Connect with us

Published

on

Who were the best players of the four-team playoff era (2014-23) in college football?

It’s a simple premise and yet a near-impossible challenge. The story of the past decade of college football is littered with superstars — from Lamar Jackson‘s mystifying talent to Baker Mayfield planting the Oklahoma flag at Ohio State to Tua Tagovailoa rescuing Alabama from the brink of defeat to a former walk-on in Stetson Bennett putting an end to Georgia’s miserable four-decade streak without a national title. The list of campus legends is extensive.

But when an era comes to an end, as the four-team playoff has, it requires a proper accounting and some hard choices to be made.

So, challenge accepted.

Our goal is to not just identify the players who won the most or posted the best stats or had the most highlights. Even that would’ve been difficult. But rather, this list is meant to include all those metrics and also something more ephemeral — to reward the players whose performances were so essential to the fabric of college football over the past 10 years, that the story of the four-team playoff era couldn’t be told without them.

Here are our choices for the best of the best at each position from the past decade of college football: Our All-Playoff Era team.

Quarterback

Joe Burrow, LSU

A conundrum: Is it better to celebrate sustained success or epic, if short-lived, greatness? Certainly, other quarterbacks — from Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence to Tagovailoa to Mayfield — offered more over the course of longer college careers. But no one offered such a breathtaking high watermark as Burrow, whose 2019 season at LSU effectively reimagined what a quarterback could accomplish.

He passed for 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns while completing 76.3% of his throws. In seven games against ranked foes, he averaged 10.3 yards per pass with 27 touchdowns and just two picks. Put another way, he had more TD passes against ranked teams in 2019 than all but 11 QBs had total in 2023. There remains, of course, a strong case for the utter magic of Jackson, the immediate brilliance of Lawrence, the championship drive of Bennett or the sheer amount of Mayfield’s success. But in the end, how can we choose anyone but Burrow? We’ve learned never to say never in sports, but it’s hard to fathom we’ll see a season like Burrow’s 2019 campaign again soon.

Second team: Deshaun Watson, Clemson
Third team: Mayfield, Oklahoma

Honorable mentions: Jackson; Bennett; Oklahoma and Alabama’s Jalen Hurts; Alabama’s Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young; LSU’s Jayden Daniels; Indiana and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.; Lawrence; Oklahoma and USC’s Caleb Williams; Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones; Oregon’s Marcus Mariota; and Florida State’s Jordan Travis and Jameis Winston.


Running backs

Derrick Henry, Alabama; Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

To consider Henry the greatest running back of the playoff era almost understates his magnitude. Yes, he was a football player who ran with the ball in his hands so, technically, a running back. But his sheer size — 6-foot-3, 245 pounds — made him more akin to a wrecking ball, crashing through the line of scrimmage and leaving nothing but carnage in his wake. His endurance was legendary. In 2015, as a junior, he carried the ball 395 times. That’s 45 more rushes than any other player in the playoff era and 115 more than anyone in the NFL carried the ball in 2023. (Oh, by the way, it was Henry who led the NFL in rushing attempts last year at 280.)

Henry’s impact was nothing short of dominant. It’s easy to forget that Alabama was once a ground-and-pound offense that won national championships almost despite its quarterbacks. How many people even remember who the starting QB was for the Tide in 2015 when they beat Clemson for the title? (If you guessed Jacob Coker, give yourself a nice round of applause, then ask yourself some hard questions about whether you’ve devoted too much time to remembering random college football QBs.) Henry won the Heisman that year, later became an NFL superstar, and presumably will one day battle Mothra for control of the seas. Our money is on Henry.

If Henry’s 2015 season set the standard for running backs, it was Taylor’s career at Wisconsin that created the blueprint for consistent greatness. There have been 17 player seasons during the playoff era in which a tailback racked up 1,900 yards on the ground. Taylor is responsible for three of them. He finished his four-year Badgers career with 6,174 yards on the ground, the fourth-most all time (and second only to Donnel Pumphrey in the playoff era). He’s the only player in history with multiple 2,000-yard seasons. He finished in the top 10 of Heisman voting three times. Taylor’s Wisconsin teams made the Big Ten title game three times (2016, 2017 and 2019) but lost all three, leaving one true void on his résumé: reaching the playoff.

Second team: Saquon Barkley, Penn State and Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
Third team: Dalvin Cook, Florida State and Travis Etienne Jr., Clemson

Honorable mentions: Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon III, Stanford’s Bryce Love, LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Pitt’s James Conner, San Diego State’s Pumphrey and Rashaad Penny, Texas’ Bijan Robinson and D’Onta Foreman, Michigan’s Blake Corum, Alabama’s Najee Harris, Georgia’s Nick Chubb, Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn, Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott and FAU’s Devin Singletary.


Receivers

DeVonta Smith, Alabama; Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

Here’s a truly wild stat about Smith’s illustrious Alabama career: In 2020, he came three touchdowns shy of doubling his total from the season before, which as it turned out was double the previous season, which was also double his freshman season. He went from three in 2017 to six in 2018 to 14 in 2019 to 25 in 2020. Had COVID-19 not cut Alabama’s season short by two games, he might well have done it. All he was left with was the twin consolation prizes of a Heisman Trophy and a national championship.

