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Hitting the Links Enjoys Some Summer Phở
The name, at least, is better than Nick Saban's How Good Do You Want To Be?
He does look more disruptive on defense, but the praise on the offensive side has been strong. His experience on both sides will certainly help him understand and handle his opponents.
The case for Ohio State is strong, though the interior of Tommy Schutt and Adolphus Washington could be a weak spot that persistent running teams (the Big Ten has a few) could exploit. Still, Ohio State is pretty close to the standard.
But Michigan could have as good a defense as Ohio State this year. Michigan is not really discussed, but defense will definitely be the strength of Team 136, and it may be enough to guarantee a winning season all on its own (like Penn State last year). Some fans have considered 6-6 as a realistic possibility for Michigan this year, but anything lower than that simply isn't probable. The defense will be stout.
Phil Steele's All-Big Ten Team
The offense is better organized than the defense, despite some major questions around some of the skill positions. For example, will J.T. Barrett even win the quarterback job? Who wins Michigan State's running back job (he hedges and puts Madre London on the fourth team)? Will Jake Duzey recover from a minor knee injury? The offensive line choices are very solid, though.
The Big 12's style of play makes for a pretty different list. The wide receiver talent is evident - TCU's Kolby Listenbee on the second team, TTU's Jakeem Grant on the third team, Baylor's Jay Lee on the fourth team. And of course, even though 2015 is a totally different year than 2014, Steele's pick for first-team tight end is a man who did not get 100 receiving yards last year: Glenn Gronkowski.
Maty Mauk ... should not be on an All-SEC team. His adjusted QBR was 56.7, meaning he was slightly better than the average college quarterback. Brandon Allen would be a better choice (and his 68.7 adjusted QBR backs that up), but there aren't a whole lot of proven candidates - most of the other quarterbacks are still fighting for jobs. Half the SEC (Alabama, LSU, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Vandy, and Ole Miss) is unsettled at quarterback.
Ranking the quarterback talent in the ACC is a good source for debate. Justin Thomas of Georgia Tech (Phil Steele has him 1st Team) initially walked away from an Alabama commitment when he was told they would move him to cornerback. Now a redshirt junior, he's thrived in Paul Johnson's triple option despite pedestrian numbers. He 'drives the vehicle' as one part of a successful offense, runs more than he throws, and wins. His career high for completions is 11, but he's 12-3 in games he runs or throws at least 10 times.
DeShaun Watson and Brad Kaaya were both impressive, both in terms of talent and in terms of maturity. Watson's been pegged as a superstar, and Kaaya's not far behind. Everett Golson is unmentioned, probably because these lists aren't the most up-to-date on recent transfer news. (For example, the Big Ten selections include Maryland's Marcus Leak.)
Almost half of Oregon's starting front seven makes the first or second all-conference team. Maybe it's still early to say this, but Chip Kelly's departure has been good for all sides. Kelly has changed the game at the pro level, while also putting more time and energy into the defensive side than he did in Eugene. Mark Helfrich has continued Oregon's success, but also made them tougher, especially in the trenches.
Kyle Whittingham has connected Devontae's name to the Heisman Trophy, which is very unlikely unless Utah makes the Playoff (and even then, it's unlikely). But the talent is absolutely worthy of the praise. He's very similar to Ezekiel Elliott.
Assume the Position: Defensive End
Iowa's Drew Ott was perfectly placed to go under the radar. For one, he plays for Iowa, and he was both outplayed by Louis Trinca-Pasat and out-hyped by Carl Davis. But Ott was one of the better play-making forces in the conference, and he'll protect the edge in a way that will make Nebraska fans jealous.
Michigan State Fueled By Losses | Tony Lippett Succeeding On Defense
Like Harbaugh, and Urban Meyer, Dantonio is keeping his team driven towards next season.
Randy Gregory had a powerful impact on the pass defense, and Bill undersells the disruption of that defensive line. If Maliek Collins is more consistent, they can replace some of Gregory's abilities. But it'll be tough.
Their defensive line is a lot of fun to watch. It's disruptive, undersized, and occasionally just looks more focused on blowing up the offensive line in any direction than maintaining run gaps. But it works reasonably well.
Ironmen - Or Ironcompletephonies?
New evidence has come out about Iowa's 1939 football team.