Nov 29, 2021

  • ESPN staff

What an ballsy rivalry weekend.

Not simply did Jim Harbaugh finally vanquish Ohio State, but he helped Michigan advance to the Big Ten title game in the process. Alabama was held scoreless for iii quarters and needed last-minute heroics and four overtimes to win the Iron Bowl. And despite losing six straight meetings confronting the Sooners, Oklahoma State sacked Caleb Williams six times en road to a wild 37-33 win.

The regular season is over, and conference championship weekend is coming upward. Our reporters break downwards the college football landscape, from playoff hopefuls to Heisman contenders.

Alabama gets exposed

For 58 minutes and 25 seconds, Alabama was a mess.

On the road at Auburn, nothing was going correct offensively. Quarterback Bryce Immature's Heisman Trophy hopes were circumvoluted the drain and running back Brian Robinson Jr. struggled to motion the chains.

The defense played well, simply the offense was threatening to score three or fewer points for the start time during the Nick Saban era.

And while Young rallied the troops in the final 1:35, throwing the game-tying touchdown with 24 seconds left and and then winning the game during the 4th overtime on a 2-indicate conversion, it doesn't change the fact that Auburn exposed a vulnerable Alabama team one week before an SEC title game confronting Georgia.

The real event: the offensive line, which gave upward seven sacks and a total of 17 plays for null or negative yards.

It continued a tendency we've seen all flavour long. Alabama'southward line, which normally hits its stride during the second half of the season, has continued to stumble downwards the stretch, allowing pressure level on 28.three% of dropbacks, a figure that ranks ninth in the SEC.

On Sat, Saban was forced to pull middle Darrian Dalcourt for Seth McLaughlin, who wasn't even on the ii-deep depth chart entering the game, and replace right tackle Damieon George with Chris Owens during the 2d half. It helped just plenty to win the game, simply what will it mean against Georgia? The Tigers' defensive forepart is skillful, but it'due south not as expert as the Bulldogs', which has six more than sacks and has missed 58 fewer tackles this flavour.

Whether it's Dalcourt, who is playing on a bum ankle, or McLaughlin, who has played sparingly in his 2 years on campus, it's off-white to wonder how they'll handle 340-pound hereafter All-America nose baby-sit Jordan Davis.

If they can't protect Young and create some running lanes for Robinson, there might not be enough time in the world to beat Georgia, win the SEC and reach the playoff. -- Alex Scarborough

How someone tin beat Georgia

There's a good argument to be fabricated that, if you lot have to dig deep into the advanced metrics to brand a case against Georgia, it'south probably not worth making the case. Indeed, you'll hear no Bulldogs slander here. Kirby Smart has the nation'southward best team.

Simply let's say we're given a message from the time to come, and information technology tells the states that Georgia won't win the national championship. In that universe, what might accept gone wrong?

For the bulk of this flavour, the conventional wisdom was that an offensive juggernaut would go toe-to-toe with Georgia'south overwhelming defense force, and more often than not, the name of that juggernaut was Ohio Country. Every bit the groovy Lee Corso would say ... Not so fast, my friend.

Michigan's pass rush exposed Ohio Land'southward vulnerabilities, and the duo of Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo fabricated the Buckeyes' talented offense look mortal. It's not hard to run into how Georgia would've done the same.

And all of that suggests nosotros might have been entirely wrong about the blueprint for beating the Dawgs, and in hindsight, it should've been obvious.

Using offensive and defensive expected points added (EPA) for each of Georgia's 10 Power 5 opponents, the Bulldogs take played four above-average offensive units: Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky. Georgia dominated all three games.

The Dawgs accept played just one to a higher place-average defense, yet. That was Clemson, in the opener. Georgia didn't score an offensive touchdown. Or consider a far more relatable metric: yards per dropback. The 3 best defenses Georgia faced were Clemson, Florida and South Carolina. The iii all-time offenses were Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky. Against the top offenses, Georgia's defensive EPA dropped by virtually 10 points from its Ability v average. Against the top defenses, its offense declined by nearly xiv points.

In other words, Georgia is likely to struggle more confronting a peachy defense than a swell offense.

This shouldn't be a surprise, given where Georgia's best talent resides. On defense, the Dawgs are loaded with blue-chippers at every level. Hashemite kingdom of jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Derion Kendrick -- in that location's a long list of potential defensive MVPs. On crime, nevertheless, Georgia looks human. Stetson Bennett has been wonderful, only he's not a future NFL star. The backfield of Zamir White, James Cook, Kendall Milton and crew are all talented, only none accept been All-Americans. Aside from tight cease Brock Bowers, there isn't a true five-star superstar on that side of the brawl. And so, which unit was always more probable to have a bad game: the blue-chip D or the makeshift O?

