College Football Awards 2015: Start Time, Date, TV Info and More

The Home Depot College Football Awards ceremony embarks on a new chapter Thursday in the confines of its new home at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.

It’s the first year the event has shifted to the state-of-the-art facility that opened in August 2014, shifting from Walt Disney World in Orlando, where it had been held the last two-plus decades.

“The Hall of Fame was designed to provide visitors with an interactive experience which allows guests to explore the rich history of college football in a way never before possible,” NCFAA president Mark Wolpert said in a statement, "and the new facility will allow a whole new approach to the production of the show."

Sans the Heisman Trophy, most of the sport’s major college awards will be bestowed at Thursday’s ceremony. Here is a look at a few of the candidates.

What: 2015 Home Depot College Football Awards

When: Thursday, December 10 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: College Football Hall of Fame (Atlanta, Ga.)

TV: ESPN

Complete List of Finalists

Maxwell Award (Player of the Year)	Team
Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive POY)	Team
Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver)	Team
Lou Groza Award (Kicker)	Team
Ray Guy Award (Punter)	Team
Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback)	Team
Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman)	Team
Thorpe Award (Defensive Back)	Team
Doak Walker Award (Running Back)	Team
Mackey Award (Tight End)	Team
Derrick Henry	Alabama
Christian McCaffrey	Stanford
Deshaun Watson	Clemson
Tyler Matakevich	Temple
Carl Nassib	Penn State
Reggie Ragland	Alabama
Corey Coleman	Baylor
Josh Doctson	TCU
Laquon Treadwell	Ole Miss
Daniel Carlson	Auburn
Jake Elliott	Memphis
Ka'imi Fairbairn	UCLA
Michael Carrizosa	San Jose State
Tom Hackett	Utah
Hayden Hunt	Colorado State
Trevone Boykin	TCU
Baker Mayfield	Oklahoma
Deshaun Watson	Clemson
Spencer Drago	Baylor
Joshua Garnett	Stanford
A'Shawn Robinson	Alabama
Jeremy Cash	Duke
Vernon Hargreaves III	Florida
Desmond King	Iowa
Leonard Fournette	LSU
Derrick Henry	Alabama
Christian McCaffrey	Stanford
Hunter Henry	Arkansas
Austin Hooper	Stanford
Jordan Leggett	Clemson

Davey O’Brien Award: Quarterback of the Year

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

This race is arguably the most interesting, particularly given two of the three candidates will meet in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield will duel for a spot in the national title game on New Year’s Eve, after leading their teams to their respective conference championships.

Watson's 69.5 completion percentage ranks first among Power Five quarterbacks, and entering Saturday’s ACC Championship Game, Watson was the nation’s only player to eclipse 3,000 yards passing and 750 yards rushing, according to Chris Low of ESPN.com.

His dual-threat poise has marched Clemson to the postseason as college football’s lone unbeaten. However, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney likened Watson’s opponent for the award, Mayfield, to one of the sport’s great scrambling signal-callers.

"Their quarterback looks like Johnny Manziel running around out there,” Swinney said of Mayfield, per Matt Connolly of The State. "He’s a nightmare. He’s an absolute nightmare. We’ll have our hands full with that guy.”

Mayfield, however, has made his mark more through the air than on the ground. The junior transfer from Texas Tech posted a 178.9 quarterback rating, which ranks first among quarterbacks that started the entire season.

Fellow Big 12 quarterback Trevone Boykin of TCU has had a great season as well—3,575 pass yards, 612 rush yards, 40 total touchdowns while leading the Horned Frogs to a 10-2 record—but probably not enough to catch his competition for the O’Brien Award.

Chuck Bednarik Award: Defensive Player of the Year

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

The Bednarik Award for the nation’s top defensive player will go to either a member of the nation’s second-best defense or a player from Pennsylvania.

Though without any impact on the winner, Mark Wogenrich of the Allentown Morning Call reported legendary Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil will be presenting the award:

"

Per ESPN, Dick Vermeil will present the Chuck Bednarik Award at Thursday's College Football Awards show. #PennState's Carl Nassib a finalist

— Mark Wogenrich (@MarkWogenrich) December 7, 2015"

Alabama linebacker Reggie Ragland, Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich and Penn State defensive end Carl Nassib are the three finalists.

Nassib, a senior, played just two snaps in each of the Nittany Lions’ final two games, yet led the nation with 15.5 sacks; that's a remarkable culmination of a four-year career for a former walk-on.

Matakevich had a similar path to the national spotlight. Temple was the only FBS school that offered the junior a scholarship, and he anchored an Owls defense that took the nation by storm, finishing 18th overall (329.5 yards per game) and 16th in scoring (19.2 points).

Ragland is considered “the heartbeat of the Alabama defense”—the pulse that has catapulted the Crimson Tide into the playoff. He finished with 90 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

This Bednarik Award seems a toss-up between three very worthy finalists.