Who Will Win the CFP?

By: Henry Jones

This year, with the introduction of the twelve team playoffs, the race to the beloved National Championship is more exciting than ever. The favorites to win right now are Oregon and Ohio State. They each have a sixteen percent chance to win. While this isn’t very high, it adds a sense of suspense between the race. Other teams like Clemson, Arizona State, and SMU are seen as dark horses to make a run. This new playoff format is almost comparable to College Basketball during March Madness. Meaning that any team has a chance to upset anybody because all of these teams have very strong teams. A team I am looking forward to making it all the way to the chip are the Boise State Broncos. With their stud running back, Ashton Jeanty, and their strong fanbase I believe they have a chance to go all the way. The only doubt I have is whenever they go against an extremely strong defense such as Oregon or Georgia. Each team has a very elite run defense and it will be interesting to see how Boise State’s run heavy offense performs against us. Another thing that may prove to be a problem is their quarterback. Maddox Madsen is a very mid level quarterback who piggybacks off of Jeanty all season long. Another matchup I will be waiting to watch is Arizona State versus Penn State. Penn State is one of the most overrated teams every year and I will be watching to see how they try to stop Arizona State’s breakout star running back Cam Skatebbo. To end, in my opinion I think that if Carson Beck stays out of the quarterback position and their stud sophomore backup stays in the game, there is no team that will beat a locked in Georgia team.

Should South Carolina make the CFP?

By: Milling Galloway

If you take a look at the big picture, the committee is going to put Alabama in over South Carolina. Alabama has the bigger name, brand , and just the fact that they are Alabama. That’s not what I am here to talk about. I am here to tell you why South Carolina should make it. LaNorris Sellers is the best quarterback in the nation. There is no debating that, also no team can put him on the ground. Clemson felt his wrath as he would rush and pass for over 150 yards. No other quarterback in the nation is doing that. Our receivers are finally coming out of their shells and are starting to thrive. Guys like Nyck Harbor and Dalevon Campbell are breakout future stars. The team itself is starting to fully come together for the first time in ten years. Just because Alabama beat us in the head to head at their home by two, does not prove anything. Our quarterback was still learning. Now, he has turned into a Heisman contender. The most recent comparison would be Alabama going into Norman, Oklahoma and Oklahoma beating them 24 to 3, An absolute blowout. South Carolina went into Norman and won 35 to 9. Those clearly show the better team. Alabama just can not play well on the road and this last team to get in has to play all away games. I just think it is so dumb Alabama will get in after having two unranked losses and USC has all three unranked losses. The CFP really needs to take a look at all these factors and who is playing better now and not in the past. The truth is Milroe is just not a great quarterback he is way too inconsistent compared to the superstar Sellers. All these factors need to be in play but to answer again, Alabama is going to get in just because of their name.

Who Will Win the Heisman Race?

By: Henry Jones

I usually talk about the NFL regarding my favorite team, the Arizona Cardinals, but in this blog I will be answering the question of who I think is most favored to win the Heisman award this year in college football. For a long time, the Heisman award has been seen as a quarterback award, such as the MVP Award in the NFL. However, that narrative has a chance to change this year because of two generational players : Ashton Jeanty and Travis Hunter. Both are spectacular athletes and put up video game number statistics. To begin, Ashton Jeanty has been amazing his year. He is putting up unbelievable rushing amounts every game and is on pace for 2,912 rushing yards, shattering Barry Sanders’s college rushing record of 2,628. This record has been standing for a very long time and some thought of it as unbreakable. Paired with these mass amounts of yards, Jeanty also has 19 touchdowns. Keep in mind that Jeanty has only played 6 games. This means that he is also on pace for 38 total touchdowns breaking the touchdown record for running backs as well.

Next, Travis Hunter is another guy who can’t be talked about enough. His main point of argument of why he should win the Heisman is that he plays both sides of the ball. This means he plays offense and defense. Not only does he play offense and defense, but he plays both of them extremely well. Hunter has 604 yards receiving and six touchdowns this year. Now normally people would look at that and see an above average receiver at best, but when you watch the film and see him making these spectacular contested catches over defenders heads, then you will see him as the player he truly is. This paired with the fact that he is also tied for the third best corner in the nation with a coverage ranking of 81.2 and two interceptions on the year proves why he is a solid contender for Heisman.

To wrap up, I do think that the race will be extremely close this year because the two players are very competitive and both want it very bad. However, due to Jeanty’s immense aura when carrying the ball, I have to think that he is the favorite to take home the trophy.

Why was FSU Snubbed out of a Playoff Spot?

By: Jones DesChamps

In the midst of chaos during this college football season, the College Football Playoff Committee has caused uproar amongst loyal fans. As the final season of the four team playoff concludes, the committee has made its most controversial decision yet. By leaving an undefeated, power 5 conference champion out of the playoff picture, the committee has decided to exclude a flawless team from being crowned as one of the most deserving teams in the country. Although this point has been proven by the professional analysts as a proper decision, it is beyond evident that Florida State was cheated out of a chance at a national championship. 

To begin, throughout the history of the college football playoff, no undefeated power 5 conference champion has ever been left out. Not only that, but it is the committee’s job to put in the MOST DESERVING TEAMS, not the best four teams. If it’s their job to put in the most deserving teams, then how is a team that hasn’t lost a game left out of the playoffs. Not only that, Florida State has neutral or away wins against Clemson, Louisville, and LSU, all three of which are ranked wins. If you believe that it is the committee’s job to put the BEST four teams in the playoffs, then history does not side with your answer. In 2015, the committee allowed Michigan State into the playoffs, a team who was clearly not one of the best four teams in the country but made it in because they deserved it. The same thing has happened with Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and TCU throughout history, by allowing bad, yet deserving teams into the playoffs. So, it’s evident that the committee does not care about who’s better, but they care about who’s the most deserving. 

Secondly, a large reason that Florida State was eliminated from playoff contention was because of the season-ending injury that their star quarterback, Jordan Travis, suffered three weeks ago. Not only is it ridiculous to discipline a team for winning all of their games but punishing a team because of a player’s injury is unreasonable, too. It is completely outrageous to exclude an undefeated conference champion, who has won their last two games with a backup quarterback, from the playoffs. That quarterback, who apparently isn’t good enough, has gotten the job done. How is it appropriate to penalize a perfect team with over eighty scholarship players because of a wrong step taken by one of those players? Correct, it’s not appropriate. Yes, if injuries would have taken over a team, that’s one thing, but one player doesn’t lead a team to zero losses. Clearly, this team was cheated out of a chance to bring home a trophy. 

So, as it’s blatantly obvious, the College Football Playoff Committee failed in doing their job and has robbed a deserving team of a chance at history.