Heisman: A Detailed Composition of the Far Superior Candidates for the 2013 Heisman Trophy Award

By Caroline Davenport

The Heisman Trophy award is one of my favorite parts of College Football. Not only have I been in attendance for two of the ceremonies, I also enjoy how elitist the whole situation gets.

The Heisman Trophy award is named after one of the first true innovators of the game, John W. Heisman. He has an interesting story, if you are so inclined to read his bio on the Heisman website, but the point I am getting at is that this little award, that started as an acknowledgement for the best football player, has turned into an extremely commercialized and completely ridiculous form of achievement for someone who can throw a ball down a field. And I love it.

While the Heisman has changed through out the years, the spirit of John W. Heisman stays with the award, and the players who are lucky enough to win it. This year, the Heisman voting committee will choose a new player to induct into the eternal brotherhood of winners, and this year the winner will be….

Are you on the edge of your seat…because you should be.

Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Johnny Manziel, or Tajh Boyd. Might as well throw AJ McCarron in there too.

Ron Cenoy/USA Today Sports

Frankly, I do not know who will win this year, the Heisman voters like to throw curveballs at us fans quite often. For example, the two times I have attended the ceremony in person, it was to see Eli Manning and Brady Quinn. Does anyone know who won both those years? Jason White from Oklahoma won in 2003…and where is he now? I’m not even sure how to answer that question. White beat out Eli Manning (who isn’t doing too hot right now, but that’s for my NFL counterparts to discuss), and Larry Fitzgerald that year, and had an excellent college career but no NFL career. In 2007, Ohio State’s Troy Smith beat Darren McFadden, Brady Quinn, Ray Rice, oh and Calvin Johnson. Troy Smith is now playing in the CFL after last playing in the NFL in 2010 for the 49ers.

 Needless to say, it seems that recently, the Heisman Trophy means a little less than it used to. It’s like the MVP for the minor leagues; it is an honor, but how much does it mean in the NFL. Right now, it’s hard to say whether or not these last 5 Heisman winners will do well in the NFL. Sam Bradford was playing pretty well for the Rams, until he got hurt last week. We all know what happened to Tim Tebow. What about Mark Ingram… Cam Newton…RGIII…or even Johnny Football? Its difficult to know because we live in the present. Maybe when I look back on this article I’ll think, “Caroline, you were so wrong” or hopefully “Caroline, you are so spot on, why didn’t ESPN hire you faster!”

Now on to the men in contention (in two sentences or less):

Marcus Mariota: Oregon, National Championship contender, has passed for 2281 yards with ZERO interceptions and 20 touchdowns. He has a pass completion average of 64% and he’s only a sophomore. I like his odds. (oops three sentences)

Jameis Winston: Florida State, and is dominant in the ACC. Winston has passed for 2177 yards, has 23 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, with a pass completion average of about 70%.

Johnny Manziel: aka Johnny Football, has already won the Heisman, is he looking for a second? This Texas A&M Aggie has thrown for 2594 yards, with 22 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, with a pass completion average of 73%.

Tajh Boyd: this Senior Clemson quarterback has passed for 2243 yards, 17 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Clemson’s only loss this season is to Winston and the Seminoles, but will this loss affect his standing with the voters?

AJ McCarron: he’s so good, he’s forgotten about, because he’s been so good for so long. This Senior Alabama quarterback has passed for 1862 yards, with 16 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, and a 69.4% pass completion average.

In conclusion, I can’t say who is going to win, and what that will do for their career in the NFL. I just love seeing how it all unfolds.  

The BCS is Out, the BCS is Out!

What am I, the Paul Revere of College Football or Something?

By Caroline Davenport 

Remember when I told you during the first weeks of the season that I wanted to see the real Alabama come out and play? Well, the team’s here, and it’s playing.

And rightfully so.

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Alabama is not only ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, which has been around since week one, it is also ranked No. 1 in the newly-minted BCS poll. Now, the BCS and AP have quite a few discrepancies between teams and their rankings, but naturally, Alabama is the team the stands above them all. And the team is not only ranked No. 1 in those polls; they’re ranked No. 1 in the popular USA Today poll and the ESPN.com Power Ranking, both valid polls that a lot of people pay attention to.

So what makes Alabama No. 1 ?

They have an explosive offense lead by A.J. McCarron, who is only in the middle of the pack for ESPN’s Heisman Watch. Yes he has great stats, but according to these so-called “Heisman Experts,” McCarron is old news; he’s great, but he’s not new. He’s not cool and shiny like Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston and Johnny Manziel; and his stats are expected from of him because he’s a senior. Oh, and don’t forget he’s done the whole “National Championship” thing a couple times.

What makes Alabama’s offense so great is not just a great quarterback, but also an excellent front line. Those guys get no credit for all the work they put in, and Alabama’s offense would severely suffer if it did not have a great offensive line. McCarron has only been sacked 7 times so far this season, and compared to last year when he was sacked 22 times, it sounds like they’ve figured something out.

