Tag: max duggan

Michigan vs. TCU: Top NFL draft prospects to watch during the Fiesta Bowl

With the Eagles set to have two first-round picks, we’re previewing the top NFL Draft prospects to watch in the Fiesta Bowl matchup between Michigan and TCU

The Eagles are 13-2 and looking to wrap up the division and home-field advantage in the NFC with a win this weekend over the Saints.

The game has playoff and NFL draft implications, as Philadelphia owns New Orleans’s 2023 first-round pick after a draft night trade in 2022 that landed the Saints Chris Olave and the Birds Jordan Davis.

Even with the NFC playoffs approaching, it’s never too early for a look ahead to April’s draft, and the College Football Playoffs offer the perfect scouting opportunity.

Two New Year’s Eve contests will feature the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes meeting the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl and the No. 3 TCU Horned Frogs battling the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines in the Fiesta Bowl.

With kickoff a little over 24 hours away, here are the top draft prospects to watch when Michigan and TCU meet.

TCU QB Max Duggan to declare for 2023 NFL draft

TCU quarterback Max Duggan will enter the 2023 NFL draft after the College Football Playoff

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One of the most dynamic quarterbacks in college football will be making the jump to the next level after this season.

TCU’s Max Duggan is entering the 2023 NFL draft, making his announcement via social media Sunday evening.

The runner-up for this year’s Heisman Trophy, Duggan helped lead the Horned Frogs to the College Football Playoff with an impressive 2022 campaign.

A versatile prospect with an intriguing skill set, Duggan still has some unfinished business at the college level before he tries to impress NFL scouts throughout the predraft process.

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Michigan defense aware of challenges the TCU offense presents

It will be a huge challenge, but one that #Michigan is up for. #GoBllue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the third-straight game, Michigan football will have its hands full on the defensive side of the ball, as it faces a pass-heavy, high-flying offense.

Known for its offensive attack, TCU is quite balanced, despite running an air raid offense. The Horned Frogs are ranked No. 25 in the country in both the pass and the run, with the 16th-overall offense by yards and sixth in the country in scoring.

After facing off against Ohio State and Purdue, it won’t get any easier for the Michigan defense in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

“They’re versatile. They do a lot of different things,” fifth-year linebacker Michael Barrett said. “They have a quarterback who’s a competitor, a real competitor. He’s always gonna compete, put his team on his back to kind of get them the win. They got a really good receiving corps. They got a quarterback who can get on the ball, a good running back. And they’re just balanced with the pass and a running game. They’re pretty good, really good at both. It’s gonna be a good test for our defense on all levels.”

The biggest challenge for the Wolverines will come in the secondary, especially given how prolific the pass game can be.

TCU averages 273 yards per game through the air, which will be the third-best the maize and blue have seen behind the Buckeyes and Boilermakers. Led by quarterback Max Duggan, who can also run the ball, the Horned Frogs have a signal caller who won’t give up no matter how dire the circumstances, and he earned a trip to New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist as a result.

Sophomore safety Rod Moore says that the back seven for the Michigan defense is certainly on high alert due to his capabilities mixed with his moxie.

“I was watching (the Big 12 Championship game) in my hotel room and I can see that he’s a very hard player, like he (gives) everything he has,” Moore said. “We just have to do the same thing, give him everything that we have. But I was impressed. I didn’t know that he was that good. But watching that game, I was very impressed.”

“Offensively, they’re a good challenge,” Moore also said. “I know they’re an air raid offense but we’ve seen that before. They have multiple weapons, but we’re just gonna have to stop them.”

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Just as much of a challenge is wide receiver Quinten Johnston, who is 40th in the country with 903 yards in 12 games. But even if Michigan has luck in slowing down the prolific pass-catcher, the Horned Frogs have multiple other weapons in the receiving game who can be just as big of threats.

“I’m just seeing that they have weapons on the outside, the inside, and quarterback,” Moore said. “As you can see, he was a Heisman runner-up. Quinten Johnston is a good athlete, a good player. We’ve seen good players and good athletes, we’re just gonna have to stop him.

“But I know that if we have to shut him down, there’s gonna be another one that rises up. So we’re just gonna have to go from stopping him to stopping each and every one of them.”

