Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, December 9, 2015
The Heisman finalists have been announced. And, there are no surprises: Clemson QB Deshaun Watson, Alabama RB Derrick Henry and Stanford RB Christian McCaffrey.
I was hoping Navy QB Keenan Reynolds could get an invite. OU QB Baker Mayfield, too. Didn?t happen. Too bad. I have a vote. But, I can?t tell you what my ballot looked like or the Heisman police will seize my vote.
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Did you ever wonder what the office of Penn State coach James Franklin looked like? Take a gander. Pretty nice digs.
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No, Michigan didn?t win the Big Ten in title in Jim Harbaugh?s first year, as the school last turned the trick in 2004. But Harbaugh feels like the program got its dignity back. I?d agree with that.
The Wolverines basically beat who they were supposed to beat-and lost to who they were supposed to lose to. Michigan didn?t beat itself, as it was a smart, well-coached squad that just needs to augment its roster. And, that will come in time. I can?t wait to see where this program is in a couple of years.
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If you are an Iowa fan who wants Rose Bowl tickets, good luck.
Rose Bowl fever is high for a school that hasn?t been to Pasadena since the 1990 season. According to multiple commercial search engines, fans should expect to pay around $1,200 at least if they pay for their ticket, hotel and airfare on an individual basis. The lowest price on StubHub earlier this week was $620. The highest was $14,970. SeatGeek prices out seats for as low as $367, however.
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Yes, Nebraska?s season was filled with disappointment and heartache in a maddening 5-7 debut for Mike Riley. But ending the season with a win vs. UCLA in the Foster Farms Bowl would be a nice salve.
?This is a great opportunity to go out on a good note,? Riley said. ?The message to the team will be, we want to win the game. We want to do everything we can to win the game. We don?t want anything getting in the way of winning the game.?
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Now that Chris Ash has been tagged as Rutgers coach, I am fascinated to see what type of staff he builds.
Ash has worked with Dan McCarney and Paul Rhoads. Could one of them be his defensive coordinator? No idea who may be the OC to run Ash?s spread attack. Ash will have a salary pool of $2.75 mil to hire staff; that ranks seventh in the Big Ten. Not bad. Actually, that?s pretty good and higher than I expected.
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With Matt Limegrover out at Minnesota, tight ends coach Rob Reeves will serve as OC for the Gophers? bowl game vs. Central Michigan. That is one of several alterations Tracy Claeys has made to the staff for now.
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Is Maryland going to change the name of Byrd Stadium?
Byrd Stadium was named after Harry Clifton ?Curley? Byrd, who served as the university?s president from 1936-54. The problem has become, though, that Byrd, the Washington Post writes, ?barred blacks from enrolling until forced to do so by court order? and that ?[w]hen he ran for governor, he did so as an ardent advocate for segregation.?
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Michigan State is No. 1 in the nation! How sweet is that? Mlive.com takes a look at the last three times the Spartans have been No. 1.
The last time? It was 2013. MSU fell from its lofty perch after a home loss to unranked North Carolina in what was largely an unsatisfying season with the likes of Adreian Payne, Keith Appling and Gary Harris. Many felt this was a Final Four/national title team. Didn?t happen.
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A big key for Northwestern perhaps reaching the NCAA tourney for the first time will be to finish the non-conference season 12-1. Can it?
NU is 7-1 now. InsideNU.com notes that through the Wildcats' 7-1 start, they've surprisingly drawn favorable computer rankings, and even two AP votes in back-to-back weeks. Chris Collins' team comes in at 40 in RPI, quite the turn-around from 124 last year. KenPom shows a much improved Northwestern team as well, ranking them at 62. They were 118th last year. There's no reason this talented Northwestern team cannot win out in non-conference games against supposedly lesser opponents ahead of Big Ten play.
