Given that most teams have six or seven games in the books, it’s time
to distribute some midseason awards. Watching the annual end-of-season
awards show always leaves me confused. I can’t be the only one, can I?
Will someone explain why are there two trophies — Heisman and Maxwell —
doled out to the year’s most “outstanding player” and another, the
Walter Camp, bestowed upon the “player of the year?” There are two
awards — Bednarik and Nagurski — for “defensive player of the year” and
another, the Lott, for “outstanding defensive player.” There’s a
quarterback award (O’Brien) and a senior quarterback award (Unitas). It
reminds me of little league — everyone goes home with a trophy, a slice
of pizza and a smile. Well, that’s not the case with these midseason
awards — we’re keeping it simple. It’s limited to one fictional trophy
that the players will never hear, or care, about, per category. The
competition is high and the stakes are low. Good luck, gentlemen.
The Heisman typically doesn’t reflect the player who has dominated
statistically. No, it’s often given to the running back or quarterback
who has been the centerpiece of one of the nation’s top teams (Except
for Peyton Manning). Among the remaining undefeated squads, no one has a
better résumé than Klein, so the award is seemingly his by default. He
doesn’t dazzle with long runs – he’s averaging only 5.1 yards-per-carry –
but his punishing, yet nimble-when-it-needs-to-be, running style keeps
the chains moving. And serving as his team’s best red zone option
doesn’t hurt his case – Klein has 14 rushing scores on the year. Through
the air, he’s completing more than 70 percent of his passes at just
over 200 yards-per-game, not bad numbers for a man who relies on his
feet. Leading the Wildcats through impressive road wins at Oklahoma and
West Virginia pushed Klein to the midseason lead in the fickle race for
the Heisman. Kansas State’s second-half schedule doesn’t relent – five
tough conference games remain – but they’re all winnable and the
typically-porous defenses of the Big 12 will keep giving the 6-foot-5
signalcaller chances to put up big numbers.
Other Candidates: Manti Te’o (LB, Notre Dame), Geno Smith (QB, West Virginia), Braxton Miller (QB, Ohio State)
Like I said, the Heisman is often given to the best player on one of
the nation’s best teams – and no team this year has been better than
Alabama. Yes, they’ve done it on the back of a defense that has led the
nation in nearly every major statistical category from wire-to-wire, but
McCarron is starting to step out of the shadow of that impenetrable 11.
So far, he’s thrown 16 touchdowns and no picks, is completing 68.8
percent of his passes at a 9.6 yards-per-attempt clip and has quietly
become the nation’s top-rated quarterback. Should Nick Saban start
asking his quarterback to handle more of the offensive burden as teams
stack the box against Bama’s potent run game, those numbers could
improve. And should Alabama run the table, McCarron would be the
quarterback of the nation’s best team, which has never hurt anyone’s
Heisman chances.
Smith lost the Heisman when Collin Klein marched into Morgantown last
weekend and snatched it from him, but that doesn’t mean his
scintillating first-half should go unrecognized. Just in case the
consecutive losses to Texas Tech and Kansas State made you forget about
Smith’s early dominance, let me offer a refresher. This season he he’s
averaging 344.9 yards-per-game (3rd-nationally), has thrown 26
touchdowns (2nd) to only two picks, has a 74.2 completion percentage
(1st) and a 172.04 rating (4th). Those aren’t video game numbers –
they’re Stephen-Hawking-playing-a-video game numbers. There’s no doubt
that he’s been the nation’s most potent offensive weapon, but can he
keep pace in the second half? In the past two games – both losses –
Smith has mustered only two touchdown strikes and averaged under five
yards-per-attempt. And, next week, he has to square off against an
opportunistic TCU defense. Any more clunkers from Geno and the
eight-touchdown performance against Baylor will feel like a relic from
another season.
Other Candidates: Seth Doege (QB, Texas Tech), Nick Florence (QB, Baylor), Johnny Manziel (QB, Texas A&M)
Who? You ask. Well, after Geno fired his first two picks of the season
against Kansas State on Saturday, Cameron became the quarterback who has
thrown the most touchdowns (20) without tossing an interception. Not to
mention, under the tutelage of Mike Leach disciple Sonny Dykes, he’s
guided the Bulldogs to a 6-1 start, including wins against Illinois,
Virginia, and a near-comeback against Texas A&M (more on that one
later). In the second half, Louisiana Tech jumps into their WAC
conference schedule. If the Bulldogs’ first conference game, a 70-28 win
against Idaho last weekend in which Cameron threw for 400 yard and a
pair of scores, is indicative of how they will fare against conference
foes, expect the quarterback’s already impressive numbers (330 YPG and a
71.3 completion percentage) to spike. And can he finish the season
pick-free?