A great offensive line can do wonders for a team. They not only protect the quarterback, they also provide openings for great running backs such as T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake to get tons of carries throughout the game. And bonus, Yeldon and Drake are both only sophomores!

Another reason Alabama is No. 1 is because of its defense.

Well, of course; Nick Saban is coach, and he is a defensive mastermind of genius, so we all expect Alabama to have a good defense. But at the beginning of the year, I wasn’t singing the same tune. I was most impressed with Alabama’s offense, but a little disappointed with it’s defense. Obviously the Nicktator whipped these boys back into shape, and since their close call with Texas A&M, they have not allowed a team to score more than a touchdown on them.

Finally, Alabama is No. 1 because…they’re Alabama. I’m not saying Alabama gets any special treatment in the polls (it does), but they have the precedence to keep being No. 1, regardless if they have a loss. A one-loss Alabama team will always make it to the National Championship. But a one-loss Oregon or Stanford team…I’m not so sure.

I think I’m rolling with the Tide again, and thank God, because I was afraid Alabama fans were going to poison the trees in front of my yard or something. (30 for 30’s “Roll Tide/War Eagle” anyone? Sorry, I’m just a big sports fan, okay!?)

Paying College Athletes?

Major issues in the argument for and against paying college athletes

By Jeremy Philipson

After reading the Time article "It's Time to Pay College Athletes," I felt that many issues were raised, but not addressed. Everyone can point out the problem, but coming up with a solution is much more difficult. 

(Note: The Time article proposed a player limit of $30,000 per year, so I will use that figure for arguments sake.)

Logistics

A lot of my personal issues were raised in the Time article, specifically the point of what happens if the NCAA decides to pay athletes. Who gets paid? Both males and females? Every team, or just ones that turn a profit? How much would each athlete earn? Does it depend on class year? Do starters get paid more than bench players? Would there be a salary cap or maximum salary per player? How would each school afford to do this? Obviously, there is a tremendous chasm between the profits of schools like Alabama, Florida, and Syracuse, and schools like Butler, Wichita State, and Central Florida. If programs can only pay players what they can afford, how do the mid-major programs compete with the big boys in recruiting? Also, I think that Title IX would have to be considered. Women’s college athletics have come a huge way since 1972, and would play a role in determining equal compensation for males and females. Not only is it a slippery slope to get a decision, but there are a multitude of factors that need to be considered before any decision is made.

Amateurism

Getty Images

If Johnny Football, CJ Fair and other top players are getting a check after every game, they can no longer be considered a student-athlete. In my mind, if a player is being compensated for their athletic ability (beyond an athletic scholarship), the word amateur needs to be thrown out. Is college going to become a true "minor league" system for the NFL and NBA? Is it going to become a breeding ground for future professional players? This would totally marginalize their education. Being a professor trying to teach 18-year-old kids who are making $30,000 to, essentially, not sit in class, would be impossible. If I'm a projected first-round draft pick getting paid upwards of $30,000 per year, on top of my full athletic scholarship, what motivation (or reason) do I have to attend a bullshit Earth Science class? Would I really care about my grade in Calc 101? Why not spend that time lifting weights, working out, getting better, and improving my draft stock? Most student-athletes already struggle in the classroom. If they start getting paid? Forget about it.

Cornering the Market

Assuming my prior two issues are solved, a third naturally arises. What stops top-tier schools like Michigan, LSU, Oregon, and Notre Dame in football, and Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, and Kentucky in basketball, from just paying the best players in each recruiting class? You could make an argument that these schools already corner the market on top talent, but besides the top 1%, every program experiences ups and downs in recruiting, talent, and on-field/on-court performance. How can Butler or Wichita State, who both made Final Four runs in recent years, be expected to compete with schools in major conferences with multi-billion dollar television deals? These mid-major basketball schools are either turning very little profit or, at best, breaking even.

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

According to a March 2010 CNN Money report, Butler made $2 (yes, two dollars) in the 2009-2010 season. Louisville, UNC, Ohio State, and Arizona all turned a profit of over $16 million that same year. In football, the difference is considerably greater. In a December 2012 report by ESPN, Texas was named the most profitable program, with revenue of over $100 million and profit of almost $80 million. If a high school senior is choosing between Florida ($51 million in profit) offering him $30,000 per year, or Central Florida (not listed) offering him $5,000 per year, the decision is pretty easy. And these conference TV deals prove the point further. Texas has its own television network (called Longhorn Network) which provides 24 hour University of Texas programming. The new ACC television deal is worth $3.6 billion over 15 years, with each school taking $17 million each year (less than the yearly per-school take for the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-12). All I can say to Butler, Wichita State, and Boise State: Good Luck.

Personally, I do not believe that college athletes should be paid. They are receiving an education, sometimes worth in excess of $50,000, for free. Whether they choose to take advantage of that opportunity is up to them. On the other side, I completely understand the thought that these kids are making their schools millions of dollars, and aren’t seeing a dime. To me, there is no middle ground.

