Re: #SWARM - RELOADED
Reports by Isaac Robinson - December 1st, 2018
Penn State are the last unbeaten team, but there's still a ton to play for. Here are the conference title game matchups.
AAC Championship Game - #13 Tulsa (10-2) vs Westlake State (6-6)
The Swarm lucked into the title game, taking advantage of a weak division to get here. The Golden Hurricane are led by junior Rian Milton who's thrown for over 3000 yards and 27 scores on the season, and will be looking to get into a high-profile bowl game. Westlake State will rely on sophomore B.J. Henderson, who will have to watch the turnovers (leads nation with 17 picks) in order to give his team a shot. The Swarm have created a lot of turnovers, but struggle on D, with the #98 overall defense. They're especially bad against the run, giving up 212 yards a game (#110 in the nation.) Tulsa, on the other hand, boast the #3 overall defense, giving up an average of just 338 yards a game, including just 154 rushing, good for #6 in the nation.
C-USA Championship Game - Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs Middle Tennessee State (10-2)
The Blue Raiders should take this one. They're 10-2, and have the nation's 8th best rushing offense, with Richard Frye running for 1410 yards and 18 scores on the season following Cliff Taylor's injury. QB Marcus Thomas has thrown for 2251 yards and 19 scores, tacking on 831 and 9 more scores on the ground. Louisiana Tech have their own 1400 yard rusher, with Patrick Upshaw running for 1430 and 13 scores on a 6.8 YPC average.
This will be a run-heavy game, and not many teams have done it better than Middle Tennessee State this season.
SEC Championship Game - #8 Florida (8-3) vs #17 Ole Miss (8-4)
Florida started 0-2, then ripped off 8 straight wins, including a 42-32 win over then #1 Georgia. But the Gators faltered against bitter rivals FSU and fell out of the top 5. Ole Miss would be a top 5 team if their defense wasn't so bad. Roger Jordan is a Heisman finalist, throwing for 3329 yards, 38 scores and 7 picks on 73% passing. He's also ran for 650 yards and 4 scores. His counterpart Mark McCray has also had a great year, with 2636 yards and 37 scores to just 4 picks, completing 66% of his throws. Ole Miss struggle mightily against the run, and Florida have ran well this year, over 200 yards a game with their tailback duo of Brandon Dotson and Anthony Whitaker.
MWC Championship Game - San Jose State (8-4) vs Utah State (9-3)
Utah State are on fire, riding a 6 game win streak coming into this game. They throw the ball well, but San Jose State has the #9 pass D in the nation. The Spartans lean more on the run.
PAC-12 Championship Game - #24 Arizona State (9-3) vs Cal (8-4)
The PAC-12 hasn't been much of a national presence this season, with no top 10 teams. ASU have ran for 271 yards a game this year, and boast the #5 defense. They have a pair of 1000 yard rushers, with Corey Calhoun rushing for 1728 yards and 17 scores (6.3 YPC) and Lee Parks rushing for 1025 yards and 5 scores (5.6 YPC). Cal's Eric Stanley is a likely first round pick. He's elusive and slippery, running for 1311 yards and 12 scores on the year. (6.7 PC) Backup Kyle Kilpatrick has ran for 747 and averaged 7.7 yards a carry.
Cal aren't really very impressive, ranking towards the middle of the pack in every stat aside from turnover differential. Both teams actually sit at +7, good for 13th in the country.
ACC Championship Game - #15 North Carolina (8-3) vs #5 Clemson (10-2)
Lot at stake here. Clemson kept #2 FSU from being undefeated, so they should make the BCS title game if they win here. Both offenses are high flying, with Marcus Hoffman (Clemson) and Mike Graham (UNC) both posting great seasons. Hoffman has thrown for 3645 yards, 36 scores, and 8 picks, completing 67% of his throws. Graham has thrown for 3005 yards, 35 scores, and 4 picks, completing 70% of his throws. Graham brings a bit more of a dual threat, running for 462 yards so far. Both teams have backfield by committee. What'll decide this is defense, and the Tigers have the edge there, with the #11 overall defense. They don't force many turnovers, but they get teams off the field.