So, how does Michigan hone in on the breadth of weapons that TCU has? Given that the run game is on equal footing with the pass game, how does the defense prioritize?

Barrett says it’s all about staying true to what the Wolverines have done all season — preparation and anticipation — while playing sound at every level.

“It just makes us focus in on our fundamentals,” Barrett said. “It’s more anticipate than guessing. In a sense, you can’t really kind of guess what they’re doing just based off of alignments and things like that. We’ll just kind of dig deeper into the film and kind of get a deeper look into kind of things that they do and different formations and stuff like that. But that’s kind of the hardest thing, just kind of not trying to guess and just anticipate.”

Michigan and TCU will kick off in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl at 4 p.m. EST on Dec. 31.

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Was Ohio State QB C.J. Stoud slighted by his Heisman vote placement?

Did C.J. deserve to finish third?

First, off I want to make it clear that the voters got the winner correct. USC’s [autotag]Caleb Williams[/autotag] was the best, most exciting player in all of college football this season. No issues with that at all but at first glance, it was where Ohio State’s [autotag]C.J. Stroud[/autotag] finished that made me think.

Which led to me to dive a bit deeper to see if the voters got the positioning of Stroud wrong. The junior finished third, behind Williams and TCU’s [autotag]Max Duggan[/autotag]. Let’s look at the stats and see if the voters got this one correct between Stroud and Duggan.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on Twitter.

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USC and TCU finished 1-2 at the 2022 Heisman ceremony, but their story runs deeper than that

There are several links to make between #USC & #TCU after the 2022 #Heisman ceremony. They go beyond the fact that the schools had the top 2 vote-getters.

USC’s Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy, with TCU quarterback Max Duggan finishing second. There is poetry and symbolism in the fact that USC and TCU produced the top two vote-getters in this particular Heisman competition.

If you look at Heisman Trophy history, and if you look at the men who coached these two terrific players, you’ll notice some connections between USC and TCU. If you stop and realize that USC is playing in the Cotton Bowl this postseason, there are other links to make between the Trojans and the Horned Frogs. Let’s take a look at a story which goes beyond the fact that Caleb and Max finished in the Heisman top two this year:

Caleb Williams Wins Heisman Trophy (and why I voted for him)

Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. Here’s why Pete Fiutak voted for him in what turned out to be a strange season for the award.

Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy. Here’s why Pete Fiutak voted for him in a weird year for the award.

Why My Heisman Vote Went To Caleb Williams

– Contact/Follow @PeteFiutak

The 2022 Heisman Trophy run was weird.

Caleb Williams didn’t emerge until the very end – mostly because no one seemed to watch him until the Notre Dame game – and even with the performances over the final few games his USC team wasn’t able to win the Pac-12 Championship.

Max Duggan didn’t win the Big 12 Championship, CJ Stroud didn’t even get to his title game, and the guy who did get it done – Stetson Bennett – was roasted mercilessly on social media for being one of the four finalists.

And that’s what made this all a little bit off.

Are Williams, Duggan, Stroud, and Bennett the best players in college football? No, but that’s not really how the Heisman voting works.

Heisman Trophy Finish
1. Caleb Williams, USC 2,031 (544 1st)
2. Max Duggan, TCU 1,421 (188)
3. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State 539 (37)
4. Stetson Bennett, Georgia 349 (36)
5. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee 226 (81)
6. Bryce Young, Alabama 141 (34)
7. Blake Corum, Michigan 125 (8)
8. Michael Penix Jr., Washington 114 (9)
9. Bijan Robinson, Texas 75 (4)
10. Drake Maye, North Carolina 42 (3)

Alabama pass rusher Will Anderson and Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter are probably the two best players, and the 2023 NFL Draft might prove that.

Were the four finalists the best quarterbacks in college football? It’s debatable. I think Bryce Young is college football’s best quarterback, and you could name ten others and not necessarily be wrong, but that’s not really how the Heisman voting works.

Were any of the four finalists the nation’s leading passer? No. That was Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., and he put up the best numbers by a mile. But that’s not how the Heisman voting works.