Smith is the easy choice. Who garners the second receiver spot is much tougher. Ja’Marr Chase was a superstar at LSU and was, arguably the most dangerous playmaker on the most explosive offense of all time in 2019. Dede Westbrook racked up 80 catches, 1,524 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2016 and dropped just one pass all season. Oklahoma State’s James Washington finished his career with nearly 4,500 yards and 39 touchdown grabs. Jordan Addison, Tee Higgins, Amari Cooper, Justin Jefferson — the list goes on and on. Indeed, Ohio State alone could offer its share of viable options, with Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba all blossoming into first-round NFL draft picks (and four others going in the second round in the playoff era), but we’re going with the Buckeyes’ most recent superstar.

Harrison and Smith are the only two Power 5 receivers with multiple seasons in the playoff era in which they caught 60 balls for at least 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns. The son of a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver, Harrison was clearly the best player on the field for Ohio State’s offense in each of the past two seasons — a resounding statement given the sheer level of talent around him. He’ll add to the Buckeyes’ track record of churning out top draft picks at the position next month, too.

Second team: Chase, LSU and CeeDee Lamb, Oklahoma
Third team: Amari Cooper, Alabama and Higgins, Clemson

Honorable mentions: Clemson’s Mike Williams and Hunter Renfrow, Baylor’s Corey Coleman, TCU’s Josh Doctson, Oklahoma State’s Washington and Tylan Wallace, Pitt and USC’s Addison, Kansas State’s Tyler Lockett, Washington’s Rome Odunze, Colorado State’s Rashard Higgins, UMass’s Andy Isabella, Purdue’s Rondale Moore, Oklahoma’s Westbrook, Florida State’s Rashad Greene and Western Michigan’s Corey Davis.


Tight end

Brock Bowers, Georgia

The easiest pick on this list? That’d be Bowers. Sure, there have been some other exceptional tight ends in the past decade as the position has flourished in the post-Gronk era of big-time football. But no one did it like Bowers, who was a superstar from day one in Athens. As a true freshman in 2021, he hauled in 56 passes for 882 yards and 13 touchdowns, serving as Georgia’s best offensive weapon en route to the school’s first national championship in 41 years.

In 2022, he repeated the feat, catching more balls for more yards and adding three rushing touchdowns to his repertoire. Last year, Bowers battled injuries throughout the season, missing four games, and still led UGA in receiving with 714 yards. He leads all playoff-era tight ends in catches, yards (by more than 350) and total touchdowns (eight more than anyone else in the Power 5). He is a one-of-a-kind matchup nightmare who both dominated during his time in college and helped lift Georgia to the top of the sport.

Second team: Kyle Pitts, Florida
Third team: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame

Honorable mentions: Coastal Carolina’s Isaiah Likely, Oklahoma’s Mark Andrews, Iowa State’s Charlie Kolar, FAU’s Harrison Bryant, Colorado State’s Trey McBride, Alabama’s O.J. Howard and Arkansas’ Hunter Henry.


Center

Tyler Linderbaum, Iowa

From 2019 through 2021, only six Power 5 teams had a better record against FBS opponents than Iowa. All six — Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Oklahoma and Notre Dame — made the playoff in that stretch, and all six are blue-blood programs with a deep well of blue-chip talent.

And then there’s Iowa. How, oh how, has Iowa so consistently performed as one of the best programs in the country? Because the Hawkeyes do the ugly stuff better than anyone in America. When it comes to the brute-force brawling that wins games in Iowa, few did it better than Linderbaum.

“Tyler Linderbaum is as good of a lineman as I’ve worked with on any level,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said in 2021.

Given that Ferentz had been coaching for nearly half a century at that point, that’s a good indication of how good Linderbaum was.

The 2022 first-round pick arrived at Iowa as a defensive lineman, but he swapped sides of the line in 2019 and immediately became the team’s center, starting 35 games in his career. Over more than 2,200 snaps at center, he allowed just three sacks and was flagged for just two penalties. In 2020, he was an All-America and Rimington Trophy finalist. In 2021, he won the Rimington while earning unanimous All-America honors.

Second team: Landon Dickerson, Florida State/Alabama
Third team: Olu Oluwatimi, Virginia/Michigan

Honorable mentions: NC State’s Garrett Bradbury, Auburn’s Reese Dismukes, Ohio State’s Pat Elflein and Billy Price, Alabama’s Ryan Kelly, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson, Wisconsin’s Tyler Biadasz and Minnesota’s John Michael Schmitz Jr.


Other offensive line

Penei Sewell, Oregon; Cooper Beebe, Kansas State; Cam Robinson, Alabama; Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame

Before coming to any conclusions here, we reached out to a few Notre Dame experts to gauge their opinion on the best O-lineman the school had during the playoff era. This is no simple question. The Irish had no less than seven offensive linemen earn All-America status over the past decade. But the unanimous response to our inquiry? Nelson by a mile. He was the prized student of legendary Notre Dame O-line coach Harry Hiestand for good reason. He was a 6-foot-5, 330-pound battleship, a top-50 recruit who burnished his legend before ever taking a college snap, bulldozing future NFL defenders in practice while redshirting as a true freshman. By 2016, he was a unanimous All-American and eventual first-round draft pick, where he blossomed into a six-time Pro Bowler.

