Winners and Losers from Championship Weekend of the 2015 College Football Season
This is it. We're at the end of the road for college football's regular season. The playoff selections will be made Sunday, and save for Army-Navy on Dec. 12, bowl season will be all the chatter.
It's been a fun run. The playoff has its critics, and the system is anything but perfect, but one thing you can't say is it's devalued the regular season. It's the first weekend in December and all four of the Power 5 conference-championship games had playoff implications.
We're here to break down all the big storylines from Saturday. From the thrilling end to the Big Ten Championship Game to the controversy in the ACC title tilt, Winners and Losers is here for the final time this season to cover all that was Saturday's action.
Winner: Alabama Running Back Derrick Henry
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Alabama running back Derrick Henry did it again.
Against Auburn, Henry broke single-season school records for yards and touchdowns. In a 29-15 win over Florida in the SEC Championship Game, Henry rushed for 189 yards and a score. In the process, he broke the SEC's single-season rushing record, previously held by the great Herschel Walker.
Walker rushed for 1,891 in 1981. As Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com tweeted, however, Henry actually broke Walker's record in fewer rushing attempts even though he played in more games. It took Walker 385 carries over 11 games to get his rushing numbers; Henry has 339 carries in 13 games.
Henry's been a workhorse and seemingly gets better as the game goes on. He was slow to get going against the Gators, but that's understandable given Florida has one of the top rushing defenses in the country (3.3 yards per run allowed entering Saturday). By the fourth quarter, though, Henry was bowling over defenders.
Remember, too, that Henry was the odds-on favorite to win the Heisman heading into championship weekend, according to OddsShark.com.
Loser: Florida's Offense
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Florida's offense against Alabama's defense was the ultimate mismatch on paper, but things were even worse than one could imagine when the game started.
After tallying 83 yards in the first quarter, Florida had a whopping three yards in the second and third quarters, per B/R's Bryan Fischer. In fact, the Gators ran 10 plays in the second quarter, meaning they averaged 0.1 yards per play.
On the night, Florida had 180 yards and failed to convert a third-down attempt by going 0-of-11. Other than a late 46-yard touchdown catch by C.J. Worton, the Gators offense didn't score.
Offense has been Florida's issue for most of the year. As the season progressed and depth issues became more glaring, the offense stalled more and more. It was no surprise to see Florida's defense keep this team in contention against the Tide early, but you had to wonder how long it could hang on without a functioning offense.
About a half, as it turned out.
Winner: Michigan State Running Back LJ Scott
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What the Big Ten Championship Game lacked in scoring, it more than made up for in end-of-game drama. (Also, signature Gus Johnson touchdown calls.) And when that game is a de facto playoff quarterfinal, you can't ask for a better ending than what Iowa-Michigan State provided.
LJ Scott's touchdown with 27 seconds left sealed the Spartans' 16-13 win. But this wasn't just any touchdown. Scott appeared to be stopped short of the goal line on third down—until he went pure weight-room strength on everyone, reaching the ball out over the goal line. Credit Iowa. The Hawkeyes had the play defended perfectly. But as coaches around college football would say, that's just a dude making a play.
Equally as impressive was everything leading up to the score. Scott's touchdown capped off a 22-play, 82-yard drive that took 9:04 off the clock. That's a grown-man drive right there.
As for Iowa, it has nothing to be ashamed of. The Hawkeyes had their doubters, but their stingy defense and risky big plays should have earned them some respect. Is Iowa a Top Four team? We know now the answer is no. But we also know the Hawkeyes aren't that far off, either.
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Winner: Houston
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What a season it's been for Houston and first-year coach Tom Herman. With a 24-13 win over Temple, the Cougars moved to 12-1 and have locked up a spot in a New Year's Six bowl.
The Cougars also staved off programs potentially looking to poach Herman. This past week, Herman and Houston agreed to a new five-year deal worth $14 million, according to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle. A report from Josh Newberg of 247Sports previously connected Herman to the Georgia vacancy.
There's also the underlying belief that Herman could go to Texas if things don't work out with Charlie Strong. But that's a discussion for another day, and one that may not even need to be had if Strong can turn things around in his third year in Austin.
For now, Houston will have a chance to prove it can play with the so-called big boys of college football in one of the six major bowl games. There's so much focus on the offense and quarterback Greg Ward Jr.—as there should be—but the Cougars defense was tied for 22nd nationally, heading into Saturday, in points per game allowed (21.1).
Who knows how Houston would have been viewed in the playoff race had it not lost to UConn. But a total of 12 wins, three of which came over Memphis, Navy and Temple, is nothing to scoff at.
Loser: ACC Refs
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The ACC Championship Game ended up being the second-most entertaining contest (to the Big Ten title tilt) among Power 5 conferences Saturday. Unfortunately, its ending will be talked about for all the wrong reasons.
Down eight points with 1:13 remaining, the Tar Heels recovered an onside-kick attempt. However, flags were thrown and officials ruled North Carolina was offside.
But every picture and video of the kick shows one thing as clear as day: Not one player was, in fact, offside.
It wasn't just another bad call. It was an egregious one that very well could have shaped the outcome of the game. North Carolina attempted another onside kick, which Clemson recovered. The Tigers went on to win 45-37 and are all but officially assured a spot in the College Football Playoff, perhaps as the No. 1 seed.
But Clemson-North Carolina shouldn't have been left in the hands of officials on such a senseless call.
The ACC already has one huge officiating gaffe this year with the Miami kickoff return for a touchdown against Duke. The officiating crew for that incident was suspended as a result. Will the ACC take similar action for this?
Winner: Western Kentucky Quarterback Brandon Doughty
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It's been a long ride for Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty. The sixth-year senior had one season cut short due to injury and went through two coaching changes. That's a lot to endure for anyone.