– 2023 Early Heisman Watch List

I wish we could vote for this thing after the bowls and College Football Playoff are over – aka the games that matter most – but we can’t. So to me, the Heisman voting is always about who the signature player was in the regular season, making it a combination of the MVP and MOP.

Who is The Guy who was the regular season?

I’m not going to argue against Stetson Bennett – at least as a finalist.

Yeah, he had a ton of talent around him to work with, but he also became the glue for an unbeaten run for a team that had to do a near-total rebuild of top starters.

Everyone seems to forget just how amazing he was in the first quarter of the win over Oregon. No one remembers how he pulled the Missouri game out of the fire, outplayed – sort of – Hendon Hooker in the big win over Tennessee, and again, won his conference championship.

But no, Stetson Bennett didn’t make my list. You can only pick three players.

Hendon Hooker and Blake Corum didn’t make my list, either, but Hooker was 3B.

It’s brutally unfair – I despise dealing with negatives in a contest like this – but Hooker didn’t pull out the one game the team had to win. It wasn’t his fault Tennessee didn’t beat Georgia, and getting hurt late in the season was an awful break, but in this nitpicky beauty contest that matters.

The same goes for Corum. He was brilliant for the Michigan offense, and it’s not fair that he got hurt, but he wasn’t able to do much in the team’s biggest game of the year against Ohio State and wasn’t in the Big Ten Championship against Iowa.

Like Hooker, CJ Stroud didn’t win his biggest game, but he led the nation in passing efficiency, threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Michigan – the defense wasn’t his fault – and again when we’re splitting hairs, he ended up doing a bit more than the guys who just missed the top three.

Yes, Hooker was amazing against Alabama. Stroud was amazing against Penn State. Ohio State is in the College Football Playoff. Tennessee isn’t. Someone had to be left out.

Stroud was my 3, Duggan was my 2.

Would I have voted for Duggan if he got into the end zone on 4th-and-1 and if TCU won the Big 12 Championship? No, but it might have made the final decision more difficult.

In an MVP way, Duggan’s team to the College Football Playoff and Williams’ isn’t. That might not be fair, but that’s the deal when having to decide between two players with comparable seasons. Even so …

There really wasn’t any choice other than Caleb Williams.

I’m not going to do the “USC might have beaten Utah if Caleb didn’t hurt his hamstring” thing – that’s not fair to the other candidates or the Utes. However, on one leg he threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns in the loss to Utah – his defense and lines did nothing to help him out. Gutting it out like he did sealed the Heisman deal.

The 470 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA were big, the 18-of-22 day with three rushing touchdowns against Notre Dame was the spotlight everyone was looking for, and there was the Oregon State game.

It was a subtle Heisman moment, nothing was working against the Beavers, but he was able to rise up on the road and lead the way on a game-winning drive to save the day.

All of that, and he was the one who put USC into hyperdrive after Lincoln Riley took over.

It was a weird Heisman year. Williams was able to outlast the field.

My all-time Heisman votes …
2021 QB Bryce Young, Alabama
2020 QB Kyle Trask, Florida (DeVonta Smith won)
2019 QB Joe Burrow, LSU
2018 QB Kyler Murray, Oklahoma
2017 QB Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
2016 QB Deshaun Watson, Clemson (Lamar Jackson won)
2015 RB Derrick Henry, Alabama
2014 QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon
2013 QB Jameis Winston, Florida State
2012 LB Manti Te’o, Notre Dame (Johnny Manziel won)
2011 QB Robert Griffin III, Baylor
2010 QB Cam Newton, Auburn
2009 DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (Mark Ingram won)
2008 QB Tim Tebow, Florida (Sam Bradford won)
2007 QB Tim Tebow, Florida
2006 QB Troy Smith, Ohio State
2005 RB Reggie Bush, USC

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Final 2022 Heisman Trophy voting results

Bijan Robinson finished ninth place in the Heisman voting.

The Heisman Trophy was awarded to USC’s Caleb Williams on Saturday night.

The Trojan’s quarterback completed the best season in the country following his offseason transfer from Oklahoma. Williams threw for 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns, along with adding 372 yards and 10 more touchdowns on the ground.

William’s won the award in a landslide over TCU’s Max Duggan and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.

