Tag: SEC

Exxedera’s FBS Top 25 – Week 8

Joe Burrow for Heisman! I’m claiming it now. LSU’s quarterback looks like the best player in the country after a week six win against Florida saw the Tigers jump to 6-0 on the year. I ranked them #1 last week, let’s see how much that may have changed.

Power Rankings

1. LSU Tigers (6-0)

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0)

3. Clemson Tigers (6-0)

4. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)

5. Oklahoma Sooners (6-0)

6. Wisconsin Badgers (6-0)

7. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0)

8. Florida Gators (6-1)

9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-1)

10. Oregon Ducks (5-1)

11. Texas Longhorns (4-2)

12. Georgia Bulldogs (5-1) 

13. Michigan Wolverines (5-1)

14. Auburn Tigers (5-1)

15. Boise State Broncos (6-0)

16. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-1)

17. SMU Mustangs (6-0)

18. Baylor Bears (6-0)

19.

Exxedera’s FBS Top 25 – Week 7

We’re already six weeks through the college football season and we have already seen a large number of surprises. LSU looks like they may have the nation’s most lethal passing attacks while Michigan’s “new” passing attack has looked pedestrian basically every week. Auburn lost for the first time this season to Florida giving them a thin line on how much they can afford to mess up the rest of the way.

Let’s countdown this week’s top 25.

Top 25

1. LSU Tigers (5-0)

2. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-0)

3. Clemson Tigers (5-0)

4. Georgia Bulldogs (5-0)

5. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)

6. Oklahoma Sooners (5-0)

7. Wisconsin Badgers (5-0)

8. Florida Gators (6-0)

9. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-0)

10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-0)

11. Texas Longhorns (4-1)

12. Oregon Ducks (4-1)

13. Michigan Wolverines (4-1)

14. Auburn Tigers (5-1)

15. Boise State Broncos (5-0)

16. Arizona State Sun Devils (4-1)

17. SMU Mustangs (6-0)

18. Wake Forest (5-0)

19. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-1)

20. Utah Utes (4-1)

21. Virginia Cavaliers (4-1)

22. Washington Huskies (3-2)

23. Memphis Tigers (5-0)

24. Baylor Bears (5-0)

25. Cincinnati Bearcats (4-1)

Exxedera’s Top 10 FBS Running Backs For 2019

College football is filled with explosive running backs from the ACC to SEC all the way down to the Sun Belt conference. Last year we saw Wisconsin running back breakout for over 2,000 yards while national championship winning RB Travis Etienne averaged over 8 yards a carry. Will either one of them be able to replicate the same level of production? That’ll have to be answered after the season, now let’s see who the 10 best running backs in college are for the upcoming season.

#1. Travis Etienne, Clemson

#2. Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

#3. De’Andre Swift, Georgia

#4. J.K. Dobbs, Ohio State

#5. Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Vanderbilt

#6. CJ Verdell, Oregon

#7. AJ Dillon, Boston College

#8. Najee Harris, Alabama

#9. Eno Benjamin, Arizona State

#10. Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma

Exxedera’s Top 10 FBS Quarterbacks For 2019.

The 2019 college football season is only a few days away and that means we’re only a few days away from the start of quarterbacks making electrifying plays with their arms and legs.

Last year’s national championship featured the top two quarterbacks in the nation, but who landed at #1? Who else landed on our list? Read below and find out

#1. Tua Tag

#2. Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

#3. Jake Fromm, Georgia

#4. D’eriq King, Houston

#5. Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

#6. Justin Herbert, Oregon

#7. Jacob Eason, Wasington

#8. Shea Patterson, Michigan

#9.

Year Two Will Prove If Jimbo Fisher Made A Good Move Or Mistake

Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher is entering his second year as the head man in college station. Expectations are sky high after Fisher signed a lucrative deal over a year ago to come over from Florida State where he enjoyed a national championship following the 2013 season.

