

Memphis QB Riley Ferguson

 

Riley Ferguson, Memphis, QB, Sr. Matthews, N.C.

Ferguson tied an American Athletic Conference record with seven touchdown passes to lead Memphis to a 70-31 win at UConn. Ferguson had five touchdown passes in the first half, helping the Tigers take a 35-24 lead at halftime, and he added two more TDs in the third quarter to help Memphis pull away. Ferguson completed 34 of 48 passes for 431 yards and registered his third career game with at least six touchdown passes in 18 career starts.

App State RB Jalin Moore

 

Jalin Moore, Appalachian State, RB, Jr., Shelby, N.C.

Jalin Moore rushed for a season-high 241 yards (most by a Sun Belt player this year) and two touchdowns on only 19 carries in a 45-31 win against New Mexico State. He is the only active FBS back with three games of at least 240 rushing yards, Moore averaged 12.7 yards per carry and had four carries of at least 29 yards. His 41-yard rush helped App State tie the game at 31-all in the fourth quarter, and his 56-yard touchdown with 2:12 left helped seal the win.

 

WMU RB Jarvion Franklin

Jarvion Franklin, Western Michigan, RB, Sr., Tinley Park, Ill.

Franklin had four touchdowns and 176 yards on 37 carries in the Broncos’ historic 71-68 7-OT victory at Buffalo. Franklin ran for 12 yards and spun off a defender to score the game’s winning touchdown in the 71-68 victory. The game set a record for most points scored in FBS history and tied for the most overtimes ever. Franklin had just four yards rushing at the half, but was the Broncos’ go-to on offense late in the game. He accounted for three of Western Michigan’s touchdowns in extra play, scoring all three on the ground, and had 102 yards of the Broncos’ 163 total yards in overtime. He also had a 20-yard receiving touchdown in the third quarter. Franklin’s four touchdowns in the game gave him 51 overall career touchdowns, tying last year’s No. 5 overall NFL draft pick Corey Davis for the school record for overall career TDs. It was Franklin’s second 100-yard rushing game of the season. He additionally surpassed 4,000 career rushing yards, becoming just the third Bronco ever to reach the milestone.

App State DB Clifton Duck

Clifton Duck, Appalachian State, DB, So. Matthews, N.C.

Clifton Duck tied a school record by intercepting three passes, recorded a sack and totaled seven tackles in a 45-31 victory against New Mexico State. He teamed with Tae Hayes to nab six total interceptions, setting an App State record and tying the Sun Belt record for most INTs by a team. Duck’s first two interception returns of 15 yards and 39 yards set up two touchdowns, including the go-ahead touchdown with 5:45 remaining, and his third interception occurred inside the App State 25 with 1:16 left to seal the win. His first career sack resulted in a third-down loss of 11 yards to force a punt.

CMU DB Sean Bunting

Sean Bunting, Central Michigan, DB, So., Clinton Township, Mich.

Bunting made a key special teams play that turned the game in a 26-23 win at Ohio. Bunting returned a missed field goal 60 yards for a touchdown with no time on the clock to pull Central Michigan within one point of Ohio, 14-13, entering halftime. Bunting, also a starting cornerback, had nine tackles against the Bobcats.