7-Step Drop: Star Player Injuries Defining 2015 Season
For all but the most faithful of Ohio State fans, the name Cardale Jones didn’t mean much after mid-August last year. After Urban Meyer named then-redshirt freshman J.T. Barrett as Braxton Miller’s replacement as the Buckeyes starting quarterback, few would have been able to pick out Jones standing on the sidelines.
Jones saw some time in mop-up duty, including a pair of touchdown passes against Illinois in 2014, but for the most part, he was relegated to unknown status on the college football landscape. He was in many ways a forgotten player, overshadowed by three straight Big Ten Players of the Year occupying his position.
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All that seemed to change on the first play of the fourth quarter in Ohio State’s regular-season finale against Michigan, however. That’s when Jones’ legend began and a storybook run to a national title commenced. Jones was thrust into the spotlight, not only playing quarterback for a powerhouse program in the three biggest games of the year but winning them each in resounding fashion.
Now many teams across college football find themselves in the same position the Buckeyes were in at the tail end of the season in 2014. Only this time, for all of them, key injuries are coming at an even more impactful time for a team’s success considering the number of games left on the docket.
Whereas last season’s title chase was shaped in part by injuries at the tail end of the year, 2015 has been all about potentially landscape-changing injuries at the beginning of the season.
Hardest hit may be Notre Dame, with the Irish losing defensive tackle Jarron Jones days before the season, starting tailback Tarean Folston in Week 1, and—worst of all—quarterback Malik Zaire to a terrible ankle injury against Virginia on Saturday.
For a trendy pick to reach the College Football Playoff, that’s a lot to lose so early in the year.
If there is any bright spot for the Irish, it’s that redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer was able to show that he was capable of coming through in the clutch with a beautiful 39-yard strike to receiver Will Fuller that proved to be the difference against the Cavaliers. He’ll have to grow up just as quickly as Jones did with Georgia Tech and Clemson both coming up in the next three weeks.
Still, replacing one player can be done, but when one’s entire backfield is lost for the year and others start to get dinged up, no losses can turn into one and the one into two and before one knows it the season is over. That’s Brian Kelly’s challenge and one that will be fascinating to watch given the team’s schedule and high overall talent level.
Notre Dame isn’t the only contender to turn into a M.A.S.H. unit, either. TCU has played two games but is without five defensive starters, the latest being safety Kenny Iloka. A favorable schedule might allow the Horned Frogs some time to work new players in, but they will no doubt be relying on a few walk-ons defensively, and the season-ending games against Oklahoma and Baylor continue to look tough.
One of the favorites in the ACC, Clemson has seen a host of departures—through injury or other means. Left tackle Isaiah Battle didn’t even make it to the season after leaving for the NFL supplemental draft in June. In his place is a true freshman protecting quarterback Deshaun Watson’s blind side.
On top of that, 1,000-yard receiver Mike Williams injured himself after running into the goal post in the opener. Veteran defender Korrin Wiggins is out for the year with an ACL injury suffered in camp. The Tigers are talented, but at some point the roster defections will play a role in their success. The fact that most of them have happened sooner rather than later can be tough to handle.
Just ask Arkansas, a trendy SEC dark horse that just dropped a home game to Toledo and surely could have used the services of injured tailback Jonathan Williams after Alex Collins averaged just 2.7 yards per carry on Saturday.
Out West, we’ve seen how injuries have already impacted teams—some in a good way.
It was tough to see veteran signal-caller Taysom Hill suffer yet another injury against Nebraska, but it has perhaps given BYU fans an opportunity to see their own version of Cardale Jones in action with the surprising rise of quarterback Tanner Mangum. The 22-year-old true freshman has shown a knack for Hail Mary's and picked up two wins over ranked teams in the final minute to begin his career.
The Cougars will face a different test when they travel to face UCLA in Week 3, however. The Bruins themselves didn’t have any trouble against UNLV figuring out a replacement for starting defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes but the long term prognosis is still to be determined. Keep in mind that Vanderdoes also moonlighted as a pass-catching fullback on offense too.