While Te’o isn’t leading the nation in any major defensive statistical
categories, that’s not his job. He’s the emotional, and physical,
centerpiece of Notre Dame’s No. 2 scoring defense, which is only
yielding 9.4 points-per-game. Earlier this season, both Te’o’s
grandmother and girlfriend died within a six-hour period. Rather than
crumble, Te’o has channeled his strife onto the field, pushing the 10
men around him to levels no one anticipated this season. Te’o’s four
interceptions are tied for the most among linebackers and his seven
passes defended stand third in the nation. But the linebacker and his
elite defense have yet to face their toughest tests. The Irish travel to
Oklahoma, which is averaging more than 50 points-per-game in its last
three contests, this weekend and have to venture to Southern California
in November to face a Trojan team stockpiled with weapons.
Other Candidates: Jadeveon Clowney (DL, South Carolina), Phillip Thomas (DB, Fresno State), Damontre Moore (DL, Texas A&M)
Confused? Don’t be. Verrett already has four interceptions. But that’s
not the number I’m looking at – he’s tied for the national lead in
passes defended with 15, so we know he’s able to make plays on the ball.
And look at TCU’s remaining schedule: Oklahoma State, West Virginia,
Kansas State, Texas and Oklahoma. All of those teams, save, maybe,
Kansas State, love to wing the ball all around the field, so Verrett
will get tested repeatedly. Yes, he’s bound to get beat a few times –
everyone does in the Big 12 – but all of those passes coming his way
will offer more opportunities to bat balls and pick them off. I expect
to see Verrett among the nation’s leaders – if not at the top – in
interceptions by season’s end.
Is this guy’s movie deal in the works yet? Is it too late to add him to
the ballot for president? When he retires, will he be in the Dos Equis
commercials? That’s how much respect Snyder deserves. Look at his career
arc: In 1989, he took over a Kansas State program that had been to
exactly one bowl game, which it lost, in its 93-year history. The team
had won a combined six games in the five seasons before he got the job,
yet he pushed it to a bowl appearance in his fifth year and a 10-win
season in his seventh. Twice, he led the Wildcats to 11-win seasons and a
place in the national title discussion. Then he retired in 2005, and
the forever-grateful program named the stadium after him. Nice career.
Job well done, coach … but he wasn’t finished. After a three-year
hiatus, during which the program was careening back towards mediocrity,
or worse, Snyder grabbed the headset yet again. Last year, the Wildcats
amassed 10 wins and they’ve won their first seven contests this year. In
the second half, only two opponents ranked in the BCS – Texas Tech and
Texas – stand between Snyder and his first undefeated season.
Other Candidates: Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Tommy Tuberville (Texas Tech), Sonny Dykes (Louisiana Tech)
While Snyder’s team may be playing at a higher level, it could be
argued that Riley has done more with less this season in Corvallis.
Oregon State was unranked coming into the season and didn’t even garner a
single AP vote until Week 4. The 6-0 Beavers have already knocked off
talented squads from Wisconsin, UCLA and Utah. They lost their starting
quarterback for a pair of games, but won both. The second-half of the
schedule toughens, though, with a trip to Stanford looming on Nov. 10
and what may be the most important Civil War battle since 1863 when the
Ducks come to town two weeks later. If Oregon State can derail their big
brother’s perfect season, Riley will have done the best coaching job of
the year.
If you didn’t know who was getting this award, you’ve been spending
your Saturdays watching reruns of House Hunters International on HGTV
and shouldn’t be reading this column. The electric Johnny Football is
29th in the nation in rushing yards-per-game, averaging just over
100-per-contest, which is good for second among quarterbacks behind
Michigan senior Denard Robinson. Well, he’s a pretty good running
quarterback then. Wait, what? He’s 15th nationally in passing
yards-per-game, averaging 279 through the air? I was just kidding around
about the movie last week, but if he keeps this up, I legitimately do
think Disney might make Grown Manziel: The Johnny Football Story within
the year. He’s broken the SEC single-game total yardage record twice and
he’s already amassed 24 touchdowns (14 passing, 10 rushing), putting
him nearly on pace to match the best season from another famous SEC
hybrid quarterback (the one who likes flat-top haircuts, jump passes and
overenthusiastic first-down celebrations). Manziel did struggle for the
first time when he had to face LSU last weekend and two more tough SEC
defenses await when A&M has to travel to Starkville and Tuscaloosa.
But Manziel will still have chances to shine against Auburn, Sam Houston
State and Missouri.
