RIP to the AAF: A lesson of cognitive dissonance to alternative leagues

If you haven't heard by now, it means you're either out of touch, or could never even fathom the idea of caring in the first place (literally no in between on this one): The Alliance of American Football (AAF) is dissolving. Dissolve? Is that even a word?

Although it's not official yet, the league is on its way out with absolute minimal chances of revival:

I'm not going to sit here and tell the AAF how to run a business, as I'm fully aware that my undergrad marketing minor does not grant me credible input to the situation. However, my prestigious communication degree permits me to lecture you guys on cognitive dissonance, and how it applies to alternative leagues simply not working in today's professional sports climate. Don't worry, I'm truly just not enough of an intellect to actually make this into a boring lecture. But for real, as much as I'd love leagues like the AAF to work, diminishing seasonal limitations on sports we love to watch, these surrogate attempts are bound for failure. The market for such entertainment has been monopolized to the point of no return.

Many football fans, including myself, had the highest hopes of success for the AAF. I mean seriously, what fan could turn down quality football during the NFL/college offseason? We were fully aware that the level of play in the AAF would be inferior to what we're typically exposed to, but that was just part of the payoff for getting that football fix before the withdrawals could even fully kick in.

The Merriam-Webster definition of cognitive dissonance uses the word "incongruous," which would require a second definition search for the average human. Any definition that enables definition inception is just unacceptable. So let's put it into simpler terms, courtesy of humanity's most useful creation, Wikipedia: 

"In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort (psychological stress) experienced by a person who holds two or more contradictory beliefs, ideas, or values. This discomfort is triggered by a situation in which a person’s belief clashes with new evidence perceived by the person. When confronted with facts that contradict beliefs, ideals, and values, people will try to find a way to resolve the contradiction to reduce their discomfort."

So for anyone who actually likes football enough to direct any attention to the AAF, the shared beliefs, ideas, and values generally revolve around the sport's emotional investment and the experience that accompanies that autumn and early winter ride. The AAF's (not particularly successful) business model revolved around scratching the itch of football fans ,when they had historically needed it after the thrill of the postseason. Which seemed perfect. Until the reality of subpar play combined with zero ritualistic value kicked in, this league seemed like it could fulfill the beliefs, ideas, and values of football as being, in the simplest terms, "good" and "fun."

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the AAF as a whole completely failed to fulfill the beliefs, ideas, and values of football being good and fun. The idea of it leading up to opening weekend was extremely fun, and one might even say it was good. But seriously, the first slate of games was a good time. It was partially ironic, but deep down everyone was counting on this to be at least decent. 

One could argue that the quality of play was decent at best, and there's no doubt in my mind that I've consumed football with both lesser and equal value, many times. It's not like my eyes were bleeding during AAF games. Hell, financially reviving the AAF would be absolute chump change to me if I had a dollar for every conveniently timed college game that I watched, having no knowledge of anyone on either roster. So if the AAF kind of just flat out sucking is the dissonance to our cognition (that's like the part of a movie/show when they say the title) of football, why do bad college games not seem as terrible as an AAF game? 

Before the AAF season started I found myself eager to react to some unfamiliar football truly at face value. Other than the fun realizations of some former college stars on rosters, there weren't any past storylines to fog the actual on-field play, which is somewhere from extremely rare to absolutely impossible with today's media coverage of football. And although there was some media coverage of the AAF, it truly was all speculation with no opportunity for historical bias. But I quickly understood that in order to enjoy football without the surrounding storylines, traditions, and fandom- the quality of play needed to be spectacular. Which, as a complete and utter shock, it was not. Who would've thunk that an aspiring minor league would have inadequate talent?

There are plenty of football games that we willingly, and happily, consume that display a deficient performance from both teams, in college and the NFL. But our preconceived ideas of a program/organization's value to the sport's landscape skew our perceptions of certain games. Let's take last season's USC vs. UCLA matchup. Heading into this historic Pac 12 battle, the Trojans had had five wins matched by five losses, while UCLA was rocking a dismal record of 2-8. I'm not an old man yelling at the clouds about this new league not being played "the right way" or that USC/UCLA is even worth tuning into nowadays. But that intangible, preconceived value of two traditional, regional rivals battling it out at the Rose Bowl is not too shabby of a fall back if the quality of play is completely underwhelming. The AAF obviously, in its inaugural season, does not have any preconceived value of "tradition" or "legacy."

I feel that's the same obstacle for sports outside of the main four to truly break through the mainstream barrier. Soccer and lacrosse are the only two that currently come to mind, as they've both been on the cusp of evolving into conventional spectator sports for a little while now. It's tough for fans to buy in league-wide, since there's no sense of inherited fandom. A major aspect of professional sports is the notion of team loyalty paralleling devotion to your roots, both territorial and hereditary. And even in the case of expansion teams in already existing leagues where there is a complete lack of traditional fandom, there's the David and Goliath factor of competing with established franchises. Let's take the Nashville Predators as an example; there's obviously minimal hockey history in the state of Tennessee (no place I'd rather be), and the fans went all in on this relatively new experience the city was offering. This happened in the cities that had AAF teams, but the problem was that they were all expansions. There were no Goliaths to be taken down. 

