Injury may be the single most defining trait of the 2015 college football season’s overall outlook, and it took further toll on the national landscape in Week 8. This time, it had a possibly profound impact on the Heisman Trophy race. Baylor quarterback Seth Russell, gaining ground as the Bears’ schedule tightened and his statistics […]
Rare is the quarterback who plays a supporting role, particularly at a program as prominent as Notre Dame. Freshman DeShone Kizer is one such anomaly. The Fighting Irish aren’t lacking for star power. Running back C.J. Prosise has emerged as a leading Heisman Trophy contender, wide receiver Will Fuller is one of the nation’s best, […]
Heisman Trophy front-runners Trevone Boykin and Leonard Fournette continued along in Week 7 at the same remarkable pace each has been on through this season. But the gap between Fournette, Boykin and the field isn’t widening. On the contrary: Playmakers from various, emerging Playoff contenders used this week to strengthen their resumes. Baylor quarterback Seth […]
So…that was an eventful week. A Top 10 team lost its quarterback, a preseason College Football Playoff pick lost its head coach and one of the game’s all-time coaching legends abruptly retired. Oh, yeah! There are still games to be played, too. The chaos with which Week 7 began carried over in its first game, […]
Each passing college football Saturday makes it increasingly clear Heisman Trophy voters and assorted other media have put as much space between Leonard Fournette and the rest of the field as Fournette puts between himself and a beaten safety on one of the running back’s breakaway runs. The rest of the Heisman Top 10 is […]
Week 6 is college football’s last on the incline of the curve. After this Saturday, it’s all downhill on the race to the postseason. The legendary Beano Cook once quipped on the ESPN college football podcast that each season felt like Casablanca: You start it, and next thing you know, you’re at the airport. In […]
Conference season kicking into full gear across the nation means nothing but loaded Saturdays for the next nine weeks; well, at least until the week before Thanksgiving. Thanks, SEC. Week 5 ushers in October, the meat of the college football season, with some tasty offerings from early conference play. Four of the Power Five conferences […]
A month of the 2015 campaign is complete, and it went by faster than a Leonard Fournette touchdown run. College football’s season is the shortest of any major sport’s, and September’s end is a harsh reminder. We’re now a third through the season, when it seems just yesterday Montana and North Dakota State were just […]
A month into any season is typically when Heisman Trophy talk begins in earnest. This year’s so-called September Heisman, the player who dominates early conversation, is a runaway: LSU’s Leonard Fournette. Fournette is the first player mainstream, national media outlets have dubbed a definitive favorite. And, as much as I hate spoiling my own No. […]
The eyes of the college football-watching nation turn to the West in Week 4, as the Pac-12 is home to some of Saturday’s premier matchups. Frankly, the Week 4 Saturday Six-Pack could have been more than half Pac-12 games. Arizona-UCLA garnered the spotlight as the College Gameday contest, with Oregon and Utah in the same […]
Upsets become epidemics in college football. Every few weeks each season, there’s an Upset Saturday. Week 3 provided the 2015 season’s first. A pair of Top 10 teams lost, top-ranked defending champion Ohio State narrowly escaped a stiff challenge from Northern Illinois and a host of games either came down to the final possession or […]
College football’s Week 3 slate is much sexier on paper than last Saturday’s offerings. Then again, Week 2 gave us Toledo upsetting Arkansas; FCS Jacksonville State taking Auburn to overtime; and another BYU Hail Mary finish. Hmm…maybe the moral of the story is don’t complain about a college football Saturday. Oh, who am I kidding? […]
Bronco Mendenhall announced Monday offensive lineman Ului Lapuaho will not face suspension for BYU’s showdown with UCLA Saturday despite clearly punching a Boise State player in the crotch. Not going too hard in the pile, not questionably placing his hand while scrambling for the ball. Lapuaho straight balls his fist, winds back and delivers an […]
FIRST DOWN: Appreciating Michigan State In the past 21 months, Michigan State football has wins Ohio State, Stanford, Baylor and, as of Saturday, Oregon. That’s four opponents ranked no worse than No. 7. No other program can claim as many wins over teams ranked in the Top 10 at the time of their meeting in […]
The first week of the college football season was somewhat bereft of great games. Even most of the marquee matchups were lackluster. To wit, four of the first Saturday Six-Pack were decided by double digits. We can let that slide on Week 1; it’s just refreshing to have college football back. However, Week 2 brings […]