His annual success at Florida State made previously made him a highly mentioned candidate to one day succeed former boss Nick Saban at Alabama. Nonetheless he resisted against the temptation and actually chose the route of clashing against the Crimson Tide year in and year out as SEC West foes.

In his first year as head coach of Texas &M Fisher was able to lead the Aggies to a 9-4 record, their best record since 2013 when former Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel was still on campus. Two of their four losses came at the hands of the two teams who faced off in the National Championships, Clemson and Alabama. They also lost two heartbreakers to Mississippi State and Auburn but there’s still reason to believe A&M is definitely headed in the right direction heading into the 2019 season. The loss against Clemson was only a two-point loss and their loss to Auburn was a four point defeat however the Aggies defeated two top 15 teams in Kentucky and LSU.

Texas A&M’s win against LSU showed how much the Aggies have in the tank in order to go the length of the entire season improving. The Aggies defeated the Tigers 74-72 in the longest college football game in history that ended in seven overtimes.

Will Justin Fields Be Able To Keep Ohio State At The Top Of The Big Ten?

Once upon a time Justin Fields was in a two-headed race with QB Trevor Lawrence to see who would be the number once recruit in the country. Fields then committed to the University of Georgia (UGA) in what was at first viewed as a questionable move seeing that UGA had just lost the CFP National Championship Game with a true freshman quarterback in Jake Fromm. The move only became more questionable when fans barely saw Fields touch the field due to him sitting behind Fromm, who is now slated to be one of the best QB’s in the 2020 NFL draft. In contrast, Trevor Lawrence captured a national championship in just his first season under center and was a late season Heisman trophy candidate after finishing with over 3,200 passing yards and 30 touchdowns.

Can Justin Fields have the same impact for Ohio State that Lawrence had on Clemson?

It is to be noted that Fields isn’t stepping into a situation where his head coach has a championship pedigree (Ryan Day is a rookie head coach) or one where he will have to sit behind a veteran behind getting his snaps (Fields is expected to start at OSU). However it should also be noted that Ohio State isn’t just any slouch even with a rookie head coach at the helm as they’ve won three of the last five Big Ten titles. The Buckeyes are by far the most consistent team in the Big Ten as they are usually top five annually in recruiting and they’re returning a handful of skill players including J.K. Dobbins, Austin Mack, and K.J. hill who will certainly help Fields out by making plays on the perimeter.

The aforementioned skill players have never played with a quarterback as dynamic as Fields either. Hell, Ohio State hasn’t seen a quarterback as dynamic as Fields since Braxton Miller honestly, and that’s no shade to what J.T. Barrett was able to do pre-injury. Dobbins played with Barret and last year’s starter Dwayne Haskins and i’m sure that even he’ll tell you that Fields isn’t as polished of a passer as the two but in terms of athleticism, he tops the two easily.

We haven’t even touched on Ohio State’s defense which is expected to see little to no drop-off despite losing a number of multi-year starters. Fields will be able to benefit heavily from a defense that is able to get off the field on third downs, reminiscent to how Clemson, Alabama and even UGA help their dynamic QB’s get the most out of their abilities. Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper headline the defensive starters who will be a big help to Fields’ first season success at Ohio State.

As long as Justin Fields is able to stay healthy and use his dynamic playmaking ability to win ball games then Ohio State will be just fine and probably be back to their 2014 national championship form.

The Miami Dolphins Are Finally Headed In The Right Direction

Goodbye Ryan Fitzpatrick. Goodbye Adam Gase.

Hello, the new and improved Miami Dolphins.

The draft day trade by the Dolphins to nab quarterback Josh Rosen from the Arizona Cardinals was by far the best move the Dolphins have made in the last decade. I know he hasn’t played a down in a Fins uniform however Rosen provides tremendous upside to a position (QB) where the Dolphins have been lacking since Dan Marino retired in 1999. Their list of starting QB mediocrity includes Jay Fielder, Gus Ferotte, Cleo Lemon, Chad Pennington, Matt Moore, Ryan Tannehill and their latest misfire, Jay Cutler. Following a lackadaisical 2018 season from Ryan Tannehill the organization finally decided it was time for a change.