Other Candidates: Brett Hundley (QB, UCLA), Todd Gurley (RB, Georgia), Devonte Fields (DL, TCU)
The Ducks haven’t asked much from their freshman quarterback – just get
the ball to the track team and let it do the rest. As a team, Oregon
has 371 carries this year, while Mariota has only thrown the ball 180
times. But he’s made the most of those attempts, tossing 16 touchdowns
against only five interceptions. Plus he’s added a pair of scores and
356 yards on the ground. But in the second half, Oregon’s schedule –
which has been a cupcakewalk until this point – toughens significantly.
The Ducks fly south to USC in two weeks, host Stanford two weeks after
that and have to fight the aforementioned Civil War in Corvallis in the
season’s final weekend. The better opponents will work to take away
Oregon’s run game and force the freshman to beat them. If he’s up to the
task, his second-half numbers could rival those of Johnny Football.
Given that the Ducks have had an average halftime lead of 25.4 this
season, Barner hasn’t had the chance to demonstrate what sort of numbers
he could put up over an entire 60 minutes. But I’m not going to blame
him for that. In his blowout-limited playing time, Barner has still
managed 870 yards and twelve touchdowns. He’s averaging nearly seven
yards-per-carry as the centerpiece of the Ducks’ exhausting attack.
He’ll get more time to shine in the second half as the competition
stiffens, but will have to battle against tougher defenses.
Other Candidates: Stefphon Jefferson (Nevada), Cody Getz (Air Force), Le’Veon Bell (Michigan State)
After recovering from an ACL tear, Bernard has missed two games – and
the better part of a third – due to early-season injuries. But in the
last three weeks, much to the dismay of ACC rivals, his health has
returned. Against Virginia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Duke, Bernard galloped
for 582 yards and four scores. Though he’s 19th-nationally in rushing
yards thanks to the missed time, he’s fifth in the nation in rushing
yards-per-game, averaging 132.5. That figure is the best among backs who
hail from automatic qualifying conferences. If Bernard can stay
healthy, expect him to run rampant over UNC’s four remaining ACC
opponents and to be the nation’s most dangerous ballcarrier in the
second half.
I may or may not have flipped a blue-and-yellow coin on this one. On
one side was Bailey; on the other, his teammate Tavon Austin, who
typically draws more attention from opposing teams and has subsequently
posted inferior stats to his teammate. Bailey leads the nation by a wide
margin in touchdown receptions with 14. (Louisiana Tech’s Quinton
Patton is second with 10.) He’s averaging 13.56 yards-per-catch and
114.3 yards-per-game. Baylor’s Terrance Williams has posted more
impressive yardage totals – averaging a 168.8-per-game and 21.55
per-catch, but Bailey’s ability to flourish in the red zone has set him
apart.
Other Candidates: DeAndre Hopkins (Clemson), Terrance Williams (Baylor), Quinton Patton (Louisiana Tech)
It’s tough to be a dark horse when you’re widely considered one of the
most dynamic receiving talents – if not the most – in all of college
football. But Marqise Lee, and the Trojans offense, have yet to hit the
gear so many expected when they were anointed the coveted-yet-valueless
preseason No. 1. If that’s going to happen in the second half – remember
the Trojans averaged 43.6 points-per-game in their last five contests
last season – then expect Lee’s numbers to jump. He’s already
eighth-nationally in yards-per-game (112) with eight touchdowns, but his
production stands to increase with games against the friendly defenses
of Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA still on the schedule.
The 6-foot-6, 256-pound defensive end has taken up residence in
opposing backfields all season. Even in the Gamecocks’ blowout loss to
Florida last week, Clowney was constantly blowing up Gator offensive
linemen. Though he frequently draws double-teams from opposing offenses,
Clowney stands fourth in the nation with 14 tackles-for-loss and is
tied for eighth with 7.5 sacks. More impressive than his numbers is his
mere physical presence. Somehow, he stands out from the other 21 grown
men on the field during SEC clashes – not an easy thing to do. The
Gamecocks are through their toughest part of the schedule, so Clowney’s
numbers should only get better through South Carolina’s final four games
against Tennessee, Arkansas, Wofford and rival Clemson.
Other Candidates: Damontre Moore, Stephon Tuitt (Notre Dame), Scott Crichton (Oregon State)
The big German is tied for fourth nationally with eight sacks and leads
the nation with 69 yards-lost on those quarterback takedowns. Like
Clowney, Werner is a monster at 6-foot-4, 272-pounds. He relies more on
brute strength to batter offensive linemen than most pass-rushers. As
lines tire late in the season, that tactic should pay off against weary
linemen unable to keep the giant at bay.
