A Jersey Guy: Time to Focus on THIS season
The talk of expanding the college football playoff system from four to 12 teams was a nice topic for June.
Then there was the ongoing issue of the transfer portal and the hot button topic of NIL (Name and Imaging Licensing), which was good for July.
And in the past several days we have been overwhelmed by the ramifications of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the much $greener pastures of the Southeastern Conference.
For the most part, those are long range issues.
It is time to pick up those toys, put them in the closet and concentrate on a college football season that hopefully will not be slowed or shut down by COVID issues, which will return the pageantry of the game.
The college football season opens in 22 days, which will include a Big Ten game--Nebraska at Illinois.
With that in mind, let's take a look at a few things we can expect and then perhaps a few surprises which might develop.
Don't expect a radical change at the top.
The main contenders figure to be Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Clemson and Ohio State.
And the SEC, led by Commissioner Greg Sankey, will continue to be the front runner.
Fill in whatever order you prefer.
And don't expect a change with realignment, NIL issues or transfer portal issues. Those teams will find a way to adjust.
Want a "sleeper''- aka a team not usually found in the Top 10.
Start with Cincinnati, of the now endangered American Athletic Conference and Iowa State of the wounded Big 12 conference.
Both have Top 10 rosters, and ironically , both could be in the same league within a few years.
Here's our guess at the 1-2 spots in each of the 10 conferences.
Atlantic Coast Conference
Clemson, North Carolina
Player of the Year--NC QB Sam Howell
American Athletic Conference
Cincinnati, UCF
Player of the Year--Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder
Big 12
Oklahoma, Iowa State
Player of the Year--Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler
Big Ten
Ohio State, Indiana
Player of the Year--Indiana QB Michael Penix, Jr.
Conference-USA
Marshall, UAB
Player of the Year--Marshall QB Grant Wells
Mid-American Conference
Buffalo, Ball State
Player of Year--Western Michigan QB Kaleb Eleby
Mountain West Conference
Boise State, Nevada
Player of the Year--Nevada QB Carson Strong
Pac-12 Conference
USC, Oregon
Player of the Year--USC QB Kedon Slovis
Southeastern Conference
Alalblama, Georgia
Player of the Year--Texas A&M running back Isaiah Spiller
Sunbelt Conference
Coastal Carolina, Louisiana
Player of the Year--Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall
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Who's No. 1--My guess would be Oklahoma, with Alabama a close second.
Who's No. 130--The UMass Minutemen edging out New Mexico State
They face each other on November 27th.
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Heisman Hype
Front runners
1. Oklahoma QB Spencer Rattler 2. North Carolina QB Sam Howell 3. Clemson QB DJ. Uiagaleilei