College Football Awards Show 2014: Start Time, Date, TV Info and More
Save for the Heisman Trophy, all of the biggest awards in college football will be handed out at Thursday's College Football Awards event.
Finalists have already been named for each of the marquee awards, with future NFL standouts sprinkled all across the place. Getting the chance to add your name to a list that features many of the best to ever play the game is no small feat.
While the Heisman finalists will have to wait it out until Saturday night to learn their fate, each has a realistic chance to bring home some hardware Thursday. Let's take a look at everything you need to know for the show.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
What: 2014 Home Depot College Football Awards
When: Thursday, December 11
Start Time (ET): 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Complete List of Finalists
| Marcus Mariota | Oregon |
| Melvin Gordon | Wisconsin |
| Dak Prescott | Mississippi State |
| Joey Bosa | Ohio State |
| Vic Beasley | Clemson |
| Scooby Wright III | Arizona |
| Amari Cooper | Alabama |
| Kevin White | West Virginia |
| Rashard Higgins | Colorado State |
| Roberto Aguayo | Florida State |
| Brad Craddock | Maryland |
| Josh Lambert | West Virginia |
| Tom Hackett | Utah |
| Austin Rekhow | Idaho |
| J.K. Scott | Alabama |
| Marcus Mariota | Oregon |
| Trevone Boykin | TCU |
| Dak Prescott | Mississippi State |
| Reese Dismukes | Auburn |
| Brandon Scherff | Iowa |
| Malcolm Brown | Texas |
| Landon Collins | Alabama |
| Ifo Ekpre-Olomu | Oregon |
| Gerod Holliman | Louisville |
| Melvin Gordin | Wisconsin |
| Ameer Abdullah | Nebraska |
| Tevin Coleman | Indiana |
| Nick O'Leary | Florida State |
| Maxx Williams | Minnesota |
| Clive Walford | Miami |
Note: Coach of the Year finalists TBA on Wednesday, Dec. 10
Awards finalists information per CBSSports.com.
Maxwell Award: College Player of the Year
Finalists: Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon, Mississippi State QB Dak Prescott
For an award that ever-so-closely mimics the Heisman Trophy, you'd be surprised at how rarely the Heisman and Maxwell winners intertwine.
Since 2008, Cam Newton is the only player to win both awards in the same year. Andrew Luck took it over Heisman winner Robert Griffin III in 2011, Manti Te'o stole it from Johnny Manziel in 2012, and AJ McCarron snuffed out Jameis Winston in 2013.
Will we see Marcus Mariota buck that trend come Thursday night? Don't be surprised.
The Oregon gunslinger has almost certainly wrapped up the Heisman, and fellow Maxwell finalists Melvin Gordon and Dak Prescott both faded down the stretch. Meanwhile, Mariota has been on fire throughout the entire season, as ESPN's Dari Nowkhah shared:
Back in 2010, Newton ran away with both major awards en route to his unbelievable championship season. Mariota's championship hopes are still up in the air, but he's emerged far enough ahead of the pack to follow in Newton's footsteps.
Biletnikoff Award: Top Wide Receiver
Finalists: Alabama's Amari Cooper, West Virginia's Kevin White, Colorado State's Rashard Higgins
Like Saturday's announcement of the Heisman Trophy, the naming of the Biletnikoff winner should be a mere formality.
That's because Alabama wideout Amari Cooper has simply shredded the competition—no disrespect to Kevin White and Rashard Higgins, two soon-to-be NFL standouts. With three 200-yard games this season, he's reached 1,656 receiving yards to lead the nation and even ink out Higgins' gaudy numbers.
With the way Hattiesburg American's Jason Munz puts it, White and Higgins are simply duking it out for second place:
Already having rewritten the record books at Alabama, Cooper will have the chance to add both a national title and an early first-round draft pick to his resume. But the Biletnikoff is already pretty much in the bag.
Chuck Bednarik Award: Defensive Player of the Year
None of the Chuck Bednarik Award finalists were able to make a late push to sneak into the once-wide-open Heisman conversation, but all three should enter Thursday night feeling confident of their chances.
It's a duo of sophomore standouts for top teams, as Ohio State's Joey Bosa and Arizona's Scooby Wright III propelled their teams to New Year's Six bowls through dominant play in the trenches. Joining them is Clemson's scary pass-rusher, Vic Beasley, who should be wreaking havoc off the edge at the next level rather quickly.
Wright may have garnered the most hype with his dominant play throughout the Pac-12 slate, including game-changing plays in Arizona's early road win over Oregon. As SB Nation's Spencer Hall noted, Oregon had to change its entire philosophy when the two played Friday:
Beasley has posted a remarkable season as expected, but Bosa's dominant play to get his Buckeyes into the College Football Playoff and Wright's impact play in big moments should have the two sophomores duking it out.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