All of this gets to another interesting point: With Oklahoma and Ohio State losing in Week 13 (and Alabama struggling against Auburn), there'south a adept take chances that the best offenses in the country won't be in the playoff this twelvemonth, but some truly impressive defenses (Oklahoma Country, Michigan and Cincinnati all rank in the height 10 in adjusted defensive EPA) could be.

Again, none of this is to suggest Georgia shouldn't be the prohibitive favorite should the Dawgs make the playoff. But if they do, the path to a national championship might actually be a bit tougher without Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio Country in their way. -- David Unhurt

The incommunicable job of a perfect overtime format

The 86th edition of the Iron Bowl went to its first overtime ever on Saturday (4 total), reigniting debate over the new overtime format in higher football game subsequently Penn State and Illinois went nine extra frames in October.

For those who aren't up to speed on the new rules, teams take to run a two-point conversion afterward a touchdown starting time in the second overtime instead of the 3rd overtime. And now, if the game reaches a third overtime, teams simply take turns going for two instead of unabridged possessions like the get-go two overtimes.

The previous iteration of college football'southward overtime rules were fun. Trading possessions from the 25-chiliad line until somebody comes out on top felt like a fair way to end a game. However, as evidenced by Texas A&M's 74-72 victory over LSU in a seven-overtime game in 2018, at that place were rare cases where these things could go also long, no matter how much we might have enjoyed the game.

Along with the time of the game, playing effectually 200 snaps every bit the Aggies and Tigers did in 2018 also increases the odds of sloppy play due to fatigue, and typically leads to more injuries. Anytime nosotros can aid protect players -- who are all the same non properly compensated -- the ameliorate.

The traditionalist in many fans is understandably going to have a hard fourth dimension accepting this new format, regardless of whom it does or does not benefit. More often than not speaking, people like the things that they know and hate to see them change.

Regardless of how anybody feels, the new overtime is working as intended, with that 2018 game betwixt Texas A&M and LSU as the impetus for change. Though Penn Land-Illinois went nine overtimes and is in the books as the first of its kind, the overtimes from that game and 2018'due south Texas A&M-LSU competition are not created equal. There were 23 plays run in the first two overtimes of Penn Country-Illinois, and a combined xiv in overtimes iii-nine. You can't say that about 2018'south marathon.

Across the onetime format, I'm not sure what overtime rules are going to feel correct for well-nigh fans. Right now, this format maintains the spirit of the old one; information technology's just a piddling more gimmicky once they reach the 3rd overtime.

At the very to the lowest degree, the current college overtime format is still better than the NFL's, which gives the squad that wins the coin toss a chance at a sudden-decease victory. Both teams being guaranteed a possession in college makes more than sense than putting much more weight to a coin toss.

Yet, ane thing the NFL should become more than credit for is its willingness to tie in regular flavor games. Because we've hardly ever gotten to the end of a regular season NFL overtime and said to ourselves, "I'd love just ane more serving of this impasse." -- Harry Lyles Jr.

A defensive role player should win the Heisman Trophy

One thing remains consistent at the conclusion of the college football season: The Heisman Bays, the sport'due south illustrious statue, is awarded. There usually are ii or three candidates who split up themselves during the second half of the flavor, securing their seats in New York. But over the past two decades, the distinct recognition has substantially been a quarterback award.

Since 2000, 17 of the xx winners have been under center (omitting Reggie Bush's 2005 award, which was vacated). The lone not-indicate-callers take been Mark Ingram II (2009), Derrick Henry (2015) and DeVonta Smith (2020).

In what has been an unconventional turnout of events, no histrion has made a stiff example to take home this year's award. Alabama'south Bryce Immature and Ohio State'due south C.J. Stroud were believed to be the front-runners, but lackluster regular-flavour finales for both left the pole position on ballots wide open.

With no offensive players truly dominating, an statement can be fabricated that this year's trophy should get to a defensive role player. The only defensive histrion to take home the award was Charles Woodson in 1997. Staying in Ann Arbor, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson is one strong candidate. During Michigan'south 42-27 win against Ohio State, he completely annihilated the Buckeyes' offensive line from start to finish. The 6-foot-six, 265-pound edge rusher finished with vii tackles and iii sacks.

If I had a Heisman vote today, though, my winner would be Alabama exterior linebacker Will Anderson Jr. In a 24-22 four-overtime Iron Bowl victory, Anderson wreaked abiding havoc. Auburn had no one who could stay in front end of No. 31 -- something that has been customary for every offensive forepart he has faced this season. The nation's leader in sacks (14.5), Anderson is the best defensive thespian that Nick Saban has ever had in his defense. Anderson constantly manages to finish at the quarterback.

Both Hutchinson and Anderson have strong résumés, and both further staked their claims during Rivalry Week. The Heisman is awarded to the near valuable player during a item season, and Anderson and Hutchinson have been the ii all-time players in the state in 2021, regardless of position. -- Jordan Reid