NCAA Football Report (Week 16)
The NCAA Football season officially came to an end this week when Army and Navy faced off once again to mark the end of the regular season and the beginning of the Bowl season. The last week of the season only had the one game between two teams that are not the most intriguing for many. That didn’t stop the week from being an interesting one as there was plenty of news throughout the week. One of the biggest news stories of the week involved one of the biggest NCAA programs in the nation and the future of the team. The Texas Longhorns have made plenty of news from the start of the season as a once great program had fallen hard. The Longhorns were considered one of the programs that everyone could look to if they wanted to learn how to create a stable franchise. The most recent set of the Longhorns success all started in 1998 when they would name Mack Brown the head coach of the team. From that time Brown would bring the Longhorns to one of the best eras in their history. He would put together 11 straight winning seasons that included 11 straight bowl appearances. He would add a Big 12 Conference title and a National Championship in the 2005 season and became one of the NCAA’s winningest coaches. He had a great run from 1998 until 2009 but his career would not end in 2009 and that was the main problem. In 2010 Brown would coach to his first losing season since taking over the team in 1998. He would not continue to put up losing seasons but it seemed clear that the Longhorns were not the same powerhouse they used to be. Finishing outside of the top 10 from 2010-2012 was not something that the Longhorns were accustomed to and when the 2013 season began there was plenty swirling about how long Mack Brown would last in Texas. The talk became even more through the first few weeks of the season as the Longhorns looked like an underwhelming team. They would start the season with a win over New Mexico State but then would lose two games in a row to BYU and Ole Miss. The losses were enough to end any hope of the Longhorns being ranked this season and they would also bring a lot of talk about firing Brown. He was lumped into the same category as Lane Kiffin at USC and when Kiffin was fired many though that Brown would be the next. He would survive the season though but would lose two more games to Oklahoma State and Baylor to bring their record to 8-4. The Longhorns were on the cusp of making a big change in the offseason as they would need to decide whether to keep Brown or fire him and find a new coach to bring the Longhorns back. This week the decision would be made for them when Mack Brown would announce that he would be stepping down as the head coach after the Longhorns play in the Alamo Bowl. The Longhorns are now moving on from one of the most successful periods in program history and they will be looking to bring it back to greatness. With that in mind the Longhorns must make a decision on who their next head coach will be. With a program like Texas the new coach will need to be able to handle pressure as there will not be a lot of patience with the Longhorns. There are a number of coaches that could make their way to the lonestar state with names like Jim Harbaugh, Bill O’Brien, Art Briles, Jimbo Fisher, and James Franklin all mentioned. It will be a tough choice but one that has to be made to try to help this once powerhouse program to get back to the BCS. The season is finished and for teams like Texas there are a lot of decisions to be made as the bowl season marks an almost unofficial preseason where new coaches will take the reins and see what they have before they begin preparing for another year.
Heisman Trophy:
1. Jameis Winston, QB (Florida State)
It really wasn’t even close this year when Jameis Winston stepped up to the podium in New York this week to accept the Heisman Trophy. The Freshman QB of Florida State would see a very similar path as last year’s Heisman trophy winner. Johnny Manziel would burst onto the scene in 2012 and would take over the NCAA for the rest of the year. This year it was Jameis Winston who would burst onto the scene in the first few weeks of the season and get everyone’s attention. Through it all Winston would never waiver continuing to put up great performances and helping the Florida State Seminoles to the #1 spot in the BCS. He would become the second freshman to win the Heisman and would do it in a big way. With 2,205 total first place votes Winston would crush his competition, AJ McCarron would finish second with 704 first place votes. Winston has done everything he could do to have an amazing season and now he looks to continue his good year by winning the BCS National Championship on January 6th against the Auburn Tigers.
Stats (13 Games):
67.9% cmp (77 rsh)
3,820 yds (193 rsh yds)
38 TD (4 rsh TD)
10 INT
2. AJ McCarron, QB (Alabama)
Stats (12 Games):
67.6% cmp
2,676 yds
26 TD
5 INT
3. Jordan Lynch, QB (NIU)
Stats (13 Games):
63.1% cmp (274 rsh)
2,676 yds (1,881 rsh yds)
23 TD (22 rsh TD)
7 INT
4. Andre Williams, RB (Boston College)
Stats (12 Games):
329 rsh
2,102 yds
6.4 avg
17 TD
5. Johnny Manziel, QB (Texas A&M)
Stats (12 Games):
69.1% cmp (133 rsh)
3,732 yds (686 rsh yds)
33 TD (8 rsh TD)
13 INT
Final BCS Rankings:
1. Florida State Seminoles
2. Auburn Tigers
3. Alabama Crimson Tide
4. Michigan State Spartans
5. Stanford Cardinal
6. Baylor Bears
7. Ohio State Buckeyes
8. Missouri Tigers
9. South Carolina Gamecocks
10. Oregon Ducks
11. Oklahoma Sooners
12. Clemson Tigers
13. Oklahoma State Cowboys
14. Arizona State Sun Devils
15. UCF Knights
16. LSU Tigers
17. UCLA Bruins
18. Louisville Cardinals
19. Wisconsin Badgers
20. Fresno State Bulldogs
21. Texas A&M Aggies
22. Georgia Bulldogs
23. NIU Huskies
24. Duke Blue Devils
25. USC Trojans
Key Scores:
Navy Midshipmen 34 – 7 Army Black Knights
– The Navy Midshipmen would go into the game with an 11 year winning streak in one of the biggest rivalries in the NCAA and they would make it a 12-year win streak as their triple option would once again overwhelm Army
Upcoming Bowls:
Gildan New Mexico Bowl:
Washington State Cougars vs. Colorado State Rams (Saturday December 21st; 2:00 pm ET)
– The Cougars would not have the best season finishing 6-6 but they would show their passing prowess throughout the year and hope to do it again in their first bowl season since 2003 while the more balanced Rams are hoping to prove they belong after four years without a postseason
Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl:
#20 Fresno State Bulldogs vs. #25 USC Trojans (Saturday December 21st; 3:30 pm ET)
– The USC Trojans are hoping that they can save their season with a bowl win while David Carr leads the Fresno State Bulldogs into Las Vegas looking to spoil the party and show that their ranking was right
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl:
Buffalo Bulls vs. San Diego State Aztecs (Saturday December 21st; 5:30 pm ET)
– The Aztecs are becoming a familiar face in the bowl season and they hope to continue to show that they belong in the bowl season as they hope to get through a good rushing defence of Buffalo
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl:
Tulane Green Wave vs. LA-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (Saturday December 21st; 9:00 pm ET)
– It has been a long time since the Green Wave has been in a bowl as they have not seen a postseason in 11 years and they are hoping that they can win their in their first appearance against the Ragin’ Cajuns who are on a two-year bowl winning streak
The Sport Addiction 