Tag: espn rankings

ESPN names Texas RB Bijan Robinson one of the most important players in college football

“He’ll see as much of the ball as he can handle in 2021, and Texas will be better off for it.”

Texas running back Bijan Robinson is no doubt one of the most explosive playmakers in college football.

The former five-star prospect and the nation’s No. 1 running back in the 2022 recruiting class has certainly lived up to the hype. Although he was used sparingly as a true freshman under Tom Herman, Robinson is expected to be featured heavily under first-year head coach Steve Sarkisian this season.

Robinson concluded the 2020 season with 703 rushing yards, including 183 in the Valero Alamo Bowl against Colorado. He set the school record for yards per carry in a game (19.1) at Kansas State and yards per carry in a season (8.2).

He’s deservingly received numerous preseason accolades ahead of the 2021 season. Texas’ star running back landed at No. 22 in ESPN’s rankings of college football’s 25 most important players for 2021.

Steve Sarkisian’s first Texas offense won’t have the otherworldly bounty of talent that he worked with at Alabama last fall, but he’ll have at least one incredible piece in Robinson. The 2020 blue-chipper exploded late last fall, gaining a combined 651 rushing and receiving yards in just 55 touches in his last five games. One assumes he’ll see as much of the ball as he can handle in 2021, and Texas will be better off for it.

It may be too premature for a Heisman discussion, but it’s a solid bet that Robinson will soon become a household name across the country.

Three Longhorns make ESPN’s top 50 newcomers in college football

ESPN recently ranked the top 50 newcomers in college football.

For every star that leaves the college football ranks, there are new faces that come in and capture the attention of fans across the nation.

ESPN recently ranked the top 50 newcomers in college football, whether they be recruits, transfers, or simply players who did not start the season prior. With Texas having a new coaching staff, the whole roster essentially started with a fresh slate. The Longhorns also had a major haul of transfers that they hope will help add playmakers and depth to both sides of the ball.

Texas had three current players and one former player (Keaontay Ingram) make the list. It’s interesting to note that much of the chatter this offseason surrounded the players that the Longhorns added to their defense, but all three of the newcomers on ESPN’s rankings are on the offensive side of the ball. It does make sense, however, considering Steve Sarkisian is one of the best offensive minds in the nation and has utilized his talent to perfection regardless of what school he has been coaching at.

Let’s take a look at the three Texas players that ESPN expects to have major impacts in their first year of being a full-time contributor.

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Where Steve Sarkisian lands on ESPN’s ranking of head coaches as players

ESPN ranked all head coaches in the FBS based on their playing careers, and Sarkisian landed within the top five.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was quite the athlete in the 1990’s before he became one of the top play callers in college football.

ESPN recently ranked all 130 FBS head coaches based on their playing careers (link requires subscription). The ranking put an emphasis on which players made meaningful contributions in college, regardless of level. Those who were multiyear starters or award recipients of FBS teams get more credit, as do those who played professionally.

With that in mind, Sarkisian landed at No. 5 overall. Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh, Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald, Tennessee’s Josh Heupel, and Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy were the only current head coaches listed ahead of him.

Sarkisian first starred at quarterback for El Camino College, setting national junior college records in both completion percentage (72.4) and pass efficiency (203.8 rating). He then transferred to BYU and earned WAC offensive player of the year honors as a senior in 1996, when he led the nation in pass efficiency (173.56) and broke Steve Young’s career completion percentage record (65.2). He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy and then played three seasons in the CFL, starting for Saskatchewan in 1999.

It’s obviously not a must to have been a former player in order to be a successful collegiate coach, but it certainly provides unparalleled experience. In Sarkisian’s case, it was likely a key contributor to him becoming an offensive guru and elite quarterback developer.

Is Cowboys’ Tyron Smith still a top-10 tackle in the league? ESPN thinks so

Cowboys offensive tackle Tyron Smith may not be the league’s top tackle anymore, but he’s still one of the very best. | From @AsaHenry_55

For the last decade Tyron Smith has had a legitimate claim to the throne of best offensive tackle in the NFL. As recently as last year, NFL personnel decided Smith was still the “Gold Standard” for offensive tackle play.

