College football players of the week: Week 7, 2026
West Virginia's Michael Hawkins Jr. threw for 464 yards, accounted for five touchdowns and drove the Mountaineers to the tying score and the winning field goal in a 45-42 win over Cincinnati. Kentucky's Jordan Castell intercepted Oklahoma twice and returned the second 41 yards for the clinching touchdown, and Auburn's Alex McPherson beat No. 1 Georgia with a 34-yard field goal on the final play.
West Virginia never led until the last play, and Hawkins accounted for five of its six touchdowns without a turnover. After Cincinnati went up 42-35 with 5:35 left, he converted a third-and-10 with a 36-yard pass to Ryan Ward and tied it on a 40-yard touchdown pass to Cam Cook. A 66-yard punt then pinned West Virginia at its own 1 with just over two minutes left; he hit Prince Strachan for 41 and 39 yards, and Jack Cassidy kicked a 35-yard field goal as time expired. Houston's Conner Weigman was the close call, with five touchdown passes against No. 18 Oklahoma State, a ranked opponent Cincinnati isn't. Hawkins had 146 more yards, no interceptions and a hand in both late scores. BYU's Bear Bachmeier threw the winning touchdown pass against No. 2 Notre Dame, but with 284 total yards and an interception.
Runner-up: Conner Weigman, Houston: 24 of 33, 343 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT; 11 rushes, 52 yards in a 35-32 win over No. 18 Oklahoma State
Two interceptions: one took points away from Oklahoma and the other decided the game. With Kentucky up 7-3 in the second quarter, Oklahoma ran a fake field goal from the Kentucky 10 and Castell intercepted holder Jacob Ulrich's pass in the end zone. With Kentucky ahead 14-13 and 1:17 left, he picked off John Mateer and returned it 41 yards for a 21-13 lead. Teammate Ty Bryant also had two interceptions, the last with 21 seconds left, but Castell's first stopped a scoring chance and his second put Kentucky up eight. Auburn's Elijah Melendez had nine tackles, a sack and an interception at No. 1 Georgia, the better opponent, but none of his plays swung the game the way Castell's return did.
Runner-up: Elijah Melendez, Auburn: 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 pass breakup in a 27-24 win at No. 1 Georgia
2 of 2 field goals (49 and 34 yards), 3 of 3 extra points; the 34-yarder came on the final play
He beat No. 1 Georgia on the road with a 34-yard field goal as time expired. Georgia had tied it 24-24 with 2:58 left. With 58 seconds to go, Cody Sigler forced a Gunner Stockton fumble and Sylvester Smith-Reed recovered at the Auburn 44; Auburn went 40 yards in five plays and McPherson made the kick. His 49-yarder with 1:20 left in the first half had put Auburn ahead 17-14, a few minutes after Auburn blocked a Georgia field goal try at 14-14. San Diego State's Cooper DiLeva made a career-long 53-yarder in the final minute to beat Fresno State and went 4 for 5, but not against the No. 1 team. Northwestern blocked a 33-yard Michigan State try with a minute left in a 21-21 game and won on a 34-yarder with two seconds left, but against a 2-5 team.
Runner-up: Cooper DiLeva, San Diego State: 4 of 5 field goals, including a career-long 53-yarder in the final minute that beat Fresno State 26-23
One player per slot, judged the way the power rankings judge teams: what happened on the field, against whom and where. Production counts, and so does the opponent. A big game against a good defense or on the road beats the same numbers at home against a bad one, and a play that decided the game beats one that padded a lead. A great game in a loss can still win if nothing else comes close.
NFL awards follow the league's format, AFC and NFC, and go up on Tuesday morning, a day before the league names its own. College awards are national and go up on Sunday morning. Where there's an official pick (the NFL's, or Walter Camp's for college offense and defense), it's listed under ours, agree or not.
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