Heading into week seven of the college football season, we’re about halfway done. We’ve seen the re-emergence of running backs in college football (Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook), some improbable comebacks (TCU, Florida, BYU) and some gut-wrenching losses (Texas, Tennessee, Kansas State). The landscape of college football is seemingly changing every week with upsets and with conferences beating themselves up. This calls for some midseason awards, so let’s get started.
Heisman: Trevone Boykin, TCU
The senior quarterback is on fire this year and has TCU (6-0) at No. 3 in the nation.
Boykin has 2,103 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and only five interceptions. This season, he ranks seventh among FBS quarterbacks with a quarterback rating of 172.
He’s averaging just under 10 yards per pass attempt, but he’s even scarier because of his dual-threat ability. Boykin has 366 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, including a 69-yard touchdown run at Kansas State to give TCU its first lead since 11:32 in the second quarter en route to a 52-45 win.
I think he’s barely edging out LSU’s Leonard Fournette because he’s had some Heisman-type moments like the aforementioned 69-yard TD run and has led his team to comeback wins in crunch time at Texas Tech and at Kansas State.
Defensive POY: Skai Moore, South Carolina
Moore has 57 total tackles and three interceptions, with three pass deflections. The second coming of Jadaveon Clowney? I don’t know, but this kid is good. He’s a ball-hawk and seems to be in on every single play.
Offensive POY: Trevone Boykin, TCU
See above.
Best freshman: Tanner Mangum, BYU
I would have Florida quarterback Will Grier here if he hadn’t tested positive for performance enhancing drugs last week, resulting in a one-year ban.
So, enter Mangum. Mangum first saw the limelight after starting quarterback Taysom Hill went down with an injury in the fourth quarter against Nebraska. All Mangum did in his first career game was lead his team to a comeback win over the Huskers on a last-second Hail Mary touchdown pass.
Against Boise State, Mangum followed up with a second Hail Mary — this time on fourth down to put BYU up in the last minute of the game and seal up another win.
The freshman has thrown for 1,416 yards and nine touchdowns and has the Cougars sitting at 4-2 this season.
Play of the year: TCU vs. Texas Tech, Boykin to Aaron Green
Facing a fourth-and-goal from the four, down 52-48, TCU’s Boykin drops back and passes the ball to Josh Doctson. The ball goes off Doctson’s hands into the air, and TCU tailback Green comes down with it.
To me, this play edged out Mangum’s game-winning Hail Mary because of what it meant to TCU’s season as a whole, and it was a spectacular catch.
If Green doesn’t come up with that ball, TCU can pretty much say goodbye to its playoff hopes. Then, look at the skill to come down with that ball — Green adjusts his route to go after the tipped ball, and lays out to snag it while dragging his foot in the end zone.
Flat-out amazing.
Best game: TCU vs. Texas Tech
You want offense? Look no further. In a 55-52 TCU win, the two teams accounted for 1,357 total yards and an absolutely dramatic finish.
Boykin’s pass to Green, mentioned above, gave TCU a 55-52 lead with 23 seconds left, but the game was far from over.
After a TCU penalty for roughing the passer, Texas Tech had the ball at the 50-yard line with no time remaining in the game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed a 24-yard pass to DeAndre Washington who then lateraled the ball to Le’Raven Clark. Clark ran the ball another five yards before lateraling the ball to Devin Lauderdale who then lateraled to Jakeem Grant. The Red Raiders looked like they actually might score, but Grant was forced out of bounds at the 10-yard line, ending the chance for a miracle.
Watch the final play of the game here.
Coach of the year: Kyle Whittingham, Utah
Whittingham took an unranked Utah team that was barely on the map in the preseason AP poll to No. 4 and 6-0 with victories over Michigan, then-No. 13 Oregon and then-No. 23 Cal. Let’s see if Utah can survive the rest of the season with the gauntlet that is the Pac-12 South.
Surprise team of the year: Florida
No. 8 Florida is 6-0 and has the path paved for an SEC East title that nobody expected. This team wasn’t even mentioned in preseason polls or conference predictions, yet here they are. Will they be able to continue this success without Grier?
Honorable mentions go to Utah and Michigan.
Most disappointing team: USC
USC began the year with a Heisman candidate at quarterback and talks of not only a Pac-12 championship, but a berth into the College Football Playoff. Now, USC is 3-2 looking for a new head coach after Steve Sarkisian was fired. Their season is a disappointment for many reasons other than their under-achieving record with the off-field turmoil caused by Sarkisian’s actions.
Playoff teams: TCU vs. Clemson, Alabama vs. Michigan
I think the winner of TCU vs. Baylor goes to the playoff, and as you can see, I have TCU winning that game. Clemson has an easy path to the playoffs the rest of the way, so long as they don’t trip up, they’re in.
Alabama always seems to find a way in, and this year shouldn’t be any different. I think they win out. Michigan could have easily been the surprise team of the year for me. They’re playing unreal football right now with five straight wins. The Wolverines have outscored their opponents 97-0 over the last three games, which included then-No. 22 BYU and then-No. 13 Northwestern. If they can get wins at Ohio State and Michigan State, they’re in.
As I see it now: Alabama over TCU for the national championship. Given the way this season has gone so far, I think the playoff picture will look different when it comes time for the committee to decide the final four teams, but this is what I have for now.
Contact CU Independent Copy Editor Cannon Casey at cannon.casey@colorado.edu and follow him on Twitter @cannon_casey.
