After what felt like the longest week of the year we were able to sit back and watch a great weekend of college football games with a huge upset in the top three. This week I take a look at the Heisman favorites, the College Football Playoff and give out some money to the nation’s top players.
Top 25:
1 Alabama
2 Ohio State
3 Notre Dame
4 Clemson
5 Cincinnati
6 Florida
7 Oregon
8 BYU
9 USC
10 Indiana
11 Texas A&M
12 Miami
13 Wisconsin
14 Georgia
15 Oklahoma State
16 Coastal Carolina
17 SMU
18 Oklahoma
19 Texas
20 Auburn
21 North Carolina
22 Marshall
23 Iowa State
24 North Carolina
25 Liberty
Weekly Awards
Offensive Player of the Week: D’Eriq King, QB, Miami
Defensive Player of the Week: Tarron Jackson, DE, Coastal Carolina
Freshman of the Week: Michael Mayer, TE, Notre Dame
Coach of the Week: Tom Allen, Indiana
Where I was Right – Where I was Wrong
Right: Justin Fields was my preseason favorite for the Heisman and he is going to stay there until 2021. Fields is off to a red hot start with 11 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in just three games while completing a truly amazing 86.7% of his passes. The remaining schedule is pretty easy for Ohio State with Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan State and Michigan before playing in the Big Ten Championship so Fields will have plenty of opportunities to pad his stats.
Wrong: I bought into the Scott Frost hype, I stayed with it through his first year even though they struggled and I made excuses last year. I’m out now. You’re in year three of a rebuild, have two decent quarterbacks that fit your offense and you still lose games to Northwestern. I love Lincoln and think it’s an area that can bring in recruits and Scott Frost might be the guy to do it, but I thought it would be sooner than year four, or five, or six. But Frost is a legacy hire and will get time in Lincoln to work it out. Even if it is in a new conference.
$100 Handshakes – Underclassmen that stood out or draft eligible players that improved their stock
Quarterbacks:
D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson
Kyle Trask, Florida
Shane Buechele, SMU
Running Backs:
Breece Hall, Iowa State
Javonte Williams, North Carolina
Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota
Kyren Williams, Notre Dame
Receivers/Tight Ends:
Cornell Powell, Clemson
Blake Proehl, ECU
Kylen Granson, TE, SMU
D-Line/EDGE
Zachary Carter, Florida
Jaelan Phillips, Miami
Wyatt Hubert, Kansas State
Linebackers
Monty Rice, Georgia
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Notre Dame
Baylon Spector, Clemson
Defensive Backs
Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame
Ja’Von Hicks, Cincinnati
Mykael Wright, Oregon
Final Thoughts:
Clemson fans are feeling it after a huge upset loss to Notre Dame but the season isn’t over yet. I feel very confident that the Playoff Committee, just like the AP and Coaches Poll voters, will keep Clemson high in their rankings when they are released on November 24th. Notre Dame will also have to prove they can beat Clemson WITH Trevor Lawrence in the ACC Championship game on December 20th, assuming both teams win out. So fret not Clemson fans. Your spot in the College Football Playoff is still safe.
But who will get the fourth spot in the Playoff? I think it is safe to say Alabama and Ohio State will represent their conferences and finish undefeated, I just said Clemson is safe, I predict they will still win the ACC, and that leaves the fourth spot open. With the Big 12 cannibalizing itself and the Pac 12 not being good, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a second place team from the SEC or Notre Dame sneak into the fourth spot. Florida could make it to the SEC Championship game and most likely lose to Alabama and only have two losses on their resume. Texas A&M has a similar path but has already lost to Alabama and would not be eligible for the SEC Championship game. But, they could finish the season with Alabama as their only loss and we know the Playoff Committee loves the SEC, and rightfully so. The committee could also look at a one loss Notre Dame team that finished second in the ACC behind Clemson – or a two loss Clemson that just couldn’t beat Notre Dame. The situation I think a lot of people would like to see is an undefeated BYU or Cincinnati making it to the playoff but I just don’t see it happening. Even if both teams stay undefeated the Playoff Committee has yet to put in a group of five school and neither school has a big quality win this season. The realistic result will be Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Notre Dame. Just as it is right now. A two loss Clemson would still be good enough to get in and no one is counting Saturday’s lost against them. And if we’re all being honest with ourselves, these are clearly the four best teams in the nation right now.
Heisman Trophy Power Rankings:
Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
Mac Jones, QB, Alabama
Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
Kyle Trask, QB, Florida
Trevor Lawrence should not lose any sleep over being left off the list. But missing two games is just going to be too much for the potential No. 1 overall pick. Justin Fields has looked damn near perfect in his first three games and his hype is only going to build as the season goes on and we see more nationally televised Ohio State games. Mac Jones and Najee Harris are both deserving of the award but they’re going to steal votes from one another and neither one has stood out as The star on the Alabama team. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask has had a hell of a season and is very deserving, but he isn’t having the season the other players are. At least he might get to enjoy a trip to New York…assuming they are still sending players there…
Week 11 Preview:
12 Georgia @ Missouri, 11:00 AM, ESPN
5 Texas A&M @ Tennessee, 2:30 PM, ESPN
1 Alabama @ LSU, 5:00 PM, CBS
Arkansas @ 5 Florida, 6:00 PM, ESPN
13 Wisconsin @ Michigan, 6:30 PM, ABC