First Ever Twan Staley College Football Awards

Posted by Twan Staley on Dec 1, 2012 in Uncategorized | 0 comments

Today is the last day of the college football season. Seems like yesterday, I was doing my predictions on the season. I will be sad that my Saturdays will no long consist of going to bars or friend homes to watch the games.

Now it’s time to give you my first annual, Twan Staley College Football awards. I will tell you who were the most surprising team was in college football, who was the most disappointing team was, best players and my bowl predictions. So here are my winners:

Most Disappointing Team: USC Trojans

This award could have gone to Arkansas, West Virginia or Auburn, but USC was many people’s pick to win the National Championship, including mine. The Trojans ended up losing five games this season and dropping out of the ranking completely. Looks like Matt Barkley’s decision to stay in school might have backfired. Had he entered the 2012 NFL Draft, he would have been a top 10 pick. If you listen to draft experts now, Barkley is projected to be a late first or early second round pick. Lane Kiffin will remain the Trojans head coach for 2013, but he is clearly on the hot seat. Anything less than a Pac-12 championship in 2013 could cost Kiffin his job.

Most Surprising Team: Texas A&M Aggies

There were a number of teams this award could have gone to as well. Florida Gators, Northern Illinois, Notre Dame, but to do what the Aggies did this season was very impressive. They left the offensive minded Big 12 Conference to join the defensive SEC and still won 10 games. I know Kevin Sumlin is a new coach, but a lot of experts predicted the Aggies to win as many as 6 games. Not only did they surpass that make, they upset the number one rank Alabama Crimson Tide in the process.

2012’s Best Player: Johnny Manziel

Johnny Football as everyone calls him had the best single season season in SEC history, if you’re judging by the numbers. He threw for 3419 yards, threw for 24 touchdowns and ran for 1181 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those numbers were better than Tim Tebow and Cam Newton in the years they won the Heisman. This kid has been exciting to watch and he is only a redshirt freshman.

BCS Bowl Predictions

National Championship: Notre Dame vs Georgia: While I think ND has had a great season, I think the winner of the SEC Championship will be the champion again. I just think its Georgia’s time.

Orange Bowl: Florida State vs Louisville: This is a team FSU can’t take lightly. Louisville can upset the Seminoles. Do I think it will happen, no.

Sugar Bowl: Florida vs Oklahoma: The BCS has to take Florida based on the fact that they will be in the BCS top 4 and should be above the loser of the SEC Championship. With Kent State losing, expect the BCS to take Oklahoma. My money will be on the Gators and that stingy defense.

Fiesta Bowl: Kansas State vs Oregon: This will be a very interesting matchup. Both of these teams were number one and number two at one time and looked like they would be playing each other for the national championship. Kansas State does have Collin Klein, who has had a wonderful season. In the end, I don’t have faith in the KSU defense after the Baylor game and I’m going with Oregon to win easily.

Rose Bowl: Nebraska vs Stanford: Maybe one of the less intriguing Rose Bowls of all-time. While Nebraska is a traditional power, not a lot of casual fans know much about them this season. Plus the Big Ten this season was a huge disappointment. Stanford, while a good team, isn’t the team everyone would expect to be Pac-12 Champions. I like the Cardinal to win in a close one.