Recently, ESPN once again asked over 50 players, coaches, scouts and executives to grade players at each position heading into the 2021 season. Smith, while not at his accustomed top spot, remained in the top 10, coming in at ninth.

Smith’s drop is understandable; the four-time All-Pro had never missed more than three games in a season before missing a total of 14 games in 2020 after surgery on his neck, an issue that has plagued Smith for a few seasons now.

Injury issues for offensive lineman that have played a decade in the league are sometimes the sign of the end for said player.

However, Smith is amazingly still just 30-years old, and if his recent surgery is a success, meaning he is able stay healthy there is reason to believe he can continue excel at protecting Dak Prescott’s blindside for at least a few more years.

News out of the Cowboys spring and summer practices was certainly positive regarding the former USC Trojan and his attempt to return to form.

“They both look in great shape,” head coach Mike McCarthy said about both Cowboys tackles, Smith and La’el Collins in late May. McCarthy would add, “They both have been here the whole time through phases one, two and three. They’re where they need to be.”

The Cowboys are an entirely different team with Smith operating at full force, and the stats back that up, as noted by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler,

“Dallas is 11-12 without Smith since 2017, and the offense’s total QBR dips from 67.3 to 60.3 when he’s not in the lineup, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Cowboys allow pressure on 29% of their offensive snaps without him, 24.6% with him. The sack rate balloons from 5.5% to 7.3% when he’s on the sideline.”

Whether Smith is the top tackle or just a top-10 tackle doesn’t necessarily mean too much, as his presence in the lineup alone will undoubtedly give the offense a boost.

The aforementioned Collins was an honorable mention on ESPN’s top tackle list entering 2020, before missing the entire season with a hip injury. If the 27-year old Collins can stay healthy and build upon his impressive 2019, he could easily play his way into next year’s top 10 rankings.

The return of Smith and Collins may be overshadowed by Prescott’s campaign for Comeback Player of the Year, but the health of the Cowboys’ tackles will be absolutely crucial toward the club achieving their postseason goals in 2021.

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Where Oklahoma ranks in ESPN’s FPI Top 25 summer rankings

Where Oklahoma ranks in ESPN’s FPI Top 25

With the 2021 college football season fast approaching, it is time again for ESPN’s updated Football Power Index top 25 summer rankings. ESPN’s FPI is a measurement of a team’s predicted success for the duration of the upcoming season, evaluating how many points a team is above or below average. This is via the results based on 10,000 simulations among other methods to predict which programs will be contenders in 2021.

In this top 25 compilation, Oklahoma lands at No. 2 behind the Alabama Crimson Tide. The algorithm puts Alabama, OU, Clemson, Iowa State and Ohio State in the top five of ESPN’s FPI rankings.

247 Sports highlighted takeaways from each program listed.

This could be Lincoln Riley’s best team in Norman, and if Spencer Rattler plays like a Heisman candidate, the Sooners will be a tough out.

Per the FPI projections, Oklahoma is once again the team to beat in the Big 12, but the Sooners have serious competition. There’s a lot of buzz around Norman moving through spring camp for a team that’s been put on a pedestal with other national title frontrunners. But they’ll have to earn it, says Lincoln Riley, who knows this year’s squad has what it takes — on paper — to be elite. Heisman candidate Spencer Rattler is considered college football’s top returning player at his position by most and enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2020. Now comes the hard part, his encore when being a marked man for the Sooners.

Oklahoma sits atop the Big 12 hierarchy, winning the Big 12 title every year since 2015. Always a front-runner for the college football playoff conversation but a team that has not made it past the semifinal or to the coveted prize, a national championship. Talent and balance wise, the squad is poised for the grandest stage in college football.

Alex Grinch turned the defense around with his focus on pressure, physicality and turnovers in a hybrid 3-4, 4-2-5 system in Norman. The defense is no longer holding the team back, but elevating it.

Riley has created one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, surrounding ascending star Spencer Rattler. There are lofty expectations placed on his shoulders for Year 2 after his 2020 stellar campaign as a redshirt freshman. After struggling early on with ball security and gaining confidence, Rattler emerged during the second half of the season with ease. He took the college football world by storm with arm-talent, off-platform throws and tight-window accuracy. Rattler’s diagnosis of defenses improved down the stretch and being the first quarterback Lincoln Riley has developed, his production will only increase from the offensive guru’s mentorship.

