2014 NCAA Football Thread

dwalden2 · Jan 6, 2015

http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/...ota-can-make-case-for-greatest-qb-of-all-time

In a new AT&T commercial, Heisman Trophy winners Bo Jackson, Doug Flutie and Herschel Walker, sitting around watching the new College Football Playoff on ESPN, try to tease Joe Montana about his not winning the bronze statue. Montana seems duly impressed.

"What an accomplishment," he says. Only he raises his hand to his face, and it features four Super Bowl rings and a ring for the 1977 national title he won at Notre Dame.

#winning!

When it comes to team sports, particularly in this country, winning championships trumps eye-popping statistics and individual accomplishments. That's why no one ranks Dan Marino ahead of Montana on lists of all-time great quarterbacks, even though Marino was a better pure passer.

This is an important sports cultural note because we are on the cusp of potentially making a huge distinction. If Oregon beats Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T on Jan. 12, Marcus Mariota will have a strong case for the greatest quarterback in college football history. He'll have the Heisman, eye-popping numbers over three brilliant seasons and, most important, that championship. It would further boost his case that Oregon's first Heisman winner also led it to its first football national title, the Ducks then being the first first-time national title winner since Florida in 1996.

[+] EnlargeMarcus Mariota
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong
Marcus Mariota's passing efficiency numbers are among the best in college football history.
Ah, Florida. It can counter with two legitimate entrants to the discussion of best quarterback in college football history: Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow. Both put up huge numbers over multiple seasons and won Heismans. And both won national titles.

By those measures, you'd also have to include USC's Matt Leinart in the discussion. He won the 2004 Heisman and finished sixth in 2003 and third in 2005. While his overall numbers aren't as sparkly as Mariota's, Weurffel's or Tebow's, he went 37-2 as a starter and nearly won three consecutive national titles.

If winning is our primary measure, how can QBs like Tommie Frazier and Vince Young be overlooked? Frazier and Young each finished second in Heisman voting, but Frazier won consecutive national titles at Nebraska (1994 and 1995) without losing a game -- that 1995 team ranks among the best in the history of the sport -- while Young resurrected the Longhorns and won the 2005 national title.

Our old-timers are reminding us that college football is more than a few decades old. Any discussion of all-time greats needs to include TCU's Sammy Baugh, who was slinging the ball around well before passing was a significant part of the game, and the Horned Frogs claimed a national title in 1935 with Baugh behind center. The two-time All-American had 39 career TD passes and also ended up an NFL Hall of Famer.

So what is Mariota's case should he prevail against the Buckeyes? The CFP, in itself, would be a good Point A: His winning a national title will rate a bigger accomplishment than those of his predecessors because he will have to win consecutive games against highly ranked, top-four foes in order to earn that final No. 1 ranking. Those who won BCS or pre-BCS titles didn't have the added rigor of the CFP.

As for numbers, both this season and career, Mariota's case is strong. He leads the nation in Total QBR, ESPN.com's advanced metric for measuring a QB's efficiency and overall effectiveness, by a wide margin, and his 91.7 rating is third best since 2004. He finished ranked second in QBR the previous two seasons to Heisman winners Jameis Winston of Florida State and Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M. Those QBR numbers rank 10th and 17th of all time, making him the only QB since 2004 to have three seasons ranked in the top 20.

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The same lofty measures hold true with standard QB efficiency ratings. Mariota is No. 1 this season after ranking seventh in 2013 and 2012. Those ratings rank 6th, 55th and 97th all-time (since 1956). His career efficiency rating ranks second all-time behind Oklahoma's Sam Bradford.

Mariota has been responsible for more touchdowns (134) and racked up more yards of total offense (12,661) than any other player in Pac-12 history. He has thrown a touchdown pass in all 40 career starts, the second-longest streak in FBS history. He is on pace to set the FBS record for career interception percentage, as only 13 of his 1,130 career attempts have been picked off (1.15 percent).

With any subjective measure, as this undoubtedly is, you can highlight or downplay aspects to suit an argument. Leinart and Frazier led dynastic runs of sustained excellence but were hardly one-star constellations for college football superpowers. Young completed an outstanding 2005 season -- second to Reggie Bush in Heisman voting -- with a tour de force performance in a thrilling victory over Leinart, Bush and USC in the national title game. Tebow finished first, third and fifth in Heisman voting, was a significant part of a second national title team, had 145 career TDs and put up strong efficiency numbers.

A further complication in this debate is blocking out how these quarterbacks were evaluated by the NFL and then produced as professionals. The only aforementioned QB who succeeded in the NFL was Baugh. Wuerffel and Tebow were widely doubted by NFL scouts in advance of the draft. Injuries ended Frazier's career before he could play on Sundays. Leinart and Young were top-10 picks in 2006, but they both flopped in the NFL.

Mariota is expected to be a top-10 pick this spring and could go No. 1 overall. In terms of NFL prospects, he's decisively better than Wuerffel and Tebow, and it's already clear he has a superior arm compared to Leinart and is far more advanced mechanically than Young. In terms of pure QB ability and talent as it would translate to the NFL, Mariota is the best prospect of the bunch, even before you factor in his ability as a runner.

Of course, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer can do his old QB Tebow a favor in this debate. If the Buckeyes triumph over the Ducks, Mariota won't get to flash a championship ring, a prerequisite for inclusion in our "best ever" conversation.
Click to expand...

