Monday, December 3rd, 2018

Clancy on Campus: This has gotta Hurts!

Simon Clancy

Lead Feature Writer

Clancy on Campus: This has gotta Hurts!

Simon Clancy College Football

Simon Clancy rounds up college football’s Championship Week and gives his own forthright take on the 2018 playoff quartet….

LEAD OFF:
To all intents and purposes, the season, as we know it, is over. However, the season, to all intents and purposes, actually begins now.

The de facto opening kick-off happened on Sunday afternoon with the release of the four playoff teams, and the subsequent Bowl match-ups. So, let’s start with the four that made it: Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma, and their relative merits. Then, later, we’ll discuss the three teams that will feel hard done by: some understandably, one not so much.

Alabama made it thanks to one of the most remarkable stories in college football – in this or any season. Eleven months after being benched, Jalen Hurts rose from the proverbial dead to bring the Tide back from a two-touchdown deficit to beat Georgia and win the SEC Championship. His performance, both passing and running, was outstanding and a testament to his fortitude and his attitude in sticking around and not transferring. Tua Tagovailoa now has almost a month to recover from the injury that forced him out of the game, and it will be fascinating to see what Hurts does next season: he could easily transfer to somewhere like Oklahoma to replace Kyler Murray and compete for yet another national title and a Heisman.

For the Bulldogs, some serious questions need to be asked of Kirby Smart, who coached down to his name, especially in the fourth quarter, when the offense became predictable and tight, and his 4th-and-11 fake punt was one of the worst decisions I can remember. Back-to-back defeats to Alabama in games they had no business losing will haunt the programme for a long time.

Clemson secured their place with a suffocating win over Pitt in a very uncompetitive ACC title game. After reminding listeners about the Panthers’ ability to stun high-ranked teams on the podcast last week, they came out and soiled the sheets in conditions that should have suited their running game. But Clemson’s defensive line dominated proceedings and it was the Tigers’ ground attack that led the way behind another big day from sophomore Travis Etienne. Dabo Swinney’s team also got a break with Alabama’s win: they stay at two rather than jumping to one and potentially playing either the Tide or the explosive Sooners in the semi-finals.

It was clear on ESPN’s announcement show that nobody really cares for the Irish as part of the top four and, although they’re probably underrated in terms of their overall talent and depth, it does feel like they’re in because of their history as much as anything. Would an unbeaten Notre Dame hang with two-loss Georgia? It’s unlikely. Would they beat a McKenzie Milton-led UCF? I’m not sure they would either, but the flip side of that is why play the regular season if you’re just going to throw in a two-loss SEC side?

It’s hard to argue against Oklahoma’s body of work: one loss, on the road, to their biggest rival, on a last-second field goal. They gained revenge for that loss in the Big 12 title game in Dallas at the weekend, with Kyler Murray making a significant Heisman case – more on that below. The fact that Murray will play in a national semi-final is great for everyone who likes offense. That said, although the Sooner defense held Texas to 27 points, it’s not inconceivable that Alabama could score 60.

BEST OF THE REST
The two teams who can feel legitimately upset are Georgia and UCF. The Bulldogs are clearly one of the best four teams in college football but, as aforementioned, it would be hard to defend their inclusion over what would amount to three conference champions, one of whom was unbeaten. The manner of the Bulldogs’ defeat to LSU was really what did for them but, with Jake Fromm guaranteed to return for at least one more year, they have the talent to make a run for the title again in 2019-20. Whether they can get over the mental hurdle is another question altogether.

All the arguments about UCF’s strength of schedule are frankly a little upsetting, especially if you’re a Knights fan. The fact that they finished the season still behind Michigan in the rankings is a disgrace. That they weren’t a legitimate part of the conversation to be in the playoff is utterly unforgivable. As their AD Danny White said, the playoff is nothing more than a Power 5 invitational. They’re unbeaten in two seasons, they won their conference with a back-up quarterback and, if they beat LSU in the Fiesta Bowl – with Darriel Mack under centre – then a lot of people are going to look very stupid. For the second year running. The system is an ass and UCF can consider themselves very unlucky.

The one team without a real shout is Ohio State. Yes, they won their conference championship and, yes, they beat Michigan and Penn State, but they lost by 29 points to 6-6 Purdue, scraped by (then) two-win Nebraska at home and then went to OT with 5-7 Maryland and only won because the Terps went for two and the win rather than take the extra point to extend the game. And that’s really where the Buckeyes case rests. A four-touchdown loss to a team that barely scraped bowl eligibility should mean an immediate removal from consideration, no matter how well your QB plays.

GRIDIRON TOP 10
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Oklahoma
5. Notre Dame
6. UCF
7. Ohio State
8. Michigan
9. Washington
10. LSU

HEISMAN FIVE
It’s very rare that I eat humble pie. Even when I’m wrong, I’m usually right. Yet I may have to take a slice of it because the Heisman race is absolutely neck-and-neck after calling it Tua Tagovailoa’s to lose for so long. Kyler Murray’s performances have been such that it’s almost impossible to overlook him. He delivered yet again on the big stage on Saturday evening to defeat Texas on the back of 386 yards passing, whilst Tagovailoa struggled massively in the SEC Championship game.

The two will face off in the playoff on December 29th with one of them holding the award. Tua may well have done enough, but don’t be at all surprised if Murray becomes the second Sooner in two years to take home the gong. Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins overcame an indifferent mid-portion of the season and no QB in the nation was playing as well as he was down the stretch. Quinnen Williams had another big impact against Georgia, whilst Etienne went off for 156 on just 12 carries, including a mazy 75-yarder on the opening play.

1. Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama (1)
2. Kyler Murray – Oklahoma (3)
3. Dwayne Haskins – Ohio State (5)
4. Quinnen Williams – Alabama (4)
5. Travis Etienne – Clemson (-)


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