AP Player of the Week: North Texas' Drew Mestemaker set conference record with 608 yards passing
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10:22 AM on Monday, October 27
By The Associated Press
The Associated Press national player of the week in football for Week 9 of the season:
The redshirt freshman passed for an American Conference-record 608 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-20 win at Charlotte on Friday. He completed 37 of 49 passes, with 16 going for 15-plus yards, as the Mean Green improved to 7-1 for the first time since 1977.
Mestemaker threw for the most yards by a Football Bowl Subdivision player since K.J. Costello passed for 623 yards for Mississippi State against LSU in 2020. The total was second-highest by a freshman or redshirt freshman in FBS history behind David Neill's 611 for Nevada against New Mexico State in 1998.
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 91 yards and two scores in a 41-16 win over Syracuse. King completion rate of 80.6% (25 of 31) was a program record for a QB with a minimum of 30 attempts.
King’s 304 passing yards, three touchdown passes and 395 yards of total offense were season highs. He has a passing TD and rushing TD in 15 of his 31 career games.
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed passed for two touchdowns and ran for two in a 49-25 win at LSU. Reed passed for 202 yards and rushed for 108. ... Pittsburgh QB Mason Heintschel set a freshman school record by passing for 423 yards in a 53-34 win over North Carolina State. Heintschel passed for three TDs, including an 84-yard strike to Blue Hicks. ... Texas QB Arch Manning set career-highs in completions (29 of 46) and passing yards (346) in a 45-38 overtime win over Mississippi State. He threw for three TDs and ran for another. ... Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar threw for 396 yards and three touchdowns in Tennessee's 56-34 win over Kentucky. ... Navy QB Blake Horvath rushed for four touchdowns in a 42-32 win over Florida Atlantic. He rushed for 174 yards and passed for 83.
— North Texas has scored in 29 consecutive quarters, including overtime periods. The Mean Green's last scoreless quarter was the first against Western Michigan on Sept. 8. They've scored in 32 of a possible 34 quarters and OTs.
— Southern California leads the nation with points on 61.8% of its offensive series. The Trojans have 35 touchdowns and 12 field goals on 76 possessions. They also have two defensive touchdowns.
— Ohio State has allowed 117 second-half points over 23 games since last season, an FBS-best average of 5.1 per game.
— Kam Perry of Miami (Ohio) has had at least one reception of 50-plus yards in five of his last seven games. Nine of his 22 catches (41%) have gone for 30-plus yards.
— SMU leads the nation with 116 sacks since 2023 and has recorded at least one in 35 of its last 36 games.
— Kent State (3-5) has the nation's longest road losing streak, 18 games. The Golden Flashes have three opportunities left this season to break it, at Ball State (3-5) on Nov. 5, at Akron (3-6) on Nov. 11 or at Northern Illinois (2-6) on Nov. 28.
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AP voters: Aaron Beard, Cliff Brunt, Maura Carey, Pat Graham, Stephen Hawkins, Steve Megargee, John Marshall, Eric Olson, Eddie Pells.
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