So, this is it: the one before The One. Tuesday’s is the last time the College Football Playoff committee plays pretend with the rankings before issuing the actual final four and bowl pairings. Heading into Championship Week, at least one of the four spots is spoken for. The ACC, Big Ten and SEC Championship Games […]
Welcome to Black Friday, the unofficial inspiration for such dystopian fiction as the Mad Max series or The Purge. America’s chaser for a day spent gorging itself on food is a day manically chasing discounts on products. No, you haven’t stumbled upon an anti-consumerist manifesto; this special, Black Friday edition of the CFB Huddle Saturday […]
In this season’s college football record shop, the option offense is a piece of classic vinyl, unearthed from a milk crate of yesteryear’s hits. Put it on the turntable, give it a spin, and a few tracks in you ask yourself, why isn’t more contemporary music like this? The success of option teams this season […]
I’ll cop to being among those who worried about the College Football Playoff damaging the regular season. Two years into the system, I feel rather foolish. Now, I still have reservations about the slippery expansion slope and will gladly cite the FCS Playoffs growth from 16 to 20 to 24 teams in the last six […]
Allow me to level with you, dear CFB Huddle reader: Getting the Heisman forecast to 10 players at this point is a struggle. Early returns from Week 12 suggest an outlook as concrete as it’s been all season. Were the Heisman ceremony tomorrow, I surmise we’d see five invitees: Derrick Henry, Deshaun Watson, Dalvin Cook, […]
Defending national champion Ohio State flirted with disaster much of the season. In Saturday’s 17-14 loss to Michigan State, the Buckeyes’ flaws finally cost them. The loss likely ends Ohio State’s chances for returning to the College Football Playoff. Michigan State is now in control of the Big Ten East and matches up favorably with […]
Tributes are rolling in for Missouri’s Gary Pinkel and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer, and they’re well deserved. Two of college football’s elder statesmen are coaching their final home games on Saturday and saying goodbye to the programs both ostensibly built. .@VT_Football is going all black in Frank Beamer's final home game, with a helmet patch […]
Did ya hear? Nick Saban said a bad word! CFB Huddle’s rarely-heard-from guest columnist The SEC Bro broke down Steph Curry winning NBA MVP in the spring, and wrote the following: I guess he did play at Davidson, though, and they’re on Alabama’s schedule the week before the Iron Bowl. Coach Saban says that’ll be […]
Stanford head coach David Shaw may have summarized Playoff hysteria best, saying “media…sit and stew and look for somebody to blame.” With the Pac-12 perhaps eliminated from a spot in the tournament, the conference’s 9-game league schedule became an immediate and easy target for blame despite evidence to the contrary. Internal groundswell against the Pac-12 […]
Anarchy! Chaos! Welcome to another week of college football, and welcome to another round of projections for the College Football Playoff ranking. Four of last week’s Top 10 lost in Week 11: No. 6 Baylor, No. 7 Stanford, No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Utah. Of the four, only Baylor lost to a ranked opponent. […]
November performances define Heisman Trophy candidacies. Front-runners like Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson are hitting their stride at just the right time, both to pace their teams’ title aspirations and bolster their case for college football’s most prestigious, individual award. Derrick Henry now has a rush TD in 15 straight […]
It’s rare the star of a national championship run and leading Heisman Trophy contender for an undefeated powerhouse goes unappreciated, but such is the case for Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott hasn’t generated the same kind of buzz on the national landscape this season as running back counterparts Leonard Fournette, Derrick Henry or Dalvin Cook, […]
The second College Football Playoff ranking drops today at 7 p.m. ET. It’s hardly March Madness Selection Sunday, but I’m still geeked. A few noteworthy teams I anticipate being left out of the top 10 are Michigan State, Utah and North Carolina, all of which sport losses to teams well outside of the Playoff conversation. […]
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson was on the Heisman Trophy radar before Week 10, but was certainly not in the same air space as TCU’s Trevone Boykin or LSU’s Leonard Fournette. His ascension before the stretch run, however, emphasizes the importance of November over September and October when it comes to college football’s top individual award. […]
College basketball has March Madness; college football has November Nuttiness. And buddy, is it ever in full effect. The College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races were both thrown into flux on a chaotic first week of the college football campaign’s final full month. Welcome to Four Downs, and welcome to a month of pure […]
