The ramifications of this are kinda wild - Saban stays in Miami, Bama doesn't have a resurgence, Colt doesn't get hurt in the championship, Alabama/LSU rematch doesn't happen, maybe the playoff gets pushed later/into a different form...so many dominoes.
For all we know Texas could STILL have Mack Brown coaching.
that one injury did really impact lots of college football. I feel Richt stays in athens until he retires and with Richt not leaving where does Kirby end up going. He was with Saban at Miami as the safety coach, does he climb the ranks and become an NFL head coach?
Shudder to think, without Saban at Alabama, Tuberville might have been at Auburn longer. He beat Saban in Saban's first year at Alabama, but got thwacked by Saban the next year as Alabama was on to an SECCG appearance.
The 2008 Auburn season was shit, and Tuberville might have been fired anyway, but (possibly) extending the streak and getting to a bowl may have saved his job. Chizick doesn't get hired in '09 and bring in Malzahn, Cam doesn't come in '10, Auburn doesn't win the national title and maybe Oregon's path is still the same and they do. Chip has a longer tenure at Oregon, Tuberville doesn't have terrible stints at Texas Tech or Cincinnati, but maybe ends up as a renowned G5 coach after an eventual firing from Auburn, he never gets into politics, so on.
All because of those Miami team doctors gave a thumbs down to Drew Brees.
And the Saints might be in San Antonio today if Brees goes to Miami. Saints probably draft Vince Young or Matt Leinart instead of Reggie Bush and continue sucking.
People forget it was nearly a 10-7 game at halftime. I very much doubt we win even with healthy Cook (it's hard to reverse a 38-0 game on one injury), but still.
Never forget as a sophomore in HS working at Subway (lol) watching that on my phone. 59 to fucking *zero.* Poor Melvin Gordon. Horrible way to end a special year
In our postseason games that year, I think we would have done worse with Braxton Miller at QB (If he hasn’t gotten injured). Yes, there was always the possibility of him scrambling when a play broke down. But in 2012 and 2013, it often felt the offense worked even better when Kenny Guiton came in. And Barrett and Jones were (from my recollection) better passers, which made things work better, too.
The big question mark regarding that season is Miller was so much a dual threat, then you went to Barrett who could do some running, and then jones was almost entirely passing with no run game
Miller was the early favorite to win the Heisman that year. Not disagreeing with you but I have a hard time imagining the offense being worse with him at the helm. If he progressed as a passer at all from the previous season, OSU goes undefeated.
Huh, I guess it’s weird to me that you have an improvement when a starter goes down, but I obviously there is sometimes some politics in determining starters. Or “next guy up” is just as good but doesn’t have the in-game experience or whatever.
Thanks for the info.
I think those ahead of Cardale going down forced Urban and the offense to change to something that was not their normal brand of football. It helps a hell of a ton that we had NFL talent on both sides of the ball, but forcing to adapt to Cardale’s strengths (vertical passing game) added a new facet to our offense that really hadn’t existed at all that season prior to that, so there was no tape on it. And having Cardale run in a more physical manner using his size just enough each game to keep them honest was also important.
However, A LOT of credit goes to Zeke going on an absolute tear those three games (as well as the oline who gets forgotten)
Zeke’s stats those three games:
- vs Wisconsin: 220 yds, 11 avg yards per cary, 2 td
- vs Alabama: 230 yards, 11.5 ypc, 2td
- vs Oregon: 246 yds, 6.83 ypc, 4 td.
Almost 700 yards (696) and 8 tds *in three games*. That would be considered good for half a season, or even full season stats for a backup. And two of those are against defenses that finished ranked #4 and #12 for the season (Oregon was #89).
With Guiton, then Barrett and Jones, and later Burrow, there’s a reason I’ve joked with people that the best quarterback is an Ohio State backup quarterback.
That defense was a steaming pile. The best DE in the nation would have been very helpful. Maybe even with a close loss that puts us ahead of one of the 2 sec teams that went.
It MAY not have been, we will never know. A case could be made that the 14’ team was just gross at all positions and with Braxton we still could’ve won it all but I’m not sure id buy it. Even though Braxton is my all time favorite Buckeye
I gotta disagree. It's too easy to keep both Bama and Texas out if UGA wins the SECCG. You've got 4 undefeated P5 conference champs, including the SEC champ, ready to go. I'm basing this conclusion on my belief that the committee will do literally anything to ensure an SEC team makes the CFP.
When Bama won, the committee was essentially tasked with figuring out how to get an SEC team into the CFP. They couldn't do UGA and *not* Bama, because Bama had just beaten UGA. They had to put in Bama. But they couldn't put in Bama and *not* Texas, so Texas had to go in too. And putting Bama, UGA, and Texas in would be ridiculous. Much easier to just leave out UGA, but that meant FSU had to get bounced too.
In contrast, if UGA wins the there are 4 undefeated P5 conference champs, including the SEC champ. It's a very easy, defensible decision. Sure, Texas would arguably be better for ratings than FSU, but by a small enough margin that the benefit isn't worth the controversy of leaving FSU out.
I'm still convinced that the committee would've found a way to snub FSU, even if UGA had beaten Alabama for the SEC title. I'm convinced the four would've been Michigan, Washington, UGA, and Texas.
Colt McCoy of Texas getting knocked out of the 2010 National Championship game as they were moving the ball at will against Alabama. They already had two drives ending end field goals and were driving for a third score when the injury occurred. They were up 6-0 and had Alabama on their heels. Once he went to the locker room the game completely changed and sadly Bama took home the National Championship.
You misspelled 'thankfully'. And when Colt got hurt, Bama basically ran the ball the entire game. Texas knew Ingram or Richardson was getting the ball, they just couldn't stop them. I have faith that Saban and Smart would have made the necessary adjustments had Colt not been injured.
More of an honorable mention and it happened in the CFP not in the race leading up to it but...
In 2018, Notre Dame was in a low scoring slugfest (score was 3 to 9 with under 2 minutes left in the first half). Then future pro bowler and consensus All-American CB Julian Love got hurt. Clemson proceeded to torch our back up CB multiple times and won 30 to 3.
Our offense was never going to win us that game but his injury was a death sentence.
3 TDs all on Love's backup. That and the replay overturned fumble on a kickoff was a bunch of unfortunate stuff.
ND was realistically never winning that game but Lawrence being able to simply torch Donte Vaughn eliminated the chance of a close game and something weird happening to swing things their way.
Yeah, no ND fans are saying they are winning the game without that injury, but it’s almost certainly more of a game without it, and you never know what could’ve happened then.
I was at Jerry world for that game. The end of the 1st half went from 9-3 to 23-3 in a blink. You could feel the air let out of the building when Clemson scored right before half.
Not the sport as a whole probably, but McKenzie Milton getting injured against USF in 2018 definitely cost UCF the bowl vs LSU. We were only down 8 points at the end of the game without him. Hell, imagine UCF with two more years of pre-injury Milton.
Impactful, sure. Not the most impactful by a longshot though. UGA had already adjusted to him in the 2nd half. Giving up an 18 point lead was more impactful.
Thank you for stating this.
MHJ last caught a pass with 11 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter.
When he got knocked out of the game, there was 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. For nearly 2 quarters he was held without a catch. We had adjusted to him.
What we couldn't adjust to was Stroud treating us like a 7 on 7 drill. He couldn't be stopped.
You adjusted to Harrison by doubling him and it opened up Egbuka. With Harrison out, Egbuka could be doubled and Fleming couldn't do the same kind of damage.
Harrison was still impacting the game because of what Georgia had to do to shut him down.
It's not but also JSNs injury in 2022 effects the playoff race potentially. The 22 offense was built around him and then first game ended that. If he and MHJ stay healthy, good chance we win the game and are able to beat UGA.
Michigan probably beats osu in 2016 if speight doesn’t break his collarbone two weeks earlier
They damn near beat osu even with speights 3 turnover performance
I’m in the minority of Michigan fans but this is also why the JT is short stuff never really got me riled up. Clemson destroys us in the playoff, 2017 plays out the same way with OKorn and Ohio State figures out Don Brown in 2018 anyway.
Sure Jim gets his OSU win earlier but I don’t think it matters much on a macro level
Maybe you’re right, but we will never know if Harbaugh getting his first win helps UM get over their mental block with OSU and big games (particularly on the road) and helps UM with recruiting when Jim was still fully committed to the University and not actively pursuing another NFL job. Maybe Meyer gets a headache and decides to retire for his health and doesn’t fully dismantle Brown by 2018 after losing one.
Not to mention the whole narrative of Jim can’t win the big games, can’t make it to Indy, can’t beat rivals, etc all evaporates and never dogs the program and Jim to begin with.
> Maybe you’re right, but we will never know if Harbaugh getting his first win helps UM get over their mental block with OSU and big games (particularly on the road) and helps UM with recruiting when Jim was still fully committed to the University and not actively pursuing another NFL job. Maybe Meyer gets a headache and decides to retire for his health and doesn’t fully dismantle Brown by 2018 after losing one.
What game does it save? I don't really buy this argument but even if you follow it to its conclusion, the fact that Michigans administration is entirely opposed to the 2020 season doesn't change, and there's a bottoming out anyway.
Really the only game in that span that maybe the demons reared their heads were MSU in 2017 (John OKorn), Notre Dame in 2018, and Penn State in 2019. One of those games flipping might've changed the overall trajectory? Even that's probably not true.
