Who Will Follow Bryce Young in Flawed Heisman Trophy Year? All Things CW

Who's the best player in college football this season? Even after all the games have been played there's still a variety of opinions as the Heisman voting wraps up.

It's a shame that Will Anderson Jr.'s numbers weren't a little better this season because the Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker might have had an excellent chance to steal the Heisman Trophy.

Last year, of course, he finished fifth in the voting, and a lot of people were pretty upset that he didn't get to make the trip to New York as a finalist.

Anderson led the nation in tackles for loss with 34.5, and also had 17.5 sacks. The edge rusher was also in on 102 total tackles. 

Opponents obviously weren't going to let that happen again, and built a good part of their game plans around nullifying Anderson's effectiveness.

This season, the two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year leads the SEC, but is only 10th nationally with 17 tackles for loss. He also tops the conference in sacks, yet is only tied for seventh in the nation with 10. 

Anderson's been credited with 51 tackles, and probably isn't going to play in the Sugar Bowl since has has a chance to be the first-overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Otherwise, the stars had aligned almost perfectly for a defensive player to receive serious consideration for the Heisman. There wasn't a running back or wide receiver who clearly separated themselves from the field like the way Derrick Henry (2015) or Devonta Smith (2020) did, so it's almost certainly going to a quarterback.

Last year's winner, Bryce Young, was probably the most impressive, but didn't post the same numbers and suffered a shoulder injury. He was 230-for-359 for 3,007 yards, 27 touchdowns thrown and five interceptions. His passer rating of 156.46 is 18th in the nation.

There are flaws with the other top candidates as well:

C.J Stroud of Ohio State will head into the College Football Playoff with the best passer rating, 176.24. He was the preseason favorite, but for the second straight season was on the losing end during his biggest game of the year.

Herndon Hooker of Tennessee should be getting more Heisman attention, but missed the end of the season with a knee injury. He had 27 touchdown passes compared to two interceptions, which is why he'll probably finish with the nation's best passer rating at 175.51, making him this year's passing king.

Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett has very quietly led the Bulldogs through an undefeated season despite the reigning champions being in the spotlight. He's thrown for 3,425 yards, completed 68 percent of his passes and scored 27 total touchdowns, but his passer rating is just 23rd.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 4,075 yards, scored 47 total touchdowns (37 passing compared to four interceptions) and completed 66 percent of his throws. His passer rating is fifth, but voters will have a hard time forgetting the pounding the Trojans took in the Pac-12 Championship Game, or that they didn't play the toughest of schedules.

Speaking of gutsy performances, TCU quarterback Max Duggan won over a lot of people in the Big 12 Championship Game. For the year he threw for 3,321 yards, scored 36 total touchdowns and completed 65 percent of his passes. His passer rating is ninth as he had 30 passing touchdowns compared to four interceptions. The problem is his team lost to Kansas State, and doesn't really have a signature win. 

Oddsmakers have Williams as the favorite, over Duggan and Bennett. 

Here are three other things to take note of from the hodgepodge weekend:

1) Nick Saban Criticism Unwarranted 

It was absurd that some people got upset with Nick Saban trying to promote his team for the College Football Playoff over the weekend. 

What kind of message would he have been sending if he hadn't? 

The committee heard him, though:

"Yeah, we were in the room watching a game, I believe it was at halftime of one of the games on FOX where Coach Saban was on the Big Ten when he was on, and again, he's advocating for his program, he's advocating for the young men in his program just as other coaches are, and those are the relationships they care about, so I think it was perfectly understandable that that's occurring," committee chairman Boo Corrigan said. "But our job, the 13 of us, is to make sure we're focused in on the games and football judgment and make sure that we get that right."

So what, every other coach gets to make a pitch except Saban? That's ridiculous. So was the way that one network was clearly trying to promote teams in leagues it's under contract with for the playoff (and it's not the one that has the SEC). 

2) Alabama Basketball a Solid Top-10 Team 

The Crimson Tide basketball team is No. 8 in a ranking that matters a whole lot more than the AP top 25. 

The first NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings of the season were released Monday, the evaluation tool that replaced the RPI prior to the 2018-19 season. The NET includes more components than just winning percentage: game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses.

The initial top 10: 1. Houston; 2. UConn; 3. Purdue; 4. Tennessee; 5. Mississippi St.; 6. Maryland; 7. Sam Houston; 8. Alabama; 9. Virginia; 10. Indiana.

Some other notable rankings: 21. Auburn; 25. Arkansas, 34. Missouri; 42. Kentucky. Upcoming opponent Gonzaga is No. 29. 

Of course, Alabama has a game at Houston on Saturday. 

The biggest surprise on that list has to be Mississippi State, as first-year coach Chris Jans has the Bulldogs undefeated thanks to its strong defensive play. 

MSU beat Marquette and Utah during the recent Fort Myers Tip-Off. If the Bulldogs can get a win at Minnesota on Sunday, they could still be undefeated when they open SEC play at home against Alabama on Dec. 28. 

3) Bowl Game Craziness 

There are 41 Bowl Games before the College Football Playoff title game, and so far the largest spread is 11 points, the game on Dec. 16. UAB is favored by 16 points over Miami of Ohio in the Bahamas Bowl. 

Only three games have double-digit points spreads. The TCU vs. Michigan semifinal just missed at 9.5.  

In case you missed it, here's how the brackets would have looked if the 12-team playoff was already in place:

Using the final rankings, here's how an expanded playoff would look via the adopted format that’ll begin in 2024:

Reminders:
(1) 6 highest-ranked champs get AQs
(2) next 6 highest-ranked teams get At-Larges
(3) byes to top 4 conference champs
(4) 1st round at better seed pic.twitter.com/tZCAPH9kme

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 4, 2022

See Also

Will Anderson Jr. Named AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year

Alabama Basketball Moves Up in Latest AP Top 25, Coaches Poll

What Nick Saban Said About Alabama's Sugar Bowl Matchup, Missing Out on CFP

Get your Crimson Tide tickets from SI Tickets HERE.