The first games of the 2018 college football season kick off 129 days from today. To commemorate, The Open Man begins the countdown with 129 -- in honor of the 129 programs participating in the Football Bowl Subdivision this year -- things we love (and some we hate) about the sport. A motion picture's score…
The start of this college basketball season marked a 10-year anniversary that garnered little, if any fanfare. The 2007-08 campaign was the last in which 2K Studios, makers of the preeminent NBA video game title, produced their outstanding College Hoops 2k series. College basketball as a video game genre lasted another two years, but the…
The 2018 Heisman Trophy winner could emerge from relative obscurity. Such was the case for recent winners Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston, a pair of redshirt freshmen not even projected to start a year out from their inclusion in college football's most exclusive club. Lamar Jackson was a known commodity after the 2015 season, but…
Welcome to The Third Phase! It's all about college football punting and college football punting accessories. Yes, I just did a lame King of the Hill joke. What are you going to do about it? Regardless of what you do, you can view the archives here. The Third Phase Punting Awards Show We did it!…
Who's In? It's the existential question for college football in this era of a Playoff, one the marketing gurus in Stamford have perpetuated from the first game of the 2014 season. The omnipresent question that lingers over the college football season is answered the first Sunday of December. So...who's in the College Football Playoff for…
The latter portion of 2017 Championship Weekend functions as a de facto College Football Playoff quarterfinal -- sort of. Pending the results of Saturday's conference championship games, a team sitting at home -- namely Alabama -- could jump into a national semifinal. It's a weird system we have, as Penn State learned a season ago…
Don't leave us, college football. The world needs you now more than ever. Championship Week, the Army-Navy Game and the bowl season still remain; not to mention the always exciting FCS Playoffs kicking off Saturday. However, this is the last complete college football Saturday of 2017. The 2017 season to date has been one of…
Remember how Saquon Barkley was definitely winning the Heisman? Baker Mayfield moved so far ahead of the Penn State running back, so fast, Barkley's time atop the weekly Heisman forecast feels like a lifetime ago. Things certainly can change dramatically in just a few Saturdays. Tracking outlets' rankings and general voter sentiment these last few…
Like Hank Scorpio on a video chat with the UN, this college football Saturday stands before the Playoff in possession of the Doomsday Device. Last weekend featured an incredible seven matchups between Top 25 teams. The Saturday Six-Pack is once again stocked entirely with showdowns between ranked opponents. Last time, such a slate all but…
For the past five weeks or so -- essentially since Washington State beat USC, TCU topped Oklahoma State and Iowa State stunned Oklahoma -- the the Pac-12 and Big 12 appeared the Power Five conferences most likely headed for College Football Playoff exclusion. And, indeed, the path for a representative from either conference remains treacherous,…
Oh, hello! I assume you're here for another edition of the Third Phase, that punting column you keep hearing about. You want to get in on the fun and I totally understand. Check out my previous posts, if you need to. Let's get things going! The Turning Point Chances are, at some point you tuned…
Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, the early 2000s, Americanized version of Japanese game show Takeshi's Castle, ended each episode with a team of competitors cheering in unison: Don't. Get. Eliminated! Heady advice when applied to pursuit of the College Football Playoff, but for all but four of 130 teams, a giant foam boulder inevitably knocks you…
Welcome, boys and ghouls, and be not afraid of this spooky edition of The Open Man Saturday Six-Pack. If you hear a bump this college football Saturday, it's only the zombies of College Football Playoff hopefuls past lurking through the gridiron graveyard. USC? Done in by a devious leprechaun. Auburn? Cannibalized by another couple of…
To deem Saquon Barkley the 2017 Heisman Trophy winner at this juncture in the season might be jumping the gun, but this week's compilation of data for the Heisman Top 10 finds the Penn State running back is pretty close to locking up the award by Halloween. Saquon Barkley is the first unanimous No. 1…
Heading into the second half of the 2017 college football season, a trio of clear leaders are pacing the Heisman Trophy race. Penn State's Saquon Barkley continues to lead based on the data compiled for The Open Man Heisman Top 10, but Stanford's Bryce Love remains close. Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield is right there in…