Insert: Josh Rosen.

Rosen’s a well-rounded QB who has the potential to be great given he has the right personnel around him for most of his career. In Arizona that wasn’t the case, as he had some weapons in running back David Johnson and veteran wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald however those two were succumbed to a bad offensive line, below-average defense and a rookie head coach that didn’t even get the chance to prove himself (The Cardinals have a new rookie HC now). Now he’ll have a better variety of skill players to get the ball to, a better offensive line and an even more opportunistic defense (Miami forced 28 turnovers last season to Arizona’s 16) but he’ll still be working with a rookie head coach. The good news about his new coach however? He, Brian Flores, had been on the New England Patriots staff since 2004 so he knows a thing or two about being apart of a successful organization.

The Josh Rosen era has officially begun in Miami and the future surely does look brighter now in South Beach. As long as Rosen continues to improve and can grow as a leader in the locker room, the Dolphins should have no regret of this trade when they look back a decade from now.

AAF Power Rankings After Week 6: Iron Get Back To Their Winning Ways

The Birmingham Iron have gotten back to their winning ways after dropping two games in a row. QB Luis Perez threw for three touchdowns in a win against the San Diego Fleet to help boast his team victory.

Keep reading to see this week’s power rankings.

Rankings:

  1. Orlando Apollos (2019 Record: 5-1)
  2. San Antonio Commanders (2019 Record: 4-2)
  3. Birmingham Iron (2019 Record: 4-2)
  4. Arizona Hotshots (2019 Record: 4-2)
  5. San Diego Fleet (2019 Record: 3-3)
  6. Atlanta Legends (2019 Record: 2-4)
  7. Salt Lake City Stallions (2019 Record:2-4)
  8. Memphis Express (2019 Record: 1-5)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRWIhnGC0AI

Chiefs release long time LB Justin Houston

The Kansas City Chiefs have released outside linebacker Justin Houston as he was set to eat up $15 million of the Chiefs salary for then upcoming season.

Houston was a third round pick by the Chiefs out of Georgia in 2011 and he quickly excelled by posting double digit sacks in two of his first three NFL seasons. In 2014, he ammassed 22 sacks (Second all-time and only 0.5 away from the NFL record) and four forced fumbles en route to earning a $101 million contract that made him the highest paid defensive player ever.

Whichever team picks up the four-time pro bowler will be getting a player who has only regressed since that superb 2014 season, however at only age 30 there is no reason not to believe that Houston has alot left to offer. He still ammassed 18.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries over the last two seasons.

AAF Power Rankings: Orlando Leads The Charge

The AAF is in the first year of existence and I can easily say that it’s exceeded expectations in terms of excitement. Notable names such as Steve Spurrier, Mike Martz, Trent Richardson and Quinton Patton highlight the league which kicked off just a couple of weeks ago.

Through two weeks the Orlando Apollos have looked like the league’s most impressive squad while the Atlanta Legends have lacked big play ability en route to two losses. The Arizona Hotshots and Birmingham Iron join the Apollos as the leagues three most impressive squads as all three are undefeated.

Keep reading for our AAF power rankings following week two.

Rankings:

  1. Orlando Apollos (2019 Record: 2-0)
  2. Arizona Hotshots (2019 Record: 2-0)
  3. Birmingham Iron (2019 Record: 2-0)
  4. San Antonio Commodores (2019 Record: 1-1)
  5. San Diego Fleet (2019 Record: 1-1)
  6. Memphis Express (2019 Record: 0-2)
  7. Salt Lake City Stallions (2019 Record: 0-2)
  8. Atlanta Legends (2019 Record: 0-2)