Like Nelson at Notre Dame, Robinson’s aura stands out even among an elite collection of teammates who’ve excelled in the playoff era at Alabama. A five-star recruit, Robinson started all 14 games for the Tide as a true freshman — the first to start at left tackle for the Tide in the Nick Saban era. The result? He allowed just three sacks all year. In 2015, he earned first-team All-SEC and helped Alabama to a national championship. In 2016, he was a unanimous All-America choice and won the Outland Trophy.

Sewell, too, became a starter for Oregon as a true freshman in 2018, though an injury cut his season short. As a sophomore in 2019, he blossomed into a superstar. He finished as the top-graded offensive lineman in the country by Pro Football Focus, playing more than 900 snaps without allowing a sack. Sewell won the Outland Trophy and was a unanimous All-America selection. The COVID-19 pandemic cut his college career short, however, after he opted out of the 2020 season amid the Pac-12’s early cancellation. He’d later be selected No. 7 overall in the 2021 NFL draft.

From 2021 through 2023, Beebe was named first-team All-Big 12 three times, was twice an All-American, and in 2023 earned unanimous All-America honors. In more than 1,200 snaps as a pass-blocker in that span, Beebe allowed just one sack.

Second team: Orlando Brown Jr., Oklahoma; Brandon Scherff, Iowa; Alex Leatherwood, Alabama; Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame
Third team: Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss Rebels; Olu Fashanu, Penn State Peter Skoronski, Northwestern; Andrew Thomas, Georgia

Honorable mentions: Florida State’s Tre Jackson; Duke’s Laken Tomlinson; Ohio State’s Paris Johnson Jr. and Wyatt Davis; Clemson’s Mitch Hyatt; Baylor’s Spencer Drango; Stanford’s Joshua Garnett; Notre Dame’s Joe Alt, Liam Eichenberg, Aaron Banks, Mike McGlinchey and Sam Mustipher; Alabama’s Jonah Williams and Evan Neal; Wisconsin’s Beau Benzschawel and Tyler Biadasz; Georgia’s Sedrick Van Pran; NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu; Louisiana and Florida’s O’Cyrus Torrence; and Michigan’s Zak Zinter.


Defensive ends

Chase Young, Ohio State; Myles Garrett, Texas A&M

Young had an exceptional sophomore season in 2018, racking up 10.5 sacks — including 3 in the Big Ten title game — 14.5 tackles for loss and 9 QB hurries, all while battling ankle injuries. And if that had been the high point, he’d be in the discussion of best pass-rushers of the era. But what came next was arguably the best performance by a 4-3 edge rusher of the past decade.

In 2019, Young racked up 16.5 sacks — tops in FBS — to go with 21 tackles for loss, 7 QB hurries, 3 pass breakups and a whopping 6 forced fumbles. His pressure rate of 19% was also best in the nation among players with at least 200 pass rush attempts, and he racked up 28 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. With Young on the field, opposing quarterbacks faced pressure 46% of the time — on non-blitz plays. In other words, few players of the playoff era dictated the action quite like Young did as a junior at Ohio State.

Garrett arrived at Texas A&M as arguably the best prospect in the country in 2014, and it took him just six games to set the school’s freshman record for sacks. He finished the year with 11.5 sacks and 10 QB hurries and was named a freshman All-American. As a sophomore, Garrett improved, racking up 19.5 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and an interception en route to All-America honors. By his junior season, it was clear Garrett was perhaps the best NFL prospect in college football, and he was easily the most feared pass-rusher. Although injuries limited him throughout the season, he still finished with 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 10 QB hurries. Garrett is one of just 10 Power 5 defensive linemen of the playoff era to record multiple seasons of 10 sacks or more, and had he been fully healthy as a junior, he almost certainly would have made it three. Nevertheless, the Cleveland Browns took him with the first overall pick of the 2017 draft, and he has since become one of the NFL’s best pass-rushers.

Second team: Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan and Joey Bosa, Ohio State
Third team: Clelin Ferrell, Clemson and Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon

Honorable mentions: Florida State’s DeMarcus Walker, Jared Verse and Brian Burns, Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey, UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, Iowa’s AJ Epenesa, Utah’s Hunter Dimick, Mississippi State’s Montez Sweat, Iowa State’s Will McDonald IV, Louisiana Tech’s Jaylon Ferguson, Penn State’s Carl Nassib, NC State’s Bradley Chubb, USC’s Tuli Tuipulotu, Pitt’s Rashad Weaver, Washington State’s Hercules Mata’afa and Tennessee’s Derek Barnett.


Defensive tackles

Christian Wilkins, Clemson; Ed Oliver, Houston

A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Oliver had his pick of scholarship offers from places such as Alabama, Oklahoma and LSU. Instead, he opted to stay close to home and play at Houston, becoming the first ESPN five-star ever to opt for a school outside the Power 5.

