Somehow the 2015 college football season has flown right by us.
It’s December and the regular season is over, which means we’re getting ready for holidays, bowl games and playoffs. Now that all the focus is on postseason play we’ve got as good an idea of where everyone and everything stands, at least until the bowls begin. Here’s a look at what’s overrated and underrated following the conference championship games.
OVERRATED
Playoff Rankings: Who makes the top 4 is a huge deal, obviously. But once the participants in the tournament are selected it’s fairly pointless to debate the order. The bottom line is the national champion will win two games against top competition, no matter who it is matched up against in the opening round. We all love to debate things, but whether Oklahoma is third or fourth is not an argument worth having.
The Heisman Trophy: Derrick Henry might not win the award, and that’s OK, Alabama fans. There are multiple players deserving of consideration, and Henry is one of the most prominent among them, but the Heisman has turned into just another thing for us all to debate as the season goes while the payoff doesn’t equal the hype. Producing a Heisman winner won’t make Alabama any easier to recruit to and while the trophy would be a nice prize for Henry, his focus will soon turn toward the NFL Combine and his future as a pro.
Coaching carousel: For all the talk about the three job openings in the SEC, not the mention the LSU job that appeared open and then wasn’t. There wasn’t a big-name, home-run hire made in the conference. That doesn’t mean any of them made a bad hire. Missouri’s choice promote from within made sense and Georgia seemed to have its target in mind from the very beginning. The jury is still out on Will Muschamp to South Carolina. It’s just for all the excitement that comes this time of year, actually luring a coach with the resume of a Nick Saban or Urban Meyer doesn’t happen very often.
UNDERRATED
Jake Coker: Derrick Henry gets almost all the credit for Alabama’s offensive success and the way it cruised to the SEC title, but Coker was fantastic in the championship game. He completed 18 of 26 passes for 204 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also ran the ball well, picking up 23 yards on the ground and it was his deep ball to Calvin Ridley that set up Henry’s touchdown.
Houston Cougars: We all know the champion of the American Athletic Conference didn’t have a real shot at getting into the playoff, but shouldn’t the Coogs at least been paid some more lip service and finished higher in the playoff rankings than 18th? Houston’s only loss came with it’s starting quarterback out and its last two victories were convincing triumphs against No. 21 Navy and No. 24 Temple. The Cougars also beat the Memphis team that handled Ole Miss, crushed Vanderbilt and beat Louisville. Playoff worthy? Probably not. But THAT much different than Oklahoma’s resume? Not really.
Atlanta: There’s a reason the city gets to host the SEC Championship game each year along with a handful of other huge college football games. The folks in Atlanta know how to host and the fans enjoy the trip to the big city enough that the atmosphere at these games is much better than your typical college game in an NFL stadium.
Shane Mettlen is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Texas A&M, Missouri and Alabama.
