Week 1 didn’t disappoint as we saw plenty of breakout performances from players across the Group of Five. Records were already broken and players shined in debuts with their new teams.
Here are our top G5 performers from Week 1.
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
What more is there to say? The numbers and highlights speak for themselves. There’s a reason Jeanty was already hitting the Heisman pose following one of his school-record six touchdowns on the day. Georgia Southern defenders were eating stiff arms and bouncing off the 5-foot-9, 215-pound running back all afternoon while he rushed for 267 yards — another school record — on just 20 carries. Jeanty proved once again why he’s elite and should be in consideration for the top RB in the country.
He’s someone who can easily make this list weekly.
Chandler Morris & Damon Ward Jr., North Texas
Morris shined in his debut for the Green Wave, passing for 415 yards and three TDs with zero interceptions while rushing for 17 yards and two scores. The TCU transfer dealt with injuries his two years with the Horned Frogs but didn’t take long to flash his potential in the Mean Green’s 52-38 win over South Alabama.
Morris connected with Ward on 12 completions that went for 230 yards and two scores. Ward has gradually increased his production in his three seasons with UNT and has set himself up nicely to eclipse 1,000 yards on the year. This is a duo to watch out for in the AAC this year.
Terion Stewart, Bowling Green
I don’t know how anyone can tackle Stewart. He might be the shiftiest RB in the country. That was on full display during his 161 yard, three TD performance during the Falcons’ season-opening win over Fordham. He averaged 11.4 yards per carry.
Stewart was tabbed second-team All-MAC last season even though Taron Keith had a ton of carries as well. With Keith gone, Stewart should be even more productive this fall. This was just a glimpse of what to expect going forward from Stewart and what’s anticipated to be an exciting Bowling Green offense.
Jackson Woodard And Jalen Catalon, UNLV
This duo led UNLV’s defense during an impressive effort against Houston. Woodard lived in the backfield and had 11 total tackles (seven solo) as well as three sacks and four tackles for loss. The senior linebacker was tabbed the Mountain West Player of the Week and got a strong start on his quest for being the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Catalon finished with four total tackles, two interceptions, and one pass breakup, including a pick-six that all but deflated the Cougars’ chances of a comeback.
Houston was held to 247 yards of total offense and just 38 rushing yards. It didn’t score until there was one minute remaining in the game.
Anthony Tyus III, Ohio
Syracuse doesn’t have the best defense in the ACC by any means, but Tyus still shredded a Power Four defense. The Northwestern transfer rushed for 203 yards and two TDs on just 16 carries. He averaged 12.7 YPC and had 14 missed tackles. Tyus should be relied on more going forward and can become the focal point of this offense. The Bobcats may have lost, but Tyus’ performance is promising, especially considering expectations weren’t high for the Bobcats’ offense heading into the season. We weren’t sure who would be the go-to guy for Ohio, but we may have found out.
