Y-Option's Go Go Go Awards - Week 9
Our distinct take on college football weekly awards and as always, seen through the lens of the West Coast
Week 9 on the West Coast saw a mix of old and new as the college football world continues to evolve. Oregon State & Cal played a non-conference game while Washington/Indiana, Houston/Utah and Wake Forest/Stanford all counted as conference games. #1 Oregon kept it rolling, USC & Cal snapped losing their streaks and Colorado and Washington State entered the Top 25.
A reminder on what these awards are: they will honor the top players and coaches of the week through the eyes of the West Coast. The 4 honors we will give out every week to coaches and players that pump passion into every play and just keep GO GO GO-ing:
“My 5-Star QB” - whether or not you were a 5-star recruit out of high school, you played like one this weekend.
“Go Go Gone” - the most explosive player of the week. Think big chunk plays as explosives and turnovers are the biggest predictor of wins and losses.
“That Dude!” - player who made an impact on either side of the ball. Not always about your numbers on the stat sheet.
“Headset Hero” - either a head coach or assistant coach who had their team ready and/or made the right in-game adjustments
Here are our Week 9 winners as we keep you in the know and on the GO GO GO!
“My 5-Star QB” - Cal QB Fernando Mendoza
In the fall of 2021, Cal had their 4-Star QB recruit flip his commitment to UCLA, leaving a hole in their recruiting class. Bill Musgrave, then the Bears offensive coordinator, got a tip from a friend who was mentoring a little-known QB in Miami, the #134 quarterback in the Class of 2022 named Fernando Mendoza who was committed to Yale. After an informal throwing session turned into a scholarship offer, Mendoza flipped from the Ivy League to the Pac-12 the day before signing day.
The Saturday against Oregon State, in his 17th game and 16th start for Cal, the redshirt sophomore had the best statistical game of his career. A career-high 364 passing yards with 299 of them coming in the 1st half. Completed a career-high 75% of his passes (27-36) with 10.11 yards per attempt, the 2nd highest of his career. And threw for 2 scores without an interception while also adding his first ever receiving touchdown - receiving a lateral from Jaivian Thomas after Thomas caught a pass from Mendoza.
Mendoza’s efforts also helped Cal snap a heartbreaking losing streak that saw the Bears lose 4 straight games by a combined 9 points in their first 4 conference games in the ACC. And they did it by beating Oregon State in a non-conference game, the first time they’ve faced each other while not in the same conference since 1960 (Cal was part of the AAWU while OSU was independent).
“Go Go Gone” - USC WR Makai Lemon
A top 50 recruit in the Class of 2023 out of nearby Los Alamitos, Makai Lemon was destined to be a big playmaker for his hometown Trojans. As a true freshman last season he saw limited action but flashed promise and connection with Miller Moss in the bowl game victory over Louisville, with 2 catches for 75 yards.
The 2024 season had gotten off to a slow start with just 7 catches through USC’s first 5 games. But he set career highs in back-to-back games, first with 6 catches for 73 yards against Penn State and then grabbing 8 balls at Maryland for 89 yards.
Lemon saved his most explosive performance though for Friday Night Lights at the Coliseum, in a game broadcast on FOX following one of the most dramatic games in World Series, taking place just a few miles away at Chavez Ravine. The fireworks started in the 1st quarter with the Trojans already up 7-3, Lemon, in his first game as the team’s primary kick returner, grabbed a kickoff at the goal line and returned it 80 yards, setting up one of Woody Marks’ 3 rushing TD. Then in the 3rd quarter after Rutgers closed the lead to 8, Lemon caught a crossing route off of play-action and weaved back and forth across the field for another 70 yards to set up a Miller Moss touchdown run. 2 drives later, it Lemon again, this time grabbing a pass across the middle and outracing the defense to the end zone for a 40-yard score to put the Scarlett Knights away and snap a 3-game losing streak.
The sophomore finished the game with 4 catches for a new career-high 134 yards with a score and another 122 yards on 3 kickoff returns.
“That Dude!” - Washington State DL Ansel Din-Mbuh
Washington State is 7-1 for the first time since 2018 and the offense led by quarterback John Mateer is rightfully getting a lions share of the attention. But Saturday night, the defense played a huge role in the Cougars comeback victory over San Diego State. The D racked up a season-high 8 TFL and 4 sacks, the most for Jake Dickert’s squad since they had 5 sacks against Colorado last season including 4 of Shedeur Sanders.
Sophomore Ansel Din-Mbuh led the way with a career-high 3 sacks and 4 TFL. Din-Mbuh, who picked up his first 1.5 sacks of his career just the week prior against Hawai’i, got it started in the 1st quarter when he dropped SDSU quarterback Danny O’Neil for a 7-yard loss. Then in the 2nd quarter, with Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson now in at QB, Din-Mbuh picked up his 2nd sack with a 6-yard loss on a drive that ended with a turnover on downs. His final sack came in the 3rd quatter, a 1-yard loss with O’Neil back in the game. Din-Mbuh became the 1st Cougar with 3 sacks in a game since 2022.
“Headset Hero” - BYU Head Coach Kalani Sitake
In the illustrious history of BYU football, the Cougars have started a season 8-0 five times. Kalani Sitake can now say he was the head coach of 2 of those 5 squads, matching his start from the 2020 season, a team that finished 11-1. In fact, Sitake joins legendary BYU coach LaVell Edwards as the only head coaches in program history to have multiple 8-0 starts.
The Cougars picked up a 37-24 win at UCF on Saturday to improve to 5-0 in Big 12 play in a game where the 3-4 Knights were actually 2.5 point favorites. BYU jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter and were up 34-10 entering the 4th before UCF scored 2 touchdowns to make the final result seem closer than the game actually was. Sitake’s squad put up 480 total yards, their 2nd highest output of the season and most against an FBS team this season. Meanwhile the defense held the Knights to 379 yards, UCF’s 2nd lowest output of the season. BYU also possessed the ball for over 40 minutes (40:28), their highest TOP since 2015 at UCLA.
BYU has scored 34 or more points in 6 straight games, the first time they’ve done that since 1996. And now ranked 9th in the AP Top 25, the Cougars will get this weekend off before facing their in-state rival Utah, who will also be coming off a bye, in their first meeting as conference foes since 2010 when both were in the Mountain West Conference. Sitake is just 1-4 against his mentor Kyle Whittingham in the rivalry but did win the last meeting in 2021 in Provo.
The usual round of interesting choices supported by compelling narratives. I enjoy reading these on Monday mornings.
Wazzu 7-1, who would have thought that early in the year. Go Cougs!