Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
When it comes to Big 12 football, quarterbacks get all of the glory and all of the blame when it doesn’t go well. Let’s rank the passers.
In the Big 12 Conference it has been all about the offense. Of course that all starts with the gunslinger at each school. Over recent years the names of Patrick Mahomes, Baker Mayfield, Colt McCoy, Bryce Petty and many others have led high-powered offenses onto the field.
With so many quarterbacks ready to be the next great Big 12 quarterback, we ranked each one to determine who reigns supreme.
Continue reading “Big 12 Football: Ranking all 10 quarterbacks”
ESPN believes the Bears are among the teams that will be looking to draft a quarterback come 2021.
If there’s been one constant with the Chicago Bears over the years, it’s that they haven’t been able to hit at the quarterback position. Whether that was before Jay Cutler or all of the failures between him and Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears continue to search for their franchise quarterback.
Trubisky was supposed to be the answer to Chicago’s quarterback woes, but he’s proven to be just another statistic in their quarterback failures. He has one final season to prove he can miraculously turn things around, but first he’ll have to win the starting job over Nick Foles, who was brought in to compete and potentially replace Trubisky.
If Trubisky isn’t the guy, Foles isn’t the guy either. Foles appears to be more of a bridge to a new quarterback. Perhaps one in the 2021 NFL Draft. ESPN believes the Bears are among the teams that will be looking to draft a quarterback come 2021.
Many around the league expect the Bears to decline Trubisky’s fifth-year option, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Such a move would indicate the Bears have all but moved past Trubisky as a future starter. The Bears would face a significant cap hit for moving on from Foles before the 2021 season, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be shopping in the draft (again) for the next Sid Luckman.
Some of the quarterbacks expected to be available next year include Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, Ohio State’s Justin Fields, Texas’ Sam Ehlinger, Georgia’s Jamie Newman and Iowa State’s Brock Purdy.
While Lawrence most likely won’t be available for the Bears — he’s expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2021 — there are other options for Chicago, including some that might not be known yet. Look no further than Joe Burrow, who no one mentioned prior to last college football season and then played his way to a Heisman Trophy and the No. 1 overall pick.
Obviously, the hope is that Trubisky magically turns things around and becomes the franchise quarterback general manager Ryan Pace believed he could be. But, at this point, that’s more wishful thinking than realistic expectation.
So the Bears likely will be in the market for a quarterback heading into the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Even with an improved defense, UT is going to have some challenges with these talented QBs. Here are the top five QBs UT will face in 2020:
Outside of Sam Ehlinger, the quarterback play for the Big 12 is full of talent going into the 2020 season. To win in the conference, quarterbacks must be the driving force of the offense.
A mixture of younger and older signal callers have taken over, ranging from a redshirt freshman like Spencer Rattler, all the way to juniors and seniors such as Brock Purdy and Charlie Brewer.
Getting ripped to shreds in the passing game last season, the Longhorns ranked ninth in the Big 12 last season. Even with an improved defense, Texas is going to have some challenges ahead facing these talented quarterbacks.
Related: Game-by-game prediction for the 2020 Texas Longhorns football season
Here are the top five quarterbacks Texas will face in 2020:
The Bears will hold a first-round pick for the first time since 2018, and they could potentially grab their franchise quarterback.
Over the weekend, the Chicago Bears declined Mitchell Trubisky’s fifth-year option for 2021. Accompanied by the fact that performance incentives can potentially make Nick Foles a free agent, the quarterback position remains a substantial question mark after this year.
It should be noted that the Bears can place the franchise or transition tag on Trubisky. But based on the 2020 franchise tender values, both values are relatively equal to what his fifth-year option would have cost.
That said, the Bears will hold a first-round pick for the first time since 2018 and could potentially grab their franchise quarterback. Unless things go even worse than last year, they will almost certainly have no shot at landing Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence.
Let’s look at three players they could target in the first round.
Lance’s stock has picked up steam ever since the 2020 NFL Draft concluded. He came to Fargo as a three-star prospect from Marshall, Minnesota, and may end up following Carson Wentz’s path to the NFL.