Big Ten Championship Game - #9 Nebraska (9-3) vs #1 Penn State (12-0)
Nebraska are leaving the Big Ten, and will look to play spoiler to #1 Penn State on the way out. They boast the #1 total offense in the nation, passing for 325 yards a game and rushing for 196. Defensively however, they struggle against the pass, giving up 262 yards a game. Penn State just do everything well. They rank 7th in total defense and 10th in total offense. Charles Jenkins is the X-factor here for Nebraska. The senior opted to return to school after winning the Heisman in 2017, and had another great season. His team's record means he won't be considered for that award, but his 3775 passing yards, 746 rushing yards, and 48 total touchdowns have made him the frontrunner for both the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards. Penn State will try to slow him down and hope to secure their spot in the BCS title game.
MAC Championship Game - #18 Akron (10-2) vs Eastern Michigan (10-2)
Akron have been an upstart this season, ranking in the top 25 for the first time ever, going 10-2 behind Troy Love's 1507 rushing yards and 13 TDs, backup Eric Johnson's 955 yards and 13 TDs, and signal-caller Stephen Evans' 825 rushing yards and 9 scores. The Zips have the nation's 2nd most prolific rushing offense, at 312 yards a game. They also have the best run defense,giving up just 147 yards a game, and they take care of the football, with a +10 turnover differential. EMU are led by fourth-year starter Derrick Evans, who'll look to close his successful career with a MAC title win. He's thrown for 2846 yards and ran for 889 more, accounting for 32 total TDs.
Westlake State have signed 12 players so far as the dust settles on Early Signing Day, the highlights being Nic Johnson (#25 WR) and Davion Williams (#31 MLB). However, the Swarm lost stud JUCO corner Isiah Mills to FSU, along with 3 star DT Stevie Hodge to Oklahoma, who boast the #1 class so far.
The highest ranked AAC school so far is UCF, with the Knights pulling in 13 commits so far, 12 of them 3 star recruits and one, tailback Troy Alexander, rated 4 stars. The #1 recruit in the nation, tailback Kyle Marshall out of California, will play his college football at Texas. Kentucky have been a program on the rise, finishing 8-4 this year (their 4th winning season in a row), and putting together an impressive class that includes the #1 dual-threat QB in Travis Brittain, as well as #1 WR Eddie Goolsby.
Surprisingly, 1-11 Kalispell have pulled in Chris Washington, the #9 overall recruit. He can play tailback and defensive back, and will no doubt start for the Warhawks from day 1.
A full list of Westlake State's commitments can be found below.
Signees
WR Nic Johnson (5'10, 202, 4*, #25, 4.66 40)
WR Jeremy Watson (6'3, 233, 3*, #60, 4.38 40)
SS Damion Nelson (6'4, 197, 3*, #17 SS, 4.52 40)
MLB Davion Williams (6'4, 228, 3*, #31 MLB, 4.56 40)
SS Pierre Brown (likely LB convert) (6'1, 203, 3* #26 SS, 4.68 40)
ATH (OLB/SS) Mark Britt (6'2, 209, 3*, #55 ATH, 4.60 40)
G Adam Washington (6'5, 290, 3*, #45 G, 450 BP)
SS Kris Williams (6'0, 193 2*, #58 SS, 4.62 40)
WR Allan Nicholson (6'0, 191, *, #277 WR, 4.54 40)
T Tim Pembroke (JUCO SO) (6'7, 342, 2*, #140 T, 490 BP)
K Adam Ferwerda (5'11, 213, 1*, #30 K, 5.22 40)
DT Tavares Morton (JUCO JR) (6'6, 279, 1*, #168 DT, 460 BP)
Verbal Commits
FS Carl Pleasant (6'1, 173, 2*, #58 FS, 4.48 40)
HB Joe Smiley (5'10, 210, 3*, #111 HB, 4.34 40)
WR Steven O'Donnell (6'4, 188, 3*, #99 WR, 4.52 40)
CB Joe Walker (6'0, 165, 3*, #121 CB, 4.50 40)
DE Daniel Huggins (6'0, 225, 3*, #85 DE, 4.58 40)
6 years ago, Johnny Manziel became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman trophy. Now, Ohio State QB Jabari Valentine could become the second. Valentine is currently the Heisman favorite, with Vegas putting his odds at 7/2. The 6'0, 207 pounder was the #1 dual-threat QB two seasons ago, and has led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record. He's thrown for 2473 yards, 21 TDs, and 6 picks while completing 65% of his throws. On the ground, he's one of just 2 quarterbacks to hit 1000 yards rushing so far, sitting at 1031 yards and 12 scores on the ground, running for 6.2 yards per carry.
