September 3, 2015
POWER OF ONE
College football is all about one goal, one dream, one team, and one trophy. There is only one place every team wants to be at the end of the year. Coaches preach that teams may reach their desired glory by working together as one. Being number one is coached every day in drills and in games. There is something about being one, being unique, and elite that pushes athletes throughout each sport. There can only be one champion, and that number requires sacrifice and dedication.
OVERVIEW
September 3, 2015
Year 1 of the College Football Playoff was success. Ohio State squeezed past Baylor and TCU and proved they belong with the top teams. Many fans were shocked that Ohio State jumped so high. My hopes for the committee this year are, should they continue to do weekly rankings, pay more attention to making the polls accurate. The committee had a strong emphasis on body of work, but let one thrashing of Wisconsin vault Ohio State into the playoff. Baylor and TCU played better than Ohio State all year, and not having a conference championship game cost them a spot. Body of work? Don’t get me wrong, Ohio State proved they belonged, and I’m not blaming them. That responsibility lies on the committee. TCU and Baylor didn’t move much other than when they lost, and then one week later they’re both playing in bowl games instead of a playoff game. Not only should the committee take a hard look at that issue, but also strongly considering expanding the playoff field to eight teams. All drama aside, college football is about to start, beginning what should be another exciting year full of highlights and upsets.
STORYLINES OF THE YEAR
Final Four. Why not Elite Eight?
Last years’ playoff brought a new dimension to college football. Four teams (Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, and Florida State) battled for the inaugural college football playoff championship. Ohio State surprised Alabama with a 42-35 win, while Oregon stomped FSU 59-20. Ohio State proceeded to beat Oregon 42-20 in the title game, showing us that a team that was ranked 5th going into the conference championship week can compete with the best. That brings up the question: Why not Elite Eight? Last year, one could have argued TCU and Baylor would have competed in the playoff and had a good chance to win it all. But that didn’t happen, because only four teams were allowed in. Baylor was picked by many over TCU and Ohio State to get in the playoff, and they proceeded to lose their bowl game to Michigan State. This furthers the argument that eight teams are needed. Michigan State would have been the eighth seed, and beat what multiple polls called the third best team. The playoff could have been better, and I hadn’t even mentioned the money bowls would make.
Buckeye Repeat
Every year there is talk about will the defending national champs repeat the next year. Last year it happened with Florida State, and they fell apart. Ohio State is different. Florida State didn’t have the youth and talent returning that Ohio State brings this year. Ohio State brings back many of it’s top performers from last year (including three, well two quarterbacks with Braxton Miller moving to H-back). The Buckeyes need to survive a trip to Lane Stadium in their opener, but their schedule only provides three other obstacles in Michigan State, Minnesota and Michigan. Two of those games are at home and they travel to Ann Arbor to end the season. While it’s hard to see the Buckeyes losing, college football has a way of shaking things up, and the Buckeyes are not immune to the football gods ways.
PLAYOFF TEAMS
Teams in the playoff:
Ohio State----The Buckeyes return multiple playmakers on both sides of the ball. The quarterback duel between JT Barrett and Cardale Jones will sort itself out, and their schedule seems favorable. They may not be the top seed, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which they lose.
Baylor----Seth Russell played important snaps during the Baylor season when Bryce Petty got hurt. The whole offensive line returns as do receivers KD Cannon and Corey Coleman. Throw in RB Shock Linwood and this team appears to be set. The defense keeps getting better, and the presumably one real test is against TCU.
TCU----Somehow, two Big12 teams will get in to the playoff after none got in the year before. With the ACC looking soft this year (although Clemson could surprise some people), it seems like the door is open for a BIG 12 team to sneak in.
Oregon----What? No SEC team in the playoff? The SEC seems to be getting better from top to bottom, so it will be hard to pick a two loss SEC champion over a BIG 12 or PAC 12 champion. Oregon is bringing in a new quarterback in Vernon Adams, but he will prove that he belonged at the FBS level all along, and possibly contend for the Heisman. They Ducks will still fly high into the playoff and prove they haven’t lost a step.
Teams on the outside looking in:
Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, USC, Notre Dame, Michigan State
HEISMAN CANDIDATES
Names Everyone knows
JT Barrett/Cardale Jones/Ezekiel Elliot, Ohio State----One of these three will be here, it will just depend on who wins the QB job, and how they perform when they win it. Elliot is expected to help take the load off of either to start, but will that QB pick up the slack as the season goes on?
Treyvon Boykin, QB, TCU----Boykin has to be a first of his kind. The QB came in to TCU hoping to be the playcaller, only to split time with Casey Pachall. The next year he moved to receiver, and when Pachall finally left, moved back to QB. Usually when quarterbacks move to receiver, their throwing days are over. It’s a good thing Boykin got another shot, and he will put up the numbers to prove to everyone why he was recruited to call the offense.
Royce Freeman, RB, Oregon----While Vernon Adams get affiliated with Oregon’s offense, expect Freeman to get a lot of touches. Add that to the season ending surgery of Thomas Tyner, and Freeman appears to be the workhorse on the offense. This could be the year a runningback wins the Heisman, and Freeman will push voters to seriously consider him in his sophomore year.
Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson----If Watson didn’t have to split time with Cole Stoudt. If Watson didn’t get hurt…..twice. There are a lot of ifs that Watson could have used as excuses, but he decided to take the high road and fight for his job. Now that he’s healthy and it’s his spot, he looks to put on a show that those in Death Valley have been looking forward to all year.
Names that will surprise
Connor Cook, QB, Michigan State
Shock Linwood, RB, Baylor
Mike Bercovici, QB, Arizona State
Taysom Hill, QB, BYU
GAMES OF THE WEEK/PICKEM
A clean slate is what every team comes into the season, and they strive to keep it clean. I come in to this season with the same mentality. Knowing college football, that could be gone after the first game. March Madness can happen other times during the year, and college football tends to bring the madness to fall.
Record: 0-0
#20 Wisconsin vs. #3 Alabama (Arlington, Texas)
This game has so much more potential than any first game Alabama has played in the last three years. Those teams (Michigan, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia), didn’t quite match up to the Crimson Tide. This year, Wisconsin comes in with the best chance any first week opponent has in those three years. However, those chances still aren’t good enough.
Alabama 35 Wisconsin 24
Louisville vs #6 Auburn (Atlanta)
This might be the most intriguing game of the week. Many polls have Auburn as high as second with some analysts picking them to win it all. Louisville has not gotten the press the Tigers have, but Bobby Petrino will have the Cardinals ready to play. QB Reggie Bonnafon is as fun as any to watch play, but so is Jeremy Johnson. Now that the Tigers have a dangerous passing attack with Johnson, teams better be worried.
Auburn 44 Louisville 28
#15 Arizona State vs. Texas A&M (Houston)
The scoreboard in Houston might break with all the points that these teams are capable of scoring. It may come down to which QB (Mike Bercovici or Kyle Allen) makes more mistakes. Bercovici had good performances while filling in for Taylor Kelly, and Allen had mixed results. Arizona State’s overall talent will be too much for the Aggies, and the shootout will get away from A&M.
Arizona State 45 Texas A&M 35
#2 TCU at Minnesota
TCU took its rage out on Ole Miss because it was left out of the college football playoff. The Gophers are coming off a disappointing loss to Missouri. It’s a new season, and the Gophers are out to prove everyone that last year’s game against Ohio State is the level of play they are capable of every week. This may be a homer pick for my Gophers, but TCF Bank will be the loudest it’s ever been since it’s opening. Expect lots of problems for TCU.
UPSET SPECIAL: Gophers 31 TCU 28
