The Watch List: Week 13
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Welcome to The Watch List, a resource to help RSO owners identify the storylines, players and matchups from the college game that deserve your attention. To view my weekly picks, follow me on Twitter @robertfcowper. Check back throughout the season as The Watch List will continue to update you on who is fantasy relevant and worth your draft capital next year.
Note: the rankings referenced below refer to the Week 13 AP poll. CFP rankings were not yet available at the time of writing.
Storylines to Watch
- Heisman Update: Despite some new “character concerns” about Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield, he’s still my Heisman favorite. Mayfield threw for 257 yards and 3 TDs against Kansas – solid but not standout. What did standout was Mayfield grabbing his crotch and cursing at Kansas players. The school has already announced that he will not start against West Virginia but whether that means he misses one play, one drive or one quarter we don’t know. Chances are that however long the discipline lasts it won’t impact his Heisman hopes. I’ve slightly wavered recently about who the #2 on the ballot should be between Saquon Barkley or Bryce Love. This week clinched it for me. Love went for 101 yards and a score against Cal but left early in the 4th quarter, still hampered by an ankle injury which has impacted him in multiple games. Meanwhile, Barkley racked up 224 total yards and scored three rushing touchdowns. I don’t really see a clear-cut defensive player who might land on the ballot and earn a trip to New York for the ceremony. Preseason chalk favorites like Florida State S Derwin James or Alabama CB Minkah Fitzpatrick might get the nod but I would bet against them and take the field. Realistically, a dark horse defensive hopeful needs to come from a Power 5 school and have some big games in conference. I would look at North Carolina State DE Bradley Chubb as the top option. Chubb has 66 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 10 sacks. Most of his sacks (8.5) came in conference games (I’m including the game against Notre Dame since they are effectively ACC football members); he had three 2+ sack games against Florida State, Syracuse and Boston College. A darker-horse option might be Iowa CB Joshua Jackson. Jackson has 43 tackles, 7 INTs and 17 passes defended. The biggest reason Jackson could get a visit to NYC? His performance in two nationally televised games versus Top 10 teams (Ohio State and Wisconsin). In those two games, Jackson totaled 5 INTs and returned two for TDs against Wisconsin. As much as I’d love for my sleeper defensive Heisman pick, Ball State DE Anthony Winbush, to get a vote it’s much more likely to go to a player from a Power 5 team who showed out when voters were watching.
- Playoff Picture: As of this writing on Monday evening, I do not expect the CFP committee to make any changes to the Top 4. I think Alabama, Clemson, Miami and Oklahoma will still be there but I would not be surprised if Clemson and Miami flip spots. Proponents of an 8- or 16-team playoff format should really pay attention to the schedule this week and next. 9 of the Top 10 in the current AP poll will play another Top 10 team over the next two weeks. That makes all of those games playoff play-in games essentially. If Auburn loses to Alabama – they’re out. If Wisconsin loses to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship – they’re out. And so on. I’m not even sure that undefeated Alabama or Miami can get by with a loss and still stay in the Top 4. The biggest knock on both teams this season has been their strength of schedule and a loss, albeit against another Top 10 team, would bump them out. My current prediction is: Alabama (over Auburn and Georgia), Clemson (over Miami), Wisconsin (over Ohio State) and Oklahoma (over TCU). I think Wisconsin lands ahead of Oklahoma because Wisconsin’s win over Ohio State should rate better than Oklahoma’s against TCU.
- Coaching Carousel: There’s a phrase used in the NFL to describe the day after the season ends when most coaches are fired: Black Monday. The FBS is coming up on it’s own “Black Sunday” in less than a week so I thought it was a good time to check in on the coaching carousel. Rather than spotlighting players this week, we are going to briefly examine a number of coaches who are under the microscope. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to follow the rumors but two useful pages I came across are here and here. Why should you care? Aside from the ridiculousness of the will-he-won’t-he, the impending coaching changes will greatly impact the draft stock of certain players. Some key draft prospects could decide to declare early or stay for an extra season depending on what happens with their head coach; some players, typically underclassmen, could decide to transfer and sit out a season; coaching changes could also be a factor with graduate transfers where the player doesn’t have to sit out and can pick their landing spot like an NFL free agent.
