I wanted to accumulate everything I’ve written on this National Championship game in one place. At Football Outsiders I have a big preview while tabling the stats and analytic projections for the game. Here’s a piece on Clemson’ adapting the inverted Tampa 2 to stifle Ohio State. I broke down how Clemson doubled down on … [Read more…]
Perhaps the most important dimension to the National Championship game is how well Clemson can hold up against LSU’s precision strikes. A big part of the Big 12 game, at least in seasons when particular teams have good QB play, is the college game’s equivalent of the “precision strike.” That’s a military term for weapons … [Read more…]
One of the reasons Ohio State was a favorite (not with Vegas but with many commentators) was the awesome power and ability they had in the run game. J.K. Dobbins had 301 carries this season for 2003 yards at 6.7 ypc with 21 touchdowns, amazing production. While not as densely packed with “blue chip” talent … [Read more…]
My recent book, Flyover Football… …begins with Clemson’s victory over Alabama in the 2018 National Championship game. It explains why Clemson’s emphasis on spread passing allowed them to win the day over Alabama with their own powerhouse offense and NFL talents. From there I told the story of how and why the spread offense really … [Read more…]
If you read my final preview of the national championship, you’ll notice that I got two factors spectacularly wrong while predicting a Georgia victory. The first was in assuming that it particularly mattered which LBs and Ss were playing behind the Bama DL and how much experience they had in the Saban system. They all … [Read more…]
I’ve done two previews of the national championship. I broke down some of the big picture trends and stats over at Football Outsiders and dove in deep on how I think Georgia will attack Jalen Hurts for SB Nation. Because I was writing on the SEC extensively this season over at Saturday Down South I’ve … [Read more…]
I’ve been re-watching the Oklahoma vs TCU game this morning and this 3rd and 3 play stood out to me. Something I’ve been trying to explain this season to all of the frustrated Texas fans is how much of the modern game, particularly in the Big 12, is determined on the field by the players. … [Read more…]
That’s right, David Ubben, the original Big 12 blogger came on and we broke down the upcoming Big 12 season together. We talked about the impact of the playoff on the Big 12, the big non-conference games coming up, and which teams seem best poised to do well this season.
I broke down the Trojan QB’s remarkable freshman year for a piece at SB Nation that just got published here. Darnold has obvious attributes that will make him attractive to the NFL after this next season assuming it goes as well as I expect it will. Lightning quick release, strong arm, great athleticism, and a … [Read more…]
The path to bringing Georgia back to national contention is honestly one of the easier ones in college football, at least in terms of the early steps. Georgia is sitting on top of a ton of talent and I’m not even talking about nearby Florida which is even more loaded. Georgia produces tons and tons of … [Read more…]