UCLA's Wayne Knight tops On3's Week 6 transfer impact list ahead of Wisconsin

UCLA running back Wayne Knight is first in On3's latest ranking of transfer portal impact players. He earned the spot by carrying the Bruins' offense through a hard road win at Oregon after starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the game injured.

In its Week 6 transfer portal impact rankings, On3's Pete Nakos reports that the James Madison transfer ran for 103 yards on 22 carries. Knight scored once on the ground and once as a receiver. On3 called his performance critical to the win and said UCLA "yet again turned to" Knight on a day when the offense had to grind. The outlet also presented the game as payback for Knight, whose James Madison team faced Oregon in the College Football Playoff.

The win kept UCLA unbeaten at 5-0 and ranked No. 12. The Bruins host Wisconsin (4-1) on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. EDT on NBC. On3 did not say how serious Iamaleava's injury is. Until UCLA gives an update on its quarterback, its offense is likely to lean on Knight even more against a Badgers team that has lost only once.

UCLA is a narrow favorite. On Novig, one of the venues pricing the game, the Bruins are -147 on the moneyline. The spread is UCLA -2.5 and the total is 46.5. The best sportsbook price on UCLA is -140 at FanDuel. For a 5-0 team at home, those numbers show a market that sees this as close to even, possibly because of the uncertainty at quarterback. Full prices are on the Wisconsin at UCLA odds page.

Two other Big Ten players made On3's top 10. Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh, a Michigan State transfer, came in third after a big fourth quarter in the Hoosiers' 20-17 comeback win at Nebraska. He caught touchdown passes of 75 and 44 yards in the final period and finished with six catches for 187 yards. The 44-yarder came from quarterback Josh Hoover on fourth-and-1, on the drive that won the game. Marsh was wide open on the play.

Purdue running back Fame Ijeboi was 10th after what On3 called the best game of his college career, which came against his former team, Minnesota. Ijeboi ran 31 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Purdue is now 2-1 in conference play.

The rest of the list came from outside the Big Ten. Kentucky placed two players: quarterback Kenny Minchey was second and running back CJ Baxter was sixth after the Wildcats beat No. 10 LSU 35-34 in overtime. For the second week in a row, Minchey ran in the winning two-point conversion in overtime. Houston tight end Patrick Overmyer was fourth after catching four touchdown passes, which tied the FBS single-game record for a tight end. Oklahoma running back Lloyd Avant, Missouri defensive lineman Donta Simpson Jr., Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson and Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez rounded out the list.

For UCLA, the ranking confirms how much the offense depends on Knight. With a ranked, unbeaten season on the line and an injured quarterback, Saturday night may depend on him again.