Noles1 · Jan 7, 2015

PreRunner03 said: ↑

Still, none of that is relevant today.
Click to expand...

Oh, and Miss St is so storied. I told you it was a fluke before you lost your first game this year and we see how that proved true.For you to even pretend that you know FSU history and what a dynasty looks like is funny. You should prob just stay in the 2015 thread where all your other sec girlfriends are .........

JimBeam · Jan 7, 2015

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season

dwalden2 · Jan 7, 2015

Noles1 said: ↑

Oh, and Miss St is so storied. I told you it was a fluke before you lost your first game this year and we see how that proved true.For you to even pretend that you know FSU history and what a dynasty looks like is funny. You should prob just stay in the 2015 thread where all your other sec girlfriends are .........
Click to expand...

Y u mad, tho?

Miss St had a good year this year, and Ethan could finally talk shit. Basically for the first time ever. Last year, FSU enjoyed being relevant for the first time in a decade. All you FSU fans came out in herds and could finally talk shit again. Now that FSU (or Alabama) isn't in the championship game, Miss St is just as relevant as FSU (or Alabama) as far as the 2014 season goes...

river rat 69 · Jan 7, 2015

Noles1 said: ↑

Oh, and Miss St is so storied. I told you it was a fluke before you lost your first game this year and we see how that proved true.For you to even pretend that you know FSU history and what a dynasty looks like is funny. You should prob just stay in the 2015 thread where all your other sec girlfriends are .........
Click to expand...

How did the sec East & West do in bowl games this year. Ive lost track with all the purse swinging in here..

JimBeam · Jan 7, 2015

Official

Winston going to the draft

skidooman · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season
Click to expand...

Booooo.

JimBeam · Jan 7, 2015

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2015/st...florida-state-seminoles-nfl-draft-father-says

Jameis Winston won't be back in a Florida State uniform next season, his father said Wednesday, opting instead to enter the NFL draft.

Initially, Antonor Winston said his son planned to wait until after the College Football Playoff Game Presented by AT&T to announce a decision, but instead, Jameis Winston came to a firm decision Tuesday night that he was ready to enter the NFL draft.

[+] EnlargeJameis Winston
Harry How/Getty Images
Jameis Winston passed for 7,964 yards and 65 touchdowns in just two seasons at Florida State.
Antonor Winston said his son received a first-round grade from the NFL draft advisory committee, and many experts have Jameis Winston ranked among the top two quarterbacks potentially available in the draft, along with fellow Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota.

Winston wrapped up his redshirt sophomore season with a loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl Games Presented by Northwestern Mutual, but for his career, he was 26-1 as a starter at Florida State.

While off-field incidents swirled throughout much of his time at FSU, Winston's numbers were among the best in college football when he was on the field. Winston ranks fourth in touchdown passes (65), fourth in passing yards (7,964) and second in passes of 20 yards or more (124) since the start of the 2013 season.

Last year, he won the Heisman Trophy and led Florida State to a national championship.

Winston's father said initial plans to delay an announcement were scuttled by extensive media attention and that after Jameis Winston prayed on the decision Tuesday night, he felt comfortable with his plan to leave for the NFL.

A formal announcement is expected Wednesday afternoon.
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Mitch · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season
Click to expand...

That's fair. I think the previous winner deserves the photo

mws4ua · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season
Click to expand...

Can we go back and change the thread pic/thumbnail for the 2010, 2012 and 2013 threads?

Asking for a friend.

mws4ua · Jan 7, 2015

Today is a bit of a milestone......

It's been 3,000 days... THREE THOUSAND DAYS... since Tennessee beat Alabama.

Carry on.

Toyotacrawler · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season
Click to expand...

Nice! Great idea

PreRunner03 · Jan 7, 2015

dwalden2 said: ↑

Y u mad, tho?

Miss St had a good year this year, and Ethan could finally talk shit. Basically for the first time ever. Last year, FSU enjoyed being relevant for the first time in a decade. All you FSU fans came out in herds and could finally talk shit again. Now that FSU (or Alabama) isn't in the championship game, Miss St is just as relevant as FSU (or Alabama) as far as the 2014 season goes...
Click to expand...

He clearly hasn't been around for very long nor does he pay attention. I talk shit whenever we're bad too and I'm the first to admit we're a dumpster fire.

Grundletaint · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

Official

Winston going to the draft
Click to expand...

JaMarcus Winston

river rat 69 · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

Official

Winston going to the draft
Click to expand...

Re-post>>>> I said this before the Clemson Game.. The big Boosters want him gone

dwalden2 · Jan 7, 2015

UGA hired Brian Schottenheimer as OC

coffeesnob · Jan 7, 2015

dwalden2 said: ↑

UGA hired Brian Schottenheimer as OC
Click to expand...

Will he be like his dad? Pretty good but not quite good enough.

coffeesnob · Jan 7, 2015

tigerfan00 said: ↑

2015 thread closed until this season is over

Instituting a new rule that the thread picture/thumbnail will be the winner of the NC game of the previous season
Click to expand...

I'll never see Notre Dame on the thread picture then.

PreRunner03 · Jan 7, 2015

coffeesnob said: ↑

Will he be like his dad? Pretty good but not quite good enough.
Click to expand...

That's been Richt's line of thought for a while now so why go for something different?

JimBeam · Jan 7, 2015

coffeesnob said: ↑

I'll never see Notre Dame on the thread picture then.
Click to expand...

Not to worry...No one will ever see a Clemson paw there either

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