The State of College Football: A New Heisman Favorite
This weekend we got our first (of many?) upset in the College Football Playoff and maybe lost our top Heisman contender - which just makes things more exciting. So, this week I give you a guy that SHOULD be getting Heisman attention and look at what the CFP could look like Tuesday night.
Top 25 Rankings
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Cincinnati
4. Oregon
5. Ohio State
6. Oklahoma
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan State
9. Michigan
10. Oklahoma State
11. Wake Forest
12. Texas A&M
13. Ole Miss
14. UTSA
15. Houston
16. BYU
17. Baylor
18. Auburn
19. Iowa
20. NC State
21. Coastal Carolina
22. Wisconsin
23. Penn State
24. Pittsburgh
25. Louisiana
Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week: Aidan O'Connell, Purdue: 40/54, 536 yards, 3 TDs
Defensive Player of the Week: Will Anderson Jr., Alabama: 12 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 TFLs
Freshman of the Week: Trayvon Rudolph, Northern Illinois: 14 catches, 309 yards, 3 TDs
Coach of the Week: Jeff Brohm, Purdue
$100 Handshakes
Quarterback
Sam Howell, North Carolina: 16/26, 216 yards, 1 TD, 104 rushing yards, 2 TDs
Tyler Van Dyke, Miami: 22/34, 389 yards, 3 TDs
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh: 28/43, 416 yards, 3 TDs
Running Back
Ty Chandler, North Carolina: 22 carries, 213 yards, 4 TDs
Tavion Thomas, Utah: 20 carries, 177 yards, 4 TDs
Travis Dye, Oregon: 28 carries, 211 yards, 1 TD
Receiver
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State: 15 catches, 240 yards, 1 TD
Jahan Dotson, Penn State: 11 catches, 242 yards, 3 TDs
David Bell, Purdue: 11 catches, 217 yards, 1 TD
Tight End
Trey McBride, Colorado State: 9 catches, 98 yards
Joel Wilson, Central Michigan: 4 catches, 69 yards, 1 TD
Charlie Kolar, Iowa State: 5 catches, 72 yards
Offensive Line
North Carolina: 330 rushing yards, 6 TDs
Wisconsin: 305 yards, 3 TDs
Utah: 441 rushing yard, 6 TDs
Defensive Line/EDGE
Travon Walker, Georgia: 4 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFLs
Phidarian Mathis, Alabama: 9 tackles, 1 sack, 1.5 TFLs
Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan: 5 tackles, 4 hurries
Linebacker
Ivan Pace Jr., Miami (OH): 18 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 TFLs
Chance Campbell, Ole Miss: 10 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFLs
Devin Lloyd, Utah: 9 tackles, 1 sack, 5 TFLs
Defensive Back
Bryan Cook, Cincinnati: 14 tackles, 1 TFL
Jaylon Jones, Texas A&M: 4 tackles, 1 INT
AJ Finley, Ole Miss: 12 tackles, 2 INTs
Where I Was Right / Where I Was Wrong
Right:
Pitt State University. This weekend the crew from The Draft Scout/Mic’d Up took our talents to Pittsburg, KS for a tailgate at my alma mater Pitt State. The university and students were awesome to work with and did a very good job of promoting and welcoming us. Pitt may not be on the level of LSU or Wisconsin but they're damn close for a D2 school. Also, special thanks to Davey from Miners and Monroe for partnering with us on the tailgate. Use code “micdup10” for 10% off at minersandmonroe.com
Wrong:
I’ve written and spoken about Florida head coach Dan Mullen a time or two this season. Recently the news around Mullen are the hot seat rumors. I’ve said I didn’t think Mullen’s job would be in danger this year - because of the other high profile openings and not being able to find someone better than Mullen - but that might not be true. Florida suffered it’s 5th loss on the season to a not-good South Carolina team. If Mullen can’t right the ship and get the Gators back on track this season, his job could be in jeopardy this year!
Final Thoughts
—Does anyone deserve the Heisman?
Short answer is no. No one has had a Heisman worthy season on the offensive side of the ball but there is one player that is having an extraordinary season on a top ranked team. Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama has been unblockable this season with nine sacks in eight games and 17 tackles for loss. With no offensive player standing out above the rest, it’s time to give a serious look at what Anderson is doing and putting his name in every Heisman conversation.
—Michigan State is OUT! Who is in?
Purdue upset the 3rd ranked Spartans on Saturday and now a new team will find itself in the top four of the College Football Playoff. Oregon will most likely slide up to No. 3 (from fourth) but who will be the next team in? Ohio State beat Nebraska but not nearly as bad as I thought they would. And the same is true for Cincinnati against Tulsa. With neither team playing exceptionally well we could see Oklahoma slip into 4th after a bye week. I think it will be Ohio State at No. 4 on Tuesday night, but the CFP is too unpredictable to be sure.
1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Ohio State
5. Oklahoma
6. Cincinnati
—Another man’s job.
It’s never polite to speak on someone else’s money or job, but that’s kind of part of mine. And the head football coach at Stanford is a job that needs to be talked about. David Shaw has done a very good job at his...job at Stanford but it may be time for the two to part ways. Shaw is making more than $9 million at Stanford and the Cardinal are just 3-6 this season with a terrible performance against Utah on Friday. There will be plenty of job openings this offseason and it may be time for both Shaw to see what else is available.
Week 11 Games to Watch
Michigan @ Penn State, 11:00 CT, ABC
Oklahoma @ Baylor, 11:00 CT, FOX
Purdue @ Ohio State, 2:30 CT, ABC
Texas A&M @ Ole Miss, 6:00 CT, ESPN
Arkansas @ LSU, 6:30 CT, SEC Network
Mello, which of the receiver performances did you find the most impressive? Is Jaxon S-N your top rated WR for next year's class? Thank you for all that you and the rest of the staff do.