Turns out, it didn’t matter where Oliver played. He was simply a force of nature.

As a true freshman in 2016, Oliver finished the season with 22.5 tackles for loss, third most in the nation, a total burnished during a dominant performance against Heisman winner Lamar Jackson in which Oliver racked up 5 tackles — 3 for a loss — with 2 sacks, a QB hurry, a forced fumble and 3 pass breakups.

Oliver was a first-team All-American all three years of his career at Houston, including earning consensus honors as a sophomore and a junior. He finished with 53.5 tackles for loss, 13.5 sacks and 193 total tackles in his college career.

Like Oliver, Wilkins was a star from the outset. His gregarious personality and indomitable work ethic made him an instant favorite among teammates, coaches and fans at Clemson. He was immensely talented despite his 310-pound frame, as evidenced by his post-championship split in 2017, but also by the fact that he caught a pass on a fake punt in a playoff game, had a reception for a touchdown and scored twice as a runner. He played inside and on the edge and, in one spring game, begged coach Dabo Swinney for work at safety, too.

Wilkins’ impact on the field was immense, as shown by three All-America nods (unanimous in 2018), 40.5 career tackles for loss and two national titles, but his role in the locker room might have been even bigger. In what’s now etched into Clemson lore, it was Wilkins who invited freshman QB Trevor Lawrence out to breakfast in early October 2018 to let him know that, despite any controversy in the media or among fans, this was now Lawrence’s team. Three months later, Lawrence, Wilkins and the Tigers finished off Alabama for a national championship.

Second team: Jordan Davis, Georgia and Quinnen Williams, Alabama
Third team: Jalen Carter, Georgia and Jonathan Allen, Alabama

Honorable mentions: Auburn’s Derrick Brown, Pitt’s Calijah Kancey, Texas’ T’Vondre Sweat, Baylor’s Andrew Billings and James Lynch, Illinois’ Jer’Zhan Newton, Clemson’s Dexter Lawrence II, Alabama’s A’Shawn Robinson, Washington’s Vita Vea, Ohio State’s Michael Bennett and Michigan’s Maurice Hurst II.


Linebackers

Will Anderson Jr., Alabama; Micah Parsons, Penn State; Nakobe Dean, Georgia

A brief accounting of Anderson’s 2021 season: 101 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 33.5 tackles for loss, 9 QB hurries, 79 QB pressures.

Every one of those numbers is borderline absurd, and the wildest part is that Anderson wasn’t the 2021 edge rusher who earned an invitation to New York for the Heisman. That would be Aidan Hutchinson, who has his own case for inclusion here.

Reasonable observers can argue about whether Anderson was snubbed (he was), but what’s inarguable is that he was, during his time at Alabama, as productive a pass-rusher as there was in the country.

Indeed, Anderson’s 34.5 career sacks are the most by any player over the past decade, and the production ultimately earned him the No. 3 overall selection in the 2023 NFL draft.

If Anderson’s pass-rush ability put him on the list, Parsons served as the more all-around star. In 2018, as a true freshman and playing middle linebacker for the first time, Parsons led the Nittany Lions with 82 tackles. In 2019, he started 12 games and blossomed into the complete package at linebacker. He recorded 109 tackles (14 for a loss) with 5 sacks, 5 passes defended and 4 forced fumbles, won the Butkus award as the nation’s top linebacker and consensus All-America honors before dominating in the Cotton Bowl. He figured to be an All-American again in 2020, but amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the Big Ten’s initial decision to scrap the football season, Parsons opted out and prepared for the 2021 NFL draft, where he was selected 12th overall.

Dean’s place on this list might warrant some argument, even from Georgia fans. After all, another Bulldogs legend, Roquan Smith, probably has as good a claim to first-team honors as anyone, winning the Butkus award and earning unanimous All-America honors in 2017. But as good as Smith was, he wasn’t a part of the team that changed the fate of Georgia football forever. Instead, it was Dean, the unquestioned leader on arguably the best defense of the playoff era — and maybe ever — who did that.

As a junior in 2021, Dean racked up 72 tackles (10.5 for a loss) and six sacks to go with two picks and two forced fumbles, but the stats only hinted at the impact he made. Dean was the heart and soul of a unit that allowed just 10 points per game and led the Dawgs to their first national championship since 1980. In the process, he won the Butkus award, was a unanimous All-American and burnished a legend that will put him among the most beloved Georgia players of all time.

Second team: Smith, Georgia; T.J. Watt, Wisconsin; Reuben Foster, Alabama
Third team: Josh Allen, Kentucky; Payton Wilson, NC State; Devin White, LSU

Honorable mentions: Arizona’s Scooby Wright, Cincinnati’s Ivan Pace Jr., Clemson’s Dorian O’Daniel, Ben Boulware and Isaiah Simmons, Iowa’s Jack Campbell and Josey Jewell, Alabama’s Reggie Ragland, Utah’s Devin Lloyd, Michigan’s Devin Bush, USC’s Su’a Cravens, UCLA’s Eric Kendricks, Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham, Tulsa’s Zaven Collins, Notre Dame’s Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Texas’ Joseph Ossai.


