The Ole College Try

Welcome to the return of the almost weekly perspective of college football. For those that don't remember, I write this column as if every player is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Why? Because it is ridiculously ludicrous that the networks, including the World Wide Leader, nay, especially the World Wide Leader, emphasize the Heisman Trophy race all season.  Consider this my sarcastic homage to stupid reporting.

Heisman Watch

Quarterback Edition

Favorite - Marcus Mariota - Oregon - Did nothing to bother his Heisman chances during the bye week. Still the best odds to win, out of the running backs.

Kenny Hill - Texas A and M - Still second until the voters decide to start giving Jameis Winston another look.

Dark Horse - Bryce Petty - Baylor - He has over 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns for a very explosive offense.  If, by chance, Baylor gets through the Big-12 unscathed and ends up in the playoffs, he is going to be the primary reason why.

Falling - Jameis Winston - Florida State University - Team fell behind again, and although he orchestrated a great comeback against a good opponent, some voters still might not like him.

Running Back Edition

Favorite - Todd Gurley -Georgia - He is 8th in the FBS in rushing yards, and nobody controls a game like Gurley does.

Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin - Gurley and he are likely 1-2 right now in the Heisman voting, with Abdullah likely third, of fourth at the lowest.  Gordon is a home run threat every time he touches the ball.

Rising - Ameer Abdullah - Nebraska - Leads the FBS in rushing yards iwth 833, and is more than on pace to eclipse the coveted 2,000 yard mark.

Sleeper -David Cobb - Minnesota - Third in the FBS in rushing yards, and people most likely realize who he is now that the Gophers defeated Michigan in the big house.

Wide Receiver Edition

Favorite - Amari Cooper - Alabama - Second in the FBS in yards and third in receptions, but only because Alabama was on a bye.  Still easily the best receiver in college.

Kevin White - West Virginia - Also on a bye, but still really the second best wide receiver in college, without question.

Rising - Rashad Greene - Florida State - Really taking the reins as the offensive leader and playmaker for Florida State.  He is 10th in receptions and 5th in yards in the FBS.

Defensive Edition

3. Jeff Luc - LB - Cincinnati - The senior leads the FBS with an average of 16 tackles per game.

2.  Gerod Holliman - S - Louisville - After giving him praise last week, all he did was step up and have another interception this week!

1.  Shane Ray - DE - Missouri - 8 sacks, and is trying to follow in the footsteps of former teammate Michael Sam in winning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Although, truth be told, I am still waiting for a defender to really put his individual mark on this season.

Player to Watch

Nelson Spruce - WR - Colorado - He had 19 receptions for 176 yards and 3 Touchdowns in the Buffaloes 59-56 loss to California.

My New Favorite Player

Jacoby Brissett - QB - North Carolina State - He was no Jameis Winston, but he sure as heck scared the Seminoles into thinking he was, at least for the first half of the game.  Brissett finished with 350 yards and 3 touchdowns - with no interceptions - against the top-ranked Seminoles.  Brissett, the transfer from the University of Florida out of national high school power Dwyer in Jupiter, Florida, was the show for the day.

Players of the Week

This section will be more week specific as the season goes forward, but for the first week, it is hard to differentiate the players of the week from the players of the season, as the season has only lasted 1 week.

5.  Russell Hansbrough - RB - Missouri - The Junior made the most of his 10 carries, scoring 2 touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to cap Missouri's come-from-behind win at South Carolina.

4.  Nelson Spruce - Colorado - His 19 catches for 179 yards would normally rank higher, except for the fact that they came in a 56-59 loss.

3.  Melvin Gordon - Wisconsin - Rushed for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 27-10 win versus South Florida.  Would also normally rank higher, except it was South Florida.

2.  David Cobb - Minnesota - Scored zero touchdowns, but his 183 yards rushing and 50 reception yards allowed Minnesota to control the ball in their upset at Michigan.

1.  Todd Gurley -Georgia - Finished the day with 208 yards and 2 touchdowns in a tough fought victory over the Tennessee Volunteers, 35-32.

Goat of the Week (Player Edition)

Christian Hackenberg - QB - Penn State - The team was supposed to have turned the corner, and the reason why is the steady hand of the sophomore quarterback.  He finished the game 22 of 45 for 216 yards and a QBR of 12.7 in the shellacking the Nittany Lions took at the hands of the (not even close to being a) juggernaut that is the Northwestern Wildcats.

Goat of the Week (Coach Edition)

Brady Hoke - Michigan - See the rant below.

Predicted Playoffs/Championship Match Ups

Oregon (1) v. Michigan State (4)/Alabama (3) v. Oklahoma (2)
Oregon (1) v. Oklahoma (2)
Last week I had Florida State slide out of the playoffs, and they rewarded me by letting a surprise North Carolina State team pass through their entire defense.  When they play a team that can actually pass, like Miami, we might see historic numbers.  Again, Michigan State bounces back into the Top 4 in a weak Big 10 after the SEC teams all start to cannibalize each other, beginning this week.

Final Unbeatens

We have 17 unbeaten teams remaining.  Here is where I rank them (in terms of how I think the team is, not how long they will remain unbeaten as, for example, there are several meetings between unbeatens this week, one has to lose.

