Tag: Matt Leinart

Urban Meyer and Fox Big Noon Kickoff crew picks winner of Ohio State vs. Penn State

Who did each member of the Fox Big Noon Kickoff crew pick to win between Ohio State and Penn State? #GoBucks

It’s game day for the Ohio State football team, but not just any game day. Ohio State is hosting a top ten Penn State squad that could be its biggest challenge of the season to date (no offense Notre Dame).

You know it’s a big one when the two major pregame shows originate from the banks of the Olentangy, and that’s exactly what we have Saturday with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and ESPN’s College GameDay in the shadow of Ohio Stadium

The ESPN crew already made their picks, and shortly thereafter, Urban Meyer and and the rest of the crew including Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, and Mark Ingram all made their predictions and had differing opinions.

Here’s what they all said.

Matt Leinart has an interesting Heisman Trophy pick

Smart man! #GoBlue

Some two years back, 247Sports called Michigan football “a dark-horse College Football Playoff” candidate. We shared that article and were lambasted by rivals of the Wolverines.

But our ears perk up whenever we hear the term dark horse and something prestigious when it comes to any high postseason calling as result of 247Sports’ summer 2021 opinion article becoming prophetic.

Now Matt Leinart knows a little something about what it takes to win the Heisman Trophy. He won it in 2004 as the quarterback of USC. Reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams was the odds-on favorite this year until he imploded in Week 7 at Notre Dame. At the moment, Dillon Gabriel at Oklahoma is considered the favorite. But Michigan football QB J.J. McCarthy is No. 2 according to BetMGM.

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So when Leinart suggested on Sunday who his Heisman dark horse is, it feels less of a dark horse and perhaps riding one of the leading candidates midseason.

McCarthy’s issue in potentially winning the Heisman is his overall lack of playing time this year. Having played in only a sliver of one fourth quarter through seven games, McCarthy’s stats aren’t as eye-popping as those who play full games. Still, he leads the country in QBR, is second in completion percentage and passer rating and has made eye-popping plays though he may not have insane stats.

But, if McCarthy has big performances in the final three weeks of the season and in a potential Big Ten Championship game, he certainly could be more than just in the conversation.

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. USC

See who thinks the Irish have a chance.

Notre Dame really needs to find a way to beat USC. The national title hopes are gone, but this could be key in determining the direction of the program. Win, and everything will seem fine, at least for one night. Lose, and even more questions will be raised.

Here are the prognostications from some college football experts:

Fox’s Big Noon Saturday trolled College GameDay by flying Washington State flags on set

So, the Washington State controversy is still a thing for some reason.

The ongoing Washington State drama, also known as the most pointless controversy of the college football season in some corners, took another turn Saturday morning on Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff.

After Lee Corso’s misinterpreted comment sparked a misinformed comment from Wazzu coach Jake Dickert — and was sorted out like normal adults would in a misunderstanding — ESPN’s Pat McAfee and Desmond Howard tried to keep the mess going last week for some reason.

Well, now GameDay’s rival pregame show is jumping into the ring. Matt Leinart led a pro-Washington State flag-waving celebration on air this week on Big Noon Kickoff because, honestly, there just isn’t a lot going on this week besides the Red River Showdown, and you’ve got to fill the air somehow.

Seeing these grown men flying flags to troll another college football pregame show is just the “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” scene from Mary Poppins, only dumber.

Look, our current sports media landscape rewards the more salacious stuff like this as it spreads out over multiple weeks.

Everyone is always mad about everything, and now, Washington State has become the fixation of college football coverage for a controversy that apparently got resolved last month. In a few weeks, this will be forgotten because the bits will wither on the grapevine, like all stupid controversies in all sports do.

It’ll turn into something else dumb, like someone doing the horns down at an actual longhorn this week and getting chased around while McAfee does push-ups or something. Go Cougars; eat at Arby’s.

Cole Leinart, the son of Heisman winner Matt Leinart, to leave Mater Dei

Cole Leinart is set to leave Mater Dei.

Cole Leinart is headed out from Mater Dei, as the son of former Heisman winner Matt Leinart has undertaken a rare mid-season transfer.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, Leinart is headed to Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, California). The class of 2026 quarterback has seen limited action so far this season while at Mater Dei (Santa Ana, California).

Mater Dei is the top team in the USA TODAY HSS Super 25.

In two games this season, Leinart was 2-of-3 for 10 yards and a touchdown. In 2022 as a freshman, he saw limited action, appearing in seven games. Newport is currently 2-3 on the season.

Two of their three losses this year have been by a combined four points.

The reason for the transfer, according to Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, could well be because of a potential incoming transfer quarterback for Mater Dei next season that could make for a very crowded quarterback room.

Julian Lewis, a USC commit from Georgia, could be headed to Mater Dei next year according to Sondheimer. Lewis is a four-star quarterback.

Leinart currently measures in at 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds and he holds offers from Arizona, Colorado, Pittsburgh and Utah among others.

