College Football, Week 3: Kendall's Guarantee

I have a personal connection to the Ohio State-Oklahoma game tonight.

Ok, it’s not really that personal, but I have been hearing about this Austin Kendall kid for almost three years now. Yes, the same Austin Kendall kid who guaranteed that Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield would ‘light up Ohio State’s basic defense.’

You see, Kendall’s grandfather, Neal, works alongside my friend Josh Whitmer. I met Neal around three years ago while watching the beginning of the 2014 NCAA basketball tournament. Neal told me his grandson, a sophomore quarterback for a small high school in North Carolina, was one of the top recruits in the country. He also said that Austin had a strong desire to play for Ohio State.

The only problem was that the Ohio State football team did not really recruit Austin. In fact, to hear Neal tell it, Michigan made a stronger push to sign the younger Kendall than the Buckeyes did. Austin would consider the University of Tennessee, among other schools, before finally deciding to take his talents to Norman.

So it’s no surprise that the Sooners backup quarterback would want his team to ‘light up’ the school that ultimately passed on him. Yet I’m not sure that was the best idea to go and tell that to the media.

Jack Nicholson's reaction to Austin Kendall's guarantee.

There is no doubt that Buckeyes’ head coach Urban Meyer, who majored in psychology, used this information to motivate his players. In fact, he might have even called out a couple of underclassmen by name. Not that Sam Hubbard or Jalyn Holmes played poorly in the Buckeyes’ first two games. But Meyer may have suggested as much in order to light a metaphorical fire within each of them.

Before the season if you asked me which game I thought the Buckeyes would lose, I would have pointed to tonight’s contest as the one to watch. But I have a feeling that the Buckeyes make Kendall and the Sooners eat their words. Even JT Barrett and the OSU offense have something to prove in this one.

Ohio State wins comfortably, 34-17. And the nightmare for Kendall does not end there, as the youngster more than likely will be the starting quarterback for the Sooners when they come to Columbus next season. Win or lose this game, there’s no chance Meyer lets his team forget what Kendall said this week.

College Football, Week 5: Playoff Contenders Emerge

As we move into conference play portion of the 2015 college football portion, the playoff contenders and pretenders begin to separate themselves. And while last week unofficially eliminated Oregon from the title picture, you can be sure that there will be more pretenders revealed this Saturday afternoon.

Chief among those games that will decide the playoff contenders and pretenders is the tilt between Clemson and Notre Dame. While it may be argued that neither team can lose this game, this contest may be more important to the Irish. Because the lack of a conference championship certainly means Notre Dame more than likely has to run the table to get invited to Miami or Dallas.

(As a side note while most teams play conference games this week Notre Dame versus Clemson is a no conference game due to the Irish's status as an independent. Atlthough technically they are a member of the ACC. But I don't have time for that debate today.)

Of course, that is not to say the Tigers won't be prepared for this contest. Deshaun Watson hopes to live up to the hype he garnered from high school with a victory in this marquee matchup. And they don't want to let down the Clemson faithful at home.

So the Irish hope their luck will continue for another week behind backup quarterback Deshone Kiser. But this just might be the week their luck runs out My prediction is Clemson 27, Notre Dame 17



Other teams in action:





1 Ohio State at Indiana: Buckeyes finally begin to put it together on offense. Ohio State 52, Indiana 25

3 Ole Miss at 25 Florida: In 2006 the Rebels handed would-be national champion Florida their only loss of the season. Gators hope to repay the favor but fall short. Ole Miss 20, Florida 19

13 Alabama at 8 Georgia: Nick Chubb's heisman effort isn't enough to in this battle of SEC West vs
SEC East.  Alabama 28, Georgia 21

Arizona State at 7 UCLA: Bruins continue their march toward one of the four playoff spots.  UCLA  42, Arizona State 14

Bonus pick:

Navy over Air Force: Mids get payback after losing commander in chief trophy last year, and in doing so put themselves in position to bring the trophy to Annapolis.