Dear Readers,
I had two players to think about who to choose and place in my Weekly Heisman Trophy Ballot. I did consider Alabama LB WIll Anderson Jr and Ohio State QB C.J Stroud. I had to consider Alabama QB Bryce Young, who is reigning and defending 2021 Heisman Trophy winner and he played great and made up for a bad performance from that road win over Texas two weeks ago. QB C.J Stroud did his job great in a blowout home win over Wisconsin. I had to look at other big stage games, which happened to be where ESPN College Gameday and FOX Big Noon Kickoff were emanating from, and also which games were very competitive. Not every week has been easy to pick three deserving players on my Weekly Heisman Trophy Ballot.
I am looking at the current standings as of the end of this month of Septmeber 2022. The most suprising teams that are on a 4-0 start are Kansas, Syracuse, and Washington. The most disappointing teams are Arizona State (1-3), Houston (2-2), and Miami (2-2).
We have at least three games involving two undefeated teams playing each other, such as Washington at UCLA, Kentucky at Mississippi, and N.C State at Clemson. You might want to call this weekend Judgement Weekend because only two of these games listed take place this SAT while the Washington at UCLA game takes place this FRI. I predict UCLA, Mississippi, and Clemson will come out on the winning end on Judgement Weekend. Had then-undefeated Arkansas come back to win on that late-FG attempt against Texas A&M, I believe ESPN GameDay would be coming to Fayetteville, ARK for the Alabama at Arkansas game. All teams have a 4-0 start and haven’t had a bye-week yet.
In case you are wondering, ESPN College Gameday will be in Clemson, S.C for the N.C State at Clemson game while FOX Big Noon Kickoff will be in Iowa City, IA for the Michigan at Iowa game.
TAKE CARE ALL!
Sincerely, RICH
RICH’S WEEKLY HEISMAN TROPHY BALLOT
1. Hendon Hooker, QB, Tennessee
(461 total offensive yards and 3 TDs responsible for in the UT Volunteers’ 38-33 home win over rival Florida. Passed 22-28, 349 yards, and 2 TDs. Rushed 13 carries, 112 yards, and 1 TD from 4 yards out. Also had a 44-yard carry. His current streak of 212 consecutive pass attempts without an INT is a school record. His 39 career passing TDs are sixth-most in school history.
2. Blake Corrum, RB, Michigan
(Rushed 30 carries, 243 yards, and 2 TDs of 33 and 47 in the UM Wolverines’ 34-27 homecoming win over Maryland.)
3. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
(Passed 25-36, 385 yards, and 4 TDs in the Crimson Tide’s 55-3 home win over Vanderbilt. His 61 career passing TDs are third-most in school history.)
RICH’S TOP TEN
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3, Alabama
4, Michigan (5)
5. Clemson (4)
6. Oklahoma State (7)
7. Kentucky (8)
8. Mississippi (9)
9. N.C State (10)
10.Penn State (OTM)
OTHER TEAMS TO MENTION (OTM):
Tennessee, USC, Florida State, and Utah
RANKINGS ANALYSIS:
There is another shake-up in my rankings as Oklahoma, who was ranked #6 in the nation, suffered a 34-27 home loss against Kansas State. If the K-State Wildcats hadn’t suffered a 17-10 upset home loss against Tulane, they would be among my OTMs for sure. With the Sooners dropping out of my rankings, I decided to move Penn State from among my OTMs to #10. Oklahoma will have a road game against TCU (Noon, ABC) while Kansas State will have a home game against Texas Tech this SAT (Noon, ESPN+)…Speaking of the PSU Nittany Lions, Penn State is coming off a 33-14 home win over Central Michigan. The defense held CMU RB Lew Nicholls III, who is the defending 2021 MAC Offensive Player of the Year award winner, to 67 rushing yards in 13 carries. I can’t see this football team lose another game before an Oct.15 road game against Michigan. The only other team I can really see beating Penn State is Ohio State. The Nittany Lions will have a home game against Northwestern this SAT (3:30 PM, ESPN)….Speaking of the OSU Buckeyes, Ohio State is coming off another big win under the lights as they had a 52-21 home win over Wisconsin, who is starting to become a disappointment as the Badgers aren’t looking like the heavy favorites to win the Big Ten West Division. This football team will have three easy games that are more than winnable before an Oct.29 road game against Penn State. Ohio State will have a home game against Rutgers this SAT (3:30 PM, BTN)….Georgia remains #1 in my rankings after a 39-22 home win over Kent State. I almost considered removing the Bulldogs from that #1 spot after their home win over the KSU Golden Flashes because this football team didn’t cover the spread. I may not always read the line/spread but Georgia had to be favored to win by more than 20 points. The ‘Dawgs will have a homecoming game against Missouri this SAT (7:30 PM, SECN)…Alabama remains