Heading into the second weekend of November, Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed were in the top five among Heisman favorites. Hovering around the top 10 were Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss and Oregon’s Dante Moore. Neither will make their way to Manhattan for the Saturday’s Heisman ceremony.
There is no questioning, however, the strong seasons Simpson, Reed, Chambliss and Moore have had and could continue to have in the College Football Playoff. Their counterparts in the first round are not too shabby, either. Here is a look at the quarterback matchups in first-round games.
Friday, Dec. 19
1. No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma (8:00 ET | ABC/ESPN)
Yards were hard to come by for John Mateer and the Sooners in the mid-November meeting between the SEC foes in Tuscaloosa. The redshirt junior transfer from Washington State completed 15-of-23 for 138 yards on a day OU could muster all of 212 yards in total offense, though emerged as a 23-21 victor. The difference? The Sooners did not turn the ball over while the Tide committed three turnovers.
Ty Simpson’s fumble late in the third quarter, the result of a Tyler Wein sack with the recovery by Kendal Daniels at the Alabama 28, set up Tate Sandell’s 24-yard field goal to provide the difference. Simpson completed 28-of-42 for 328 yards. Nice numbers, for sure, but he threw a late first quarter pick that corner Eli Bowen returned 87 yards to give the Sooners a 10-0 lead. Simpson also had the aforementioned fumble and was sacked four times. OU, by the way, is tied with Texas A&M for most sacks (3.4 per game, 41 total) in the country.
Mateer has not been the same since he had surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand, an injury sustained in a September 20 matchup with Auburn. The Sooners had a bye the following week and Mateer sat out a visit from Kent State before returning for the annual showdown with Texas. He threw three interceptions that day and is averaging 195 yards passing with six touchdowns and seven interceptions – also three against LSU – in seven games since returning.
Simpson was prominent in the Heisman discussion having entered the OU contest with 21 TD passes against one interception. He was 5/4 the last four games and completed only 19-of-39 in the SEC championship loss to Georgia.
Saturday, Dec. 20
2. No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M (Noon ET | ABC/ESPN)
For the ‘Canes, it all starts with senior quarterback Carson Beck, who is going to have to be at his most efficient against the Aggies’ defense. Beck is second nationally to Ohio State’s Julian Sayin in completion percentage (74.7) and is coming off a November in which his mark was even higher (76.6) with 16 touchdowns and three interceptions – two in a November 1 loss at SMU – in five games. Surprisingly, A&M has picked off only three passes this season. It is even more surprising considering the pressure the Aggies place on opposing signal callers. After all, Jay Bateman’s unit is tied with Oklahoma for the nation’s lead in recording 3.4 sacks per game.
The Aggies’ Marcel Reed and Beck have the same TD and INT (25/10) figures, and their passing yardage is tight as the latter has 3,072 to the former’s 2,932. The difference is Reed can be a factor with his legs, as his 466 rushing yards (5.2) and six touchdowns attest. The redshirt sophomore was intercepted twice and did not throw for a score in the Thanksgiving weekend loss at Texas. It was the second of two games (also Auburn) Reed did not throw a TD pass. The Aggies were held under 20 points both times.
3. No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss (3:30 ET | TNT/truTV/HBO Max)
Continuity is key as offensive coordinator Charlie Weis, Jr. will remain on board through the playoff, which has to be a comfortable feeling at an uncomfortable time for all concerned in Oxford following Lane Kiffin’s theatrics. Perhaps most comfortable is quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who is 15th nationally in total offense (291 yards) in his first year with an FBS program. When the teams met on September 22, Chambliss piled up 419 yards, including 112 on the ground in a 45-10 Ole Miss victory. The QB’s rushing total was easily his season high.
The Green Wave’s Jake Retzlaff can run as well. In fact, his 16 rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth nationally. (Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy is second with 20.) The BYU transfer has also rushed for 610 yards and is averaging 267 total yards per game. It was a tough day against Pete Golding’s defense, though, in the first meeting. Retzlaff totaled only 107 yards, including 56 in completing only 5-of-17 passes. It will be another uphill challenge against a unit that is fourth in the SEC in pass efficiency defense while allowing only 20 points per game.
4. No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon (7:30 ET | TNT/truTV/HBO Max)
The Ducks’ Dante Moore, who last season bided his time behind Dillon Gabriel after transferring from UCLA, is second in the Big Ten to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and sixth nationally in pass efficiency having thrown for 2,733 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. A shining moment for the redshirt sophomore was in front of a primetime audience at the end of September in Happy Valley when he threw TD passes in both overtime periods to defeat Penn State. A few weeks later, Moore set a school record when he completed 90 percent of his passes (27-for-30) in a win over visiting Minnesota.
Though JMU is sixth nationally against the pass, the Dukes, who did not allow Louisville’s Miller Moss — 151 yards passing, 64 on one play — to do much in their only loss and only game against a power conference team, will have their hands full in Eugene against a Moore-led offense averaging 38.2 points, good for second in the Big Ten and eighth in the country.
In the loss at Louisville, JMU’s Alonza Barnett was sacked six times, lost a fumble and averaged only 6.8 yards per completion in throwing for 102 yards. The redshirt junior heads into the game having totaled 35 touchdowns, including 14 on the ground. Barnett struggled through the air (10-for-25, 93 yards, 1/1) while rushing for 85 yards and a score in the Sun Belt championship win over Troy.