There are four paradigms that can define a person's reaction to cognitive dissonance, and the "Effort Justification" paradigm fits the AAF perfectly. Essentially, this alludes to willingly doing something that sucks because you've convinced yourself that the payoff will be worth it. Sound familiar? "Okay, I know nothing about this league; their rosters, divisions, playoff formats, rulebook deviations. Let me read up on it. Prep myself for the season so it'll be like the NFL season never ended." First weekend or two of games rolls around; "This isn't that great but if I keep watching it'll pick up steam and this will be awesome." One week later; "If I start throwing on the unders this could remain somewhat relevant in my life." And then you realize, there is absolutely no way a football league established in 2019 could give us anything even remotely close to our inherited perception of the game. No matter how much we want it to work, it won't. Rest In Peace to the Alliance of American Football. And may this be a lesson to future alternative leagues that martyrdom isn't worth it if you're still alive to pay the debts.

Clemson vs 'Bama Part IV: Some thoughts

As you've probably heard by now ten thousand times, Clemson and Alabama will face off in the postseason for the fourth year in a row. Monday evening's clash between the Tigers and Tide will be the third National Championship played between the two, with last year's meeting coming in the semifinal game. For obvious reasons, this consistency has allowed many reasonable comparisons to what the NBA has provided in the Warriors/Cavs saga. If you've been tuned out of hoops in the last half-decade, let me tell ya this: the general population is not particularly fond of parity's absence, which has unfortunately been the case in college football lately.

Derrick Henry and Deshaun Watson after Clemson vs 'Bama Part I

Look, I understand the frustration in seeing the exact outcome that everyone predicted back in August. Seriously, anyone who had a championship matchup of any combination of teams other than this one was just trying to stand out. Or they were just legitimately not that smart. Because not a single person who has paid even an ounce of attention should be surprised by this matchup. And you know what? As much as I can see the negative perspective of this, I'm not even a little bit mad about it. Come on people, these are the two clear-cut top programs in the country, and aside from last year's semifinal stinker, this matchup gave us two incredibly entertaining National Championships. There's a reason why we keep seeing them go head to head: because they're the best. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why watching the two best teams play each other is fantastic. Why would people whine and moan about watching an array of NFL talent compete? This is undoubtedly the highest quality product that college football could put on display, and people don't like that?

One major narrative that has been present in recent weeks, which has coincided with discussing a lack of parity, is the idea of playoff expansion and what that could look like in the future. That's certainly a consideration that I've taken part in, as it's a fun idea that would provide us with more entertainment at the end of the day. I mean, it's undeniable that the other bowl games, the non-playoff games, have seen intrigue decline since the playoff was introduced. The playoff has become the new standard in which teams aim to meet. Although expanding the playoff would make an appearance slightly less prestigious, I still think the aura of it being a playoff game gives it an edge in entertainment, at face value at least.

But in a season like this, a season where the championship matchup's predictability slightly ebbed the season's typical trepidation, does playoff expansion even matter? The main idea behind increasing the number of playoff berths is to create a scenario in which no worthy teams are on the outside looking in. Before all of the bowls games were played, it looked like there were a few teams who were worthy of a playoff spot but failed to do so. If the playoff had expanded to eight teams for this season, we would have seen the following games, according to the College Football Playoff rankings:

• No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 8 UCF
• No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 7 Michigan 
• No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No 6 Ohio State
• No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Georgia

Again, I'd be all for watching these games and having the time of my life while doing it. This is a great idea if you're viewing the College Football Playoff strictly from an entertainment/financial standpoint. But if you take entertainment and money out of the playoff (which is probably the biggest oxymoron I've ever typed out in my life), its core purpose is to truly decipher who is the country's best team. The BCS unfortunately left us with a few big time "what if" scenarios through the years, but this is one of those years that the BCS would have given us this exact same matchup. The majority of the playoff has just given teams a chance to confirm that they are not one of the top two teams in the country. It's just reinforced that the top two teams are as advertised.

There are exceptions to this, with last year's playoff being the highlight; Georgia and Oklahoma gave us a double overtime thriller, in which both teams looked to be of championship caliber. Clemson seemingly played the part throughout the regular season, but the Tigers were quickly exposed in getting shellacked by 'Bama. But from a macro standpoint, a four team playoff last season made astronomically more sense than the BCS system. The other seasons in which Clemson and Alabama met in the National Championship, their semifinal wins were blowouts. The other teams didn't look like they even belonged there. There were two teams that were clearly the best, without some JV team in the No. 5 through 8 range complaining that they should've had a shot (thank Christ UCF lost to LSU, seriously).

