Sportsvival’s Week 9 Impact HVAC Player of the Week: Rasheem Biles, LB, Texas
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Quarterbacks, running backs and receivers delivered plenty of memorable performances during Week 9, but this week’s award belongs to a linebacker who repeatedly wrecked the opposing offense.
Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles is Sportsvival’s Week 9 Impact HVAC Player of the Week, earning the honor with a dominant performance in the Longhorns’ 31-3 victory over Mississippi State. Biles finished with eight tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles. His three sacks established a career high, and one of his forced fumbles became a Texas touchdown.
The Performance
Final Score: Texas 31, Mississippi State 3
Rasheem Biles: Eight tackles, four solo, four tackles for loss totaling 27 yards, three sacks totaling 26 yards and two forced fumbles.
Biles supplied the signature play late in the second quarter. With Mississippi State trailing 10-0 and having reached Texas territory, he stripped quarterback AJ Swann on a sack. Defensive lineman Maraad Watson recovered the football and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown, extending the Longhorns’ lead to 17-0 with 1:13 remaining before halftime.
That sequence changed the direction of the game. Mississippi State had an opportunity to cut into the deficit before the break. Instead, Biles helped turn that possession into seven points for Texas.
He remained disruptive after halftime, adding a third sack early in the fourth quarter to help force a three-and-out. Texas followed with its final touchdown drive. The Longhorns finished with seven sacks and held Mississippi State to a season-low 187 total yards.
Why Biles Earns the Award
Sportsvival believes the strongest part of Biles’ performance was the combination of production and consequence. His tackles behind the line created difficult situations for Mississippi State, while his ability to attack the football produced opportunities beyond simply ending a play.
Three sacks would have made this an outstanding afternoon. Adding four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles made it a complete defensive performance.
Biles consistently gave Texas the advantage in the backfield. His pressure helped prevent the Bulldogs from establishing rhythm, and his biggest play directly created a touchdown. In a week filled with impressive offensive numbers, that level of defensive influence deserves the spotlight.
From Pitt to Texas
Biles’ rise should be familiar to football fans in Pittsburgh. The Columbus, Ohio, native spent three seasons at Pitt from 2023 through 2025 before transferring to Texas in the spring of 2026.
His development has been particularly interesting because linebacker was not his original position. He primarily played running back, receiver and wildcat quarterback before moving to safety during his senior year of high school. His first season at Pitt marked his introduction to playing linebacker exclusively.
Biles developed into a third-team All-ACC selection in 2024 and earned second-team recognition in 2025. He arrived at Texas with significant expectations, including preseason first-team All-America recognition and a place on several major defensive award watch lists.
For Sportsvival readers who followed him with the Panthers, his success at Texas represents another chapter in a development story that began much closer to home.
Building an Outstanding Senior Season
Through eight games, Biles had collected 61 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions and three forced fumbles. He also had four pass breakups.
His Mississippi State performance earned him another SEC Defensive Player of the Week honor, following recognition for his work against Ole Miss the previous week. He was also named a Butkus Award semifinalist on October 28.
Those numbers show the range of his contributions. Biles has produced against the run, reached quarterbacks and taken the football away in coverage. Opposing offenses have to account for him in several different ways.
NFL Draft Outlook
Sportsvival believes Biles’ versatility makes him an intriguing linebacker to evaluate for the 2027 NFL Draft.
His performance against Mississippi State gives evaluators an opportunity to study his timing as a blitzer, his ability to finish behind the line and his awareness of the football when closing on a quarterback. His interception production adds another important part to the evaluation.
The next step is consistency. NFL teams will examine how reliably he diagnoses plays, handles blockers and maintains his coverage responsibilities against different offensive approaches. This game offers a strong example of the disruptive impact he can provide.
Week 9’s Five Runners-Up
1) Nate Sheppard, RB, Duke
Final Score: Duke 47, Boston College 2
Statistics: 20 carries, 97 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns; one reception for 32 yards.
Sheppard delivered one of the week’s most remarkable scoring performances, establishing Duke’s single-game record with five rushing touchdowns. His scores covered one, two, 54, four and one yards, and he had all five before the end of the third quarter.
The 54-yard touchdown demonstrated his ability to create an explosive play, while his short scoring runs repeatedly finished possessions. His performance helped Duke secure bowl eligibility for a fifth consecutive season. Five trips to the end zone made Sheppard a serious challenger for this week’s award.
2) LaNorris Sellers, QB, South Carolina
Final Score: South Carolina 42, Oklahoma 25
Statistics: 19-of-24 passing, 301 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions; 96 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Sellers generated 397 combined passing and rushing yards and accounted for five touchdowns in South Carolina’s road victory.
His ability to threaten Oklahoma through the air and on the ground gave the Gamecocks multiple ways to attack. The interceptions are part of the evaluation, but so is his responsibility for five scores against a defense that entered the game with strong national numbers. Sportsvival believes this was one of the week’s most influential quarterback performances.
3) Aiden Flora, RB, Iowa State
Final Score: Iowa State 51, Oklahoma State 49
Statistics: 29 carries, 221 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Flora delivered a career-high rushing total in a game where Iowa State needed every bit of its offensive production. He averaged 7.6 yards per carry and scored on runs of 75 and 29 yards.
His 221 rushing yards were the most by an FBS player that weekend. In a two-point victory, his combination of workload and explosive gains made him essential to the Cyclones’ success.
4) Jamal Roberts, RB, Missouri
Final Score: Missouri 34, Arkansas 10
Statistics: 23 carries, 138 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown; three receptions, 20 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.
Our Week 5 Impact HVAC Player of the Week returned to the conversation with another productive performance.
Roberts supplied 158 yards from scrimmage and scored both on the ground and through the air. His ability to carry a substantial rushing workload while contributing as a receiver helped Missouri turn its opportunities into a convincing road victory.
5) Tre Richardson, WR, Louisville
Final Score: Louisville 52, Stanford 24
Statistics: 10 receptions for 140 yards; four carries for 49 yards.
Richardson accumulated 189 yards on 14 offensive touches, matching his career high with 10 receptions.
His receiving production provided Louisville with a dependable target, and his rushing contributions gave the Cardinals another way to put the football in his hands. Louisville finished with 545 total yards, and Richardson’s involvement across the offense earned him a place among this week’s five runners-up.
Congratulations to Our Week 9 Winner
Congratulations to Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles, Sportsvival’s Week 9 Impact HVAC Player of the Week!
Sheppard’s five touchdowns, Sellers’ five-score performance and Flora’s 221 rushing yards made this a competitive week. Biles earns the honor because of the way he disrupted possessions, attacked the football and helped turn defense into points.
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