1.  Oregon
2.  Oklahoma
3.  Alabama
4.  Auburn
5.  Florida State
6.  Texas A and M
7.  Mississippi State
8.  Nebraska
9.  Baylor
10.  Mississippi
11.  UCLA
12.  Notre Dame
13.  TCU
14.  BYU
15.  Georgia Tech
16.  Arizona
17.  Marshall

Rant(s) of the Week

My rant this week is about Brady Hoke leaving Shane Morris in the game after a horrific (illegal) hit that most likely gave Morris a concussion, and if it didn't, the hit definitely left him dazed and woozy.  He knew it, Hoke knew it, the players knew it, the fans in the stadium knew it, the announcers knew it, and those watching at home knew it.  A little set up ...

Shane Morris, the Michigan quarterback, dropped back to pass in last week's game against Minnesota.  After the pass, Minnesota defensive end Thieren Cockran hit Morris late, up under the chin with at best, his shoulder pad, and at worse, his helmet.  A late hit penalty was called and the Big Ten office is reviewing the play to see if targeting should have been called, which would result in a suspension for Cockran.

Morris was obviously dazed, at best, and even stumbled only to be caught by offensive lineman Ben Braden before falling to the ground. Morris is waiving off any medical staff and/or substitutes, but he is clearly woozy,  Hoke, the coach for the University of Michigan left him in for a play before substituting in Devin Gardner, whose helmet came off during the subsequent play.

Because Gardner's helmet came off he must leave the game for at least one play according to NCAA rule 3-3-9, which reads:  "a. If during the down a player’s helmet comes completely off, other than as the direct result of a foul by an opponent, the player must leave the game for the next down. The game clock will stop at the end of the down.".

What happens?  Hoke sends Morris back into the game.

A few years ago nobody would have thought twice about this, but we have evolved, we are smarter and we know better.  We have experienced Mike Webster, Dave Duerson, Andre Waters, Junior Seau and most recently, Jevon Belcher.  What we know now is that hits to the head hurt, make it easier for subsequent hits to cause even further damage to the player, and can lead to long term problems.  This doesn't even take into account that at the time of the hit the player isn't thinking straight and has the proverbial "cobwebs".

Anyway, so it is clear that Brady Hoke messed up by first not taking Morris out, second, by putting Morris back into the game, and third, by not acknowledging his mistake during any of the subsequent press conferences.  The Athletic Director and President of the University have now acknowledged that the system has "failed" its student-athletes.

Given this last admission, I am going to go ahead and take it as a given that Hoke is at fault here.  If he didn't see what Morris was going through, he is in charge of the coaching staff that are supposed to see such things.  Even if he erred by leaving Morris in the game, it was even more egregious that he PUT HIM BACK IN!!!  Hoke deserves to be fired.  Full disclosure - I do not care about the University of Michigan, so I could care less about their won-loss record.  I do realize it is the losses that are going to do more with his firing than anything else, but not from my standpoint.

So Hoke messed up, but he isn't the only one.  The offensive coordinator should have known better, but if he was busy looking at his play chart trying to determine what play to call next, the quarterbacks coach, or someone else on the offensive staff should have seen Morris.  Apparently they did not.  The coaching staff failed.

How many times have you seen an injury occur on the field and then players start waiving or asking for the training staff?  Let me answer that for you - countless.  Sometimes you even see opponents asking for the staff.  None of Michigan's players did that for their quarterback.  Not even offensive lineman Braden - who had to catch Morris from falling down.  Morris's teammates failed him.

I also put a bit of blame on the NCAA rule requiring a player to leave the field when their helmet comes off during a play.  Without that asinine rule, Gardner would not have had to come out of the game and Morris would not have had to gone back into the game.  NCAA, please revisit some of these stupid rules that make absolutely no sense.

Football is not going to be a great game soon if injuries - especially unnecessary preventable injuries - keep taking all of the players off the field, and keep the next generations of players from even starting to play the game.

Under Performance of the Week

Penn State - They were absolutely annihilated by a Northwestern squad that had already lost to California and Northern Illinois - and Penn State lost at home.  Supposedly the Nittany Lions were on the verge of being back.  They are not.

Last Week's Trivia Answer

Ameer Abdullah set the Nebraska total yardage record in the game against Miami, breaking the school record held by JOHNNY RODGERS.

Blake Sims of Alabama had 484 yards of total offense against Florida, breaking the record of 457 yards held by Scott Hunter.

Trivia Question of the Week

Two colleges have 3 quarterbacks that have started games in the NFL.  Name the schools.  Bonus points if you can name the players.

Match up(s) to Watch

4.  Arizona v. Oregon - Oregon's first really big test, and it is a chance to show that Arizona belongs.  Wait, this game starts at 10:30 EDT on Thursday, and it is competing with an NFL game?  Never mind.

4.  LSU v. Auburn - Would likely be number 1 if LSU had not be absolutely and thoroughly trounced by Mississippi State.  Nevertheless, still a very important game.  An LSU loss and they are out of the SEC West race.  An Auburn win and they are very much in the national championship race.

3. Nebraska v. Michigan State - As you see from above, I have Michigan State in my playoff - projecting forward to the end of the season.  That cannot happen unless they can find a way to slow down Ameer Abdullah.  It is possible for Nebraska to vault their way into the national playoffs conversation with a win.

2. Texas A and M v. Mississippi State - Can Kenny Hill really play?  Was Mississippi State's victory over LSU a fluke?  Which team wants to stay in the division/conference/national title race?

1. Alabama v. Ole Miss - The biggest game for Ole Miss in forever, and ESPN is correct in sending GameDay down to this game.  I am still not sold on Ole Miss, but they have an experienced quarterback and some good rushers on defense.  If they can make this close, or even win, this could springboard the Rebels into a phenomenal season.  Alabama is, well, Alabama.