So the saga continues; Clemson and Alabama meet in the natty ship with no doubt in anyone's minds that these are the two best teams. And all of those outsiders looking into the playoff, hootin' and hollerin' about how they should've been in the playoff, they all proved that they wouldn't have done a damn thing had they made the playoff; everyone but Ohio State that was ranked No. 3 through 9 lost their bowl game. Granted, Ohio State played No. 9 Washington so one of the teams ranked in that range had to win. But even then, we all know Ohio State would have been used as an absolute mop by either the Tide or the Tigers. And yeah they won the Rose Bowl, but allowing that Washington backdoor cover was bush league. "Good teams win, great team cover" - Eleanor Roosevelt. And then before the New Year's Six bowl games were played, Georgia definitely looked like a team that deserved to be in that final four but blew their chance. My word did they get manhandled on Tuesday night by Texas. They took the gamble of opening their mouth about playoffs before they played their bowl game, and it was worst case scenario for the Dawgs. Talking about a deserved playoff berth and then playing like that? Get outta here.

Have I been rambling about absolutely anything and everything aside from the actual game that's about to be played, Clemson vs 'Bama Part IV? Absolutely. But that's your fault for reading this far. It boils down to this: we can break down this game in an analytical sense all we want. Number crunching, computer data, all that jazz (investors? possibly you!). But heading into Monday, knowing that we'll witness a fight to be the undisputed heavyweight champ of college football (and knowing that UCF can't claim to be national champs again), it's a damn good feeling. It feels right. And I, for one, am ready to rumble. I complain a lot about the most irrelevant and minuscule things you could imagine. But trust me, watching Clemson and Alabama play in the National Championship is not something to complain about. Enjoy the damn ride.

The No. 3 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame:

Record: 12-0

Wins over currently ranked opponents:

·         24-17 vs. No. 7 Michigan 

·         31-21 @ No. 22 Northwestern

·         36-3 vs. No. 20 Syracuse (at Yankee Stadium)

Average points per game: 33.6 

·         Most points scored in a single game: 56 @ Wake Forest

·         Fewest points scored in a single game: 19 vs. Pitt

Average points allowed per game: 17.3 (Ninth best in country)

·         Most points allowed in a single game: 27 @ Wake Forest

·         Fewest points allowed in a single game: 3 vs. Syracuse

Key Players:

Ian Book, Junior, QB

The perception of Notre Dame’s season indulged in a big time upswing when Ian Book took over for Brandon Wimbush at quarterback. This team clearly has talent, but Wimbush just couldn’t really be trusted at times. With Book under center, the Irish offense seems to induce much more confidence out of spectators. Book’s numbers aren’t near the top nationally, but that’s partially because he didn’t record any stats in the first two games of the season, and even in the third he only had three passing attempts. Book was also out against Florida State due to injury. Still, he’s thrown for 2,468 yards and 19 touchdowns, with six interceptions on 280 attempts. His completion percentage of 70.4 is the fifth best in the country.

Dexter Williams, Senior, RB

For the first four games of Notre Dame’s season, senior running back Dexter Williams was suspended. But he certainly made his presence known when he suited back up in a 38-17 win over Stanford, when he rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown. In just eight games, Williams has tallied 941 rushing yards and twelve touchdowns on the ground, while averaging 6.6 yards per carry. He’s also dabbled a bit in the passing game, recording 13 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. Williams has eclipsed the 100 yard rushing mark in half of the games he’s played: 161 yards on 21 carries against Stanford, 178 yards on 17 carries at Virginia Tech, 142 yards on 23 carries at Navy, and 202 yards on 20 carries against Florida State.

Julian Love, Junior, CB

Julian Love has anchored the Fighting Irish defensive backfield, and is undoubtedly the most outstanding corner to come out of Notre Dame in recent memory. The First Team All American racked up 47 total tackles this year, with three of those being for loss. In Notre Dame’s regular season finale at USC he totaled twelve tackles. He has one interception and three fumble recoveries in the turnover department. In 2018, Love had 15 pass breakups, bringing his career total to 38, which is in a career in Notre Dame football history. 

Jerry Tillery, Senior, DT

Defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, who was originally recruited as an offensive tackle, is physically horrifying as he stands at 6 feet 7 inches, 305 pounds. Things turned out well for Tillery since switching to the defensive side of the ball, as he was named a Second Team All American this season. This regular season, he had 30 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks. He recorded 48 total quarterback pressures. In Notre Dame’s thrashing of Florida State in South Bend, Tillery used his height and long arms to block an extra point, which was then scooped up and ran back for two points by Julian Love.

Te’von Coney, Senior, LB

The Notre Dame defense was led in tackles by senior linebacker Te’von Coney, as he recorded 107 of them. Nine of those were tackles for loss, with 3.5 being sacks. He came down with one interception, one fumble recovery, and four pass breakups on the year. Coney’s performance has been good enough to make him a Third Team All American. He stands at 6 feet 4 inches, 240 pounds, and is a very explosive player. He had double-digit tackle totals in five of ND’s dozen games: 10 vs. Michigan, 14 vs. Ball State, 14 at Navy, 10 at Northwestern, and 12 vs Syracuse.

