2017 Week 13 college football players to watch

After three games of so-so performances, Barkley woke back up against Nebraska. He ran for 158 yards and 3 touchdowns after gaining just 142 yards on the ground the prior three weeks combined. Barkley even had 60 yards receiving against the Huskers as well. Last season, he torched the Terps, rushing for 202 yards and a touchdown, and could be in line for another big day against Maryland. 

Last year's Ohio State-Michigan game may have been the best ever in the rivalry, and Barrett was a big part of it. He only threw for 124 yards and no touchdowns, but he ran 30 times for 125 yards including a TD in overtime. In the year since, Barrett has set the Big Ten record for touchdown passes with 101, and the Buckeyes may have the best chance, outside of Auburn, of the two-loss teams to make the playoff. In his three previous games against the Wolverines, he's fun for 353 yards and 6 TDs. 

When this season started, the Florida State-Florida game looked like a doozy with playoff ramifications. Instead, Florida fired its head coach and Florida State decided to reschedule its canceled game against Louisiana-Monroe because the Seminoles aren't going to a bowl anyway. Many feel that it all fell apart when Deondre Francois was injured in the opener against Alabama. Blackman hasn't been great, but he hasn't been bad. He's inconsistent but also never expected to start as a freshman. This is his final big moment of the year before a season of a quarterback controversy.

There figures to be a lot of running when Georgia and Georgia Tech meet in the 112th "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" game. Both teams love to run the football, but the Bulldogs may have the best of the bunch. Chubb has rushed for over 1,000 yards for the third time in his Georgia career and is coming off his best game of the season: a two-touchdown, 151-yard outing against Kentucky. Georgia is still alive in the playoff chase and would love a quality showing here. 

Even though Falk has had an up-and-down season (which even saw his benching), he has the Cougars a win away from playing USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Over the last two games since his benching, Falk has thrown for 648 yards and 6 TDs. He is second in the Pac-12 in passing and going up against Washington and the top pass defense in the conference.  

Flowers was my preseason AAC Player of the Year, and he hasn't disappointed. Going into a huge showdown with undefeated UCF this Friday, Flowers may not boast his counterpart's passing stats, but his rushing has been phenomenal. He's run for 870 yards and 9 TDs this season, and while his numbers have taken a dive from his junior season (the emergence of running back Darius Tice has led to that), his leadership has not been questioned. A win over UCF in a nationally televised game puts the Bulls in the AAC Championship Game against Memphis. 

The Crimson Tide do have a backfield by committee thing going on of late, but if Alabama wants to scoot past Auburn and onto the SEC Championship Game, Harris, their leading rusher, needs to come up big. He has only run the ball 23 times over the last three weeks for 158 yards, and 48 of that came on one run. Against a Tigers team that is putting up points of late, Alabama needs to grind out a win, and Harris is the perfect back to do so. 

Miami's ascension to a possible playoff team has coincided with Travis Homer's ability to slide into Mark Walton's shoes after he went down with a season-ending injury. Homer has been great over the last six weeks, rushing for at least 95 yards in five of those games. He busted out for 170 in a one-point win over Georgia Tech, and the U's defense overshadowed his 146 yards against Notre Dame. Miami has a huge game at Pitt this week before playing in the ACC title game.

Johnson has been one of my favorite players all season. He's rushed for 1,172 yards and 16 TDs and caught two touchdowns despite missing games against Clemson and Mercer. Only twice all year has he been held to under 115 yards rushing, and he has scored in every games he's played in. He gets to go up against one of best defensive teams Alabama has put out there with an SEC West title on the line. Auburn is scary good right now and could nab a playoff berth with a win here and in the SEC title game. 

Quick, who is leading the SEC in passing yards? The answer is Missouri's Drew Lock, and it isn't close. Lock has thrown 700 more yards than anyone else in the SEC. The Tigers play Arkansas in CBS's SEC game on Friday, and while that may seem like a dud of a game, Mizzou has won five straight after starting the season 1-5. The Tigers have averaged 52 points per game during that win streak, and Lock has averaged 305 yards passing in that stretch. 

The Yellow Jackets love running the ball, and Marshall is a great quarterback for the triple option. He's only completed 38 percent of his passes, but he's leading Georgia Tech with 1,074 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns. He and KirVonte Benson are a great backfield combo, making for a dangerous team for Georgia this Saturday. Tech has won two of three against UGA but hasn't beaten the Bulldogs in Atlanta since 1999. 

Milton and the Knights have had a fantastic season. A win over South Florida this Friday gives them an undefeated regular season and a spot against Memphis in the AAC Championship Game. Win that and a New Year's Six bowl game is on tap. Milton has been great, throwing 26 TDs this season and just 5 picks. In five of his last six games, he's also rushed for a score. The USF-UCF game will be on ABC this Friday so everyone will get a chance to see how good the Knights can be. 

The Aztecs host New Mexico on Friday, which gives you just two more chances to watch Penny. Last week against Nevada, he rushed for 222 yards, had 131 kickoff return yards, 70 punt return yards and sprinkled in 6 receiving yards. Those 429 all-purpose yards were the most in school history and the top 10 in FBS history. He's had an amazing season and is always must-see viewing. If you are sitting at home while your spouse is out Black Friday-ing, do yourself a favor and tune in to see this Penny shine. He and the Aztecs fans are upset that he was left off the Doak Walker finalists list. It is quite a slight, and I'm sure it will fuel him against New Mexico this weekend.

Phillips is third in the ACC in receiving yards (918) and fourth in receptions (68). Last week against Pitt, he caught eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown in the win. The Hokies face off against rival Virginia for the Commonwealth Cup, which Tech has won a record 13 straight times (and 17 of the last 18 years). 

While the Kentucky-Louisville football rivalry is relatively new (and not as lively as their hoops one), it has had some great games over the years. While everyone knows the Cardinals' Heisman-winning quarterback in this one, you need to know about the Wildcats' Snell. He's second in the SEC in rushing yards and has put up huge games this year. He's had six games of at least 100 yards rushing and hit the 94-yard mark last week against Georgia. In fact, the Georgia game broke a three-game streak in which Snell scored three touchdowns in each game.  

Taylor may be the front-runner for the 2018 Heisman. He's already rushed for 1,657 yards, which is nearly 600 yards more than anyone else in the Big Ten. He's averaging 150 yards per game for the undefeated Badgers. Last week against Michigan, he rushed for 132 yards against one of the more stingy defenses. As Wisconsin gets into some big upcoming games — after this week's trip to Minnesota, the Bagders will play in the Big Ten title game — Taylor should get his due.