College Football Awards, Week 14 (2017) December 7, 2017

(Note:  All rankings are current AP [week 14] unless otherwise noted.)

COACHES
Wish I were him: Kirby Smart, Georgia

Glad I’m not him: Gus Malzahn, Auburn

Lucky guy: Clay Helton, USC

Poor guy: David Shaw, Stanford

Desperately seeking a wake-up call: Bryan Harsin, Boise State

Desperately seeking a P.R. man: Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State

Desperately seeking sunglasses and a fake beard: Gary Patterson, TCU

Desperately seeking … anything:  Chad Lunsford, Georgia Southern

TEAMS
Thought you’d kick butt, you did: Florida State (defeated Louisiana-Monroe 42-10)

Thought you’d put up a fight, you did: Stanford (lost to No. 10 USC 31-28)

Thought you’d put up a fight, you didn’t: Miami (lost to No. 1 Clemson 38-3)

Thought you wouldn’t kick butt, you did:   Oklahoma (defeated TCU 41-17)

Dang, they’re good: Clemson

Dang, they’re bad:  Louisiana-Lafayette

Did the season start?  Stanford

Can the season end?  Georgia Southern

Can the season never end?  Oklahoma

GAMES
Play this again:  No. 8 Ohio State 27, No. 4 Wisconsin 21

Play this again, too:  No. 10 USC 31, No. 12 Stanford 28

Never play this again: Appalachian State 63, Louisiana 14

What? Boise State 17, No. 25 Fresno State 14

Are you kidding me??  No. 8 Ohio State 27, No. 4 Wisconsin 21

Oh – my – God:  No. 6 Georgia 27, No. 2 Auburn 7

NEXT WEEK

(rankings are current AP, post-week 13)
Ticket to die for:  none.  The only game next week is the annual Army-Navy game.  Enjoy, and God Bless America!

Week 14 Random Thoughts:

Not bad for Florida State salvaging bowl eligibility, even if it meant resorting to resuming a postponed body bag game in order to do so.  More importantly, though, it boggles the mind why Jimbo Fisher up and left the FSU gig for the Texas A&M job.  One would think that would be a come-down in occupations.  The Seminoles have multiple national titles to their name, while the Aggies have but one, and that was way back in 1939.  Good luck living up to Aggie nation’s insane expectations, Coach Fisher.

Meanwhile, there has been much controversy surrounding the fourth team selected into the Playoffs.  Many contend that Ohio State should have gotten in instead of Alabama.  It would certainly be better for business if we had a traditional power representing the Midwest instead of all four teams being from the Sunbelt.  But consider this:  scouts who have watched all top teams play live say that they were disappointed in how Ohio State struggled to put away Wisconsin, a team with far few NFL-caliber bodies than the top three SEC teams, Bama included.

In hindsight, it ought not to be a surprise how the SEC championship resulted.  Auburn was banged up after playing two massive games in a row against top-ranked teams.  The Tigers simply had nothing left in the tank come this past weekend.

Yes, the Miami Hurricane’s performance was disappointing against Clemson, but their high ranking earlier this season was a reflection on the fact that they were playing ahead of their stage of development.  Come next year, they should be more formidable, and thus a more legit contender for the playoffs.

One of my favorite conference championship game traditions is the two Big Ten team bands getting together on the field pre-game to play the national anthem together.  It’s not only a wonderful sight to behold, but musically it’s spot-on, too, as we can always count those bands to deliver a rousing rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner!

Now that the bowl games are lined up, an article on them shall be forthcoming.  Until then, let us enjoy the Army-Navy game!