Other notes:

·         

• Notre Dame is the first team outside of the Power Five conferences to earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. The value of conference championships regarding playoff spots has been up for debate lately, and the 12-0 Irish are the second team to enter the playoff without a conference championship on the resume (Alabama last year was the first). It shouldn’t really shock anyone that Notre Dame is the inaugural non-P5 playoff team, as they have much higher of a profile than Group of Five teams such as, I don’t know, UCF as a definitely random example, or other Independent teams such as BYU and Army. If there was one team to break the apparent “P5 rule” the majority of people would have bet the house on it being the Irish.

·         

• Head Coach Brian Kelly seemed to be under some fire after Notre Dame’s 4-8 season in 2016. But what a turnaround it’s been, as the Irish finished last year with a 10-3 record, topped off by a Citrus Bowl victory over LSU. And then this year obviously has been so far, so good. Kelly earned this year’s honor of The Associated Press college football Coach of the Year, as well as the 2018 Home Depot College Football Coach of the Year award. He’s clearly done an excellent job, leading his squad to the playoff with zero regular season losses. I do think Kelly is at a slight disadvantage when it comes to recruiting for a school like Notre Dame. Sure, there’s a wildly rich history of football in South Bend, Indiana. But it’s still South Bend, Indiana. They don’t have the recruiting tools that some of these massive public universities have, whether it be pool parties, generally nice weather, wild nightlife scenes, etc. And you may think the Irish are at an advantage by being able to pitch a great education to recruits. But guess what? Any recruit that is planning a road to the NFL will not really be too concerned with the quality of their potential degree. So for Brian Kelly to get his guys a spot in the final four is impressive to say the least.

·        

•  It’s probably a bit stale to bring up, but it’s absolutely noteworthy that the last time the Fighting Irish were on a stage this big, after an undefeated regular season, things did not go well. Alabama absolutely wiped the floor with the Irish in a 42-14 thrashing. I’ve written before how the focus on that game really should be more about how good ‘Bama was, rather than about how poorly ND performed. It’s also completely erroneous to say that ND didn’t belong in that national title game. Ohio State was undefeated that season, but was on a postseason ban. Oregon looked to be a national title contender all year until losing to Stanford, preventing them from playing in the conference championship. So it came down to a one-loss Oregon team without a conference championship, or an undefeated Notre Dame team. They deserved to be there, but Alabama was just so clearly superior to anyone that could’ve showed up on that field. Luckily for the Irish, their return to the national spotlight does not include Alabama for now. But if they plan on shining in the spotlight and beating Clemson, Alabama will most certainly be the next challenge. But for now, all focus is on the No. 2 Clemson Tigers.

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College Football Playoff team profiles: No. 2 Clemson

(Profile on No. 1 Alabama)

It's no coincidence that the closest program to Saban's Alabama is ranked right behind them at the No. 2 spot. Next up, the Clemson Tigers:

Record: 13-0 (ACC Champions)

Wins over currently ranked opponents:

• 28-26 @ No. 19 Texas A&M
• 27-23 vs. No. 20 Syracuse

Average points per game: 45.4

• Most points scored in a single game: 77 vs. Louisville
• Fewest points scored in a single game: 27 vs. Syracuse, 27 @ Boston College

Average points allowed per game: 13.7 (Second best in country)

• Most points allowed in a single game: 35 vs. South Carolina 
• Fewest points allowed in a single game: 3 @ Wake Forest

Key Players:

Trevor Lawrence, Freshman, QB

All eyes have been on the true freshman out of Cartersville, Georgia ever since he took the Tigers' starting job under center from Kelly Bryant, who had led them to the playoff just last year. (Bryant has since announced that he is transferring to Missouri). And since taking over the title of QB1, he's been good enough to make someone inexplicably do a poorly executed imitation of some Southern accent and say, "that's a damn good quarterback." If that numerical stat doesn't persuade you of Lawrence's ability to perform on the field, he's completed 65% of his 326 passing attempts. He's racked up a total of 24 touchdowns and 2,606 yards through the air, with only four picks

Travis Etienne, Sophomore, RB

Travis Etienne has undoubtedly been Clemson's most exciting player on the offensive side of the operation. The sophomore is hands down one of the best running backs that college football has had to offer this year. He's ran the ball for 1,463 yards (5th most in the country), 21 touchdowns (3rd most), while averaging 8.3 yards per carry (5th best) on 176 carries. Etienne posted three rushing touchdowns in three straight games ('Cuse, Wake, NC State). He tallied triple digit yardage on the ground in seven games this season. One of those was a clutch 203 yard performance in a narrow win against Syracuse, amidst QB troubles with Trevor Lawrence going down with an injury in Clemson's first game without Kelly Bryant. Travis Etienne is a certified stud, and he's been the most impressive part of the Tigers' productive offense.

Tee Higgins, Sophomore, WR

Trevor Lawrence's top target this season has been Tee Higgins, the king of the fine town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In his sophomore campaign, Higgins has caught the ball 52 times for 802 yards, finding the end zone ten times. Throughout the regular season, he went off gaining over 100 yards in three different games: three receptions for 123 yards @ Texas A&M; eight receptions for 119 yards vs NC State; six receptions for 142 yards vs South Carolina. Higgins can be a really exciting receiver to watch as he's proven the ability to make catches that validate the price of admission.

