And just like that it’s over…the college football regular
season ended yesterday and is it just me or did this season fly by? Feels like
just yesterday I was excited for the opening night matchup with North Carolina
vs South Carolina and now it’s time to start preparing for the college football
playoff. The rankings were finally released today and unlike last year, there
was very little controversy with the 4 teams selected. The committee ranked the
top 4 as follows:
1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Michigan State
4. Oklahoma
I can’t knock these rankings. I mean, some people mentioned
the notion of the committee purposely seeding it this way so that a potential
Alabama – Oklahoma match-up could possibly happen in the title game, but that’s
as close to controversy you had. Based off of the resume, Michigan State should
have moved to 3. Now chairman of the committee Jeff Long mentioned that these 4
teams were CLEARLY the ones who would make the playoff and no other teams were
seriously considered. Now, that I can’t be definite about from my perspective.
Basically I think these 4 teams are the most deserving, however you could make
arguments for a few others. Ohio State and Iowa had 1 loss all season long,
both to the BIG 10 champs and each loss by 3 points. Oklahoma’s loss was to a 5
win Texas team so I can see why some would think they wouldn’t deserve to be
there. Stanford, who won the PAC 12 by destroying USC was another team whose
name came up a lot but with 2 losses, I can’t make an argument for them. All in
all, I think the committee did a solid job with the selection and it should
provide us with 3 GREAT games, and great match-ups. We’ll take a couple weeks to
review before we make our final picks but I could see it going a number of
ways.
And the Heisman trophy goes to…
The Heisman trophy will be awarded on Saturday and several
names have been mentioned as possible favorites for the award. Crazy how a few
weeks ago, people thought this award should have already been mailed to Baton
Rouge with Leonard Fournett’s name on it but after a few subpar games and back
to back to back losses, that’s definitely changed. To win the Heisman, you must
show excellence throughout the season, not just the first 6 weeks. With that
said, my Heisman breakdown goes like this…
1. Deshaun Watson – If you go back and look at the
first blog of the year, Watson was my pick and throughout the year, he
validated that selection. There’s been times I’ve watched him play where I just
felt like he would not let his team lose. Without him, Clemson would have 3 or
4 losses. He is bigtime and can do it all, from throwing to running. And I hate
when people think of him as a runner. He is as good a thrower as there is in
the country, running is just a bonus. This is why he will be holding that
trophy on Saturday. And probably a year from now as well!
2. Christian McCaffrey - Talk about doing it all. Christian closed
his Heisman campaign yesterday by
running, receiving, and passing for a touchdown in leading Stanford to a rout
of USC. USC really isn’t that good but still, to do what he has done all year
is tremendous. To break a record that has been around since Barry Sanders is an
incredible feat. Though I don’t think he’ll win it, he still had a great year!
3. Derrick Henry – As great a player as I think he
is, and as much as I think he means to that Alabama program, it’s hard for me
to give an award to a running back who’s not the best running back in the country. If not for a couple of
losses, Dalvin Cook would be in New York because he is the best RB in the
nation. Henry is bigtime and has carried Alabama for moments this year but I
think any back could do well in that system as we have seen over the years.
Great player, but he shouldn’t be any higher than 3rd on this list.
--D-Will
Well it
turns out that the very thing that I didn’t think would happen, happened….
Oklahoma is in the College Football Playoff. Now why I can admit that they do
look like one of the 4 best teams in the country right now, I just don’t think
their resume reflects that. I don’t think a Week 5 loss to Texas, struggling with
Baylor and their back up QB, and beating TCU with their backup QB by 1 exactly
screams that they’re a dominant team. You put asterisks by those wins and what’s
their most impressive victory? Oklahoma State? The same Oklahoma State that
lost to Baylor’s backup QB the week before. So who deserves to be in, you ask?
I honestly would rather see 2 Big 10 teams make it. I think that Ohio State
passes the eye test, maybe even more so than Oklahoma, and their only loss is a
3pt loss to possibly the hottest team in the country. Not to mention they’re
the defending champs. I actually think that Ohio State’s resume looks better
this year than it did last year. Last year they lost to Virginia Tech and still
made the playoff, this year they beat that same Virginia Tech team by 20 and
lose to a MUCH better team in Michigan State but miss the cut. And not to
mention, the Michigan victory is more impressive than any win on Oklahoma’s
schedule. But hey, what do I know? I’m a basketball guy……
Heisman Race
1. Derrick
Henry- I actually think that before Conference Championship week, this race
wasn’t close. I think Henry had run away with it, pun intended. Here’s why.
After their loss to Ole Miss, in which he had 23 carries, I think Nick Saban
put his foot down and had Lane Kiffin put the team on Henry’s back and they
reeled off 10 straight wins in typical Alabama fashion. Henry averaged 33
carries per game (in conference) after that Alabama loss. The success of their
team and the fate of their season LITERALLY depended on his legs and he
delivered in a major way. Mark Ingram was the last Running Back to win the
Heisman and Derrick Henry has out rushed him by 328 yards and scored 6 more TD’s.
I think he’ll be hoisting the trophy in NYC this weekend.
2. Deshaun
Watson- Best player on the best team and as D-Will alluded to, he has
intangibles that has helped his team have an undefeated regular season. But,
has he really been THAT impressive? Clemson’s schedule is mediocre at BEST. I
can really only look at 3 games to get an accurate read on what he can do
against decent to good competition. And as much as D Will doesn’t like it, he’s
a running QB that has a decent arm. Not an elite passer that has the ability to
run. There’s a difference. In big games this year, he depended more on his legs
than his arm. But let’s look at the 3 games worth noting on their schedule.
Notre Dame, he went 10-21 for 84 yards 2 TD’s and 1 INT and rushed for 16
rushes for 93 yards and a TD. Nothing really jumps off the page there, besides
the fact that he can run. Florida State, 28-42 297 yards and 1 TD, 16 rushes
for 107 yards, again..he can run. North Carolina, which is when I think he
gained a little ground on Henry. Big game, a spot in the Playoff on the line.
He goes 26-42 289 yards, 3 TD’s, 1 INT AND 24 rushes for 131 yards, 2 TD’s. Now
that’s a Heisman performance. But one game vs 10 games for Henry where he had
that type of production. I think Deshaun Watson will have to wait until next
year to join the Heisman fraternity.
3. Christian McCaffrey
4. Leonard
Fournette
5. Keenan
Reynolds
-Jalynn
So there you have it. 2 similar, yet VERY different thoughts and takes on the Heisman race and CFB selections. One thing I hate about this time, is that we have to wait 3 weeks to see these games happen! I want it NOW! But in reality, if we want the best product, I guess we need to let these teams rest and heal up. I can't say enough about how this seaosn FLEW by, but I can't wait for the bowl season to kick off. I'm sure we'll pick some of the most intriguing games and discuss them later, right after Watson wins his Heisman this weekend.
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