In his first full year as a starter, Lance passed for nearly 2,800 yards with 28 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also has the added benefit of picking up yards with his feet, as he rushed for 1,100 yards and crossing the goal line 14 times there as well.
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An uninspired opening drive by the Irish meant for a quick punt where Alohi Gilman did what Alohi Gilman likes to do, make an instant impact ripping a ball free and forcing a fumble that senior Chase Claypool recovered in his final game at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame elected to receive the opening kickoff in the Camping World Bowl and in the “about time” category Braden Lenzy was back deep returning the kick, something he took back to twenty yard line.
An uninspired opening drive by the Irish meant for a quick punt where Alohi Gilman did what Alohi Gilman likes to do, make an instant impact ripping a ball free and forcing a fumble that senior Chase Claypool recovered in his final game at Notre Dame.
Nice special teams play by Alohi Gilman! #NotreDame turned the fumble recovery into a FG! #CampingWorldBowl pic.twitter.com/WoZuwzGJ3i
— Decaf Metcalf ☕ (@FTBeard11) December 28, 2019
Ian Book would escape pressure on a fourth down and help get Notre Dame into field goal range to take the early 3-0 lead.
On Iowa State’s first offensive series of the day Brock Purdy had the Cyclones driving before rolling to his left and being greeted by Jeremiah Owusu-Karamoah who we can start the 2020 hype machine about.
— Dan O’Meter (@danometer) December 28, 2019
That drive would end with Ian Book finding Chase Claypool who made an outstanding catch in the end zone to make it a 10-0 Notre Dame lead that they finished the first quarter holding.
If given the opportunity Notre Dame has to step on throats and not let up because the second they do the Cyclones will, get this, come storming back.
No. 14 Notre Dame wraps up their 2019 campaign Saturday as they take on 7-5 Iowa State for the first time in program history in the annual Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
There isn’t a ton at stake for Notre Dame besides pride and it being the final time we’ll see the likes of Chase Claypool and others in a Fighting Irish uniform, you hope to see them go out after a win.
What does Notre Dame have to do in order to secure that win however against an upstart Iowa State program who is led by one of the best and brightest young coaches in all of college football?
Step 1: Start FAST
Can Notre Dame reach the 11 win mark or will Iowa State finally close the deal against one of these top teams that they’ve played so closely all year?
We’ve made it through the holidays and the bowl slate picks up steadily from here forward. Friday should be fun but we’re all waiting for the historic Camping World Bowl and Notre Dame’s showdown with Iowa State on Saturday.
Can Notre Dame reach the 11 win mark or will Iowa State finally close the deal against one of these top teams that they’ve played so closely all year?
Obligatory photo of both head coaches and the beautiful trophy their teams will be playing for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/fFqIRwlw1f
— Camping World Bowl (@CWBowl) December 27, 2019
Here is how the Fighting Irish Wire Staff sees Saturday’s Camping World Bowl going:
Picks –
Geoffrey Clark:
Ever since the loss to Michigan, the Irish have been on a mission to prove that and the defeat at Georgia were anomalies. Plus, they have the defense to shut down Brock Purdy or at least take away his receivers’ opportunities. The time off will cause Notre Dame’s offense to take a slight dip, but it’ll still be enough for a convincing win.
Notre Dame 33 Iowa State 14
Jeff Feyerer:
Notre Dame 34 Iowa State 31
Previewing Saturday’s Camping World Bowl betting odds and lines between Notre Dame and Iowa State with betting picks, tips and bets.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2) and Iowa State Cyclones (7-5) meet Saturday in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Fla., for a noon ET kickoff (on ABC). We analyze the Notre Dame-Iowa State odds and betting lines, while providing college football betting tips and advice on this matchup.
Get some action on the game at BetMGM by placing a sports bet!
1. Notre Dame enters on a five-game winning streak, and it went 4-0 against the spread over the last four games. The Irish were 8-4 ATS on the season. Meanwhile, the Cyclones are limping into this one after going 2-3 in the last five games and 0-3 ATS in the last three – they are 5-6-1 ATS on the season.