Christian Wilkins, Senior, DT

Clemson's defensive line is like the Monstars from Space Jam, so it's tough to say which one of them has been the most outstanding. But I'd bet the majority of people would make an argument that the highlight of one of college football's most noteworthy units is Christian Wilkins. The Springfield, Massachusetts/Suffield Academy product was named as a First Team All American and the winner of the Campbell Trophy (top scholar athlete). Wilkins has 52 total tackles, 36 of those being solo and 16 assisted. Of those, 13.5 were tackles for loss, five being sacks. Against NC State, he blocked a field goal. The big guy also has two rushing touchdowns, each of them being a one yard plunge over the goal line. After registering six points against South Carolina, Wilkins struck the Heisman pose. Big guy Heisman poses are the apex of big guy touchdowns. Wilkins is most certainly a first round NFL talent.

Clelin Ferrell, Junior, DE

At some point in time, Clemson got very greedy in their recruiting when it came to talented defensive linemen, and that has certainly paid off. Clelin Williams is also a First Team All American. He stands at 6 feet 5 inches, 260 pounds and won the Ted Hendricks Award for the best defensive end in the country. He notched 47 total tackles (24 solo, 23 assisted), with 17 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks. On top of that, he recorded 13 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. Much like Wilkins, you'll be seeing this guy on Sundays. 

Other notes:

• Trevor Lawrence has looked great at quarterback so far, but is now put to the true test. The main reason that starting him over Kelly Bryant made sense is that Bryant was good enough to make the playoff, not good enough to win a championship. And in a program like Clemson's, that's just not good enough. So Trevor Lawrence has gotten to the playoffs, it's time to see if he is more of a Kelly Bryant, a Deshaun Watson, or somehwere in between.
• Clemson's season has been terrific. There's no arguing that. Undefeated, conference champions. But some people remain a bit skeptical on the Tigers due to the ACC being absolutely putrid. And it's true; the current state of the conference does not even slightly resemble the emerging power it seemed to be a few short years ago. But this Clemson team is talented enough that I wouldn't let a weak conference schedule determine their quality level.
• The Tigers' matchup against Notre Dame will be the fourth ever game between the to programs. The last time they played in 2015, we were gifted a classic that involved hurricane weather and the denial of a game-tying two point conversion. The Tigers have won the last two meetings (2015, 1979) while the Irish one the inaugural battle between the two schools (1977).

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College Football Playoff team profiles: No. 1 Alabama

The few weeks in between the official announcement of college football’s final four, and the actual playing of those games, seems to last an eternity. But fortunately for us all, the fifth edition of the College Football Playoff is right around the corner. Since it feels like it’s been awhile since we’ve seen any of these teams play, I’ll be doing a profile on each team’s season so far. We’ll start with the No. 1 seed, reigning National Champion, Alabama Crimson Tide:

Record: 13-0 (SEC Champions)

Wins over currently ranked opponents: 

•  45-23 vs. No. 19 Texas A&M
• 39-10 vs. No. 23 Missouri
• 29-0 at No. 11 LSU
• 24-0 vs. No. 18 Mississippi State
• 35-28 vs. No. 5 Georgia (SEC Championship Game)

Average points per game:  47.9 (second most in country)

• Most points scored in a single game: 65 @ Arkansas
•  Fewest points scored in a single game: 24 vs Mississippi St
• Alabama scored 50 points or more in eight games this season

Average points allowed per game: 14.8 (fourth best in country)

• Most points allowed in a single game: 31 @ Arkansas
• Fewest points allowed in a single game: 0 @ LSU, 0 vs. Miss St

Key Players:

Tua Tagovailoa, Sophomore, QB

After his second half heroics in last season’s national title, the world of college football had nothing but the highest of expectations for the ‘Bama QB. And since then, Tua has done nothing but lived up to those expectations. In 2018, Tua finished second in Heisman voting and was named a Second Team All American. He put up some crazy numbers throughout the year, and the dominance of his team actually took a toll on his final stats, as Tua rarely played at all in the fourth quarter. To put it in perspective, the other two quarterbacks seated at the Heisman ceremony, Kyler Murray and Dwayne Haskins, totaled 785 and 962 total snaps on the season, respectively. Tua was on the field for 575 snaps. The Hawaiian native threw for 3,353 total yards (14^th most in the country) and 37 touchdowns (tied with Will Grier for 3^rd most). He had a completion percentage of 67.7 (11^thbest nationwide). He has only thrown four interceptions on 294 attempts.

Jerry Jeudy, Sophomore, WR

As a First Team All American, Alabama’s star receiver Jerry Jeudy has rightfully turned many heads throughout the season. Jeudy racked up 1,103 receiving yards in 2018, which only 18 receivers topped this year. His average yards per catch came out to 18.7, and he found the end zone 12 times (7^th most in country). Jeudy’s stellar play earned him the honor of the 2018 Biletnikoff Award.