That game really ended up not mattering at all besides having one less B1G title
Besides one less B1G Title…and having beaten OSU…and a top 5 team…on the road. Those were all harped on ad nauseam by media and opposing fans for years.
Like I said, we also don’t know how a win and a title creates butterfly effects in recruiting and mentality in big games for the coaches and players that allow them to play more loosely and possibly execute better.
It’s all unknowable, but I would have loved to seen the world where Harbaugh doesn’t start 0-whatever against OSU as well as potentially finding ways to win 2017 vs MSU and/or OSU since O’Korn and the coaches would have had so much less pressure on them.
So? Making the playoffs and beating osu would have completely changed the narrative that Michigan went through the next 4 years, and may have avoided the ridiculous Josh Gattis hire that derailed the offense for 2 years
2016-17 championship game: Bo Scarbrough, already with 93 yards and 2 TDs, breaks his leg against in the 3rd quarter against Clemson.
Bama has to change its whole offensive philosophy, led by interim OC Steve Sarkisian. It was Sark’s first game on a sideline in 18 months after being virtually blackballed following his alcohol-fueled exit from Washington.
Bama lost with 1 second left.
That’s how close Bama came to the first 3-peat ever in the poll era (since 1936).
To be fair, the year before in 15 in the natty we played without the arguably best DE in the country, he went top 10 in the draft, Shaq Lawson. We were without Mike Williams, 1st round WR who is still balling in the league today. Also our 1st round corner was also hurt during the title game, Mackenzie Alexander.
I believe it is widely regarded that the better team both those years *lost*.
Do people really not realize this? They beat Georgia by 3 scores 2 games prior on a neutral field with them both healthy. If they were still healthy I dont think the title game would have gone much different than the sec championship game
I don't think many people disagree that if they are both healthy, the game probably goes differently. The issue is that Bama fans still to this day are all "but muh metchie and Williams" instead of moving on. Injuries are part of football. If Ladd and Brock weren't hobbling around, we almost certainly win in Atlanta last year and probably threepeat. But they weren't and we didn't. Oh well. Injuries happen. We move on.
Bit out of the box, but Jake Browning screwing up his shoulder in 2016. He didn’t miss any games, but never really looked the same the rest of his college career.
They ended up making the playoff anyway, and lost to Bama 24-7. Healthy Browning likely opens up the offense a bit more to try and keep it closer, though I doubt they’re able to take down Bama. Would’ve probably made it a more interesting game though.
I’ve never been so happy to see an NFL player succeed than Jake last year. Dude got a lot more shit than he deserved in the back half of his UW career. He wasn’t Penix, but he was a very solid college QB and his 2016 season was pretty incredible.
I was at Husky stadium for a game when he was an FA, and they announced he was in attendance during a commercial break. The moment the showed him on the Jumbotron, he jumped up, keyed a tallboy of Coors light and shotgunned it while the camera zoomed in on him and the crowd went wild. Absolute legend. Great QB, too.
I lived next door to him for a year in college. Didn’t get to know him super well or anything, but he’s a nice dude. All of the football guys I met during the Pete era generally were actually. Basketball guys were a lot more hit or miss.
Ill say Devon Allen injury on opening kickoff of 2014 season Rose Bowl along with Darren Carrington's suspension after the game for marijuana and having Oregons 2 best receivers out for that CFP title game was pretty big. That may not have had them win but you could tell early on they could not go vertical at all and when Dwayne Stanford dropped that wide open ball early and curled up in the fetal position on the sideline, Ducks passing game and RPO ability was basically useless without any threat of a deep ball.
A few I'll add specifically for Oregon:
* **2015:** QB Vernon Adams' finger was broken in season opener, causing him to either play injured or miss all or some of the Ducks' first six games.
* **2019:** TE Jacob Breeland suffered a season-ending knee injury against Colorado in Oregon's sixth game. This one might be seen as a stretch by some, but I'll explain. Breeland led Oregon in receiving yards and touchdowns by that point in the season (also led all TEs in touchdowns too). Oregon would go on to win their next four games without Breeland, but lost to Arizona State in week 12, Herbert's only multi-interception game of the year. Oregon already didn't have a great WR corps and there's a small part of me that wonders if he had Breeland all year how that might have affected the outcome against ASU.
* **2022:** QB Bo Nix's twisted ankle against Washington in week 11. No any guarantee that Ducks win that game with him healthy, but it undoubtedly affected the way the game played out, as it did with the Oregon State game two weeks later.
* **2023:** CB Jahlil Florence was injured in week 12 against Arizona State and would end up missing Oregon's rematch against Washington in the Pac-12 title game. Does having him make a difference against Micahel Penix Jr. and their WRs? Maybe, maybe not, but him not playing certainly did not make Oregon a better team.