ranked #3 after a 55-3 home win over Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide has cruised through two straight opponents after their 20-19 comeback road win over Texas. This football team will have a road game against Arkansas, who were among my OTMs before a 23-21 neutral-site loss against Texas A&M last SAT. Don’t count these Razorbacks out because of last year’s game, which had Alabama QB Bryce Young have 559 passing yards in that home-finale win over Arkansas. The Tide will travel for a road game against the Hogs this SAT (3:30 PM, CBS)….Michigan moved up from up #5 to #4 after a 34-27 homecoming win over Maryland, which became tougher than expected. It looks like the Wolverines won’t lose a game before a Nov.26 road game against rival Ohio State.This football team will have a road game against Iowa this SAT (Noon, FOX). The Hawkyeyes remember what happened to them in the Big Ten Championship last year…Clemson moved down from #4 to #5 after surviving a 51-45 road win over Wake Forest, who was among my OTMs coming into last weekend. A lot of work to be done after the defense allowed Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman to have 6 passing TDs. The Tigers will have a home game against N.C State, who is on an unsurprising 4-0 start, this SAT (7:30 PM, ABC). Remember, the Wolfpack had an upset home win (2 OTs) over the Tigers, which ended a nine-game losing streak against Clemson….One game to look forward to this weekend is #7 Kentucky at #8 Mississippi this SAT (ESPN, Noon). Both of these teams moved up a spot from last week and remain undefeated.I have the UK Wildcats ranked ahead of the Ole Miss Rebels because Kentucky has a road win over Florida, which doesn’t always happen for them and Mississippi played weaker teams before playing tougher competition from their division (SEC West). I predict the Rebels will have a home win over the Wildcats…Tennessee remains among my OTMs after a hard-fought 38-33 home win over rival Florida. The Volunteers will have a bye-week before their next two games, which will be hard to win. I have this football team among my OTMs because they will slip on a banana peel against (at) LSU (Oct.8) or Alabama (Oct.15)….USC remains among my OTMs after escaping with a 17-14 road win over Oregon State. The Trojans should win the next two games, including a home game against Arizona State this SAT (10:30 PM, ESPN), before an Oct.22 road game against defending Pac-12 Champions Utah….Speaking of the Utes, Utah is the only once-beaten team among my OTMs because this football team is making up for that disappointing season-opening road loss against Florida. The Utah offense just suffered a big blow after losing star TE Brant Kuithe to a season-ending knee injury suffered during a 34-13 road win over Arizona State this past SAT. The Utes will have a homecoming game against Oregon State this SAT (2 PM, PAC-12)…..Florida State looked impressive in their 44-14 home win over Boston College to remain undefeated and among my OTMs. I think the FSU Seminoles are apparently making strides and could be undefeated before an Oct.15 home game against Clemson. This football team will have a home game against Wake Forest this SAT (3:30 PM, ABC) before an Oct.8 road game against N.C State…You might want to call this weekend Judgement Weekend because we have another game involving two undefeated teams with a 4-0 start. Washington will have a road game against UCLA this FRI (10:30 PM, ESPN). The UW Huskies are ranked #15 in the AP Sportwritters’ Poll while the Bruins are not ranked in any of the two major polls. Washington hardly gets a road win over UCLA in the last 20-plus meetings but if the Huskies get a home win over UCLA, you might want to consider them FOR REAL on a small scale.The winner of this game should be among my OTMs.. I can’t wait for the games this weekend…
GAMEBALLS and HELMET STICKERS
Florida LB Amari Burney- Produced 8 tackles (7 solo), 2 TFLs/sacks, and 1 forced fumble in the Gators’ 38-33 road loss against rival Tennessee.
Florida WR Justin Shorter- Received 7 catches for 155 yards, including a 39-yard catch, in the Gators’ road loss against Tennessee.
UCF LB Jeremiah Hean-Baptiste- Produced 7 tackles (all solo), 2 TFLs, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble in the Golden Knights’ 27-10 home win over Georgia Tech.
UCF DE Tre’Mon Morris- Produced 3 tackles (1 solo), 1 TFL/sack, and 2 fumble recoveries (104 yards, including a 90-yard fumble recovery) in the Golden Knights’ home win over Georgia Tech.
UCF PK Colton Boomer- Scored 13 points in the Golden Knights’ home win over Georgia Tech. Scored on all 4 FG attempts (including a 43-yard FG) and 1 XPK.
Florida State RB Trey Benson- Rushed 10 carries, 78 yards, and 2 TDs (15 and 36) in the FSU Seminoles’ 44-14 home win over Boston College.