Quinnen Williams, Sophomore, DT

Defensive lineman Quinnen Williams really burst onto the scene this year, as heading into the season most of the attention was on Raekwon Davis when discussing the Alabama defensive line. But Williams clearly stole the spotlight as he was named a First Team All American and Outland Trophy winner. Williams stands at 6 feet 4 inches, 289 pounds. Throughout this season, he has tallied up 66 total tackles (42 solo, 24 assisted), with eight of those being sacks. Williams’ really showed up in the Tide’s shutout of LSU in Death Valley, recording ten total tackles that evening. He also had eight total tackles against Georgia in the SEC Championship.

Jaylen Waddle, Freshman, WR

Although Jerry Jeudy was Tua’s top target this season, freshman Jaylen Waddle put in his fair share of work as well. The Houston, Texas product reeled in 41 receptions for 803 yards, averaging 19.6 yards per catch. He also caught seven touchdown passes, and also found the end zone on a 63 yard punt return. Waddle only returned 15 punts this season, but totaled 226 return yards. The only freshmen in Alabama football history to record more reception yards than Jaylen Waddle are some recognizable names: Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Amari Cooper. Sure, Waddle is still a young gun, but I wouldn’t blame you for already looking ahead to seeing this kid on Sundays.

Deionte Thompson, Junior, Safety

Alabama’s defensive backfield is highlighted by their First Team All American safety, Deionte Thompson. The Orange, Texas native measures in at 6 feet 2 inches, 194 pounds. Throughout the 2018 season, he had 71 total tackles (42 solo, 29 assisted). He has been disruptive in the passing game, tallying five pass breakups and two interceptions. On top of that, Thompson has forced four fumbles and recovered one.

Other notes: 

• Yes, Jalen Hurts came in for Tua in the SEC Championship and saved the day, much like the National Championship but with reversed roles. Yes, Tua underperformed in the SEC Championship prior to that point. Yes, Tua’s ankle could play a factor in the semifinal game against Oklahoma. But I think we’ve seen the last of Jalen Hurts taking snaps for Alabama. This is a definite reflection of Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe circa the 2001 AFC Championship in Pittsburgh when Brady went down with an injury. The old vet stepped up in the clutch, no doubt. But the young guy’s minor injury won’t prohibit him from finishing what he set out to do: win a championship.
• Alabama is the only team to have appeared in every College Football Playoff. This year’s semifinal against Oklahoma will be the first time the Tide take on a Big 12 opponent in the playoff. After that game is done, ‘Bama will have faced at least one opponent from every Power Five conference in the College Football Playoff.
• Even if you hadn't watched college football all year, you'd probably guess that 'Bama is in typical form. The notions of supremacy have been on full display this season. So far, at least. To nobody's surprise, the Crimson Tide are heavy favorites to win this year's College Football Playoff.

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Mid week ramblings: week seven

First things first: Texas is back and Notre Dame is a playoff team. Both of those statements are true in the moment, but the validity of both is temporary until proven otherwise. Let's start with Texas being back; they obviously aren't back to the glory of Vince Young and Mack Brown, but they're as good as they've been since Brown was the head coach. It's only Tom Herman's second year leading the Longhorns' charge, and he's certainly pulled this program out of the miserable pit that it had resided in recent years. Now, all of this hype and excitement does not mean Herman's job is finished in Austin. Those boosters and fans are expecting rings during his tenure. But the current hoopla is definitely warranted, as Texas is ranked No. 9 in the country after beating three ranked opponents (at the time of their meeting) this season: No. 22 USC, No. 17 TCU, and No. 7 Oklahoma. This isn't an overhyped fluke in the slightest. The Longhorns are back for now, and it feels great to say. Looking ahead to the remainder of their schedule, the legitimacy of Texas will still be challenged. The biggest threats in the upcoming weeks are Oklahoma State in Stillwater, No. 6 West Virginia, and Texas Tech in Lubbock. Those three matchups come consecutively after this weekend's game against Baylor. The road that lies ahead is not an easy one, but in this moment, right here, right now, Texas is back.

In 2017, Notre Dame was very much in the playoff conversation up until mid November, when they got absolutely thrashed in Miami by the 'Canes 41-8. For now, the No. 5 Fighting Irish are a serious playoff contender with a 6-0 record and three wins in top 25 matchups (No. 14 Michigan, No. 7 Stanford, No. 22 Virginia Tech). The difference between Notre Dame's seat at the playoff discussion table this year compared to last season, is that due to the opponents that lie ahead, 2018's seat seems to be far more stable. The Irish have gotten through the toughest part of their schedule with a "zero" in the loss column, and they'll be favored in each of their remaining games. This Saturday they host a .500 Pitt team, and the Irish are favored by 20.5 points. The following week they host Navy, which won't result in a loss but could be a game that bangs them up a bit. Then we get to November, which seems a tad sketchy to me. Don't get me wrong, the Irish will be favorites in these games, but if a slip up does occur, I think November is the most threatening month of that possibility. November 3rd Notre Dame makes the quick trip to Evanston to take on Northwestern. The Wildcats just took down Michigan State and completely blew a lead over Michigan in the prior week. Northwestern can give good teams a hard time. The last two times these teams have faced off (2014, 1995), the Wildcats have come out on top in close ones. After Northwestern, the Irish face off against two traditional powerhouse programs that are currently in shambles: Florida State and USC. But sandwiched in between those two is the Shamrock Series game against Syracuse at Yankee Stadium. Between Syracuse's ability to compete and the uniqueness of the game's setting, it just gives off a vibe that even in the case of a Notre Dame win, the flow of gameplay might be thrown off a bit. Having said all of that, the Irish should win out, causing a whole flurry of playoff debates, which is what we live for. Everything has been clicking with them since Brian Kelly named Ian Book as the starter. After serving a four game suspension to start the season, running back Dexter Williams has certainly made his presence and value known since returning. The defense looks great and Julian Love just keeps making big plays. All is well in South Bend, and all is projected to remain that way. Also, I can't mention ND's Shamrock Series game at Yankee Stadium without mentioning their atrocious uniforms for that night:

That's not me being some anti-New York guy just hating the getups for having Yankee pinstripes. I couldn't care less about that. It's the fact that they're hideous that really grinds my gears. I mean, honestly, who gave this the green light? Some guy whose job it was to make them look cool? Something doesn't add up. As a matter of fact, of all the Shamrock Series uniforms, only a coupletwotree have been anywhere from decent to good. Don't mess with the classics unless you can make it look sick, which they've failed to do on multiple occasions.

Some other much more concise thoughts before this week's "games to watch" post:

• It's just beating a dead horse at this point, but Alabama and Tua Tagovailoa are still seemingly unstoppable in 2018. Tua's current odds to win the Heisman are at -150 (next best odds: Dwayne Haskins +450) and the Tide's odds to win the National Championship are at -200 (next best odds: Clemson +750).
• After the loss to Texas last weekend, Oklahoma fired defensive coordinator Mike Stoops. It's about time. 

Remember, Mike Stoops returned to Norman after Bob Stoops allowed Brent Venables to leave for Clemson.

Hurts to miss that one.

— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) October 8, 2018

• There are eleven remaining undefeated teams this year: two from the SEC ('Bama, Georgia), two from the ACC (Clemson, NC State), one from the Pac 12 (Colorado), one from the BIG 10 (Ohio State), one from the Big 12 (West Virginia), and three from the AAC (Cincinnati, UCF, USF).
• Boston College will be wearing throwback uniforms on Saturday against Louisville to honor the Doug Flutie days. If their quarterback isn't wearing that jersey in the manner of a sports bra like Flutie used to, it'll be a disappointment.

👀 @BCFootball will be wearing some “new” threads this weekend...

📝: https://t.co/warHoqb5gS#WeAreBC🦅 pic.twitter.com/QmU2t6IthB

— BC Eagles (@BCEagles) October 9, 2018

College football games to watch: week six

The Early Games

For the 113th time, the Texas Longhorns (no. 19) and Oklahoma Sooners (No. 7) will battle it out in the Red River Showdown with the College Gameday boys in town. The Longhorns' recent (and impressive) win streak has made this matchup more interesting than it has been in recent years; the last time these two faced off with both teams being in the top 25 rankings was 2012. And this is a rivalry between two blue chips that are used to having both teams ranked when they meet. Before the Texas-being-bad streak of 2013-2017, we'd have to go back to 2005 to see a ranked vs. unranked Red River Rivalry game. But even though Texas hasn't enjoyed their usually typical level of success lately, they've still showed up to play and compete with Oklahoma in the last few meetings. In the previous five games between these two teams, each game has ended with a one-possession point differential. The unranked Longhorns came out on top in two of those, and lost the other three by five points each. Oklahoma heads into this one currently favored by eight points, which is the highest amount of points for this one to still be in the one-possession range. Both teams are 2-3 against the spread this year. Texas has done a great job rebounding from the week one loss to Maryland, and the Oklahoma offense is firing on all cylinders. Kyler Murray has successfully made everyone sad that he's pursuing a professional baseball career, because watching him play football is pure beauty. This will be the Longhorns' third ranked opponent in four weeks, and the Sooners have not faced a team in the top 25 yet this season. If Texas can pull this one off, could I maybe, potentially contemplate saying that the Longhorns...are...back? We'll see if that's a possibility when this one ends early Saturday afternoon.

Although it's not expected to be a competitive game, I'm going to be checking in on Maryland vs. No. 15 Michigan at the Big House. I've been pretty dismissive of Michigan, but their only loss being to Notre Dame is now looking to be more of a resume booster than the immediate tarnish of a fulfilling season it once seemed to be. And coincidentally, since Michigan seemed to be counted out to a certain extent, I haven't been tuning in as intently for their games in recent weeks. Now it's not like Harbaugh and his boys can ride the wave of having one loss in South Bend until the end of the year, flipping that into a playoff berth (in the scenario that ND runs the table and gets into the CFP). After Saturday's matchup against the Terps, Michigan is looking at three straight games against ranked opponents: at home vs. No. 16 Wisconsin, on the road at No. 20 Michigan State, and then back to Ann Arbor to host No. 11 Penn State. Despite an upset scare/a comeback that shouldn't have been necessary last weekend against Northwestern, Michigan is expected to handle Maryland with ease as 17.5 point favorites. And if they do effectuate the Vegas prognosis (and assuming that their next three opponents win until their respective meetings), we'll be looking at three straight weeks of Michigan featured in the weekly "games to watch." And more importantly, the more that Notre Dame's stock rises, so does Michigan's. Which means if you're obsessive over deciphering, analyzing, and projecting any and all aspects that could influence playoff scenarios that may or may not happen, familiarizing yourself with Michigan is in your best interest. Toss this one on the second or third screen for the early games, or just switch to it intermittently during the Red River commercial breaks.

