Dear Readers,
I apologize for writing this weekly email late because I had things in the way, such as my computer running slow and a power outage in my area. I only had two players to think about who to choose and place in my weekly Heisman Trophy ballot. I did consider USC QB Caleb Williams, who is a transfer from Oklahoma who followed new Head Coach Lincoln Riley to USC. I also thought about Florida QB Anthony Richardson, who led the Gators to a season-opening 29-26 home win over Utah.
I ate at Applebee’s watching the Florida over Utah and Ohio State at Notre Dame game. Sadly, they charged me for the all-you-can-eat boneless wings when I wanted one platter as an appetizer before I had anything else to eat, which was a ribeye platter. I will let them know about that next time I step foot in that location.
FYI- Both College GameDay (ESPN) and Big Noon Kickoff (FOX) will be in Austin, TX for the Alabama at Texas game this SAT, which will be airing on FOX at Noon. I predict the Crimson Tide will defeat the Longhorns. Whatever the spread is, consider it covered by ‘Bama.
I can’t wait for Saturday!
Sincerely, RICH
RICH’S WEEKLY HEISMAN TROPHY BALLOT
1. Spencer Sanders, RB, Oklahoma State
(463 total offensive yards and 6 TDs responsible for in the OSU Cowboys’ 58-44 season-opening home win over Central Michigan. Passed 28-41, 406 yards, and 4 TDs. Rushed 11 carries, 57 yards, and 2 TDs of 17 and 23 yards.)
2. Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
(295 total offensive yards and 6 TDs responsible for in the Crimson Tide’s 55-0 season-opening home win over Utah State. Passed 18-28, 195 yards, and 5 TDs.
3. Braelon Allen, RB, Wisconsin
(Rushed 14 carries, 148 yards, and 2 TDs of 96 and 1 yards in the UW Badgers’ 38-0 season-opening win over Illinois State. That 96-yard rushing TDs is the longest in school history.)
RICH’S TOP TEN
1. Alabama
2. Georgia (4)
3. Ohio State (2)
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. Oklahoma (8)
7. Oklahoma State (9)
8. Texas A&M (10)
9. Wisconsin (OTM)
10. Baylor (OTM)
OTHER TEAMS TO MENTION (OTM):
Arkansas, N.C State, Houston, USC, Florida, and Miami
RANKINGS ANALYSIS:
What a wild first week to kick off the 2022 college football season and there is a shake-up in my top ten rankings..:No surprise that #1 Alabama destroyed Utah State, who are the defending MW Champions, in a 55-0 season-opening home win. The Crimson Tide will have a road game against Texas this SAT (Noon, FOX). It is expected that the Crimson Tide will defeat the Longhorns. If Alabama wins but is outplayed and doesn’t cover whatever the spread, I will have to consider moving the Tide down from their #1 spot…Georgia moved up from #4 to #2 because of their impressive 49-3 neutral-site win (in Atlanta, GA) over Oregon. I know it’s the first week of this 2022 season after the Bulldogs won the national title and lost a lot of key players but I had some ?’s about this team. This football team lost their previous defensive coordinator (Dan Lenning to the Oregon head coaching job) and a lot of key players on defense that were hard to replace but from what it looks like they are reloadable. This football team has a home game against Samford this SAT (4 PM, SECN)….I moved Ohio State down from #2 to #3 because their offense didn’t play good as advertised-especially after losing their main passing target (WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba), who suffered a big hit and had to leave that game, during a 21-10 season-opening home win over Notre Dame, who was ranked #6 in my rankings. Yes, the Fighting Irish has a great team, which includes a great defense but it will take more than a great OL corp to make things happen on offense. The Irish will win out before their November Ohio State will have a home game against Arkansas State this SAT (Noon, ABC) while Notre Dame will have a home game against Marshall this SAT (2:30 PM, NBC)…Clemson remains ranked #4 in my rankings after a 41-10 neutral-site win (in Atlanta, GA) over rival Georgia Tech. After the Yellow Jackets scored a TD, the Tigers really responded and scored 27 points. This football team will have a home game against La Tech this SAT (8 PM, ACCN)…..Michigan remains ranked #5 after a 51-7 season-opening home win over Colorado State. QB J.J McCarthy will finally get into the starting lineup for this one game while the actual starting QB Cade McNamara will still get some playing time as this