His competition: Matt Perry, QB, UGA, Jim Meyers, HB, FSU, Jesse Fernandez, QB, TCU, and Roger Jordan, QB, Ole Miss.
Matt Perry, a senior who's been the Bulldogs' starter since 2015, has amassed 12378 passing yards and 149 scores with just 17 picks in his career. But despite those numbers, he has yet to win any major award. This year, he he's thrown for 3371 yards, 42 scores, and just 2 picks. He's also ran for 454 yards and 3 scores, as Georgia currently sit at #7 with a 10-2 record.
Jim Meyers came second to Nebraska's Charles Jenkins last year, and has already nearly eclipsed the 1346 yards that he had on the ground, with 2346, and has 15 scores, 3 more than he had in 14 games in 2017. He's caught just 7 balls, but he's gained 122 yards and scored a touchdown. In addition, the junior has returned 29 kicks, averaging 26 yards per return.
Jesse Fernandez broke out for TCU after redshirting and riding the bench for 2 seasons. He's thrown for 2461 yards, 29 scores and 3 picks. His Horned Frogs currently sit at #12 with a 10-2 record.
And last but not least, Ole Miss' Roger Jordan has been putting up gaudy numbers for the past 3 seasons without any love from the awards panel. His senior campaign has been his best, as he's thrown for 3329 yards and 38 scores, completing a whopping 73 percent of his passes while being picked off just 7 times. He's also ran for 650 yards and 4 scores.
I would be remiss not to mention the year that Alabama tailback Spencer Campbell was having before he got hurt: In just 8 games, Campbell had amassed 1326 rushing yards and 21 scores, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Had he played all 12 games, he was on pace for 1989 yards and a whopping 31 touchdowns, both of which would lead the nation.
Reports by Isaac Robinson - December 1st, 2018
End of regular season - Westlake State will play for an AAC title
CCG Previews, Early Signing Period Roundup, and Heisman Finalists
Conference Championship Week
Penn State are the last unbeaten team, but there's still a ton to play for. Here are the conference title game matchups.
AAC Championship Game - #13 Tulsa (10-2) vs Westlake State (6-6)
The Swarm lucked into the title game, taking advantage of a weak division to get here. The Golden Hurricane are led by junior Rian Milton who's thrown for over 3000 yards and 27 scores on the season, and will be looking to get into a high-profile bowl game. Westlake State will rely on sophomore B.J. Henderson, who will have to watch the turnovers (leads nation with 17 picks) in order to give his team a shot. The Swarm have created a lot of turnovers, but struggle on D, with the #98 overall defense. They're especially bad against the run, giving up 212 yards a game (#110 in the nation.) Tulsa, on the other hand, boast the #3 overall defense, giving up an average of just 338 yards a game, including just 154 rushing, good for #6 in the nation.
C-USA Championship Game - Louisiana Tech (7-5) vs Middle Tennessee State (10-2)
The Blue Raiders should take this one. They're 10-2, and have the nation's 8th best rushing offense, with Richard Frye running for 1410 yards and 18 scores on the season following Cliff Taylor's injury. QB Marcus Thomas has thrown for 2251 yards and 19 scores, tacking on 831 and 9 more scores on the ground. Louisiana Tech have their own 1400 yard rusher, with Patrick Upshaw running for 1430 and 13 scores on a 6.8 YPC average.
This will be a run-heavy game, and not many teams have done it better than Middle Tennessee State this season.
SEC Championship Game - #8 Florida (8-3) vs #17 Ole Miss (8-4)
Florida started 0-2, then ripped off 8 straight wins, including a 42-32 win over then #1 Georgia. But the Gators faltered against bitter rivals FSU and fell out of the top 5. Ole Miss would be a top 5 team if their defense wasn't so bad. Roger Jordan is a Heisman finalist, throwing for 3329 yards, 38 scores and 7 picks on 73% passing. He's also ran for 650 yards and 4 scores. His counterpart Mark McCray has also had a great year, with 2636 yards and 37 scores to just 4 picks, completing 66% of his throws. Ole Miss struggle mightily against the run, and Florida have ran well this year, over 200 yards a game with their tailback duo of Brandon Dotson and Anthony Whitaker.
