College Football Blitz: Ohio State gets bulletin board material, Jeremy McNichols leaving
By Jack Crosby
In today’s College Football Blitz, Ohio State got some bulletin board material, and one of Boise State’s best running backs ever is departing
We’re just a few days away now from the College Football Playoff, and probably more people are looking forward to the clash between Ohio State and Clemson than Alabama vs Washington. Well, the Buckeyes got some more incentive recently to take it to the Tigers.
This is where we begin our College Football Blitz for Tuesday, Dec. 27.
Clemson fires the first big shot ahead of College Football Playoff
In the second contest of the College Football Playoff slate Saturday, we’ll be treated to a matchup between the Clemson Tigers and the Ohio State Buckeyes. With Clemson having defeated the Buckeyes in a thrilling 2014 Orange Bowl, there’s already incentive for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes to go out and grab some revenge against Dabo Swinney the Tigers. Well, on Tuesday, they were given more of a reason to go out and take it to the team from South Carolina.
While meeting with the media on Tuesday, Clemson junior safety Jadar Johnson offered up a little assessment of Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett. That assessment? Yeah, they’ve seen better than him.
“He’s pretty good,” Johnson said via the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “We’ve definitely faced quarterbacks better than him. I feel like if we can limit him on the ground with his running then we’ll be pretty good. I don’t think he’s a very accurate passer. Like I said, I’m not taking anything away from him. He’s definitely a good player, but I feel like his strong point is on his legs.”
There was more, but that gets to the whole point right there.
So, yeah, as if we didn’t want to see these two great teams go at it badly enough already, Saturday really can’t come fast enough now.
Final Thought: Well, to be fair, Clemson did face and defeat Lamar Jackson. That guy won that thing called the Heisman. Johnson technically isn’t wrong here.
Jeremy McNichols is putting his Boise State career to bed
The NFL Draft running back class for 2017 got a new member on Monday. Boise State running back Jeremy McNichols officially announced that the Cactus Bowl on Tuesday night will be his last as a member of the Broncos.
This is really an announcement that many saw coming at some point eventually, because has he himself stated, he has done just about all he can do for the Broncos.
McNichols is coming off his best season as the starting running back for Boise State, having rushed for 1,663 yards and 23 touchdowns. Furthermore, he also hauled in 32 balls out of the backfield for an additional 450 yards and four touchdowns. And now we all have to remember that he will only add to those totals on Tuesday night, and if he can rush for 162 yards against Baylor, he will own the Broncos’ single-season rushing record.
So, yeah, there’s very little more that he can do in school other than play for a national title.
Final Thought: Are there bigger names in the running back class next spring? Sure, but McNichols can definitely wind up being a steal for someone in the mid-rounds somewhere. As you can see by the receiving stats above alone, he’s one of the more versatile backs in all of college football and could be a pretty productive player for a team at the next level.
Army wins a bowl game
Army won a bowl game. Their first bowl win since 2010.
Bowl game stat of the day
Quick Lane Bowl – 705 total yards
When the bowl game slate was released earlier this month, we all took a look at the Quick Lane Bowl matchup between Maryland and Boston College and rolled our eyes. Two mediocre offenses taking the field against one another surely had the recipe of a 9-7 finish or something completely dumb of that nature.
Yeah, well … LOL, we were the dumb ones in the end.
Somehow, some way, the Terps and the Eagles actually gave us one of the more exciting bowl games to watch this season, with Boston College coming away with the 36-30 win, holding off a surge from Maryland. In this unlikely shootout, these two “boring” offenses combined for 705 total yards — again, something we never expected to see and if you say differently then you’re a dirty liar!
Bowl season will truly never make any sense, I swear.