Coaches to Watch
- Chip Kelly, ESPN “Analyst”: Kelly is probably the sexiest name that’s been bandied about because of his immense success at Oregon (his failures in the NFL notwithstanding). I have heard Kelly connected to both the Florida job and the UCLA job. I’d guess that Kelly would lean towards UCLA given his PAC-12 experience but that’s just a gut call. Kelly belongs in the college game so I’ll be happy to see him back. Wouldn’t it be fun if he signs with UCLA and convinces Josh Rosen to come back for another season? Hmm. Is a return to Oregon completely out of the question? Double hmm.
- Jon Gruden, ESPN Analyst: Gruden’s name has come up with Florida and also Tennessee. One of the reasons I heard that he would consider Tennessee is that his wife was a cheerleader there. The real connection is that Gruden was a graduate assistant at Tennessee in 1986. Yeah, I’m still not buying it. I will continue to believe that Gruden stays in the booth until proven otherwise. He has passed up better jobs than either Florida or Tennessee in both college and the NFL. Also, don’t forget that he’s never been a head coach at the college level so why start now?
- Scott Frost, UCF Coach: Frost is a Nebraska alum so the connect-the-dots analysis has him going there whenever the Huskers fire coach Mike Riley. Nebraska does play in the weaker Big Ten West but I don’t see them unseating Wisconsin anytime soon even with Frost. In my opinion, his best shot at playing in New Year’s Six bowls is by staying at UCF for another season or two. By then he might get a shot at a true A+ job. Frost to Oregon instead of Nebraska isn’t that far off either, he worked there under Chip Kelly and Mark Helfrich from 2009-2015.
- Willie Taggart, Oregon Coach: Speaking of Oregon, the SB Nation article I linked to above has multiple mentions of Willie Taggart being considered for other positions. Why? Taggart is just 6-5 so far in his first season with Oregon. I like his potential as he salvaged two programs in Western Kentucky and USF but it’s a bit premature to jump to another premier job for Taggart. If he does move on (or maybe is fired, who knows) I’ll bet rumors about Oregon will swirl faster than Florida and Tennessee. It’s fun to imagine Chip Kelly returning to Eugene or an offensive mind like Scott Frost bringing some excitement back to the Ducks. If Oregon was guaranteed to get either Kelly or Frost, I think they would part ways with the underwhelming Taggart in a blink.
- Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Coach: The Seminoles are having a bad season for sure but is it bad enough for Jimbo to jump ship? I don’t think so. He’ll have Deondre Francois back next year and has a great young running back in Cam Akers. He’ll lose some NFL talent like WR Auden Tate and S Derwin James but the cupboard is perpetually full in Tallahassee. If Jimbo leaves for Texas A&M as was speculated last week, I think it would be a big mistake. I also heard that Auburn could be a possibility for Jimbo if that job opened up. I don’t see that one either. Moving into a division with Nick Saban is a good way to get yourself fired in three years.
Games to Watch
- #22 USF at #15 UCF, Friday 3:30pm on ABC: The Friday after Thanksgiving usually gives us a few good college football games but this year is a pretty poor slate despite featuring #3 Miami and #12 TCU. The game with the biggest possibility to create bowl chaos is UCF’s matchup against USF. If UCF wins, they likely guarantee themselves a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl as I don’t think Memphis would overtake them even with the head-to-head championship win (don’t forget UCF already beat them 40-13 this season so the series would be tied at 1-1). If USF wins, they put themselves back in the AAC conversation.
