Ranking College Football's Most Clutch Performers
When time is running out and a play has to be made, who does a college football team turn to? If you don't immediately have an answer that's an indication a team is lacking in players with the so-called "clutch" gene, that ability to always come through when it's most needed.
They make the big plays at the perfect moments more than anyone else, to the point that when they don't come through in the clutch it's far more noteworthy than when they do get things done.
Not every team is fortunate enough to have such a player and only a handful have ones that stand out from the pack. Those are the guys we've identified among returning standouts from the 2016 season who figure to once again be called on in key situations in the upcoming year.
How did we pick and rank these players? We looked back at last year's results, specifically those related to late-game situations in close contests as well as on third and fourth down, and identified those who ended up converting most often.
8. Richie James, WR, Middle Tennessee
1 of 8
2016 stats: 1,625 yards, 12 TDs; 339 rushing yards, four TDs
Clutch numbers
With 213 receptions in his first two seasons, Richie James is on pace to shatter the FBS career catch record (399) if he stays in college for four years. That might not happen if the 5'9”, 180-pound wideout keeps being so adept at making big plays in the most important moments.
Last season James had 105 catches, 66 of which resulted in first downs for Middle Tennessee, the third-most in the country. That's in addition to the 14 first downs he had as a ball-carrier, many of those coming in a November win over Florida Atlantic when he had to serve as a wildcat quarterback in the absence of the injured Brent Stockstill and ran for 207 yards and three scores.
The Blue Raiders lost five games in 2016, but they weren't James' fault. Half of his receiving TDs came when MTSU trailed by one score.
Clutch moment
James' 52-yard TD catch midway through the fourth quarter helped MTSU pull out a 42-35 win at Florida International in October. He had six catches for 127 yards and two scores in that game, one of nine times he had at least 100 receiving yards last season.
7. Logan Woodside, QB, Toledo
2 of 8
2016 stats: 4,129 passing yards, 45 TDs
Clutch numbers
The FBS leader in passing scores didn't get to the top of that list just by sheer volume, as nearly 11 percent of his throws ended up resulting in touchdowns. And two-thirds of those 45 TDs came after halftime on just 198 attempts, a stellar rate of 15.2 percent.
Woodside completed 69.1 percent of his passes last season and that rate went up to 72.2 percent in the third or fourth quarters. When the Rockets faced a third down he was even more clutch, with 18 TDs and 56 first downs on 122 passes, and in the red zone there was no one better.
His passer rating of 275.28 inside opponents' 20-yard line was the result of being 34-of-48 for 22 scores, the rating tops in FBS among players with at least 25 red-zone throws.
Clutch moment
Many of Toledo's go-ahead or game-winning TDs last season were the result of runs by bruising back Kareem Hunt, but it was Woodside whose accurate passing got the Rockets in position for those scores. Their November win over Northern Illinois, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series, Hunt's one-yard TD run with 1:15 left came after Woodside went 3-of-4 for 55 yards including a 36-yard pass to the NIU 6-yard line.
6. Courtland Sutton, WR, SMU
3 of 8
2016 stats: 1,246 receiving yards, 10 TDs
Clutch numbers
You haven't heard of Courtland Sutton? That's most likely because SMU has only won eight games in his three seasons. Be prepared to be reading a lot about him in 2017 as one of the key pieces to a potential breakout year for the Mustangs.
Sutton is coming off a strong 2016 season in which he had 76 catches and averaged 16.4 yards per reception, and when SMU needed a conversion on third down it was he it turned to. He had 28 catches on third down, 21 of those leading to first downs while averaging 17.46 yards on those catches.
He was particularly adept at hauling in passes on third and long, with nine of his 12 receptions when the Mustangs needed 10 or more yards (he averages 22.9 yards on those plays with three touchdowns).
Clutch moment
SMU wasn't able to pull out a win over South Florida late in the season, falling 35-27 at home, but Sutton kept it in the game until the end. He had career highs in receptions (13) and yards (252) with two TDs, the last of which came on a 54-yard score late in the third quarter that pulled the Mustangs within 28-21.
5. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
4 of 8
2016 stats: 1,130 rushing yards, eight TDs, 5.04 yards per carry
Clutch numbers
For a guy coming off major knee surgery, Nick Chubb looked pretty good in 2016 with five 100-yard rushing yards. Those all came in Georgia wins, while in the Bulldogs' five losses he averaged just 12 carries per game compared to 20.5 in their victories.
Chubb managed to get stronger late in games, averaging 6.16 yards per carry in the second half, and he secured first downs on 16 of his 26 third-down carries as well as his lone fourth-down rush. And when games were tied he averaged 5.61 yards per carry with 13 of his 35 rushes on the season for 10 or more yards.
Clutch moment
Chubb's top single-game performance last year came in Georgia's season opener, a 33-24 win over North Carolina in which he ran for 222 yards and two touchdowns. The latter of those scores came on a 55-yard run with 3:34 left to turn a tight two-point lead into a more comfortable one.
4. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville
5 of 8
2016 stats: 3,543 passing yards, 30 TDs; 1,571 rushing yards, 21 TDs
Clutch numbers
You can't have a list of the most clutch players without including the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, since his tremendous play almost single-handedly got Louisville into the playoff picture and helped the Cardinals win nine games. Though he became somewhat mistake-prone later in the season, often because he was trying to do it all himself, Jackson still came through enough to get included.
Take his passing prowess in close games. His completion rate for the season was only 56.2 percent but when Louisville trailed by a touchdown or less his accuracy went up to 64.7 percent with 24 of his 68 throws resulting in first downs. And on fourth down he was 8-of-9 for 92 yards, often making up for having just a 45.8 percent completion rate on third down.
Jackson's rushing numbers are where he really managed to come through in the clutch. Even when sack yardage is taken into account he averaged 6.54 yards per carry in the second half with 41 first downs on 117 carries and five of his rushing TDs came in tie games.
Clutch moment
Trailing 25-24 at Virginia with less than two minutes left Jackson calmly orchestrated an eight-play, 75-yard drive for the game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds to go. He ran for 34 yards, including an 18-yard run on the first play, then capped it off with a pinpoint 29-yard TD pass to Jaylen Smith for the victory.
3. Quinton Flowers, QB, South Florida
6 of 8
2016 stats: 2,807 passing yards, 24 TDs; 1,530 rushing yards, 18 TDs
Clutch numbers
If Quinton Flowers were playing in a bigger conference and for a more high-profile team last season it's hard to believe he wouldn't have gotten more notice. With former Texas coach Charlie Strong taking over South Florida, thus bringing added attention, more of the country is going to find out about one of the most explosive (and clutch) athletes in college football.
As a junior Flowers completed 63 percent of his passes in the fourth quarter, with 10 of his 24 touchdown throws coming when the Bulls were either tied or trailing by seven points or less. He was 41-of-56 for 432 yards with his team down by one score.
A deadly runner, Flowers thrived in big moments. His 10.13 yards per carry in the fourth quarter was the best in the FBS among players with at least 30 such plays.
Clutch moment
Flowers had 366 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns in the Bulls' 46-39 overtime win against South Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl, his 25-yard TD pass to Elkanah Dillon on the first play of OT clinching the victory.
2. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State
7 of 8
2016 stats: 1,496 rushing yards, 18 TDs; 402 receiving yards, four TDs
Clutch numbers
While quarterback Trace McSorley got the bulk of the praise for orchestrating so many of Penn State's comebacks last season he couldn't have done it without his ultra-reliable running back. Saquon Barkley scored nine times, either on the ground or via a reception, when the Nittany Lions were tied or trailing by one score.
In situations where the score was either tied or the margin no more than seven points, Barkley got 173 carries and registered a first down 37 times with a per-carry average of 5.18 (only slightly below his 5.50 season average). And after halftime is when Barkley did most of his damage, averaging 6.28 yards per rush in the third and fourth quarters or overtime with 10 rushing TDs. He also had all four of his receiving scores in the second half, getting in on McSorley's 18 second-half passing TDs.
Clutch moment
Having just been held to no gain on first down in the fourth quarter of the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin, Barkley went out on a wheel route and got behind his defender to haul in a pass from McSorley for a 19-yard touchdown catch. That put Penn State up 35-31, capping a rally from down 28-7 late in the first half.
1. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma
8 of 8
2016 stats: 3,965 passing yards, 40 TDs; 177 rushing yards, six TDs
Clutch numbers
When looking for clutch look no further than Baker Mayfield, who since coming to Oklahoma two seasons ago has rarely come up short in the key moments. His flair for the dramatic has enhanced his reputation as, in many cases, he's made what could have been a routine play more exciting because of his gunslinger mentality, though that's also enabled some plays to get extended and produce big numbers.
Mayfield led the nation in passer rating, at 196.38, and that number jumped to 240.16 in the red zone where he completed 70 percent of his throws for 15 touchdowns on 40 attempts. The Sooners only lost twice in 2016 and finished on a 10-game win streak thanks to Mayfield's play in close contests, with 29 of his TD passes coming when the score was tied or within seven points.
How does being 37-of-56 for 785 yards and eight TDs (with just one interception) when your team is down by seven or fewer points sound? Eleven of those 37 completions went for 25 or more yards, tied for fifth-most in the country but coming on far fewer attempts than those above him in that category.
Clutch moment
In a game that rewrote Big 12 and FBS record books, Mayfield was the epitome of rock solid in Oklahoma's 66-59 win at Texas Tech in October. He was 27-of-36 for 545 yards and seven TDs, somehow outshining Tech QB Patrick Mahomes' record-setting performance by leading the Sooners to TDs on all five second-half possessions with only two incompletions after halftime.
All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted. All statistics provided by CFBStats, unless otherwise noted.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
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