The Afternoon Games

Saturday's afternoon platter is highlighted by a top-25 SEC matchup between Coach O's No. 5 LSU Tigers and the No. 22 Florida Gators in Gainesville. LSU has not lost a game yet this season, and have two wins over teams that were ranked in the top ten at the time of their meeting (Miami was No. 8 and Auburn was No. 7). Florida hopped back into this week's rankings after beating Mississippi State last week 13-6, knocking the then No. 23 Bulldogs out of the top 25. Florida's lone loss to Kentucky isn't looking as bad as it did at the time, as Benny Snell and the No. 13 Wildcats have been rolling. The last time a regular season battle between LSU and Florida has been decided by double digits was in October of 2011, when "Moves Like Jagger," "Party Rock Anthem," and "Pumped Up Kicks" were some jams topping the Billboard charts. Between the traditionally close games and these two teams obtaining loads of momentum, Vegas is predicting this to be a tight one, as LSU is favored by 2.5 points. The Tigers' defense has looked very legit this year so far, but concerns have been raised about their production on the offensive side of the ball. However, the offense looked better than they have all season last week as they thrashed Ole Miss 45-16. Whether that's an outlier of a performance, or the unit is starting to click, we'll have a better idea on Saturday. The Swamp should be an especially hostile environment on Saturday afternoon, which could potentially disrupt quarterback Joe Burrow and the flow of the offensive unit. The Gators defense has allowed only 14 points per game, which is the 9th best in the nation.

The latest AP top-25 had a few new appearances in there, with the No. 21 Colorado Buffs being one of them. You know how everybody has those "college football is better when (insert team) is good" takes? For whatever reason, I feel that way about Colorado. I inexplicably have a strong desire for them to be a successful football team. Why? I have no clue. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for black and gold uniforms. Maybe it's because Ted Johnson and Chauncey Billups are by boys. Whatever it is, I'm digging the sight of them in the top 25 and I hope their stock continues to rise. But unfortunately for the undefeated Buffs, they can't waste time relishing in the fact that they're currently in the rankings, because Herm Edwards and his Sun Devils come to Boulder on Saturday. Arizona State is 3-2 so far this year with a win over Michigan State and a seven-point road loss at Washington. Colorado's opponents so far haven't been the mightiest of FBS teams (Colorado State, a rather pathetic Nebraska squad, the abomination that is Chip Kelly and UCLA), but for what it's worth one of their victories came against Keith Foulke's favorite team the University of New Hampshire Wildcats. Colorado enters this Pac 12 South showdown favorited by 2.5. They are 3-1 against the spread this season, while ASU is 4-1 against the spread. Of the eight times these two teams have met, Colorado has only come out on top one time (2016).

The Night Games

No. 6 Notre Dame has officially entered the playoff discussion, as they've got nothing but wins in the rearview and winnable games up ahead. The Fighting Irish seemingly have only a few glaring challenges left on their schedule, starting with Saturday night's trip to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the No. 24 Virginia Tech Hokies under the lights. The Irish are currently favored by six points over the Hokies. Notre Dame is really firing on all cylinders now that they've implemented junior Ian Book under center. After starting the season with three close victories, ND and their new QB1 really shifted gears by slapping around Wake Forest and Stanford. Virginia Tech's one loss was beyond embarrassing two weeks ago, a 49-35 upset by Old Dominion. They did rebound nicely by handling No. 22 Duke 31-14 in Durham, knocking the Blue Devils out of the rankings. The initial starting quarterback for VTech, Josh Jackson, suffered a broken fibula in their one loss on the year. In the win over Duke, junior quarterback Ryan Willis lit it up by completing 17 of 27 passes for 332 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks. After Virginia Tech on Saturday night, Notre Dame's biggest remaining threats that could end their playoff hopes are probably Navy in South Bend and Syracuse at Yankee Stadium. The Irish obviously can't look past the Hokies, as the crowd should be wild as usual (Enter Sandman is a top three college football entrance tradition) and Notre Dame's only other road game this season was two weeks ago at Wake Forest.

The SEC gives us two games in the night slot that are intriguing.  No. 13 Kentucky is rolling and running back Benny Snell is putting up numbers that put him in the Heisman conversation. The Wildcats travel to College Station to battle it out with Texas A&M, who we've seen can compete with top tier talent. The Aggies are favored by six at home. Mississippi State was knocked out of the rankings when they lost two straight to Kentucky and Florida. The Bulldogs host No. 8 Auburn on Saturday night. Auburn is favored by four points in this one.