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 […]
In the ol’ Book of Football Cliches is an entry dedicated to “Nothing in the playbook for third-and-whatever.” The actual distance from which this cliche can be accurately invoked is ambiguous, but is essentially anything behind the original line of scrimmage. Or, if you’re Jesse Palmer, it’s third-and-California. (I kid because I love, Jess. Let’s […]
Everything you presumed to know about the SEC, either in the preseason or over the course of the 2015 campaign’s first month, can probably go in the trash. Welcome to Four Downs, where I’ll happily accept your refuse! Just be sure to separate the recyclables — the end of the Nick Saban dynasty — from […]
Feeling a bit parched early into the 2015 college football season? The Auburn Tigers should be, scraping by to a 2-0 start with an offensively anemic showing against Louisville, then surviving against Jacksonville State because of inexplicable end-of-game management. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and Arkansas’ Bret Bielema don’t exactly see eye-to-eye often, but the […]
Outstanding Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds is on the precipice of setting several (more) college football records in 2015. That’s one reason I tabbed him a Heisman Trophy sleeper. Another is perfectly captured in Gene Wang’s profile of Keenan Reynolds for the Washington Post. Wang highlights the various records Reynolds has already set, as well as […]
Trent Richardson’s spectacularly unspectacular NFL career appears over now that the Oakland Raiders have opted to cut the one-time Heisman Trophy finalist. Three seasons and change of Trent Richardson’s yards-per-carry being more accurately measured in inches, and his piling up more fumbles than touchdowns, probably made Monday’s news an inevitability. However, there was a time […]
Chosen Rosen, indeed. Looks like UCLA head coach Jim Mora’s motivational tactics resonated with 5-star freshman quarterback Josh Rosen. The “next Peyton Manning” begins his ascent as the Bruins’ Week 1 starter against Virginia. Mora announced the decision Wednesday. Josh Rosen beat out veteran Jerry Neuheisel, who will be at the ready should the freshman […]
USC transfer quarterback Ricky Town is not waiting long to scout potential destinations, per syndicated radio host Bo Mattingly. Recruiting Update: Multiple sources say USC QB transfer Ricky Town is on Arkansas campus for a visit and will be at practice tonight. — Bo Mattingly (@SportsTalkwBo) August 19, 2015 Should Town become a Razorback in […]
The eight-game SEC schedule has been a point of contention throughout the college football, both internally and with other conferences. In seeking some level of uniformity in scheduling for College Football Playoff purposes, Tony Barnhart offers up the most logical proposal to appease most parties. My proposed SEC scheduling model: 9 conf. game, 1 Power […]
Nick Saban’s lamentations at this week’s SEC meetings that college football needs a more “level playing field” have been roundly and rightly criticized. Friend of the Site Josh Webb exposes the hypocrisy of Saban’s complaints from the perspective of Group of Five programs like Fresno State, Boise State and Marshall, via Scout.com. Webb’s thorough examination […]
Depending on your source, Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg is either the second coming of Andrew Luck: a prototypical playmaker with all the tools necessary to thrive in the NFL, and thus a surefire candidate to go No. 1 in the NFL draft. Otherwise, Christian Hackenberg is an overhyped product of both the recruiting punditry […]
Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. Cal interim athletic director Michael Williams did the right thing this week when he allowed Golden Bears defensive end Brennan Scarlett to transfer to rival Stanford, where he will begin his postgraduate program. Doing so opens him up to scrutiny that could impact the removal of “interim” from […]
Block out your evening and prepare yourself for a night of college basketball binge watching. The end of college football season typically rolls right over into the meat of college basketball’s conference play, and this week’s lineup of games certainly proves that. Iowa State-Baylor is the only Wednesday night affair featuring two Top 25 teams, […]
The following rankings are not projections, but rather an informal glance into my own Heisman Trophy Top 5 if voting was conducted today.
First-year Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson naming true freshman John Wolford the Demon Deacons’ starting quarterback for Week 1 may not move the needle too much.