The Crimson and Cream must once again earn and prove the hype on the turf. The work being done during the summer will breed success come fall. The talent level is there, now it is about execution. Can Oklahoma break out of the stigma and win it all?

ESPN CFB power rankings: Oklahoma No. 1 – where is Georgia?

ESPN has released its top-25 teams after spring football and the Oklahoma Sooners are ranked No. 1. Find out where Georgia landed here.

ESPN has released its top-25 college football rankings headed into the summer. Georgia fans, you might not like what you read below.

The Oklahoma Sooners are rated as the No. 1 team heading into the 2021 season, even after losing three-straight CFP semifinal appearances to SEC teams.

Why does that matter?

Those ranked directly behind Oklahoma are the two best SEC programs around. ESPN rates Alabama at No. 2 and Georgia at No. 3, with Clemson as the last team in at No. 4.

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach mentions the Sooners’ additions via the transfer portal as a factor. Three of those transfers are from Tennessee.

“The Sooners have offered us a glimpse of what the FBS might look like in an everybody-can-transfer world. Since the end of last season, Riley deftly added six FBS transfers, including three players from Tennessee: running back Eric Gray, offensive tackle Wanya Morris and defensive back Key Lawrence. Each of the former Vols might start for OU this coming season.”

Oklahoma also brought in Penn State quarterback Micah Bowens and Arkansas receiver Mike Woods to pair with star quarterback Spencer Rattler, but let’s be real here, how are the Sooners going to get over the hump of beating an SEC powerhouse?

In those three straight losses to SEC teams, the Sooners gave up, on average, 54 points per game…

It’s going to take a defensive overhaul to try and keep up with the offenses of teams like Georgia and Alabama next season.

Schlabach does note the Dawgs’ high-powered offense.

“For the first time in a while, Georgia’s strength this coming season might be its offense. Quarterback JT Daniels, a onetime transfer from USC, is poised to flourish in his second season in coordinator Todd Monken’s offense. He completed 67% of his passes for 1,231 yards with 10 touchdowns and two picks in the final four games of 2020.”

Of course, these rankings are very early and there is still plenty of time for teams to change the look of the roster through the portal, but to put Oklahoma at the top with nothing to show for it is comical. We’ll see how these ratings last when Georgia takes on Clemson in Charlotte on Sept 4…

Oklahoma leads future offensive rankings according to ESPN

Sooners lead future offensive rankings.

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When it comes to offenses in college football the Oklahoma Sooners and Lincoln Riley rank among the best. Since his arrival in Norman, Riley has put together some of the top offenses in the country. He learned from another former Sooners assistant in Mike Leach during his time at Texas Tech.

Year PPG National Ranking Conference Ranking
2015 43.5 4th 3rd
2016 43.9 3rd 1st
2017 45.1 3rd 1st
2018 48.4 1st 1st
2019 42.1 6th 1st
2020 40.3 6th 1st

Recently ESPN (subscription required) put together their future offensive rankings with the Sooners coming in at No. 1. Their future quarterback ranking comes in at the top and their 2020 offensive rank at No. 3.

OU is absolutely loaded on offense and should remain that way as long as Lincoln Riley stays in Norman. The short-term outlook is stunningly good, and it’s a big reason the Sooners might be a trendy preseason national title pick despite their past CFP struggles. Quarterback Spencer Rattler will lead the offense for at least another year (potentially two) after eclipsing 3,000 pass yards with 28 touchdowns in his first season as the starter.

There’s depth behind him with Caleb Williams, ESPN’s No. 16 overall player in 2021. Top pass-catchers Marvin Mims, Theo Wease and Austin Stogner are back after combining for 1,562 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. All three have multiple years of eligibility left, and Oklahoma adds Mario Williams Jr., ESPN’s top-rated receiver and No. 17 overall player in the 2021 class.

The Sooners have done a great job of loading up on the offensive talent. Riley is continuing to load up and looking at the 2022 recruiting class, that is still the case. In the 2022 recruiting cycle, OU has No. 1 wide receiver Luther Burden as well as No. 3 running back Raleek Brown.