His father, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2004 while at USC and played seven years in the NFL, was a first-round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in the 2006 NFL draft.

He currently works as an analyst for FoxSports.

 

 

Matt Leinart picks Caleb Williams as his 2023 Heisman frontrunner

We will see if Caleb Williams can make a very special and rare piece of college football history in 2023.

Matt Leinart is sold on Caleb Williams as a quarterback and a football player. One great USC quarterback — someone who won the Heisman Trophy — couldn’t say enough good things about the Trojans’ most recent Heisman winner.

(h/t USA TODAY)

“He’s my Heisman frontrunner, and I think he should be everybody’s Heisman frontrunner. I wish people could forget about the year before and focus on a brand-new season,” Leinart said. “He’s phenomenal … He’s going to get this team to a College Football Playoff.”

“I think we all know they just need to be a little bit better to make that run … I would say preseason he should be the Heisman Trophy favorite.”

Now we get to find out if Caleb Williams can live up to the hype, the pressure, the expectations, and the scrutiny being placed upon his shoulders this season. It is no ordinary situation … and Caleb Williams is no ordinary football player.

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Check out our Pac-12 football predictions roundtable for the 2023 season.

Matt Leinart speaks out about Reggie Bush getting his Heisman Trophy back

One USC Heisman winner wants his teammate’s Heisman to be returned.

Matt Leinart won the 2004 Heisman Trophy at USC, one year before Reggie Bush won the award in 2005. Leinart and Bush are both USC legends, part of one of the great teams (2004) and great dynastic runs in school history. They helped USC win 34 straight games and come within an eyelash of winning three straight national championships.

Leinart wants Reggie Bush to have his 2005 Heisman rightfully returned:

(h/t Sports Seriously of USA TODAY)

“We gotta get that Heisman back,” Leinart said. “No one will ever say that Reggie Bush wasn’t the best player in college football that year. No One will ever take away our national championship, even though it’s an asterisk in the book…I always say one of the top two or three college football players of all time…I think we all know. That should be given back to him, and I’m certain at some point it will and when it does come it will be a good day.”

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Check out our Pac-12 football predictions roundtable for the 2023 season.

Matt Leinart evaluates Deion Sanders before Colorado season debut

Matt Leinart thinks highly of Coach Prime. @BuffaloesWire hopes Leinart is accurate in his evaluation of Deion Sanders.

Deion Sanders begins his Power Five conference (and FBS) head coaching career this weekend when the Colorado Buffaloes face last season’s national runner-up, the TCU Horned Frogs.

USC legend Matt Leinart offered some comments on Coach Prime before Colorado begins its much-anticipated season.

Here’s Leinart on Deion:

(h/t Sports Seriously of USA TODAY)

“He is who he is. He’s the best. He’s got a big personality. Every time he speaks, you’re listening… He is a presence. It will be interesting to see if he can have success like at Jackson State… There’s a lot of really good football teams in this conference (Pac-12). He’s kind of cleaned house over there and has a new roster of kids… He’s a great guy. I think he’s going to get the most out of his kids. He’s a great teacher of life… Deion is a presence.”

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Be sure to follow our friends at Buffaloes Wire for complete Colorado — and Deion Sanders — coverage.

Pac-12 goodbye tour: Remembering USC football’s 2004 unbeaten season

2004 remains USC’s last unbeaten football season, and its only unbeaten season since 1979.

As the final year of Pac-12 football begins this Saturday with USC’s home opener, we have been remembering USC’s unbeaten seasons. It’s part of our Pac-12 goodbye tour. USC’s first unbeaten season was back in 1928. Someone who is 105 years old might remember that season, but that’s not a large percentage of our readership.

A very large percentage of our readers will be familiar with this next USC football unbeaten season. It’s the last one forged by the Trojans, their 2004 march to the BCS national championship under Pete Carroll, with Matt Leinart winning the Heisman Trophy. USC was at the very height of its powers, in the midst of a 34-game winning streak which put the rest of college football at the Trojans’ feet. USC gobbled up every award in sight. The celebrities came to the Coliseum and made USC the destination event in Los Angeles sports in the fall. The Lakers had April through June, but from September through November in those days, it was all Trojans. The Dodgers weren’t relevant or particularly good back then. USC was the October showcase in Los Angeles sports.

Let’s relive the 2004 USC football season:

All-time high school QB rankings: Western region

To begin, we will rank the five best QBs to come out of the Western region.

Capping off USA TODAY High School Sports’ look at some of the greatest quarterbacks in high school football history, we’re ranking the five best QBs to come out of the Western region of the United States.

These QBs played for schools from the following states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. All high school stats are courtesy of Max Preps.

An arguable note: seven-time Super Bowl champion and the sport’s all-time greatest competitor Tom Brady played for Junipero Serra (Calif.) but is excluded because he didn’t truly become Tom Brady until he was already in the NFL – and these rankings are all about how the players performed in high school.

More All-time HS QB rankings:

East region

Southeast region

Midwest region

Southwest region