Oct. 3 — Texas A&M 59 – Louisiana Tech 57 —
Box Score |
Recap
After a full day spent in front of the TV and forgetting to feed either
your children or your dog – or both – my guess is that you did what you
could to avoid a visit from Social Services, turned off the TV and
missed this one. It was tucked away on ESPNU and went on well past
midnight, so I can’t blame you too much, but you likely woke on Sunday
wishing you’d neglected your family for three more hours. Both teams,
surprisingly, came in ranked with a pair of the nation’s most exciting
offensive attacks. A&M stormed out to a 27-0 lead midway through the
second quarter and it looked like Louisiana Tech’s Air Raid offense was
nothing but a gimmick. Turns out, it’s quite the opposite. The Bulldogs
stormed back, scoring 41 second-half points to turn the shellacking
into a nail-biter. The Bulldogs drew within two early in the fourth when
Shakeil Lucas picked off Johnny Football on the A&M five and went
15 feet for six points. But Louisiana Tech’s two-point conversion
failed, which came back to haunt the team. It seemed like Manziel put
the game away with two minutes remaining when he sprinted 72-yards for a
score – he accelerated away from Bulldog players so fast that it looked
like Usain Bolt running against a few Norwegians – that put A&M up
59-44. But Colby Cameron answered immediately with a 62-yard strike to
Quinton Patton. That was followed up by a rare successful onside kick
and another quick Louisiana Tech score. But, once again, The Bulldogs
failed when they went for two. Kicking a pair of extra points in the
fourth would’ve sent this to overtime, but hindsight is, of course,
20/20. Louisiana Tech lost the game, but gained respect and has
maintained an AP ranking. And Johnny Football gained national notoriety
with his 576 all-purpose-yard, six touchdown day.At
ncaa.com.
Alabama,
Oregon, Kansas State and Notre Dame are expected to be the first four
in the BCS standings, too. Though not necessarily in that order.
Moving down
In and out
Connecticut’s annual ”First Night” was the opening event in the career
of coach Kevin Ollie and he was welcomed with a video from Hall of Famer
Jim Calhoun, who retired as coach of the Huskies last month. Ollie’s
first season will be one with no Big East or NCAA tournament because of
academic reasons.
It wouldn’t have been ”Late Night with Roy” at North Carolina without
Roy Williams — and the Hall of Fame coach looked thrilled to be back
after his recent cancer scare. In his first public appearance on the
Smith Center sideline since the scare, Williams received three distinct,
extended standing ovations from the crowd. Williams watched his team’s
20-minute informal intrasquad scrimmage from the scorer’s table and then
came the usual fare of dance moves by players and a few assistant
coaches.
North Carolina State officials stopped the public scrimmage when the
grandfather of senior Scott Wood fell ill at courtside and was carried
away on a stretcher. Team spokesman Dwayne Harrison said Wood’s
grandfather was taken to a hospital for evaluation, but he was alert and
conscious. The scrimmage was part of the ”Primetime with the Pack”
event that included second-year coach Mark Gottfried entering by riding a
zip line down to the court from the second level of the PNC Arena.
Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness featured a group of Wildcat legends raising
the school’s eighth national championship banner to the Rupp Arena
rafters. A capacity crowd was introduced to the much-heralded freshmen
class that includes big men Nerlens Noel and Willie Cauley-Stein,
forward Alex Poythress and guard Archie Goodwin. Transfers Julius Mays
and Ryan Harrow also debuted.
Kansas had a little scare in ”Late Night in the Phog” when the lights
suddenly faded during the women’s team scrimmage. According to the
campus fire marshal, someone at the scorer’s table hit the wrong switch
instead of a buzzer. Then, amid the fog and drone of plastic
noisemakers, Kansas unveiled new Big 12 championship and Final Four
banners which makes 55 and 14, respectively. The Jayhawks bring in seven
freshmen and two redshirts in trying to follow last season’s run to the
national championship game.
Baylor’s
Deuce Bello earned perfect 10s from all four judges in the dunk contest
after jumping over 7-foot-1 freshman Isaiah Austin in the opening
round. Bello, a 6-4 sophomore, did a back flip when he was introduced
with his teammates at the start of the event.
Syracuse
coach Jim Boeheim entered the court for ”Orange Madness” in a U.S. army
vehicle and was joined by soldiers from Fort Drum military base.
Boeheim showed the crowd his gold medal from this past summer at the
London Olympics, where he served as an assistant coach for the U.S.
team, and thanked the soldiers for their service before the scrimmage
began. The final event of the night was a dunk contest that women’s team
freshman Brittney Sykes. The 5-foot-9 Sykes was last to go and the
McDonald’s All-America attempted to dunk multiple times, but she
struggled to get to the rim and fell short on each attempt.