2. The Irish, behind QB Ian Book, rank 13th in the nation in scoring at 37.1 points per game. Meanwhile, Cyclones sophomore QB Brock Purdy is fourth in the country in passing yards (3,760), while the offense ranks 26th in scoring (34.1 PPG).
3. The Irish are 3-2 in their last five bowl games but were crushed 30-3 last season in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Cotton Bowl by the eventual champion Clemson Tigers. The Cyclones are 2-3 in their last five bowl appearances, most recently falling to the Washington Huskies 28-26 in the 2018 Alamo Bowl – Iowa State scored with 4:02 left but came up short when a potential game-tying, 2-point conversation failed.
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
Notre Dame 30, Iowa State 21
AVOID. Notre Dame is -161. Every $1.61 wagered on the Irish to win outright would profit $1 if they do so. Betting on Iowa State (+135) would profit 1.35-to-1 if the Cyclones win outright. I’m going to PASS and focus on the Irish spread.
NOTRE DAME (-3.5, -106) is the STRONGEST PLAY. The Irish are just a better team, including having an edge when it comes to talent among the second-stringers (backups).
A slight lean to the UNDER 53.5 (-106). Notre Dame’s defense – led by senior DL Khalid Kareem and Adetokunbo Ogundeji – ranks 14th in points allowed at 18.7 PPG. The Cyclones defense is 52nd in points allowed (25.3). Notre Dame is 5-7 on the O/U line this season, while Iowa State is 5-6-1.
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Johnny’s December record: 15-6-1. Strongest plays: 8-1.
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Pro Football Focus recently rated every starting quarterback for every team playing in a bowl game this year on how they project as future NFL signal-callers.
Unfortunately for Ian Book, that didn’t come with a very kind evaluation.
Pro Football Focus does a good job of evaluating what college players project to at the next level. There is good and bad that come of that.
Good in that you get an honest, unbiased evaluation about how a player has performed at the collegiate level and how that play effects how they project at the next level.
The bad in that is that sometimes the truth can hurt.
Pro Football Focus recently rated every starting quarterback for every team playing in a bowl game this year on how they project as future NFL signal-callers.
Unfortunately for Ian Book, that didn’t come with a very kind evaluation.
Ian Book checked in at No. 35 on the list and here’s the write-up from PFF on Book at the next level:
Book has a limited arm and serious pocket-presence issues. We charged him with 11 sacks and 38 pressures on his own this year after charging him with 18 sacks in 2018. Combine that with a limited arm and you have a long shot in the pros
-Pro Football Focus
It’s important to remember that these evaluations are done with the pro game in mind.
Book does so much with his feet that he can still be a difference-maker at the collegiate level in many cases. However against the stiffer competition, such as Clemson, Georgia and Michigan, the ability to scatter ahead and keep drives moving consistently so much by his feet is extremely difficult to do.
I agree in that Ian Book doesn’t project as a professional quarterback because of what is sighted there and what we’ve discussed on here time and time again.
For what its worth, Brock Purdy of Iowa State checked in eighth in the rankings.
You can go over recruiting rankings all you want and look at records but I really do buy into Iowa State’s coaching staff. It’s not a mistake that Matt Campbell gets linked to NFL jobs an incredible amount despite his record being far from outstanding.
Pretty much no Notre Dame fans are excited that a 10-2 season ends in Orlando for the Camping World Bowl against an unranked 7-5 Iowa State team, but it’s a Notre Dame game at the end of the day and the last one we’ll have until they open the 2020 season against Navy in Ireland.
We’ll all soak it up, even if commenters here and on the message boards are full of those complaining and claiming they’ll protest it by not watching.
The rest of the nation has been weighing in on all bowl games though and ranking them from worst matchup or the least-watchable to the best match-up and most-watchable.
Where does Notre Dame’s contest against the pass-happy Cyclones rank?
Here’s what everyone else says and remember, the ranking is out of the 39 total bowl games this season:
