College Football Review

Before the college football season kicked off I wrote an article with my picks on who would make the college football playoff, and a winner and dark horse pick for the Heisman and Chuck Bednarik awards. I had Clemson and Alabama right (no shock there), but I was a little off picking Iowa State and Miami (mind you, the Big Ten was not going to have a fall season at that point, otherwise Ohio State would’ve been in my four instead of Miami). I picked D’Eriq King to win the Heisman, and he had a good season, but won’t end up as a finalist. I picked Jaylen Waddle as my dark horse for the Heisman, and he very well may have been a finalist had he not broken his ankle. For the Bednarik award I picked Dylan Moses to win and Derion Kendrick as my dark horse; both had good seasons, but I don’t think either did enough to take home the award. Here is how I see the CFP finishing out, and how I would vote on the awards if I had a say:

College Football Playoff

I think you’d have to be out of your mind if you actually believe Notre Dame and Ohio State stand a chance. Clemson at full strength just demonstrated that Notre Dame is a fraud (not surprising). It frustrates me that the committee didn’t give Cincinnati half a chance, they went undefeated, they play in a conference that is equal to if not better than the Pac 12 and 90 percent of the ACC, and they have one of the top defenses in college football. It’s a travesty. Ohio State shouldn’t have been allowed in either. They only played 6 games and in their two closest games their “star” Quarterback looked like he was completely lost. I won’t be surprised if Clemson and Alabama have their games won by halftime.

For the Championship I’m taking Alabama over Clemson in one of the highest scoring bowl games ever. Alabama’s defense is not all that good this season, so Clemson’s offense should be able to get going no issue. But Alabama’s offense is a bulldozing train that can’t be stopped. We’ve seen them do it plenty of times this season, they rely on their stars on offense and they just plain outscored their opponents.

Awards

Chuck Bednarik Award

I’m starting with the Bednarik because I did extras for the Heisman. If I understood what I was reading correctly, the people who get to vote on the awards for college football select three players and rank them 1 to 3. So, that’s what I did:

1. LB Zaven Collins (Tulsa)

Collins had a fantastic season despite only playing eight games. It was highlighted by his 4 interceptions (2 returned for touchdowns) and his FBS leading 152 interception return yards. He also had 54 total tackles, 7.5 for loss, 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. His presence for Tulsa was a big reason for them winning six straight games and ending up in the AAC Championship game.

2. Edge Jaelan Phillips (Miami)

Miami was overshadowed by Clemson, Notre Dame and North Carolina, but they had a very good year. Led by D’Eriq King on offense, and Phillips and Quincy Roche on defense. But Phillips was the true star. He finished his 10 game season with 45 tackles, 15.5 for loss and 8 sacks. He was tied for third in tackles for loss and sixth for sacks.

3. S Talanoa Hufanga (USC)

USC was undefeated before they were upended by Oregon in the Pac 12 championship. Most people will point to Kedon Slovis, Graham Harrell and their brilliant offense, but the defense was quietly solid and they were led by Hufanga. The Safety finished the six game season with 62 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 3 sacks, 4 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles.

Heisman

Trying to narrow my list down to just three was very difficult. There were so many players deserving of recognition. So, I narrowed it down to my top three and then added three others that I wanted to put the spotlight on briefly.

1. RB Najee Harris (Alabama)

Jones and Smith were amazing, but Harris was the best player on Alabama’s offense. In 11 games he accounted for 1578 total yards and 27 total touchdowns. He was the focal point in the SEC championship victory with his 245 total yards and 5 touchdowns. He was also the best Running Back in the country. You can put out Breece Hall’s name, he did finish with 28 more total yards than Harris, but he also had six less touchdowns.

2. QB Kyle Trask (Florida)

Trask over Jones, even though Florida lost the SEC championship?! Yes, Trask over Jones. In the same number of games as Jones, he had nearly 400 more yards, 11 more passing touchdowns and only one more interception. Had he played the normal 13 game slate, his stats projected out to 4,875 pass yards, 51 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Last season, in 13 games, Burrow posted 4,715 pass yards, 48 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. How’s that for an answer?

3. WR Devonta Smith (Alabama)

Just like Harris and Trask, Smith was the best player at his position. He had the most receptions (98), the most receiving yards (1,511), and the second most receiving touchdowns (17). Had Waddle stayed healthy we probably wouldn’t be talking about Smith here, but after Waddle went down Smith stepped up in a big way and he deserves some Heisman recognition for everything he accomplished this season.

4. TE Kyle Pitts (Florida)

Has a college Tight End ever had a more prolific season than Pitts? I’m honestly not sure, so if you know please let me know. He only played eight games due to a brutal hit he took against Georgia and he was held out of their last regular season game against LSU. But in those eight games he did start he posted 770 yards, 12 touchdowns and he had 17.9 yards per reception. At a position that usually averages in the 11 to 14 yards range, he eclipsed that by nearly four yards. He was a massive mismatch in size, speed and his ability to run routes. Had he been healthy for all 11 games he would’ve been in my top 3 (projecting out to 1,059 yards and 17 touchdowns).

5. QB Mac Jones (Alabama)

Alright, now we can talk about Mac Jones. I don’t weigh the records in as much as others seem to, which is why he isn’t higher on my list. He did play an integral role in Alabama’s 11-0 season and number 1 ranking, I won’t take that away from him, but statistically he was pretty far behind Trask and that’s why he’s down here. The reason why he ends up higher than some of his peers (like Sam Howell, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Grayson McCall who you’ll see below) is his Passer Rating (202.3), Completion Percentage (76.5) and his Yards Per Attempt (11.4). All were well above the aforementioned and were even above Trask.

6. QB Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina)

McCall is one to keep an eye on. In his first season as CCU’s starter he helped lead them to their 10-0 season, he averaged 10 YPA, had a 69.3 completion rate, 2170 pass yards with 473 rush yards, 29 total touchdowns and a 23-2 touchdown to interception ratio. It was a phenomenal season and I look forward to seeing what he can do in 2021.