Why 2017 Season Will Be Even Better than 2016 in College Football
Lamar Jackson sizzled, Deshaun Watson shined and the Clemson Tigers topped the Alabama Crimson Tide in a national title game for the ages to close out the 2016 college football season.
Consider that the appetizer to the feast that will come in 2017.
What's coming this fall could be the best college football season ever.
What Is Alabama, Really?
Alabama's 35-31, last-second loss to Clemson leaves the world wondering what Alabama really is.
Undefeated up to that point, the Crimson Tide rode a wave of success under true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts and an offense that, because of Hurts' youth, was one-dimensional by choice and necessity. Zone reads and short passes allowed Hurts and Co. to slice through a down SEC with relative ease, but it was a double-edged sword. When Alabama was forced to stretch the field deep, it couldn't do it and looked uncomfortable trying.
Spinning it forward, Alabama will open the 2017 season with Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Rankings won't be released until August, but that will potentially be a Top Five matchup to open the season against a Florida State defense that is as athletic as any in the game.
A win would signify that the Crimson Tide are back after a short hiatus. A loss would send shock waves through the rest of the country, leave no margin for error for head coach Nick Saban's crew, further solidify the ACC as a force to be reckoned with and leave the SEC searching for answers.
Compound that intrigue with the return of Steve Sarkisian as the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator on a full-time basis after taking over prior to the national title game, the loss of star defenders Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Marlon Humphrey, Tim Williams, Ryan Anderson and others, and the quest for Saban to win at least one more title before hanging up the headset, and Alabama will be the nation's most intriguing team in 2017.
Chasing Archie
Jackson lit up the sport like a Christmas tree in 2016, scoring 51 total touchdowns (30 passing, 21 rushing), totaling 5,114 yards and producing enough highlight-reel plays to fill an hour-long video.
His sophomore season at Louisville culminated with the Heisman Trophy. If he repeats the feat, he will join former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin as the only two-time winner of the most prestigious individual award in American sports.
How will Jackson handle that pressure?
How differently will voters treat him knowing that he already has one Heisman in the bag?
We should vote on a season-by-season basis and treat each like it's in a vacuum. But as we saw with Christian McCaffrey in 2016, sometimes laying too strong of a foundation comes back to haunt you in the race for the Heisman.
Jackson will have another full offseason to develop as a passer, which should make him even more dangerous than he was in 2016, when he threw for 3,543 yards. He lost his top three receivers from a year ago, which will be a big challenge to overcome for Jackson—who developed solid connections with James Quick and Jamari Staples.
Jackson was the hot new artist in 2016. He might have to pull a Justin Timberlake and spread his wings even wider if he's going to join Griffin in elite Heisman company.
The Year of the Quarterback
Jackson is the headliner, but have you seen the list of quarterbacks coming back in 2017?
It's filthy.
One look at the latest Heisman Trophy odds on OddsShark.com, and you'll notice a distinct quarterback flavor.
The idea of Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield capping off his long and winding career—which included walking on at Texas Tech and Oklahoma and earning an extra year of eligibility through an appeal with the Big 12—with another playoff berth and eventually a Heisman Trophy is dripping with national appeal.
Sam Darnold took over in late September at USC and closed his redshirt freshman campaign with eight straight wins, including a Rose Bowl victory over Penn State. A dual-threat weapon who could see his responsibility on the ground grow now that he has a full offseason as the unquestioned starter to expand the playbook, Darnold should be one of the top contenders to dethrone Jackson, and his team should be a front-runner in the playoff race.
J.T. Barrett needs to take a small step forward to be a superstar at Ohio State. Jake Browning led his Washington team to a playoff berth last season. Deondre Francois has all the makings to be a star for Florida State if he can get some protection. Josh Rosen at UCLA makes NFL scouts salivate. Mason Rudolph passed on the draft to return to Oklahoma State. Hurts led Alabama to the national title game as a true freshman in 2016.
Plus, there are countless other players—both established and otherwise—who will step forward at the quarterback position in 2017.
The presence of so many top-tier quarterbacks and possibility for more to come will create an offensive explosion in the sport.
Coaches on the Hot Seat
With former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly looming over the sport, the pressure on head coaches at major programs will be more intense than ever.
From Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, to Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M, to Jim Mora at UCLA, to Butch Jones at Tennessee, Auburn's Gus Malzahn and others around the country, the list of coaches who could be gone by season's end reads like a battle for Coach of the Year honors from earlier this decade than one that could be a predictor of impending doom.
What's more, Sumlin and Mora will square off with each other in Pasadena, California, in Week 1, and Kelly draws Georgia in South Bend, Indiana, in Week 2. Jones' team has the unenviable task of traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on three-time defending SEC champion Alabama, draws LSU as its rotating team out of the SEC West and opens with Georgia Tech—which went 3-0 against the SEC East a year ago.
There's a real possibility that teams with coaches under pressure who stumble out of the gate could make a pre-emptive strike, fire their head coach and get a jump on the Chip Kelly sweepstakes.
Fresh Faces in High-Profile Places
Tom Herman has the keys to a Ferrari thanks to the foundation former Texas head coach Charlie Strong laid through recruiting. Strong struggled to do much with it during his three years in Austin, but the honeymoon period for Herman will be brief thanks to the level of talent that exists on the roster.
A versatile coach who ran an offense that shined with a dual-threat quarterback at Houston in Greg Ward Jr. and won a title in a pinch with Cardale Jones filling in for Barrett (who was filling in for Braxton Miller) at Ohio State, Job No. 1 for Herman is to make Longhorn signal-caller Shane Buechele a superstar.
Willie Taggart's first month-plus at Oregon hasn't gone according to plan.
Three players were hospitalized after what were reportedly difficult workouts, and co-offensive coordinator David Reaves was arrested for DUI over the weekend. But Taggart still has the resources to be successful thanks to the Nike money at Oregon, and his team plays in a division that, outside of Washington, isn't as daunting as it once was.
Ed Orgeron got the LSU job on a full-time basis after serving as the interim head coach following Les Miles' dismissal in September 2016. He gets 1,000-yard rusher Derrius Guice back, along with stud defensive edge threat Arden Key and an ultra-athletic secondary in the talent-rich state of Louisiana.
How will these coaches handle their newfound prosperity? Patience will be thin at all three institutions, but the upside for each is extremely high.
A Budding Dynasty?
Clemson ripped Alabama's heart out in Tampa, Florida, earlier this month to claim the title.
Now it's after an even bigger title: college football dynasty.
The reigning national champs have a tremendous defensive core returning, including linemen Christian Wilkins, Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence, linebacker Kendall Joseph and a coordinator in Brent Venables who's one of the best in the game.
The offensive line should remain relatively intact, wide receivers Deon Cain and title-game hero Hunter Renfrow are back, and the running game should be in good hands with Tavien Feaster, Adam Choice and C.J. Fuller.
The $64,000 question is the quarterback spot.
Junior Kelly Bryant, redshirt freshman Zerrick Cooper and incoming freshmen Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice are all extremely talented players who are capable of running the offense at a high level.
But just how high?
Clemson lives in a pretty rough neighborhood now thanks to the rise of Louisville and presence of Florida State in the ACC Atlantic. On top of that, the Tigers host Auburn out of the SEC in Week 2 and routinely get tested by rival South Carolina when in Columbia.
If you thought 2016 was insane, get your popcorn ready.
The 2017 season is going to be even better.
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