MWC Championship Game - San Jose State (8-4) vs Utah State (9-3)
Utah State are on fire, riding a 6 game win streak coming into this game. They throw the ball well, but San Jose State has the #9 pass D in the nation. The Spartans lean more on the run.
PAC-12 Championship Game - #24 Arizona State (9-3) vs Cal (8-4)
The PAC-12 hasn't been much of a national presence this season, with no top 10 teams. ASU have ran for 271 yards a game this year, and boast the #5 defense. They have a pair of 1000 yard rushers, with Corey Calhoun rushing for 1728 yards and 17 scores (6.3 YPC) and Lee Parks rushing for 1025 yards and 5 scores (5.6 YPC). Cal's Eric Stanley is a likely first round pick. He's elusive and slippery, running for 1311 yards and 12 scores on the year. (6.7 PC) Backup Kyle Kilpatrick has ran for 747 and averaged 7.7 yards a carry.
Cal aren't really very impressive, ranking towards the middle of the pack in every stat aside from turnover differential. Both teams actually sit at +7, good for 13th in the country.
ACC Championship Game - #15 North Carolina (8-3) vs #5 Clemson (10-2)
Lot at stake here. Clemson kept #2 FSU from being undefeated, so they should make the BCS title game if they win here. Both offenses are high flying, with Marcus Hoffman (Clemson) and Mike Graham (UNC) both posting great seasons. Hoffman has thrown for 3645 yards, 36 scores, and 8 picks, completing 67% of his throws. Graham has thrown for 3005 yards, 35 scores, and 4 picks, completing 70% of his throws. Graham brings a bit more of a dual threat, running for 462 yards so far. Both teams have backfield by committee. What'll decide this is defense, and the Tigers have the edge there, with the #11 overall defense. They don't force many turnovers, but they get teams off the field.
Big Ten Championship Game - #9 Nebraska (9-3) vs #1 Penn State (12-0)
Nebraska are leaving the Big Ten, and will look to play spoiler to #1 Penn State on the way out. They boast the #1 total offense in the nation, passing for 325 yards a game and rushing for 196. Defensively however, they struggle against the pass, giving up 262 yards a game. Penn State just do everything well. They rank 7th in total defense and 10th in total offense. Charles Jenkins is the X-factor here for Nebraska. The senior opted to return to school after winning the Heisman in 2017, and had another great season. His team's record means he won't be considered for that award, but his 3775 passing yards, 746 rushing yards, and 48 total touchdowns have made him the frontrunner for both the Maxwell and Walter Camp awards. Penn State will try to slow him down and hope to secure their spot in the BCS title game.
MAC Championship Game - #18 Akron (10-2) vs Eastern Michigan (10-2)
Akron have been an upstart this season, ranking in the top 25 for the first time ever, going 10-2 behind Troy Love's 1507 rushing yards and 13 TDs, backup Eric Johnson's 955 yards and 13 TDs, and signal-caller Stephen Evans' 825 rushing yards and 9 scores. The Zips have the nation's 2nd most prolific rushing offense, at 312 yards a game. They also have the best run defense,giving up just 147 yards a game, and they take care of the football, with a +10 turnover differential. EMU are led by fourth-year starter Derrick Evans, who'll look to close his successful career with a MAC title win. He's thrown for 2846 yards and ran for 889 more, accounting for 32 total TDs.
Early Signing Period - Swarm lose pair of high-profile recruits
Westlake State have signed 12 players so far as the dust settles on Early Signing Day, the highlights being Nic Johnson (#25 WR) and Davion Williams (#31 MLB). However, the Swarm lost stud JUCO corner Isiah Mills to FSU, along with 3 star DT Stevie Hodge to Oklahoma, who boast the #1 class so far.
The highest ranked AAC school so far is UCF, with the Knights pulling in 13 commits so far, 12 of them 3 star recruits and one, tailback Troy Alexander, rated 4 stars. The #1 recruit in the nation, tailback Kyle Marshall out of California, will play his college football at Texas. Kentucky have been a program on the rise, finishing 8-4 this year (their 4th winning season in a row), and putting together an impressive class that includes the #1 dual-threat QB in Travis Brittain, as well as #1 WR Eddie Goolsby.