Even the defending champs have felt the pinch of losing a contributor considering Ohio State wideout Noah Brown suffered a broken leg just five days before the season began. Given the grind that each squad goes through, it’s doubtful he’ll be the only one lost by the Buckeyes either.
It’s hard to remember a time when there were so many key injuries and departures this early in the year. Every game seems to bear bad news. Such is life as a contact sport, but that doesn’t make it any less painful for the players, fans and teams involved.
Notre Dame, TCU and a host of other title contenders will dutifully move on starting on Monday without a handful of key starters. Most will hope they have another Jones on their roster, waiting in the wings.
For many of them, their season and potential playoff hopes will depend on it.
Stats of the Week
- Memphis reeled off 651 yards of offense against Kansas. That was, according to the American Athletic Conference, the most by the team since 1969 (seven years before head coach Justin Fuente was even born).
- TCU leads the nation with 27 consecutive games with a takeaway.
- FBS teams scored 70-plus points nine times last season. After Week 2, it’s happened six times already.
- Baylor is averaging a crazy 754 yards per game. That is almost as crazy as Ole Miss’ 74.5 points per game. Small sample sizes, but still.
- The Mountain West went 0-10 in nonconference play in Week 2. Only one team, Colorado State, had less than a 10-point final margin.
- Texas won (and put up 42 points) despite only 38 offensive snaps. Rice ran 96 plays, good for a difference of 58.
- Oregon State only had two—two!—yards in the final three quarters against Michigan. The Wolverines held the Beavers to just 0.06 yards per play after giving up 136 in the first quarter.
- According to the school, Virginia Tech has won 12 straight games with a quarterback making their first career start. The latest was Brenden Motley victory over Furman.
"FBS teams went 25-0 against FCS opponents yesterday and won by an average margin of 35 pts. Auburn only one to win by fewer than 14 pts.
— Brian Fremeau (@bcfremeau) September 13, 2015"
Quote of the Week
"Bill Snyder with a nice quip about KSU offense: "Tempo on our side of the ball kind of puts you to sleep. It's OK." pic.twitter.com/R0DEFeSSJD
— Max Olson (@max_olson) September 12, 2015"
Tweet of the Week
"It was Chip Kelly, disposing of Tebow’s NFL aspirations. https://t.co/MBHJLiffOy
— Ryan Nanni (@celebrityhottub) September 12, 2015"
Play of the Week
A lot of folks may have missed the incredible ending Minnesota State University Moorhead had against Concordia-St. Paul. Be sure to check out the play that set up an amazing Hail Mary, creating a back-to-back combo of fantastic last-second football.
Sound from Saturday
Back-to-back honors for Cougar IMG Radio Network’s Greg Wrubell for Mitch Mathews Hail Mary catch from now-BYU legend Tanner Mangum against Boise State.
Pre-Snap Reads
Auburn at LSU
Does anybody have a good sense of what will happen in this game? After Auburn escaped against FCS foe Jacksonville State, it’s hard to say you have a handle on those Tigers, and the home-team Tigers didn’t inspire a ton of confidence in squeaking out a narrow road win thanks to some bad time management. Gus Malzahn’s team does get some defensive starters back, and perhaps last week’s game will serve as a wake-up call in a narrow Auburn win.
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame
Georgia Tech hasn’t played anybody, but the triple-option has been humming at an impressive pace in two warm-up acts for the first big test of the year. Notre Dame (see above) has been beset by injuries but still has plenty of talent all over the board. Don’t be surprised if the Yellow Jackets emerge from South Bend with a win because Paul Johnson has an underrated squad.
Ole Miss at Alabama
Revenge games in the SEC are a weekly occurrence, but Alabama might be extra amped to pay back the Rebels for their win in Oxford last year. The Tide looked dominating in their opener against Wisconsin but lost a little focus at home in Week 2. Expect them to be fired up and ready to attack defensively against a Rebels team that still may be without left tackle Laremy Tunsil to protect a new starting quarterback making his first road start.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
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