Feel like Caleb was such a bozo this year we forget how incredible he was last year

Also 1. Burrow from that list and it’s not close

Burrow def #1 by far

Trying my hand here…

1. Burrow
2. Murray
3. Caleb
4. Jackson
5. Mariota
6. Baker
7. Bryce
8. Daniels
9. Henry
10. Smith

At least #1 is easy..

Thought I would look up some stats

Joe ****ing Burrow 5671 yds/60 TD 6 INT 76.3% 115 att/368 rush yds/5 TDs
Murray 4361 yds/42 TD 7 INT 69% 140 att/1001 rush yds/12 TD
Caleb 4537 yds/42 TD 5 INT 66.6% 113 att/380 rush yds/10 TD
Jackson 3543 yds/30 TD 8 INT 56.2% 260 att/1571 rush yds/21 TD
Mariota 4454 yds/42 TD 4 INT 68.3% 135 att/770 rush yds/16 TD
Baker 4627 yds/43 TD 6 INT 70.5%
Bryce 4872 yds/47 TD 7 INT 66.9%
Daniels 3812 yds/40 TD 4 INT 72.2% 135 att/1134 rush yds/10 TD
Henry 395 att/2219 yds/28 TD
Smith 117 rec/1856 rec yard/24 TD

Yeah #1 is easy...

Devonta Smith deserves a lot of bonus points for doing that with Mac Jones

Burrow not even the best Heisman winner from lsu

Burrow / LSU's 2019 season is the most insane season of all time AINEC

They beat the #2, #4, #6, #7, #8, #14, #25 teams

Obviously difficult to compare eras and QB vs. RB Heisman winners like Burrow vs. Barry Sanders or Marcus Allen but there's an absurd gap both resume and individual stats-wise between Burrow and the #2 QB Heisman winner. No matter if you think that's Cam Newton, Tim Tebow or somebody else.

In order, that's:

-The 2023 Heisman trophy winning QB

-FSU's star No. 2 WR who just declared for the draft

-The Tampa Bay's starting RB

-Florida's star No. 1 WR

-One of the better receiving TEs in the country

-A back-up Ohio State RB who just declared for the draft

-A Commanders TE

-A star OL for Michigan

Cam Newton's season is untouchable for a different reason.

Burrow put up preposterous numbers against one of the hardest slates ever seen with tons of talent surrounding him.

Cam Newton won a title through the SEC with basically zero NFL talent on the roster. It'd be like if Jayden Daniels transferred to Vanderbilt and led them to an undefeated season, SEC title and natty.

Burrow's season was insane and we might never see that again, but I'm pretty sure we will NEVER see that Cam Newton season again, especially now that you have to win multiple games in the playoffs

HERM

Drake Maye declares for the draft

Twitter abuzz with talk that #1 2024 QB Dylan Raiola is going to flip from UGA to Nebraska

Buckle up, it's going to be an insane month

Given that these guys are getting paid, should there be more blowback on bowl opt outs?

Sam Hartman opting out for Notre Dame. I get how no one probably cares much and might actually want to see another player for next year, but isn’t the guy making 2M+?

And where’s he going to be drafted anyway?

No, they aren't employees. And NIL doesn't come from the university.

The sport has made the games meaningless, so I don't blame the players for opting out. Especially when they have injury risk, whether that's the draft or recruitment of a guy who has entered the portal.

Day 3, if at all.

As long as none of his contracts have any provision about him playing in a bowl game (or as many games as possible) there's nothing wrong with him skipping that game.

FWIW, I doubt it has anything to do with the draft. The bowl game is on December 29th. Most people prefer not to work between Christmas and New Year's if they don't have to.

focused too much on game winning living room speeches and forgot firm play on the field is what matters

Yes technically the schools have to pretend they are not employees. If I headed a NIL combine I'd screw the players that decided not to play by docking 25% of their pay in our contract as that clearly lowers their chances for raising their profile thus making them more valuable. My hope is that the players find out that despite their whining it is the illusion that they are representing schools not just a second level pro league that leads to the large payouts. Compare what they make compared to lower tier pros in other sports.

These guys are getting paid to compete when it matters. I don't see why Drake, or any other player or even NIL booster, should give a **** about the Duke's Mayo bowl on a random Wednesday night in late December.

I guess I don’t get it, if only winning the National Championship matters why did Drake and others get NIL?

Who decides what matters?

4 WRs from ND already opted out of what passes for an OC.
All the UGA Dawgs opted back into school?

The brave new portal/NIL world means any bowl games outside the playoffs (even the rest of the NY6) are now glorified spring games/scrimmages to catch a glimpse of the future. Which means the days of the Bowl game as the culmination of the season/big send off for seniors are over.

Theses bowls will also somehow manage to become even more irrelevant next season when the 12 team playoff starts.

Why did they mean something before?

What about NIL makes them mean less? If anything as someone else mentioned, their NIL contract might be tied to a bowl game

Why does the Pinstripe Bowl mean less when there’s a 12 team playoff as opposed to a 4 team playoff? A matchup of teams ranked 50-70th in nation seems to matter the same either way

Bowls started to go downhill somewhat once people like McCaffrey opted out and more followed lead and net has been cast wider each year. Doesn’t seem to have anything to do with playoff structure or NIL though.

I still enjoy bowls, perhaps it’s due to it being a relaxing time of year. Spending time with family, doing nothing, and having luxury of watching a meaningless football game as if it matters.

Portal players not in bowls is a huge change.

But still, I’m going to enjoy the bowls like I do every year. The context is now much different, with the old theme of “get a bowl win to help recruiting and build momentum for next year” not really applying anymore.

For me, ND is that playing the Sun Bowl, a perfectly cromulent medium tier bowl. But the outcome is far less important (won’t make or break the season) than it is for the team getting extra practices and younger players showcasing their abilities.

Oh yeah the portal is definitely a huge change

But regarding that Sun Bowl, just get 22 chimpanzees from local zoo and outfit them with ND and OSU uniforms.

I’ll enjoy it all the same

But that is #16 vs #19, I know nothing about Sun Bowl but it seems like it has to be on decent standing to get a top 20 matchup with ND.

The Sun Bowl never made or broke a season. You have a false memory of more than a small number of bowls being more than exhibition games.

I remember early 90s thru BCS era broadcasts of bowl games where the entire TV production of it was just goofing around, despite how close the score was. Interviewing starting seniors on the sideline while plays were running, as the player was done for the day/career.