Baker Mayfield Wins Heisman Trophy
It has been an up and down season for Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield this year, the up being on the field, the down being off of it. He is hoping to put the off-the-field problems behind him and took the first step in that process with a Heisman Trophy victory Saturday night. Mayfield became the sixth Oklahoma Sooner to win the trophy, and the 83rd winner overall, after leading his Sooners to the College Football Playoffs. The quarterback earned 732 first-place votes and 2,398 points, beating out Stanford running back Bryce Love and last year's winner, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. He earned 86 percent of the votes, which is the third-highest since 1950, behind Ohio State's Troy Smith in 2006 and Oregon's Marcus Mariota in 2014. He is also the first senior to win the honors since Smith, and did so with a 71% completion mark, 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. If he hangs on to the 11.8 yards per passing attempt, that would break an FBS record. He is the 10th player to throw for 14,000 yards in his career, and the first of which that ran for 1,000 yards as well. Despite the issues during the Kansas game, as well as a preseason arrest, the focus has to now turn to New Year's Day, when he leads his Sooners against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl.
Army Edges Navy in the Snow
It is possibly the most exciting and fun game of the college football season, despite neither team fighting for anything after the game. But the Army-Navy contest put on another show on Saturday, as Bennett Moehring missed a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Black Knights a 14-13 win over the Midshipmen. The field goal attempt was hard enough with the pressure behind it, but add in the snowy conditions, and Moehring had no chance, as Army earned its first Commander-in-Chief's Trophy since 1996. It is the second straight year that Army has taken out Navy, and that comes after they lost 14 straight in the series. These two teams went back and forth late, as Ahmad Bradshaw's touchdown with 5:10 left was responded by another impressive drive led by Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry. That drive ended at the Army 31 yard line, and the missed field goal ended the day, giving Army the victory. Perry had 250 yards on the ground on 30 carries, including a 68-yard score in the second quarter, but that was not enough to earn the rivalry win. The Black Knights' overall series deficit sits at 60-51-7, as the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy comes with Saturday's win, along with an earlier victory over Air Force.
Duke Falls to Boston College for First Loss
The Duke Blue Devils were the only top team that had not fallen early on in the season, that was until Saturday. Ky Bowman put up 30 points to lead Boston College to an upset win over the top-ranked Blue Devils, 89-84. Bowman fell an assist shy of a triple-double and grabbed 10 rebounds, as he shot 50 percent from the floor, as did his team overall. The win is their third in a row against a No. 1 ranked team, and it comes in the conference opener for both schools, Jordan Chatman added 22 points, including four straight made free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the upset win. In the past 11 years, they have made a surprising Sweet 16 appearance in 2006, upset No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke in 2009, and then took down top-ranked Syracuse in 2013. They can now add a 2017 upset over No. 1 Duke to that resume. The Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season despite Gary Trent Jr.'s 25 points and Marvin Bagley III's 15 points and 12 rebounds. They trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, but came back to lead by four with 3:30 left in the game. The Eagles would go on a 12-2 run from there and hang on down the stretch. They can thank their three-point shooting for this home win, as they finished 15-for-26 from beyond the arc, including 11-for-16 in the first half alone. They will play host to Columbia on Tuesday night, while Duke looks to recover when they host Evansville on Wednesday.
It has been an up and down season for Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield this year, the up being on the field, the down being off of it. He is hoping to put the off-the-field problems behind him and took the first step in that process with a Heisman Trophy victory Saturday night. Mayfield became the sixth Oklahoma Sooner to win the trophy, and the 83rd winner overall, after leading his Sooners to the College Football Playoffs. The quarterback earned 732 first-place votes and 2,398 points, beating out Stanford running back Bryce Love and last year's winner, Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. He earned 86 percent of the votes, which is the third-highest since 1950, behind Ohio State's Troy Smith in 2006 and Oregon's Marcus Mariota in 2014. He is also the first senior to win the honors since Smith, and did so with a 71% completion mark, 4,340 yards, 41 touchdowns, and just five interceptions. If he hangs on to the 11.8 yards per passing attempt, that would break an FBS record. He is the 10th player to throw for 14,000 yards in his career, and the first of which that ran for 1,000 yards as well. Despite the issues during the Kansas game, as well as a preseason arrest, the focus has to now turn to New Year's Day, when he leads his Sooners against the Georgia Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl.
Army Edges Navy in the Snow
It is possibly the most exciting and fun game of the college football season, despite neither team fighting for anything after the game. But the Army-Navy contest put on another show on Saturday, as Bennett Moehring missed a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Black Knights a 14-13 win over the Midshipmen. The field goal attempt was hard enough with the pressure behind it, but add in the snowy conditions, and Moehring had no chance, as Army earned its first Commander-in-Chief's Trophy since 1996. It is the second straight year that Army has taken out Navy, and that comes after they lost 14 straight in the series. These two teams went back and forth late, as Ahmad Bradshaw's touchdown with 5:10 left was responded by another impressive drive led by Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry. That drive ended at the Army 31 yard line, and the missed field goal ended the day, giving Army the victory. Perry had 250 yards on the ground on 30 carries, including a 68-yard score in the second quarter, but that was not enough to earn the rivalry win. The Black Knights' overall series deficit sits at 60-51-7, as the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy comes with Saturday's win, along with an earlier victory over Air Force.
Duke Falls to Boston College for First Loss
The Duke Blue Devils were the only top team that had not fallen early on in the season, that was until Saturday. Ky Bowman put up 30 points to lead Boston College to an upset win over the top-ranked Blue Devils, 89-84. Bowman fell an assist shy of a triple-double and grabbed 10 rebounds, as he shot 50 percent from the floor, as did his team overall. The win is their third in a row against a No. 1 ranked team, and it comes in the conference opener for both schools, Jordan Chatman added 22 points, including four straight made free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the upset win. In the past 11 years, they have made a surprising Sweet 16 appearance in 2006, upset No. 1 North Carolina and No. 6 Duke in 2009, and then took down top-ranked Syracuse in 2013. They can now add a 2017 upset over No. 1 Duke to that resume. The Blue Devils suffered their first loss of the season despite Gary Trent Jr.'s 25 points and Marvin Bagley III's 15 points and 12 rebounds. They trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, but came back to lead by four with 3:30 left in the game. The Eagles would go on a 12-2 run from there and hang on down the stretch. They can thank their three-point shooting for this home win, as they finished 15-for-26 from beyond the arc, including 11-for-16 in the first half alone. They will play host to Columbia on Tuesday night, while Duke looks to recover when they host Evansville on Wednesday.
