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Here’s what’s happening in college football as of Saturday…
More about Michigan
Source: The employee purchased tickets to rivals’ games
michigan employee Connor Stallions, Who was suspended with pay on Friday as the central figure in the NCAA’s investigation into Michigan’s alleged personal scoutbought tickets to watch at least five Big Ten teams play before games against the Wolverines, school sources confirmed to The athlete.
One school source said tickets bearing the Stallions’ name had been purchased five times over the past three seasons, always near the 50-yard line and sometimes on either side of the field. ESPN reported That stallions Purchased tickets On both sides of the field Ohio State game with Pennsylvania state on Saturday and that those tickets were not used. The NCAA is asking for information that could be useful to the investigation, but this certainly seems like a development that could go badly for the Wolverines.
like The athleteIf Michigan is found guilty, should it be punished before college football playoff selections, Stuart Mandel asked last week.
Yesterday, the Wolverines debuted as the new favorite to win the national championship (+225 odds), and the quarterback JJ McCarthy has become the favorite for the Heisman Trophy (+200 odds), per BetMGM. But could this investigation impact the Wolverines’ path to the playoff? The CFP panel is required to “consider other relevant factors” in its ratings. “The committee will look at anything that happens in the game,” Bill Hancock, executive director of the CFP, told Stewart last week.
More on McCarthy and Heisman below…
The Heisman race is heating up
Marvin Harrison Jr. has the momentum
Michael Penix Jr It remains at the top this week The athlete Heisman poll, but his competition is gaining more ground. The rest of the top five:
2. Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
3. Jayden Daniels, QB, LSU
4. Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oklahoma
5. JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan
Harrison appeared on 23 of 33 ballots and received nine first-place votes. This comes after he scored a season-high 11 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in Ohio State’s 20-12 win over Penn State. Harrison will be the first Ohio State player to win the Heisman Trophy since Troy Smith in 2006 and only the second outside QB to win the award since 2016.
Three previously unranked players were included in this week’s poll: Alabama LB Dallas Turner, Iowa DB Cooper Degen And this week This week’s castaway vote, Utah’s Sione Vaki. The 208-pound safety moonlights at running back for the Utes and is tied for second on the team in tackles (34) and leads the team with an average of 9.3 yards per rush.
The case of the only voter in Vaki, Stuart Mandel: I don’t think he’ll win the Heisman, but Sione Vaki is at least worthy of attention. What he does as a two-way player is phenomenal. In the last two games, he ran for 158 yards against Cal, gained 217 rushing/receiving yards against USC and had 2 TDs in both games, all while playing safety. He saved Utah’s season.
CFP countdown
Preparing for the first qualifying classifications
We are one week away from the first release of this season’s playoff rankings. Starting next week, the CFP committee will reveal the top 25 players every Tuesday through Selection Day on Sunday, December 3. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Can we see a different number 1 for AP? It’s possible. The committee is focusing on the strength of the schedule, especially at this point, as conference tournaments and some head-to-head contests have not yet been played. Win-loss record is one of the data points the CFP committee uses to evaluate the strength of schedule Georgia, No. 1 in the AP poll, It is one of two ranked teams in the AP with only one win against a team with a winning record.
Did you know? In every year of the CFP era besides 2014, at least two teams seeded in the top four of the initial seedings have reached the playoff. (Florida State was the only team to remain in the top four from start to finish in its inaugural playoff year in 2014.) A team that debuted at No. 1 in the rankings has finished there just four times (once by Clemson and three times by Alabama).
Boomer sooner. In each of Oklahoma’s four CFP appearances, the Sooners have never been ranked in the top four. OU was the team most likely to jump into CFP eligibility after not starting there. It made its biggest jump from No. 15 to No. 4 in 2015 and finished with its highest CFP ranking (No. 2) in 2017.
A scary one-win team
The Sun Devils are angry
I have a team I want to talk about: Arizona State. Yes, ASU is last in its conference with one win (Week 1 against FCS Southern Utah by three points). But Arizona State, 1-6 overall and 0-4 in the Pac-12, was keeping me up at night. (With five games starting after 9 p.m. ET, I mean that literally.)
In four conference games, Arizona State has:
- He entered the fourth quarter against USC trailing by six points, forcing Caleb Williams’ heroics to save the Trojans.
- He was pulled within a field goal against Cal in the fourth quarter after trailing the entire game.
- Colorado tied it with less than a minute remaining, forcing the Buffs to survive a 43-yard field goal with 12 seconds left.
- He held Penix to zero TDs, outscoring Pac-12 leader Washington 341 to 288.
Arizona State looks like the definition of a trap team. After playing Washington State, the Sun Devils will be tested with a packed schedule at No. 13 Utah State, No. 23 UCLA and No. 8 Oregon before ending their season by hosting in-state rival Arizona. Antonio Morales points out that the Sun Devils’ impressive defense ranks 30th in yards per play allowed and that buying some equity in Kenny Dillingham’s staff might be wise.
The Sun Devils have shown their resolve; Now it’s just a matter of closing the deal. Maybe I’ll get upset in a Pac-12 game late in the season (which will likely go to overtime and end after 2 a.m. ET).
Quick shots
Nicole Auerbach on what we’ve learned in the past two weeks: Clemson’s decline, the latest at Michigan And New Heisman hopefuls.
College football coaches We’re going for it Fourth down More this season. However, their success is on track to be the lowest in the CFP era. Seth Emerson has more on the trend.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart He said Brooke Powerswho suffered a high ankle sprain against Vanderbilt on Oct. 14, was on the team, but Smart did not provide further details about the star tight end’s return.
Texas QB Quinn Ewers He will miss time because of a sprained AC joint in his shoulder, coach Steve Sarkisian said. The injury is not expected to end at the end of the season.
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(Top photo by Jim Harbaugh: Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
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