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…
Since his rookie season in 2013, Duron Carter has been one of the best things about the Canadian Football League. An elite talent only in the CFL due to a failure in remaining academically eligible at both Ohio State and Alabama, the son of Cris Carter has dominated opposing secondaries in Canada and showcased his…
Coaches’ teleconferences staged by conferences on a weekly basis offer the media a 10-minute availability for each coach. The participation on these calls has waned with newspapers shrinking staffs, space and coverage. Local beat writers tend to ask their coaches during face-to-face interviews. But often when there’s a Big Story, the conference calls offer a…
Week 1 of the 2017 college football season spread action over five consecutive days, featured the greatest upset in the game's history; the second-biggest comeback ever; and a Monday night finale that came down to a double-overtime two-point conversion attempt. How, exactly, can Week 2 meet that high standard? Well, the answer is rather easily.…
When Ohio State and Oklahoma face off Saturday night at Buckeye Stadium in Columbus it will only be the fourth time these two programs met. In fact, it will only be the second time that these two teams in the Horseshoe down by the "banks of the Olentangy River," as Keith Jackson would put it.…
Despite lingering in the background for much of the offseason, it didn't take long for Louisville quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson to race back to the forefront of national consciousness. Just one week did the trick. In a prime-time opener against Purdue, Lamar Jackson went off for 378 yards passing and two…
Urban Meyer is one of the most accomplished college football coaches currently making bank: Success at Bowling Green. An undefeated record at Utah leading to a rare BCS bowl for a non-automatic qualifying school. Three national championships at two different power-conference schools. But that doesn’t mean Meyer is infallible when he becomes a pulpit thumper…
With No. 25 Tennessee pulling out the 42-41, double-overtime victory against Georgia Tech, the first full weekend of college football came to a close. If you’re like me, you woke up on Saturday for College GameDay on ESPN and watched at least some part of each and every game for the rest of the night.…
College football returned last weekend; officially. Unofficially, the first Thursday night of college football always feels like the introduction of the season. Thursday night is a perfectly poetic time to kickoff a football weekend. Weekends ignited on Thursday nights in my undergraduate days. College Thursdays are the time to take cues from a certain New…
Week 0 provided a sip, a nice sample, of The Open Man Saturday Six-Pack. The postponement of Richmond-Sam Houston State whittled six down to five, making this the first full sixer of the 2017 season; well, sort of. With its move to Waco and a Friday night date on Week 1, Richmond-Sam Houston State rounds…
WWE has a main-event angle and with a top-flight talent in its ranks, just waiting for the opportunity to shine at the top of the card. Say hello to Titus O'Neil and his titular stable, Titus Worldwide. The Titus Brand is indeed going worldwide through pro and college sports. At the most recent episode of…
Each week of the college football season since 2015, I have compiled a Top 10 of Heisman Trophy candidates. For the uninitiated, the Heisman Top 10 isn't my own assessment; rather, I evaluate the rankings of other, reputable sports media, buzz from prominent outlets and chatter among voters. These rankings function as a barometer of…
It is with great regret that I must inform you all that another season of Big Ten (B1G) football is upon us. This is the part where you all run away. For those of you willing to stay, you've been warned. But yes, we have another season of B1G, which is very exciting if you…
At some point during this season, we'll see things like [TEAM HERE] is a legitimate national championship contender. Some of those teams will likely be the usual suspects: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida State; strong 2016 finishers like Penn State and USC; maybe even Michigan. However, that's eight teams. Unless my math is…
Fewer than two months remain until the 2017 college football season kicks off. The Open Man's Preview Listapalooza transitions into a Rankapalooza! Fans and pundits alike often lament the imbalance and other imperfections of nonconference play. Why do some Power Five teams go without scheduling a single Power Five opponent? Why don't the leagues have…
