Following Football: Updates Around the Gridiron

  This year, college football has had its share of remarkable moments. There have been several upsets and new programs emerging to stardom over the past several weeks. As the season is starting to come to an end, the pressure to claim the top 4 spots to be granted a berth into the playoffs is starting to rise. What is clear, though, is that the playoffs may be occupied by some unfamiliar faces. Since its inception in 2014, there have always been at least one of these two teams always in: Alabama and Clemson. However, with recent upsets this past week, their chances of making the playoffs quickly slipped from their grasps. New teams have recently climbed to the top in hopes of taking their place. Let's take a look at the fall of these dynasties and the rise of the new ones. The Turn of the Tide Any casual fan of the sport is no stranger to the dominance of the Alabama Crimson Tide, winning six national championships since 2009. Year in and year out, the Tide are constantly in conte

For decades, when people would talk about the best quarterbacks in the NFL, you could almost guarantee that two names would be involved: Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers . With 8 Super Bowl wins and 7 NFL MVP awards between them, it is easy to see why. Tom Brady will most likely go down as the best quarterback to ever play the game and Aaron Rodgers is a sure-fire, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Yet, for as impressive of a career as they have had, all good things must come to an end and the time for both of them seems to be coming quick. Both have already set career records, and not for good reasons. The 2022 season may mark the turn of an era in elite quarterbacks in the NFL. The Heavy Fall from the Top Ironically, Tom Brady retired last offseason . On February 1st, 2022, Brady announced his official retirement from the NFL. After winning the Super Bowl just a few seasons prior, and accomplishing another playoff berth, it seemed as if he was ready to ride off into the sunset while on top. Ho

The 2022 NFL quarterback draft class produced a lot of prospects that left a lot to be desired. None of the 9 quarterbacks taken in that draft became starters for their respective teams. This was the first time that no rookie quarterbacks got the start Week 1 since 2007. However, due to injuries and lack of success of some teams, rookie quarterbacks such as Kenny Picket (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Bailey Zappe (New England Patriots) got starts later in the season. This was expected because none of the quarterbacks were particularly sensational coming out of college. This is not the case, however, for this upcoming 2023 quarterback draft class. Highlighted by former Heisman-winner, Bryce Young, and Ohio State sensation, C.J. Stroud, this class has the potential to produce some future Hall of Famers and Week 1 starters. Let's take a quick look at what kind of prospects this future class has to offer so far this season. #1: Bryce Young - Alabama Bryce Young starts off this class for obv

The conversation regarding the compensation of collegiate athletes has been a long and heated topic lasting for decades. A notable event of this being the Death Penalty of SMU in 1987 where the Southern Methodist University football team was suspended a whole season for paying players "under the table" through a slush fund. However, in June of 2021, a Supreme Court decision caused the NCAA to defer to the states regarding their own NIL rules. Finally, athletes are now able to pocket some money by selling the rights to their name without losing eligibility. Though this has provided tremendous new opportunities  to football players, there has been some controversy, especially in regard to enforcement . Below I outline the basics and what you should now about NIL in college football.   What is NIL? It stands for "name, image, and likeness" and is what allows athletes to now profit off themselves in ways they were unable to before. Previously, college athletes could no

This past week, the NFL, took major criticisms for an already controversial call: roughing the passer . Fans quickly took to social media after several of these calls to voice their concerns about where the NFL is headed in terms of the amount of contact that is legal. With player safety always being a priority, the NFL constantly amends their rules to make sure that they can limit the number of collisions that a player encounters. However, these rules are almost always met with scrutiny over how "soft" the league is becoming. Football is inherently a physical sport with injuries being an unfortunate consequence. So, the question becomes, how rough is too rough?  Roughing the Passer Roughing the passer refers to a penalty when a defender unnecessarily hits the quarterback after or during the process of throwing the football. The intent of this rule is clear, to protect the quarterback of injury. However, recent calls of this penalty have shown that there is some grey area ov

Time stood still for football fans this past Thursday during the matchup between the Miami Dolphins and the Cincinnati Bengals. Tua Tagovailoa (shown left) lay motionless on the ground with his hands stuck in a rigid position after a hard hit which caused his head to forcefully strike the ground. The stadium, players, and fans across the nation watched in horror as they awaited any motion to indicate no paralysis. This hit immediately brought to the forefront of their mind a similar hit that Tua endured just five days prior. Fortunately, Tua was sent to the hospital where it was reported that he was conscious and had full mobility. However, questions regarding the concussion protocol and whether he should have been playing at all that night were the topic of discussion for the football world. The Hit Before the Hit Before suffering the hit that sent him to the hospital, Tua also suffered what people thought was a concussion-inducing hit the previous Sunday against the Buffalo Bills (s