I see the NCAA eventually dissolving. The Ed O’Bannon lawsuit (http://bit.ly/14zfYn7) and the Johnny Manziel fiasco this summer proved that change is coming sooner rather than later. Almost everyone agrees that the NCAA is in the wrong; they run a multi-billion dollar industry and pay their “employees” (re: players) nothing. What everyone does not agree on is a solution.

One way or another, the National Collegiate Athletic Association will be changed.

Hopefully, it is for the better.

NCAA Final Four Set

Washington Huskies/AP Images

With the National Championship game a week away, the Pac 12 has no representatives.

By Kristin Callahan

The Final Four is set. Kentucky from the SEC and Louisville from the Big East will face off on Saturday at 6:09. The Buckeyes of Ohio State from the Big Ten and the Kansas Jayhawks of the Big XII will compete for a spot in the national championship game at 8:49 on Saturday.

While not shocking, the Final Four does not include a team from the Pac 12. The Pac 12 only received one bid and that was the automatic bid earned by the Cal Bears. The Washington Huskies weren’t invited to the Big Dance but instead were invited to the NIT Tournament or the Not Invited Tournament. There was a time when being the regular season champions of a conference secured you a spot in the field of 64 but in this day in age where mid-majors are filling up the field and earning automatic bids, the regular season champs are often left out.

The Cal Bears were the only team to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears were a team that lost non-conference games to tourney teams Missouri, UNLV, and San Diego State and only had a win over Weber State. They began Pac 12 play with a win over a USC team that went 1-17 in conference play. The Bears was the best team the Pac 12 had to offer and they received a play-in game from the committee.

The conference has only one solution in the upcoming offseason and that is to get better. In order to gain the respect and attention they once received from the NCAA selection committee and sports fanatics around the country, the Pac 12 needs to start playing better basketball.

Nothing Lucky About the Run of Kentucky

Kentucky's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist shoots over Baylor players/AP Images

Kentucky is moving forward and may take home the title.

By Trevor Hass

A few brave souls picked defending champion UConn over Kentucky in the third round. The Huskies didn’t even get to that game, and Kentucky beat down on Iowa State instead.

Another small percentage of the population picked Indiana over Kentucky. The Hoosiers did it once, why couldn’t they do it again? Indiana gave up 102 points as the Wildcats ran all over the Hoosiers.

A miniscule amount of those who filled out a bracket picked Baylor over Kentucky. It wasn’t even close. The Wildcats put the game away in the first half. They were up 20 heading into the break and never looked back.

The vast, vast majority of people picked Kentucky to make the Final Four, and that is exactly what happened.

There’s no beating around the bush here. The Wildcats are hands down the best team in college basketball and have five to seven players that will play in the NBA.

In fact, freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has already declared for the draft. Nowadays many freshmen go pro too early such as Duke’s Austin Rivers and Iowa State’s Royce White, however there’s no denying that MKG is ready. Kidd-Gilchrist scored 19 points against Baylor on 7-10 shooting and dominated inside and out.

Another player who will likely go pro is Anthony Davis. Wildcats fans had a scary moment when Davis took a tumble in the second half and injured his knee. It had potential to be a devastating blow, but Davis was back within minutes and didn’t miss a beat. He finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and one trimmed but still noticeably grotesque unibrow.

Davis out-blocked 322 Division 1 teams this year and shattered the Kentucky single season record. He has 169 on the season and also shoots 63% from the floor.
The Wildcat offense is unquestionably better than the potentially implemented offense of the New York Jets with backup quarterback Tim Tebow. Kentucky also likes to run and they do so early and often, destroying opponents with their size, athleticism, and outright superiority.

It will be shocking if the Wildcats don’t win the tournament. Crazier things have happened, but if all goes as planned, they will go down as one of the best teams in NCAA history.

Coaches Gone Wild; Spring Break in Storrs!

The reigning NCAA Champion UCONN Huskies will be without head coach Jim Calhoun for the start of their conference schedule next season. But it's not the first time that violations have befallen a defending Final Four team. by David Wilson

I would like to begin this with reluctant congratulations to Jim Calhoun and Connecticut for once again winning the NCAA Championship. OK, that’s out of the way. It’s hard to rip on a team with someone like Kemba Walker, who even graduated a year early, but it’s tough to celebrate a championship when the head coach has a suspension already lined-up for next season. 

Of course, many sang the praises for the oldest coach to win a National Championship after the game, few even mentioning that he will be suspended for “not creating an atmosphere that complies with his program.” Calhoun will be suspended for UCONN’s first three Big East games next season. UCONN also lost scholarships for three academic years, will be on probation for the next three seasons, and cannot associate with a specific booster. But Jim Calhoun isn’t the first coach to make Final Four or win a National Championship thanks to illegal recruiting tactics or otherwise suspect dealings.  Sadly, he won’t be the last. Ironically, Calhoun defeated two other past NCAA violators on his way to his third ring. ESPN even aired a documentary, Fab Five, about one of these programs.