favorite team is a 51.5 point favorite to win. Michigan will have a home game against Hawaii this SAT (8 PM, BTN)….Oklahoma moved up from #6 to #8 after a 45-13 season-opening home win over UTEP to kick off the Brent Venables era. The Sooners will be more productive on offense and defense than it was last week. This football team will have a home game against Kent State this SAT (7 PM, ESPN+)…#7 Oklahoma State moved up from #9 to #7 after coming off a tougher than you think 58-44 season-opening home win over Central Michigan. No surprise that the CMU Chippewas gave these OSU Cowboys all kinds of hell because of their star RB Lew Nicholls III and other key players to name that helped score 44 points. QB Spencer Sanders had to have a field day and have another performance for this football team to be ahead and win that game. Oklahoma State will have a home game against Arizona State this SAT (7:30 PM, ESPN2)…Texas A&M moved up from #10 to #8 after a 31-0 season-opening home win over Sam Houston. The Aggies will have a tough challenge with a home game against Appalachian State this SAT (3:30 PM, ESPN2). Remember last week, the App State Mountaineers scored 40 points (including scoring 6 TDs) in the 4th quarter after trailing 41-21 during their 63-61 season-opening road loss against North Carolina. POINT BEING, Texas A&M better not look past Appalachian State for their Sept.17 home game against Miami….Wisconsin moved up from my OTMs to #9 after a 38-0 season-opening home win over Illinois State. Star RB Braelon Allen delivered another great performance, including a 96-yard rushing TD. The Badgers will have a home game against Washington State this SAT (3:30 PM, FOX)…Wake Forest moved up among my OTMs to #10 after a 44-10 season-opening home win over VMI. Star QB Sam Hartman will be back in the starting lineup for this game after missing last week’s game because of a blood clot removal. The Demon Deacons will have a road game against upset-minded Vanderbilt this SAT (Noon, SECN)…Arkansas, who are among my OTMs, is coming off a 31-24 season-opening home win over Cincinnati. The Razorbacks will have another challenging game with a home game against South Carolina this SAT (Noon, ESPN). This football team is looking to end a current three-game losing streak against the Gamecocks. I will put Arkansas in my top ten if they go undefeated in that week prior to playing their Oct.1 home game against Alabama….N.C State is among my OTMs after surviving a 21-20 road win over East Carolina. This Wolfpack defense prevented a two-point conversion attempt and a FG to hang on and win that game last week. This football team should get an easy home win over Charleston Southern this SAT (12:30 PM)… Houston survived a tough as expected 37-35 road win over UTSA, who are the defending C-USA Champions. QB Clayton Tune scored that two-point conversion to help the UH Cougars win that game. This football team will have a road game against Texas Tech, who are on a current four-game winning streak over Houston in this series, this SAT (4 PM, FS1)…I know we are at the start of this season but it looks like USC is a transformed football team after a 66-14 season-opening home win over Rice. It took the Trojans to get new Head Coach Lincoln Riley to leave his previous job and take a few key players from Oklahoma with him to look like a contender before this season kicked off. This football team has a road game against Stanford this SAT (7:30 PM, ABC). Remember last season, the Cardinal had upset wins over (at) USC and Oregon…I moved Florida among my OTMs because of their 29-26 season-opening comeback home win over Utah, who were ranked #7 in my preseason rankings because the Utes are expected to win the Pac-12 title for a second straight season. The Gators held on by having an INT (in the endzone) to seal this win. Florida will have a home game against Kentucky this SAT (7 PM, ESPN) while Utah will have a home game against Southern Utah (12:30 PM, PAC-12N)….I had to put Miami among my OTMs because the Hurricanes are coming off a 70-13 season-opening home win over Bethune Cookman and are one of the odds-on favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division title this season under New Head Coach Mario Cristobal. I am convinced this football team can get a Sept.17 road win over Texas A&M. The ‘Canes will have a home game against Southern Miss this SAT (Noon, ACCN)…I can’t wait for the games on SAT!!!
