College Football Week 15

Well, the Hawkeyes couldn't quite pull it off in Indianapolis, but they gained a lot of respect nationally for their close loss. Most people gave Iowa no chance to beat Michigan State, but they were within 30 seconds of pulling it off. What an amazing game, it felt like the Super Bowl for me. I've been in Iowa fan for 30 years and no game has ever felt like this one. It was amazing to see the Iowa fans in the stands, way more than Michigan State. The game was a low scoring slugfest, the teams traded field goals heading into the 4th quarter when C.J. Beathard hit Tevaun Smith for a huge 85 yard pass, the game's first touchdown. Iowa led 13-9 with about nine minutes left before Michigan State scored with 27 seconds left on the clock. The Hawkeyes magic ran out. It was a tough heart-breaking loss, but even in defeat I couldn't have been more proud to be a Hawkeye fan. The way they went toe-to-toe with a team they had no chance at beating.

The Hawkeyes were selected to play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, as the playoff committee ranked them ahead of Ohio State. It makes me wonder, if Clemson would have lost to North Carolina, would they have selected Iowa as the number four team? That doesn't matter though, the Rose Bowl is a huge accomplishment and one of the most exciting games for the Hawks. One of my first memories of watching Iowa football was in 1985, I was just five-years-old, but I remember Chuck Long with a rose sticker on his cheek. I also remember a record that we had, there was a song about the Hawkeyes. Tyler Luebke, a former Iowa player, actually posted the song on twitter the other day. It was crazy to hear that again, brought back a lot of memories of watching the Hawkeyes when I was younger.

It was a great Saturday for football. I was so excited for the Iowa game that I didn't watch much of any of the other games. There are some great bowl match ups set up, too. I can't wait for bowl season to start! I'll put out my predictions soon. I usually end up doing them too early before players get suspended or injured and miss the game, but I'll still do predictions soon. I think I'm going to try to make it to the New Mexico Bowl and support the Lobos! They are playing against Arizona. The last time New Mexico made a bowl game was 2007, and I got to perform for the football team as part of their bowl game festivities, it was a blast! I got to meet a lot of the players and the head coach, Rocky Long, he was super nice, as was his wife. I also root for him at San Diego State! They had a great season.

Here's a look at my new top 25 and my Heisman list. They announced the finalists today: McCaffrey, Henry and Watson. I thought Fournette should have gotten a shot, too, but I'm not an expert, so it doesn't matter.

New Top 25
1-Clemson 13-0 beat North Carolina
2-Alabama 12-1 beat Florida
3-Michigan State 12-1 beat Iowa
4-Oklahoma 11-1 did not play
5-Iowa 12-1 lost to Michigan State
6-Ohio State 11-1 did not play
7-Stanford 11-2 beat USC
8-Florida State 10-2 did not play
9-Oregon 9-3 did not play
10-Notre Dame 10-2 did not play
11-TCU 10-2 did not play
12-Northwestern 10-2 did not play
13-North Carolina 11-2 lost to Clemson
14-Ole Miss 9-3 did not play
15-Michigan 9-3 did not play
16-Oklahoma State 10-2 did not play
17-Houston 12-1 beat Temple
18-Wisconsin 9-3 did not play
19-Western Kentucky 11-2 beat Southern Miss
20-Utah 9-3 did not play
21-Navy 10-2 did not play
22-Baylor 9-3 lost to Texas
23-Florida 10-3 lost to Alabama
24-LSU 8-3 did not play
25-Temple 10-3 lost to Houston

I was 6-1 in my predictions which put me at 102-46 for the season

Heisman Watch
Christian McCaffrey had another great game as Stanford knocked off USC in the Pac-12 championship game, so I'm giving him the nod for the Heisman this year.

Christian McCaffrey RB/Ret Stanford
vs USC: 32-207-1 4-105-1 120 Kr Yds 29 Pr Yds and a passing td
Season: 1,847-8 41-540-4 1,042-1 Kr 67 Pr Yds

Derrick Henry RB Alabama
vs Florida: 44-189-1
Season: 1,986-23 10-97

Leonard Fournette RB LSU
Season: 1,741-18 18-209

Deshaun Watson QB Clemson
vs North Carolina: 42-26-289-3-1 24-131-2
Season: 3,504-29-11 887-11

Ezekiel Elliott RB Ohio State
Season: 1,672-19 26-176

Dalvin Cook RB Florida State
Season: 1,662-18 22-218-1

Baker Mayfield QB Oklahoma
Season: 3,389-35-5 420-7

Corey Coleman WR Baylor
vs Texas: 7-49
Season: 74-1,363-20