Surprisingly, 1-11 Kalispell have pulled in Chris Washington, the #9 overall recruit. He can play tailback and defensive back, and will no doubt start for the Warhawks from day 1.
A full list of Westlake State's commitments can be found below.
Signees
WR Nic Johnson (5'10, 202, 4*, #25, 4.66 40)
WR Jeremy Watson (6'3, 233, 3*, #60, 4.38 40)
SS Damion Nelson (6'4, 197, 3*, #17 SS, 4.52 40)
MLB Davion Williams (6'4, 228, 3*, #31 MLB, 4.56 40)
SS Pierre Brown (likely LB convert) (6'1, 203, 3* #26 SS, 4.68 40)
ATH (OLB/SS) Mark Britt (6'2, 209, 3*, #55 ATH, 4.60 40)
G Adam Washington (6'5, 290, 3*, #45 G, 450 BP)
SS Kris Williams (6'0, 193 2*, #58 SS, 4.62 40)
WR Allan Nicholson (6'0, 191, *, #277 WR, 4.54 40)
T Tim Pembroke (JUCO SO) (6'7, 342, 2*, #140 T, 490 BP)
K Adam Ferwerda (5'11, 213, 1*, #30 K, 5.22 40)
DT Tavares Morton (JUCO JR) (6'6, 279, 1*, #168 DT, 460 BP)
Verbal Commits
FS Carl Pleasant (6'1, 173, 2*, #58 FS, 4.48 40)
HB Joe Smiley (5'10, 210, 3*, #111 HB, 4.34 40)
WR Steven O'Donnell (6'4, 188, 3*, #99 WR, 4.52 40)
CB Joe Walker (6'0, 165, 3*, #121 CB, 4.50 40)
DE Daniel Huggins (6'0, 225, 3*, #85 DE, 4.58 40)
Heisman Finalists
6 years ago, Johnny Manziel became the first freshman ever to win the Heisman trophy. Now, Ohio State QB Jabari Valentine could become the second. Valentine is currently the Heisman favorite, with Vegas putting his odds at 7/2. The 6'0, 207 pounder was the #1 dual-threat QB two seasons ago, and has led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record. He's thrown for 2473 yards, 21 TDs, and 6 picks while completing 65% of his throws. On the ground, he's one of just 2 quarterbacks to hit 1000 yards rushing so far, sitting at 1031 yards and 12 scores on the ground, running for 6.2 yards per carry.
His competition: Matt Perry, QB, UGA, Jim Meyers, HB, FSU, Jesse Fernandez, QB, TCU, and Roger Jordan, QB, Ole Miss.
Matt Perry, a senior who's been the Bulldogs' starter since 2015, has amassed 12378 passing yards and 149 scores with just 17 picks in his career. But despite those numbers, he has yet to win any major award. This year, he he's thrown for 3371 yards, 42 scores, and just 2 picks. He's also ran for 454 yards and 3 scores, as Georgia currently sit at #7 with a 10-2 record.
Jim Meyers came second to Nebraska's Charles Jenkins last year, and has already nearly eclipsed the 1346 yards that he had on the ground, with 2346, and has 15 scores, 3 more than he had in 14 games in 2017. He's caught just 7 balls, but he's gained 122 yards and scored a touchdown. In addition, the junior has returned 29 kicks, averaging 26 yards per return.
Jesse Fernandez broke out for TCU after redshirting and riding the bench for 2 seasons. He's thrown for 2461 yards, 29 scores and 3 picks. His Horned Frogs currently sit at #12 with a 10-2 record.
And last but not least, Ole Miss' Roger Jordan has been putting up gaudy numbers for the past 3 seasons without any love from the awards panel. His senior campaign has been his best, as he's thrown for 3329 yards and 38 scores, completing a whopping 73 percent of his passes while being picked off just 7 times. He's also ran for 650 yards and 4 scores.
I would be remiss not to mention the year that Alabama tailback Spencer Campbell was having before he got hurt: In just 8 games, Campbell had amassed 1326 rushing yards and 21 scores, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Had he played all 12 games, he was on pace for 1989 yards and a whopping 31 touchdowns, both of which would lead the nation.
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