Eight of the last 10 Heisman winners played the quarterback position. Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith in 2020 was the last non-quarterback to take home the award.

Texas star running back Bijan Robinson finished No. 9 in the Heisman voting after an excellent junior season in Austin. Robinson totaled over 1,800 yards and 20 touchdowns on the season. He is the first Longhorn since D’Onta Foreman 2016 to finish inside the top 10 of the Heisman vote-getters.

The college football season provided many exceptional performances all over the nation. Here is an entire look at the 2022 Heisman Trophy results.

Former Sooners QB Caleb Williams wins Heisman Trophy

Former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

In a decision from the voters that wasn’t very surprising, Caleb Williams has been awarded the 2022 Heisman Trophy. With almost 50 total touchdowns and over 4000 passing yards, the former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback is the third player coached by Lincoln Riley to win the prestigous award.

Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud was the preseason favorite, but as Williams rattled off more and more dominating performances, he pulled away as the obvious recipient. Stroud ended up finishing third in the final vote, with TCU QB Max Duggan taking second. Georgia QB Stetson Bennett finished fourth.

Whether there should’ve been players that don’t play QB invited to New York is a discussion for another day. Until then, congratulations are in order.

Congratulations to Caleb Williams and USC. The voters made the right decision. Williams was the best player in college football this season and arguably the most important position.

It’s ok to say that.

As for Lincoln Riley, this is what he does. Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and now Caleb Williams have all won the Heisman trophy on his watch. Williams will probably be the first player selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams took a risk when he chose to leave OU, and that risk paid off.

Can Dillon Gabriel put himself into contention for the award in 2023? Is the next Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner on his way to Norman? It’s going to be fun to find out.

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Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.

USC quarterback Caleb Williams wins the Heisman Trophy

USC quarterback Caleb Williams wins the 2022 Heisman Trophy

USC quarterback Caleb Williams was announced as the Heisman Trophy winner on Saturday in New York City.

The sophomore joins fellow Trojans Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen, Carson Palmer, and Matt Leinart as Heisman winners from USC.

Reggie Bush also won the Heisman at USC, in 2005, but had his award stripped.

The four finalists in 2022 were Williams, Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, and TCU’s Max Duggan.

The 2022 resumes for each finalist:

  • Williams threw for 4,075 yards, 37 touchdowns, and only four interceptions, as well as rushing for 372 yards and 10 TDs. (rushing stats for college QBs are misleading since the NCAA subtracts sack yards for some reason from this category)

  • Stroud threw for 3,340 yards, 37 TDs, and six interceptions.

  • Duggan threw for 3,321 yards, 30 TDs, and only four INTs, and also rushed for 404 yards and six TDs.

  • Bennett has 3,425 passing yards, 20 TDs, and six INTs; he ran for seven TDs.

Finishing 5th through 10th were Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, Alabama QB Bryce Young (the 2021 Heisman winner), Michigan RB Blake Corum, Washington QB Michael Penix, Texas RB Bijan Robinson, and North Carolina QB Drake Maye.

Williams joins Gino Torretta, Miami (1992) as a  Heisman winner to wear jersey No. 13.

He began his college career at the University of Oklahoma and transferred to USC after coach Lincoln Riley moved from the Sooners to the Trojans.

The case for each 2022 Heisman Trophy finalist

Here’s the best argument for all four players to win the award.

With championship weekend in the rear-view, it’s time for one of college football’s time-honored traditions: Being upset with at least one of the finalists chosen to appear in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.

Though ostensibly an award for the most valuable player in the country, in practice, that generally translates to “the quarterback (or, sometimes, running back) with the best numbers.” No defensive player has won the award since Charles Woodson in 1997, and in 2020, DeVonta Smith became the first receiver to win since Desmond Howard in 1991.

This year reflects the Trophy’s perceived bias more than most, as all four of the finalists — USC’s Caleb Williams, TCU’s Max Duggan, Georgia’s Stetson Bennett and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud — are signal-callers.

This year was certainly not free from controversy, but all four of these finalists have an argument for being there — yes, even Bennett. With that in mind, I’m going to briefly put on my PR hat here and make the best possible case each has to win this year’s award.