Top 5 Wide Receiver Performances of Week 6 College Football: Malachi Corley, Jacob Cowing, more

Justin's NCAA college football top wide receivers from Week 6 of the 2023 season. Top WR performers include Malachi Corley and Jacob Cowing.

Week 6 of college football is over and we saw a number of impressive performances this week. That includes six wide receivers with at least 150 yards. Of those six, four weren't able to grab a spot on this week's list of top performances. They are Boise State's Eric McAlister, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., Liberty's C.J. Daniels, and South Alabama's Caullin Lacy. Strong games from all of them, but a few guys with lower yardage totals managed to find the end zone more.

One thing I want to do every week here (since there's not an article specifically for them) is shout out the top tight end of the week. This week, we had a lot of really good performances from tight ends. Oregon State's Jack Velling caught three touchdowns, the most of any tight end this week. Georgia's Brock Bowers had 132 receiving yards to lead the position this week.

Below are the top five wide receiver performances from Week 6 of the college football season. These are judged through a combination of statistics, fantasy scoring, and game context, with consideration also given based on the team's offensive systems. Let's take a look at this week's top performances.

5. Miles Cross - Ohio

Ohio junior Miles Cross hadn't even crossed 50 yards in a game yet this season coming into Saturday's 42-17 win over Kent State. But he was unstoppable in the victory, catching seven passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns.

Cross now has 17 receptions for 246 yards and four touchdowns. This week's game helped him surpass his touchdown number from last season, and he's now on track to break his 560 yards from last season as well. He's currently second on the Bobcats in receptions and yards, trailing Sam Wiglusz, who has caught 25 passes for 248 yards through five games.

4. Jalen Royals - Utah State

I wrote about Utah State's Jalen Royals last week when he caught seven passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns in a win over UConn. It was the first 100-yard game of Royals' career.

Well, he's now got two of them. On Saturday, Royals brought in six passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the Aggies' win over Colorado State.

These last two games have been remarkable. Royals played in 12 games last season but didn't record a reception. This season, he's already caught 32 passes for 522 yards and seven touchdowns. He's tied for sixth in the country in touchdown receptions -- notably, his teammate Terrell Vaughn is one of the players that he's tied with.

3. Jermaine Burton - Alabama

Alabama's offense just hasn't looked like Alabama's offense this season. The team sits 55th in points scored per game right now; last year, the Crimson Tide were fourth.

But the offense did enough on Saturday to take down Texas A&M, with the Tide winning 26-20. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton was a huge part of that, as he caught nine passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Both scores came in the third quarter, with the first one tying the game and the second putting Alabama ahead, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

It was a great game from Burton, who played just nine snaps the week before against Mississippi State as the team worked to keep him healthy. He was reportedly "a little banged up," according to head coach Nick Saban.

2. Jacob Cowing - Arizona

Arizona's Jacob Cowing only finished with 88 receiving yards against USC on Saturday, but he earns the second spot on this list because he caught four touchdown passes in the Wildcats' triple-overtime loss to USC. He becomes the second receiver this season with a four-touchdown game, joining Ole Miss' Tre Harris, who had four scores in Week 1 against Mercer.

On a personal level, I love to see Cowing have a strong game. I followed the early part of his career closely when he played three productive seasons at UTEP, which included a 1,300-yard season in 2021 with the Miners. He transferred to Arizona last year and had another 1,000-yard season.

He's on track for fewer yards this year, with just 387 through six games. His 8.4 yards per reception are a career-low. But he's also caught eight touchdowns, his most in a season. Cowing's being used in different ways this season, but he's still been productive for the Wildcats.

1. Malachi Corley - Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky's Malachi Corley led the FBS in receiving yards this week, catching eight passes for 207 yards and three touchdowns in the team's 35-28 win over Louisiana Tech. It was the second time this season that he's gone over 100 yards in a game.

Corley, who's in his fourth year with the Hilltoppers, had six 100-yard games last season, but this is the first time he's gone over 200 in a single game. After a slow start to the year that saw him catch just four passes in the team's season-opening win over South Florida, he's had at least eight catches and 80 yards in each of the team's subsequent four games.

Last year, Corley caught 101 passes for 1,295 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the team in all three categories. This year, he's currently leading the way in all three things again. Corley's been one of the most productive wide receivers in the nation over the last two years.

More College Football Analysis