Three true freshman quarterbacks stepped into the national spotlight this past weekend.
Marshall's Chase Litton and Boise State's Brett Rypien turned in two of the best passing performances of the season, and Jake Browning became the fifth Washington quarterback in 20 years to pass for four touchdowns.
Litton went 33 for 48 for 486 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 34-10 win at Charlotte. He's 7-0 since taking over as the Thundering Herd's starter in the third game. The 6-foot-6, 207-pounder is completing 60 percent of his passes and has thrown 14 touchdowns against four interceptions.
Rypien passed for a Mountain West Conference freshman-record 469 yards to lead Boise State in a 55-27 victory over UNLV. The nephew of Washington Redskins 1992 Super Bowl MVP Mark Rypien threw two touchdowns and caught another. He's completing 66 percent of his passes, averaging 290 yards a game and has thrown 12 TDs against four interceptions.
Rypien became the Broncos' first true freshman to play quarterback since 1993 when he entered in the second half of the third game. He's 5-1 as the starter.
Browning, the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Washington, came off a shoulder injury to throw for four TDs and run for another in a 49-3 win over Arizona.
Litton, Rypien and Browning join UCLA's Josh Rosen and BYU's Tanner Magnum as true freshman quarterbacks who have emerged this season.
Ball State's Riley Neal, Louisville's Lamar Jackson and Syracuse's Eric Dungey also have shown promise.
---
Some other notable statistics:
PICK SIX, AGAIN: UCLA's Ishmael Adams ran back an interception for a touchdown for the third time in his career, one shy of the school record held by Alterraun Verner (2006-09). The 96-yard return against Colorado tied for second-longest in the nation this season and was UCLA's longest since 1994.
PURDUE PICKER: Anthony Brown's three interceptions against Nebraska were the most by a Purdue player since Mike Rose picked off three in a game in 1997. Brown had one interception in his first 41 career games.
KIEL THE REAL DEAL: Cincinnati's Gunnar Kiel went 15 for 15 for 319 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions against Central Florida. His passer efficiency rating of 388.64 was the highest in the season, and his 15 passes without an incompletion were the most by an FBS quarterback in the last 20 years.
COLLINS' CAREER DAY: Arkansas running back Alex Collins tied for most points in a game this season with 30 on five touchdowns against UT Martin. The junior finished with 173 yards and moved to fourth on the school all-time rushing list with 3,086 yards.
SNAPPY OFFENSE: Colorado got off a school-record 114 plays in its 35-31 loss to UCLA. Those plays netted 554 yards. The last team to run more plays was BYU, which got off 115 against Houston on Oct. 19, 2013.
---
AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.