- #9 Ohio State at #24 Michigan, Saturday 12:00pm on FOX: Simply, “The Game.” Michigan is adding injury to insult now that third string QB Brandon Peters is hurt along with recently banged up RBs Karan Higdon and Ty Isaac. John O’Korn will likely be under center and I have zero confidence in him as a Michigan fan. Ohio State’s QB JT Barrett has struggled in November and needs to finish his career with three strong games to get NFL draft consideration. I was encouraged to see that RB Mike Weber was back in the fold the last two weeks (162-2 and 108-2). I was high on him to start the season but have tempered expectations after freshman JK Dobbins took over the lead role. It’s good to see Weber dominate again, even if in a blowout. It goes without saying but this one means a lot this season as Ohio State must have it to stay in consideration for the playoff.
- #1 Alabama at #6 Auburn, Saturday 3:30pm on CBS: Stop me if you’ve heard this before… the Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn will be the best matchup of the weekend. I did not realize just how high powered the Auburn offense was until I started to research. They have scored 40+ points in nine of twelve games and in four straight. They are led by RB Kerryon Johnson (1,172 yards, 16 TDs) but keep an eye on sophomore Kam Martin. Martin had 83 yards and a score last week against UL-Monroe and is getting more touches with Kamryn Pettway injured. QB Jarrett Stidham continues to be efficient (68.7% completion percentage) and careful with the ball (just 4 INTs). Alabama’s rush-heavy offense is still paced by the familiar names of Damien Harris, Bo Scarborough, Najee Harris and QB Jalen Hurts but there is one other player who will factor in: sophomore Josh Jacobs. Jacobs has 50+ total yards in five of the last six games and is a factor in the passing game. In those five games, Jacobs has two receptions in each game and is averaging 15.9 yards per catch with two touchdowns. If you haven’t watched much of the Alabama’s defense this season, now is your chance against a good Auburn offense. CB/S Minkah Fitzpatrick says he’s 100% healthy now and will be a Top 5 draft pick come April. S Ronnie Harrison is also looking at a first round draft grade. If you play in an IDP league, check these two out now so you can be ahead of your opponents.
- #14 Washington State at #18 Washington, Saturday 8:00pm on FOX: If the Cougars can win The Apple Cup they will earn the PAC-12 North’s championship berth against USC. Washington is out of contention; if Washington wins, it means that Stanford gets the spot (regardless of the outcome of their game against Notre Dame). I don’t have a dog in the fight so I’m just hoping for a good game and some good performances from the NFL prospects on the field (i.e. Washington State QB Luke Falk and Washington WR Dante Pettis). The Stanford vs Notre Dame game may actually be a better game to watch but since Stanford cannot control their own destiny, this is the one to tune into at 8:00pm.
Note: When watching film for a player in the offseason, I typically pick two games at random to watch. If game film is not available I will search for highlight reels, but keep in mind these are the best plays that player had all season so they really need to jump off the screen. I do not necessarily want to watch games where they did very well or very poorly as that may not be a great illustration of their true ability. If possible, when comparing players at the same position I also like to watch film against common opponents. Full disclosure, I am not watching film of every single game any player plays, instead I am looking for a representative sample. When researching college players I use a number of resources, I would recommend bookmarking the below sites…
- Stats: espn.com, sports-reference.com, cfbstats.com, herosports.com, fcs.football, foxsports.com
- Film: draftbreakdown.com, youtube.com (but be wary of highlight only reels)
- Draft info and mocks: draftcountdown.com, nfldraftscout.com, walterfootball.com, mattwaldmanrsp.com, draftek.com
- Draft history: drafthistory.com
- Combine info: pro-football-reference.com, espn.com, nflcombineresults.com
- Season preview magazines: Phil Steele, Lindy’s, Street and Smith’s
- Podcasts: ESPN’s First Draft, Strong as Steele with Phil Steele, The Audible by Football Guys (specifically episodes w/ Matt Waldman), UTH Dynasty
Robert F. Cowper is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. Robert works as a recreation professional, specializing in youth sports, when he isn’t acting as commissioner for his many fantasy sports leagues.