Yet, Doughty has been one of the most prolific passers in college football over the last two seasons. In 2014, he finished second nationally with 371.5 yards per game. This year, he threw for 348.7 yards per contest heading into the Conference USA Championship Game against Southern Miss. He also sported a 42-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Against the Golden Eagles on Saturday, Doughty threw for 410 yards, three touchdowns and a pick in a 45-28 win. According to ESPN Stats and Info, it was his eighth career game of 400 passing yards and three passing touchdowns, which is the most among active FBS players.
Loser: Baylor and Texas
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Johnny Jefferson, a backup Baylor running running back, threw a failed Hail Mary attempt. That's pretty much everything you need to know about Texas' 23-17 win over the Bears. That, and there was a bench-clearing scuffle.
Texas, with a rotating quarterback lineup of Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard, was playing without a signal-caller in the figurative sense. Baylor, down to wide receiver Lynx Hawthorne and a handful of other players taking direct snaps, was playing without a quarterback in the literal sense.
The story of the game was simple: Chris Johnson, Baylor's third-string quarterback, left early in the game with concussion-like symptoms, according to the ESPN broadcast.
From that point forward, Baylor's offense switched to what was essentially a single-wing formation and ran the ball all game. And, for the longest time, Texas couldn't stop it. In fact, as Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News noted on Twitter, the '15 Longhorns defense became the worst in school history on Saturday in yards allowed.
Texas jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead but allowed Baylor to crawl its way back in the second half. Blowing a lead to a quarterback-less Baylor would have been every bit as bad as, if not worse than, being shut out by Iowa State, as the Longhorns were earlier this season.
As bad as this was for Texas, it can now claim wins over Oklahoma and Baylor in the same year for the first time since 2009.
The loss is a huge blow for Baylor. Instead of likely heading to the Sugar Bowl, the Bears will tumble down the Big 12 bowl selection order. A trip to Orlando for the Russell Athletic Bowl now seems more likely. Instead, Oklahoma State will likely go to the Sugar Bowl. Without a doubt, Baylor has been one of the unluckiest teams over the past few weeks.
Winner: Christian McCaffrey's Heisman Chances
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Hold on, Heisman voters. Don't pencil in Derrick Henry as the big winner just yet. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey would like a word.
Or, I suppose, rather than state his case for the Heisman, he'll just show you. In a 41-22 win over USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game, McCaffrey tallied 461 all-purpose yards and accounted for three touchdowns.
Four hundred. Sixty. One.
To break that down, that's: 207 rushing, 105 receiving, 120 kick return yards and 29 punt return yards. And that doesn't include the 11 yards passing on a touchdown to Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan.
On top of that, McCaffrey finally broke Barry Sanders' all-purpose yards record (3,252 yards). Yes, it took him longer to do it in terms of the number of games, but McCaffrey has been unreal all the same.
McCaffrey hasn't been a touchdown machine, but he's tallied up yards in a more versatile fashion than anyone else in college football this year. Since he's finally not playing past midnight, Heisman voters got a good firsthand look at what he can do.
McCaffrey may or may not win the Heisman. But he's more than likely going to New York for the finalist ceremony and did a lot to improve his standing.
Winner: Georgia State
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Hey, why not, right? There are only 15 games this weekend. If Georgia State is ever going to get the Internet's version of a fist bump, now's the time for it.
Georgia State is bowl eligible for the first time as an FBS team thanks to a 34-7 win over Georgia Southern. It's a huge deal for a program that, we should remind you, won all of one game in its first two seasons at the FBS level. And that was against Abilene Christian in 2014.
For that matter, it's worth pointing out that Georgia State has had a football program for all of six seasons.
While the Panthers' bowl aspirations aren't as nationally pressing as the playoff picture, it's cool to see a startup program grow so quickly.
Plus, for those offended by such things, it means one fewer five-win team will go bowling,
Loser: Punters Going Rogue
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They say punters are people, too. This is true, because people are capable of doing some truly mind-numbing things in the face of all common sense. People are creatures of the moment. People are creatures of instinct. And when that instinct kicks in, it doesn't matter how evolved or civilized people are. They will do what thousands of years of biology tells them to do.
Which, for Clemson punter Andy Teasdall, means attempting to run for a first down on a 4th-and-15.
Look, the kid saw green in front of him. Whether he was told in meetings to make such a judgement call, or whether he went full rogue, isn't known. However, it's no secret he made the wrong choice. And, boy, was head coach Dabo Swinney heated.
Swinney said on the ESPN broadcast: "My punter, I don't have an explanation. ... Cost us a touchdown," via Chase Goodbread of NFL.com.
That poor punter is never going to be able to make a decision on his own again. If he so much as wants to rent a movie, he'll need Level 5 security clearance from Swinney and at least one other coach.
Winner: Kansas State Kick Returner Morgan Burns
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Kansas State entered 2015 with a hole on offense and special teams left by wide receiver and return man Tyler Lockett. As far as special teams are concerned, Morgan Burns has filled that hole.
In a 24-23 win over West Virginia, Burns returned three kickoffs for 201 yards, including a 97-yard return for a touchdown. It was that return, in fact, that gave K-State the go-ahead score. The touchdown gave Burns four kick returns for a touchdown on the year, putting him first in the FBS.
While Burns was spectacular, it also brings up a question directed toward West Virginia: What were the Mountaineers thinking kicking to Burns when he had burned them before?
Either way, K-State won its last three games to get to 6-6, eliminating another bowl spot for a five-win team. It's a major turnaround for the Wildcats, whose bowl hopes looked bleak at best after losing six straight games midseason.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
