Tag: Kedon Solvis

Happy Festivus: Airing of Notre Dame Grievances!

I find tinsel distracting.

Happy Festivus!

For those who are fans of Seinfeld I don’t need to say anything more but for those who aren’t, and who are unaware of Festivus, here’s a quick summary:

Celebrated annually on December 23 as an alternative to the the pressures and commercialism of Christmas.

Traditions for this holiday include Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Fesitvus pole, the “Feats of Strength”, and “Airing of Grievances”.

Since an unadorned pole would be hard to write about and wrestling someone can be hard to pull off through written word, let’s instead focus on the Airing of Grievances when it comes to Notre Dame football.

In a year that has seen some incredible highs, I have no doubt we all have some things we feel the need to get some things off our chests.  I’ll begin with a few of mine and you can share yours on any social media platform, too.

Kedon Slovis chooses Pitt over Notre Dame

Did you agree with targeting him?

Former USC starting quarterback Kedon Slovis recently entered the transfer portal and Notre Dame was among the first teams to reach out.  However, the junior will instead be playing the remainder of his college football at Pitt, as he announced the decision Tuesday in the Players’ Tribune.

Slovis stated:

USC will always be a special place to me. But now it’s time for me to start a new chapter. For my next two years of eligibility, I’ll be playing quarterback at the University of Pittsburgh.

To everyone at USC including my coaches, teammates and the entire staff: Thank you for everything. I’m glad I was a Trojan. I’ll always be one.

And to everyone at Pitt: I’m feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be a Panther — and I can’t wait to prove myself again on this stage.

Let’s go win some football games.

-Kedon Slovis

Slovis went 51/72 passing for 554 yards for two touchdowns and one interception in two career starts as USC’s quarterback against Notre Dame.

Notre Dame won both those games by a combined 61-43.

Notre Dame and Pitt have met 71 times all-time but are not scheduled to meet in 2022.  Slovis could possibly set what we assume would be a record though as he’ll potentially have a chance to lose his third game as a starting quarterback in Notre Dame Stadium as Pitt makes the trip to South Bend in 2023.

Related:

Best images from Notre Dame’s 2021 win over USC

Best images from Notre Dame’s 2019 win over USC

Notre Dame earns fourth-straight win over USC: Five Takeaways

What is your biggest takeaway from Saturday night’s win over USC?

Notre Dame and USC rekindled their relationship Saturday night as the teams met in South Bend after having to skip the annual series last fall due to the pandemic.

Notre Dame drove the length of the field on their opening drive before missing a field goal, forced a three-and-out of USC, and then drove down the field for a score.

The Irish were in control despite letting things get a bit more interesting than they’d have liked in the fourth quarter.  Here are my five instant takeaways from the — win that moves Notre Dame to 6-1.

An issue with the PFF Heisman Ranking List

PFF does great work breaking down both the college and pro game of football but I had an issue with their recent Heisman rankings.

I like Pro Football Focus, I really do.

They give an insight into both the college and professional games and add context to plays and games instead of just looking at a box score.  For the most part reading their work makes those who do more informed football fans.
But.
Remember what I said about buts a long time ago.  There is always a but (at least after an incredibly complimentary introduction).
PFF released their Heisman Rankings through week four of college football today and I’ve got a problem with it.  If you want to, you can read the piece here first and try and guess what my issue is.
In the top ten they feature three players who are yet to play a snap in 2020.
It’s great that Justin Fields was the second best player in college football in 2019.  He was the reason I thought Ohio State would beat Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl and I’d have been right had it not been for an awful call by the officials.

But Justin Fields has done literally nothing to win a Heisman Trophy in 2020 to date.  His best work, and it was plenty admirable, was pushing for the Big Ten to re-examine their decision to cancel the season.  Them putting Fields at two is solely reputation based, something PFF claims they don’t do.

The same goes for Rondale Moore who I just called my favorite player to watch in all of college football.  He’s exciting, he’s great and he’s as fun as any player across the country.
He also hasn’t stepped foot in a game yet this fall and is living off a reputation, not actual production in these rankings.

And finally, USC quarterback Kedon Solvis falls victim to the same.  A rising star no doubt but again, they’re sourcing his current candidacy off of what he did last year and projects to do this year, not anything he’s actually done.

If you’re going to be the place that looks at advanced  stats and does film break-down to give a better understanding to players and teams than go ahead and please be it.

Like I said above, PFF doing what they do makes us better and smarter football fans.

But then don’t come out with a list and base a 2020 award solely on production in 2019 when you’re four weeks into a year.
Also – why not use the opportunity to perhaps push for star defensive players to get a chance at the Heisman?  You mean to tell me the top ten best players in the game, what the Heisman Trophy awards annually, are all on offense?
Use your tremendous platform to inform, please!  You’re great when you choose to do that!
Oh, and go re-watch the Oklahoma game and please tell me how Spencer Rattler is still in your top four.

Twitter reacts to Georgia landing USC transfer QB JT Daniels

See Twitter reactions to USC QB JT Daniels transferring to the Georgia football program.

It’s official. USC transfer quarterback JT Daniels is a Georgia Bulldog per his Twitter account. The former 5-star out of Santa Ana, California was the No. 6 prospect in the 2018 recruiting class and the No. 3 rated quarterback behind Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields.

[lawrence-related id=30526]

As a freshman, Daniels threw for 2,672 yards with 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He entered the transfer portal in mid-April after his sophomore season was derailed by a knee injury. USC’s Kedon Slovis stepped in while Daniels was down and played well for the Trojans, making the transfer portal one of the only options for Daniels – reminiscent of the Eason/Fromm situation…

Georgia will have a lot of talent in its quarterback room this year.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the news:

 

[vertical-gallery id=28511]

Ian Book Gets Very High Ranking on Top 25 Quarterback List

Notre Dame got good news when Ian Book decided to return for another season, but did they get another year of a top-five college quarterback

There is no question that the importance of having a very good, if not great quarterback in college football has only grown in recent years.  Look at the likes of Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Tua Tagovailoa and DeShaun Watson who have won the last four national championships.

There is also no question in regards to the significance of Ian Book choosing to return to Notre Dame for his final year of eligibility in 2020 as the Irish return a two-year starter to lead them at quarterback as they hope to return to a second College Football Playoff appearance in three seasons.

Bill Bender of The Sporting News released his top 25 college quarterback rankings ahead of the 2020 season today and Book checks in with a very generous ranking of fifth overall.

Bender says of Book:

Book opted to return for his senior season, and he will add to his total of 57 career touchdowns with the Irish. Book is 20-3 as a starter, a record that is underappreciated given the pressure of playing that position at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly.

Only Trevor Lawrence (Clemson), Justin Fields (Ohio State), Sam Howell (North Carolina) and Sam Ehlinger (Texas) rank above Book while last year’s freshman sensation at USC, Kedon Solvis, checks in sixth.

I like Book and Notre Dame is fortunate to have him back for a fifth season.  That said, I’m not sold on him being the fifth-best quarterback in college football right now.  The young man competes each week which is the best compliment you can give a player but still has a good amount of issues with pre-snap reads (see Michigan game), being too quick to tuck and run and overall arm strength, although I do think that particular trait gets over-analyzed too often.

If Book can improve even slightly in all three of those I think you’re looking at someone who is close to that top five, but I wouldn’t have him there just yet.

And if he does perform as a top five quarterback this season, chances are great that you’re looking at an 11-plus win team this regular season.

If he doesn’t?

You’re still looking at a team that could likely muster up nine or 10 regular season wins but one that still has an obvious gap at the quarterback position between themselves and the truly elite programs.