Next, we look at the other Big 12 teams on the list:

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Where ESPN ranks the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2022 recruiting class

ESPN released their updated team recruiting rankings for the 2022 cycle. Where do the Oklahoma Sooners fall this early?

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a hot start in the 2022 recruiting cycle with the additions of Luther Burden, Talyn Shettron, and Jordan Hudson at wide receiver. Their lone defensive commit coming from Lubbock Cooper’s Kobie McKinzie. More recently they added Mater Dei’s Raleek Brown at running back and Aledo tight end, Jason Llewellyn.

According to the 247Sports composite team rankings, this puts OU at No. 7 in the country after finishing 2021 at No. 11 overall. However, other recruiting platforms have different viewpoints based on their own rankings. Rivals see Oklahoma at No. 5 overall and ESPN agrees with their team rankings as well.

According to ESPN (subscription required), the Sooners have a top-five class at this point in the cycle.

No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners

(Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman)

ESPN 300 Commits: 5

Top Offensive Commit: Talyn Shettron (No. 13)

Top Defensive Commit: Kobe McKinzie (No. 81)

Lincoln Riley may need to figure out a way to incorporate a second football into his offensive attack with the depth of playmakers he is amassing. The Sooners signed one of the best wide receiver classes in the 2021 cycle, and several more top offensive weapons are on board for 2022.

The class includes three ESPN Jr. 300 top-10 wide receivers: in-state prospect Shettron, Jordan Hudson out of Texas and Luther Burden, a fast and smooth target out of Illinois. Adding to the offensive firepower is top-three RB Raleek Brown, a sudden and speedy scatback-type who can be dangerous in space.

At this point to see the Sooners in the top five without a quarterback commit in the class or many defenders has to feel like a huge win for Lincoln Riley and company. It remains to be seen as to who the Sooners might add next. The offensive line, quarterback, and defense still have plenty of room to add top prospects.

As it currently sits, Oklahoma will have no shortage of top wide receivers for their quarterbacks to target on the football field. One shouldn’t expect a top quarterback to be targeted in the 2022 class and look at the 2023 class with Los Alamitos’ Malachi Nelson to lead the way.

Two Texas legends appear on ESPN’s top 60 quarterbacks of the 2000s

ESPN recently released their rankings of the top 60 quarterbacks in college football from the 2000s and two former Longhorns were listed.

Over the last century, there have been several unforgettable quarterbacks who had spectacular collegiate careers. Continue reading “Two Texas legends appear on ESPN’s top 60 quarterbacks of the 2000s”

Notre Dame cracks top 5 in ESPN Power Rankings

Buckle up for a really fun fall if these power rankings are accurate in how things play out in 2020, Notre Dame fans…

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We’re two weeks into Notre Dame’s 2020 football season and three weeks into 2020 college football as a hole.  We started it by thinking there would be no Big Ten football, only to find out last week that we would indeed be watching the Big Ten this fall.

In these strange times, how pollsters have gone about ranking teams who are playing and not playing has been interesting while also at times confusing.

That all said, ESPN has released their latest College Football Power Rankings and after a 52-0 destruction of South Florida, they’re thinking highly of Notre Dame, even with Big Ten teams being accounted for.

Here’s what they said about No. 5 Notre Dame:

Nobody can beat up on the Fighting Irish for not racking up enough style points in Week 2. After a so-so performance in its season-opening win over Duke, Notre Dame looked every bit the part of a national title contender on Saturday in a 52-0 dismantling of South Florida, even without multiple defensive starters. One of the most impressive things about the Irish thus far is that they have a wealth of impact players on both sides of the ball. It’s hard not to like the balance that Brian Kelly has created.

In what I think will become one of the story lines of the week as well as the season is how much Notre Dame’s depth has stuck out.  At the top the Irish might not be loaded with future first and second round draft picks like we’ve seen before, but top to bottom the level of talent is just as great and seemingly deeper than at any point since the early 1990’s.

It’s hard for me to put all that stock in beating up an undermanned South Florida squad, but then again for years and years we saw Notre Dame play with it’s food in games like that and struggle mightily against mediocre foes.

As for the rest of the poll – although excited to see Notre Dame ranked in the top five, it’s hard for me to put too much credit into it when the top ranked team in it is yet to play a down of football yet this fall.