Safeties

Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama; Jabrill Peppers, Michigan

There have been some fine safeties in the four-team playoff era, but Fitzpatrick and Peppers stand at the pinnacle of impact by anyone at the position.

Peppers might have been as physically imposing a safety as there was in the playoff era. A five-star recruit, it wasn’t until his second season — Michigan’s first under Jim Harbaugh — that the college football world got a true taste of his ability. He played offense, scoring twice as a runner and catching eight passes. He played special teams, returning 17 punts and eight kickoffs. But where he made his mark was on D, racking up 10 PBUs and 5.5 tackles for loss, earning All-Big Ten honors and finishing as a finalist for the Hornung award. In 2016, Peppers reached a new level. He was a dominant force on defense, collecting 71 tackles, including 15 for a loss. He was a consensus All-American, a Heisman finalist and took home the Butkus trophy and the Nagurski award as the nation’s top defender.

How good was Fitzpatrick’s career at Alabama? As his head coach revealed in the run-up to the 2018 NFL draft, Fitzpatrick gained the nickname “Coach Saban’s son” because he’d become such a favorite of the Alabama legend over the years. That’s arguably the highest compliment a player could earn.

“He’s the exact model you love to have as a coach,” Saban said in 2018. “The guy is very talented. He’s smart, bright, can learn. He really competed to be the absolute best at what he does. I don’t even know if I can describe him well enough.”

Like Peppers, Fitzpatrick was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, and he made an instant impact on Alabama’s defense, starting 10 games as a true freshman, returning two interceptions for touchdowns along the way, as the Tide won the national championship. A year later, Fitzpatrick returned a pick-six for 100 yards, breaking a school record, in a game against Arkansas in which he finished with three INTs. He was a consensus All-American as a sophomore, then upped the ante as a junior, winning the Badnarik and Thorpe awards. For his career, he finished with 171 tackles, 9 interceptions — 4 of which he returned for TDs — and 24 passes defended.

Second team: Budda Baker, Washington and Antoine Winfield, Minnesota
Third team: Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame and Grant Delpit, LSU

Honorable mentions: Florida State’s Derwin James Jr., Wake Forest’s Jessie Bates III, Alabama’s Landon Collins, Xavier McKinney, Notre Dame’s Julian Love, Northwestern’s Brandon Joseph, Duke’s Jeremy Cash, Texas’ DeShon Elliott, Oregon’s Jevon Holland, Georgia’s Lewis Cine, Virginia Tech’s Terrell Edmunds and Ohio State’s Malik Hooker and Vonn Bell.


Cornerbacks

Derek Stingley Jr., LSU; Sauce Gardner, Cincinnati

Stingley arrived at LSU in 2019 as perhaps the top recruit in the country, and though he joined a team absolutely loaded with talent, it was clear from the outset that he was something special.

He earned a starting corner job from day one, and never looked back. He finished his freshman campaign with six interceptions, including a streak of three straight games with one early in the year and ending with two picks against Georgia in the SEC title showdown. His 21 passes defended led all Power 5 defenders, and he was named a consensus All-American. In two playoff games, he allowed just one completion, for 13 yards, and LSU marched its way to a national championship.

Injuries upended much of the rest of Stingley’s LSU career, as he missed three games in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and was limited to just three in all of 2021. But the brilliance of his freshman season is now the stuff of legend in Baton Rouge, and his talent — which ultimately made him the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft — is unquestioned.

If Stingley’s college career was marked by a dizzying high early on, Gardner’s story offers another route to stardom. A three-star recruit, Gardner landed at Cincinnati, and though he played as a true freshman — hauling in three INTs — it wasn’t until his sophomore season that he garnered genuine national acclaim. That year (2020), he finished with 3 picks, 6 PBUs and 28 tackles, allowing just 13 completions on the season as the Bearcats earned a New Year’s Six bowl bid.

Then, as a junior, Gardner went from burgeoning star to all-timer. He held opponents to just 26% completions. He allowed just 60 yards receiving on the year. He picked off three passes again, but mostly, opposing quarterbacks stayed away from his side of the field. Receivers caught just eight balls against him all season when he was the primary defender. His work helped Cincinnati become one of the most dominant defenses in the country and, in the process, earn the first playoff invite of any team outside the Power 5. Perhaps the most impressive stat for Gardner: In three years as a starting corner, he never allowed a touchdown.

Second team: Pat Surtain II, Alabama and Jalen Ramsey, Florida State
Third team: Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida and Desmond King II, Iowa

Honorable mentions: Iowa’s Cooper DeJean, Alabama’s Kool-Aid McKinstry, Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., Utah’s Clark Phillips III, Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah, LSU’s Greedy Williams, USC’s Adoree’ Jackson, Clemson’s Mackensie Alexander, Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis and Ole Miss’ Senquez Golson.


Kicker

Roberto Aguayo, Florida State

It’s unfortunate that Aguayo’s career will best be remembered as an NFL bust — a second-round draft pick (the highest for a kicker since 2005) who spent just one year on an active NFL roster. As a college player, however, he belongs on the Mount Rushmore of kickers (which we assume is not as popular a tourist destination as the one with the presidents). He won the Groza Award as a freshman while helping Florida State to a national title and was a three-time All-America selection, connecting on 69 career field goals.

Second team: Rodrigo Blankenship, Georgia
Third team: Jake Moody, Michigan

Honorable mentions: Utah’s Matt Gay, Miami’s Jose Borregales, Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez and Missouri’s Harrison Mevis.


Punter

Matt Araiza, San Diego State

When a player garners the nickname “Punt God” and generates weekly buzz on social media with his behemoth boots, it’s safe to say he wins this honor going away. Araiza’s 2021 season is one for the ages. He set the NCAA record for punting average at 51.2 yards, won the Ray Guy award and was a unanimous All-America selection.

Second team: Braden Mann, Texas A&M
Third team: Tom Hackett, Utah

Honorable mentions: Georgia Tech’s Pressley Harvin III, Iowa’s Tory Taylor, Kentucky’s Max Duffy and Texas’ Michael Dickson.


Returner/All-Purpose

Christian McCaffrey, Stanford

In the playoff era, there have been two seasons by a Power 5 player in which they’ve averaged at least 200 all-purpose yards per game. Both belong to McCaffrey. His 2015 campaign was the stuff of legend. He racked up 2,019 rushing yards, 645 receiving yards and 1,200 return yards — a total of 3,864 all-purpose yards or, put another way, 30% more all-purpose yards than any other player in college football has had in a single season during the playoff era. That McCaffrey didn’t win the Heisman remains a point of contention among many fans, but it’s safe to say that any retelling of the history of the playoff era — or of college football in general — should include a chapter on McCaffrey’s singular brilliance.

Second team: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State
Third team: Dante Pettis, Washington

Honorable mentions: Purdue’s Rondale Moore, Kansas State’s Deuce Vaughn, San Diego State’s Rashaad Penny, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley, North Carolina’s Ryan Switzer, Kentucky’s Lynn Bowden Jr., Texas A&M’s Christian Kirk, Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins, Alabama’s Smith, Houston’s Marcus Jones, Boise State’s Avery Williams, Oklahoma’s Joe Mixon and Memphis’ Darrell Henderson Jr.

Continue Reading

Sports

Tebow, Deion among AP’s all-time All-Americans

Published

on

By

Tebow, Deion among AP's all-time All-Americans

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and Florida State cornerback Deion Sanders were among the former college football stars named to The Associated Press’ All-Time All-America first team.

Ohio State and Pittsburgh each placed three players on the AP All-Time All-America team announced Thursday as part of the news organization’s celebration of the 100th anniversary of the storied honor for the top players in college football.

Since 1925, nearly 2,000 men have been named AP first-team All-Americans, one of the most prestigious honors in the sport.

Of the 25 players on the first team, five won the Heisman Trophy and 21 are in the College Football Hall of Fame, two are nominated for induction in 2026, and two are not eligible because they are not yet 10 years removed from their college careers.

A panel of 12 AP sportswriters who cover college football selected the all-time team. It won’t be, and shouldn’t be, considered definitive. There have been far more great players over the past century than spots available.

For a player to qualify, he must have been an AP first-team All-American at least once. His professional career, if any, was not to be considered. Also, a member of the all-time team could be listed only on the side of the ball where he was named first-team All-America. All-purpose players could come from any position.

Voters were cautioned against recency bias, but it is notable that only three of the first-team selections played before 1970. Of the 12 players who were three-time All-Americans, only four made the two all-time teams picked by AP.

Tebow edged Texas‘ Vince Young (2005) for all-time first-team quarterback. Tebow won the Heisman and made the AP All-America team as a sophomore in 2007, his first year as the starter.

He led the Gators to their second national championship in three years in 2008 and narrowly missed a chance at another when the 2009 team started 13-0 but lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game. Tebow remains the SEC career leader in rushing touchdowns and touchdowns responsible for.

Oklahoma State‘s Barry Sanders (1988) and Georgia‘s Herschel Walker (1980-82), both Heisman winners, are the running backs. Marshall‘s Randy Moss (1997) and Pittsburgh’s Larry Fitzgerald (2003) are the wide receivers.

The offensive line is made up of Ohio State’s Orlando Pace (1995-96) and Pitt’s Bill Fralic (1982-84) at tackle, Alabama’s John Hannah (1972) and Ohio State’s Jim Parker (1956) at guard and Penn’s Chuck Bednarik (1947-48) at center. The tight end is Georgia’s Brock Bowers (2023).

The all-purpose player is Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers of Nebraska (1972).

On defense, Pitt’s Hugh Green (1978-80) and Maryland‘s Randy White (1974) are the ends and Nebraska’s Ndamukong Suh (2009) and Minnesota‘s Bronko Nagurski (1929) are the tackles. The linebackers are Illinois‘ Dick Butkus (1964), Alabama’s Derrick Thomas (1988) and Ohio State’s Chris Spielman (1986-87).

The secondary is made up of Sanders (1987-88) and Heisman winner Charles Woodson of Michigan (1996-97) at cornerback and USC’s Ronnie Lott (1980) and Miami‘s Ed Reed (2000-01) at safety.

The specialists are Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski (1998-99) and Iowa punter Tory Taylor (2023).

Many fans might say Anthony Munoz and Ray Guy, among others, are glaring omissions.

Munoz, who played at USC from 1976 to 1979, is considered one of the greatest offensive linemen of all time, college or pro. He is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Alas, he was never a first-team AP All-American.

Guy, who played at Southern Mississippi from 1970 to 1972, remains the only punter selected in the first round of an NFL draft. But punters were not included on AP All-America teams until 1981.

The Big Ten led all conferences with seven selections, two more than the SEC.

First team offense

Wide receivers – Randy Moss, Marshall, 1997; Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh, 2003

Tackles – Orlando Pace, Ohio State, 1995-96; Bill Fralic, Pittsburgh, 1982-84

Guards – John Hannah, Alabama, 1972; Jim Parker, Ohio State, 1956

Center – Chuck Bednarik, Penn, 1947-48

Tight end – Brock Bowers, Georgia, 2023

QB – Tim Tebow, Florida, 2007

Running backs – Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State, 1988; Herschel Walker, Georgia, 1980-82

Kicker – Sebastian Janikowski, Florida State, 1998-99

All-purpose – Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska, 1972

First team defense

Ends – Hugh Green, Pittsburgh, 1978-80; Randy White, Maryland, 1974

Tackles – Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, 2009; Bronko Nagurski, Minnesota, 1929

Linebackers – Dick Butkus, Illinois, 1964; Derrick Thomas, Alabama, 1988; Chris Spielman, Ohio State, 1986-87

Cornerbacks – Charles Woodson, Michigan, 1996-97; Deion Sanders, Florida State, 1987-88

Safeties – Ronnie Lott, USC, 1980; Ed Reed, Miami, 2000-01

Punter – Tory Taylor, Iowa, 2023

Continue Reading

Sports

Sources: Michigan to learn sign-stealing fate Fri.

Published

on

By

Sources: Michigan to learn sign-stealing fate Fri.

The NCAA Committee on Infractions’ long-awaited ruling in the Michigan advance-scouting case will be publicly announced Friday, sources told ESPN, as involved parties were made aware of the upcoming release Thursday.

The NCAA is expected to hold a news conference early Friday afternoon to detail the findings, sources told ESPN. It could mark the conclusion of one of the most explosive, strange and controversial cases in the long history of NCAA enforcement.

The NCAA charged Michigan and numerous coaches and staffers with 11 violations — six of them Level I, the most serious — in relation to a sign-stealing operation overseen by former staffer Connor Stalions.

Stalions is alleged to have arranged for people to attend games and film the sideline signals involving future Michigan opponents from 2021 to the middle of the 2023 season, when the scheme was uncovered and Stalions resigned.

Stealing signs in games is not against NCAA rules, but schools are not allowed to scout opponents in advance in person. Evidence emerged of Stalions purchasing tickets at nearly every Big Ten school.

According to a draft of the NCAA notice of allegations obtained by ESPN, Stalions arranged the impermissible scouting of at least 13 future opponents on at least 58 occasions from 2021 to 2023. That included scouting opponents multiple times, including one team that was watched seven times in 2022, according to the draft.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore is expected to be suspended for at least two games in the upcoming season for deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions. One of the mysteries of the upcoming ruling is whether that self-imposed sanction will be accepted or if there will be any additions to it.

Michigan has asked for that two-game ban to be served during the Wolverines’ third and fourth games.

Michigan and all of its current and former coaches involved in the matter have said they were unaware of Stalions’ alleged advanced scouting.

The school appeared before the NCAA infractions committee during a two-day hearing in early June.

Potential penalties for the other former Michigan coaches involved include suspensions, significant fines and other measures. Those are more likely than any significant program penalties for Michigan — other than a hefty potential fine — as recent NCAA precedent has steered the Committee on Infractions away from postseason bans in other cases.

Show-cause penalties — which work like a type of employment ban — could also be leveled on former coach Jim Harbaugh, now with the Los Angeles Chargers, Stalions and former assistant coaches named in the report. The Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for three games to conclude the 2023 regular season under the league’s sportsmanship rules.

In August 2024, Harbaugh received a four-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA tied to a separate case where he was found to have improper contract with recruits.

Moore was charged with failure to cooperate for deleting a text thread — which was later recovered — with Stalions on Oct. 19, 2023, the day the scandal broke. The messages, per the NCAA case, did not include any information to suggest Moore knew of Stalions’ alleged actions. Moore is considered a potential “repeat violator” by the NCAA because in August 2023 he negotiated a resolution to claims that he contacted recruits during a COVID-19 recruiting dead period, and he later served a one-game suspension.

Michigan went on to capture the 2023 national championship after Stalions’ resignation.

The Wolverines, who are ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25, open the season at home against New Mexico on Aug. 30 before visiting No. 18 Oklahoma on Sept. 6.

Continue Reading

Sports

The Bottom 10 is back! Who will bring up the rear in college football in 2025?

Published

on

By

The Bottom 10 is back! Who will bring up the rear in college football in 2025?

Inspirational thought of the week:

What do you do when you love somebody
And you decide to go it alone?
Ah, no, no, it never pays to give up on someone
When on the inside the feelin’ is strong

Oh, here we go again
I thought what we had was over now
But here we go again

— “Here We Go Again” Isley Brothers

Here at Bottom 10 Headquarters, located inside the 18-wheeler of tissues being delivered to the “College GameDay” set for Coach Corso’s final show, we have spent the offseason staring at the map. Specifically, a United States puzzle map. We picked up the piece labeled “Massachusetts” and held it while we kept one eye on the calendar and one eye on the clock.

Then, as the long hand hit 12 and it became midnight and thus was officially Tuesday, July 1, 2025, we slathered crazy glue onto the back of that wooden facsimile of the Codfish State and screamed, “UMASS IS WALKING BACK TO THE MAC, BABY!”

That’s when the lights came on. Standing in the doorway were the kids from whose playroom I’d stolen the puzzle. They were crying. There was a dog, apparently named Mac, who thought I’d called him for a walk. Now he was crying. Then there was my wife, in her pajamas and mad because I’d woken her up. She pointed to my hand, still held high in the air about to slap Massachusetts into the heart of the Mid-American Conference and said, “Nice job, moron. You palmed the side with the crazy glue. I hope you like UMass as much as you say you do, because I’m out of nail polish remover. That’s gonna still be in your hand when the season starts.”

With apologies to former Villanova running back Larry Glueck, Lester Hayes, Harry Cover and Steve Harvey, here’s the 2025 preseason Bottom 10 rankings.

The defending Bottom 10 champs have lost 21 games in a row and fired coach Kenni Burns. But they let him stick around until spring practice had already started and said they didn’t fire him because his record was 1-23 but rather because of a list of reasons presented by university leaders. That included maxing out his $20K “P-card” which stands for personal card, not something the doctor has you use to check your alkaline levels.


Our Bottom 10 JortsCenter investigative unit has discovered a pile of wilted flowers and an accompanying thank you note, found in a dumpster behind the Kent State football offices, with a Kennesaw State return address. The card reads: “Thanks for botching your coach firing so bad because it made people forget our even worse coach firing last fall. Love, The Owls (not the ones at Rice, FAU or Temple).” Why were we digging through the dumpster at Kent? Because we heard that Greg McElroy said that Nick Saban was going back to coach his alma mater.


The Amherst Amblers are indeed back where the Bottom 10 football gods want them, rejoining #MACtion after nearly a decade away. They were in the MAC from 2012 to 2015, during which time they won eight games over four seasons. Then they went rogue, during which time they earned 18 wins over nine seasons. Is it weird to leave a conference and then return? Sure. But did we really believe that a group of Minutemen could resist the idea of independence?


The 2025 roster of Brett Favre Disaster Relief U. has 17 transfers from the SEC, nine from the Big 12 and five from the ACC. The last time there were this many out-of-towners in Hattiesburg they were on their way to siege Vicksburg.


5. The State U. Fightin’ Accountants

Between rev share and payrolls and school shoe deals promising unprecedented NIL payouts and the Kansas Nayhawks receiving a $300 million donation and players kinda sorta not really gambling and court settlements that were supposed to fix everything but then we find out that, no, there’s more that has to be sorted out to players’ parents complaining about unfulfilled financial promises to everyone from Tom Brady to Shane Gillis telling us that college sports cash is screwed up but no one has any real solutions … can we please just kick off the games already?


Sources have also told Bottom 10 JortsCenter that New Mexico State officials have looked into the possibility of not playing any games this year and instead hosting stadium jumbotron SEC Network watch parties to see all their former players winning games at Vanderbilt.


The Golden Hurricane lost their last four games of 2024 by surrendering an average 55.75 points per contest. It was the most excruciating finish we’ve been forced to witness since the “Game of Thrones” finale.


The Panthers Not Owls moved up to FBS football nearly 25 years ago and since then have posted only four winning seasons, the last coming in their legendary 9-4 campaign in 2018 that ended with a win in the Popeye’s Bahamas Bowl. Over the past five years, they have averaged 2.6 wins. Exactly how I feel after I have eaten too much Popeye’s.


Speaking of moving up to FBS, the Bears are doing so after 115 years of playing at lower levels. During that time, they posted an FCS playoff record of 1-4 and a bowl mark of 0-4, including two losses in the Mineral Water Bowl. College Football Playoff, here they come!


Speaking of repeating ourselves, the Fightin’ Blue Hens are also movin’ on up, but bringing a very different résumé to the FBS job fair. Delaware claims six national titles, five in Division II and the 2003 FCS championship. Plus, it was the first program of the Level Formerly Known as 1-AA to draw more than 20,000 fans per game. The Blue Hens open the season versus Delaware State, not be confused with the State of Delaware. If they had to fight the entire state of Delaware, that wouldn’t seem fair. Though, if it was set to the music of George Thorogood and there was blue crab being served, I would totally be there.

Waiting list: Georgia State Not Southern, Baller State, Akronmonious, Temple of Doom, ULM (pronounced “uhlm”), UTEPid, Muddled Tennessee, coach girlfriend headlines.

Continue Reading

Trending