College Football in America has become the 2nd most popular sport to watch, behind the currently water-treading NFL. With the NFL going through contract disputes, old guys suing over concussions, domestic violence cases, and of course the kneeling during the anthem controversy, college football seems to give a little less clouded of a game. Although these kids need to and eventually will get paid. Another topic for another day.
But NCAAF is coming back and this season should be great. Let’s not forget how we all bitched and screamed about having a playoff in college and guess what, we got one. And it’s been great. The last 2 National Championship games have been all-timers. Vince Young-esq finishes. Deshaun Watson’s walk-off TD against the vaunted Nick Saban lead Bama dynasty? Classic. Then last year Bama returns, is getting crushed by Freshmen led Georgia, (Jake Fromm is going to be a star again this year) and at halftime Saban pulls this lefty gun-slinging freshman of his own off the bench, Tua Tagovailoa. Kid throws 3 TDs to complete the comeback in OT and looked like Steve Young. Saban looks like a genius. Those are the last 2 Championship games we’ve been blessed to see concluding the college playoff.
With that said, let’s roll into the upcoming season.
Here are some teams and players to watch this college football season:
Auburn – I am very high on Auburn this coming season. Losing Kerryon Johnson is going to be tough because he was a star last year (nearly 1,400 yards rushing and 18 TDs!). But I think the QB Jarrett Stidham is going to shine. I watched him at Baylor a few years ago and that’s the perfect place to see a kid sling. Non stop throwing. Deep balls everywhere. But now this kid has a good coach, Gus Malzahn love/hate him, he is a pretty good offensive coach, and they always have a stacked defense. Ton of athletes on this team and I think Stidham will take a nice step forward throwing the ball, but he can also run if he needs to.
Bama – Who’s Saban going to have at QB? Jalen Hurts has a ridiculous college football record (25-1). But Tua Tagovailoa just came out and won you a National Championship? Pretty big QB battle that will likely take place all year. Unless Tua just dominates and there is no room for the run-happy Hurts to play. Also Bama lost a ton of kids to the NFL, a record 4 in the first round, so who’s stepping up and replacing them? We’l see, Bama has another #1 recruiting class coming in so I’m sure Saban and the Tide will be just fine. I expect to see them back in the championship game, as always.
Clemson – Ever since Dabo brought in Watson, they have become a legit contender year in and year out for the title. I like the QB Kelly Bryant and his injury last year crushed the team’s chances at 3 straight title trips. But he’s back and so are all the D-Line athletes Dabo’s been stacking on defense. Also, they play in a pretty soft ACC (only really play FSU) and the road to the Final Four (weird to say that…this aint March Madness!) is pretty straight forward.
Michigan – I’ve been saying this for a little while now. Harbaugh, are you a good offensive coach? Are you really a QB guru? I havn’t seen you recruit a single stud at the QB position. And I also havn’t seen you win a single big game especially against Big-10 rivals (1-5 against Mich St & Ohio St!). If Harbaugh takes it on the chin once again, he might have his eyes on an NFL return and ditch the college game all together.
Georgia – A little foreshadowing earlier, but I think Jake Fromm is going to be a stud. He already burst onto the scene looking almost perfect at Georgia and running through a stacked SEC. Then in the championship game he’s crushing Alabama. But we all know the legend of Halftime Tua. This kid will be back and without Nick Chubb and Sonny Michel (both pros) I’m hoping they let Fromm air it out a little more. He’s an early Heisman watch guy for sure.
Miami – Now that Lamar Jackson has left Lousiville, the two biggest contenders in the ACC is Miami and Clemson (unless Francois kills at FSU). Malik Rosier is going to be a good player. He’s athletic with decent size (6’1 220 lbs.) and his offensive weapons are always burners. They open up with LSU then have to play VTech and FSU so they could have two L’s 6 games into the year.
Penn State – Opening up as the #10 team in the country, Trace McSorley will be leading this squad in a strong Big-10. His performances in bowl games the last two years have been excellent. The lose of Saquan Barkley is huge for the team, also TE Gisiecki gone is big. But with the lose of stars comes opportunity for McSorley to sling it even more. I’m sure James Franklin’s got a few guys recruited coming in that can run and catch for him.
Florida State – Jimbo is out at FSU (Replacing Sumlin at TxA&M) and uhh…Willie Taggart is in? – Deondre Francois is where the whole team will either live or die. Francois was a big-time recruit for FSU and unfortunately went down first game, first Qtr of last year’s season opener against Bama. I’m not going to lie and say I even really know who Willie Taggart is…but he’s a pretty young guy (42) who comes after a year at Oregon. I think if Francois is back to full health he can put up some strong numbers for sure.
Guys to Watch
Bryce Love – This little guy can run. He’s tiny but had over 2,000 rushing yards last year! The Stanford O-line is typically full of beefy big dudes and David Shaw’s offense is awful, but only runs the ball non-stop. For all the praise Shaw gets as a ‘great coach’ his offenses can be embarrassing. But, I will say that Bryce Love is a star and kind of reminds me of Jahvid Best…Maybe JJ Arrington? I duno why Cal guys are popping into my head but at least JJ had 2,000 rushing yards one year… (great comp CK)
Khalil Tate – Not a sleeper by any means but his Arizona team isn’t that good. This kid is going to put up Lamar Jackson type of numbers on a shitty PAC-12 non-contender. But his ability to run and throw is up there with the tops in the country.
Sleepers
Iowa QB – Nate Stanley – Now Iowa typically has a dumpy offense that mainly leans on grinding running backs with a ton of carries. But if they are smart and realize the talent they have at QB, they’l adjust and let him sling this year. He reminds me of Dak Prescott at A&M (who I was all over when few were). Smooth, athletic, big and can make all the throws. I think Iowa is stuck in a pretty stacked Big-10 this and a playoff run is unlikely. But this kid is legit, is very accurate, doesn’t throw picks, and I think he could eventually be a pro. Oo Yea, the kid is also 6’5 220 lbs. Watch him.
Wisco QB – Alex Hornibrook – 6’4 220 lbs. Lefty who is already very accurate. The Wisco offensive line is huge and the always run the ball pretty well, similar to the Stanford squad. He’l play off of pounding the run and then hitting play action throws, but he’s really accurate, throws a nice ball and has touch. Check in on Hornibrook if Wisco hasn’t lost by mid-October because that’s when he’l see Michigan.
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