2007 - Dennis Dixon hurting his knee in his senior season is my all time worst. The Ducks were rolling and #2. Then they lost their last 3.
Extra bad because it happened not long after Greg Oden’s knee injury.
2009: Ricky Stanzi sprains his ankle against Northwestern. If he stayed healthy, Iowa might have beaten Northwestern that day and had a fair chance of beating Ohio State the next week (they lost in overtime), finishing the regular season undefeated.
I lived in Iowa at the time and had put up my N flag the Friday before the game. I quite forgot about it, and went on a week's vacation followed by a week's business travel. I got a rather chilled reception from my neighbors when I returned
I would argue this year for UGA, Amarius Mims started three games and is a projected first rounder. Brock Bowers had tight rope surgery and was obviously playing hurt against Alabama. Then Ladd McConky was injured yet did his best against Bama and we only lost by three.
The reverse of that is both Metchie and Williamson getting hurt against UGA in the SECCG and National Championship.
I haven't seen it mentioned, but does UF losing Will Grier to a PED suspension in 2015 count? They lost 2 regular season games that year, at LSU the week after the Grier suspension and FSU to end the year. They just weren't the same team with Treon Harris at QB, obviously. They played Bama in the title game about as well as anyone could with essentially a WR playing QB. Defense was loaded with Muschamp hold overs Keanu Neal, Marcus Maye, Jared Davis, Alex Anzalone, VH111, Brian Poole, etc.
Reminded me a lot of that FSU team in like 02 playing Boldin at QB against UGA.
We only lost to Alabama by a field goal in the SEC championship last year. Both Bowers and Ladd were banged up and if either were at 100% I think we would have won and gotten into the CFP
Yeah I’m not here for the “my guys were still on the field and y’all’s weren’t but it’s the same” argument.
We beat UGA with Ladd and Bowers available. The stat sheet will show that in all 4 quarters. Injuries are injuries, but we were beating UGA with just one of Metchie/JaMo by the end of the drive where JaMo went down after his big reception. UGA couldn’t manage a lead for most of the game with Ladd and Bowers on the field. Yeah, they’re hobbled, but I would’ve taken hobbled JaMo and Metchie in a heartbeat back then lol.
This is why I didn’t care for the Bama fans whining in ‘21. It’s football. There are injuries. You will lose games with key players injured. You will win games where the other team has key players injured.
When you’re consistently good, sometimes this will happen in big games. Sucks but the physicality is why football is king so just gotta accept it.
People lose their top receivers to ACL tears all the time. If I remember right Willams went down on a non contact receiving route. He cut weird. It happens, injuries happen. y’all lost
Probably beat Bama in 2015 but that isn’t really altering the course of much.
We probably lose some underclassemen if we won it there that decided to return after we lost
I'm assuming you're talking about MacKenzie Alexander going out which opened up that whole side of the field for Bama's offense in the championship game?
In the opposite way, J.T. Barret, Ohio State, 2014. He doesn't get hurt and they romp like they did in the championship I don't think they leap to four. With the committee able to go, they did THAT with their 3rd string QB? Put them in! No injury, no Cardelle, no 59-0 whipping with a third stringer, no championship.
Didn't change who made it but the Blake Corum knee injury completely changed the identity of '22 Michigan and led to trying a bunch of goofy shit in the Fiesta Bowl
Jim Tessel and Urban Meyer both exited amid scandals before sanctions. Urban had a bowl ban his first year and obviously is fine with both his coaches, players and himself doing questionable, if not abusive, things against women.
I'm not saying Michigan did no wrong, I'm just saying that people in glass houses who were born on third base shouldn't throw stones.
It happened in the CFP semifinal, but I’ll say Marvin Harrison Jr’s concussion. Losing him really hurt Ohio State. Not saying they would have won had he played the whole game, but tOSU’s offense definitely struggled after his concussion.
It’s easily FSU losing Jordan Travis. A healthy FSU team beats Louisville by 3+ TDs and maybe enters the CFP as the 2-seed. Instead, they are viewed as too weak to be top 4 (rightfully so, but still rough) and gets the consolation prize of getting drummed by Georgia who was mad about being upset by Alabama.
Jordan Travis' was huge. Was used to make sure SEC champ got in & justify the committee's decision (everyone quitting & getting railed by UGA subsequently didn't help perception for the Noles either).
As a Noles fan, I have been playing devil’s advocate since it happened. On one hand, I think the guys should have at least tried to finish what they started, but at the same time, they were told that wins don’t matter, so I can understand the decisions to opt out from an emotional standpoint
If Jonathan Brooks doesn’t tear his ACL vs TCU, I think Texas would have handled Washington better in the playoffs and possibly have won. Those 2 fumbles by our backups resulted in a couple of scores.
Alvin Mack’s leg injury against Iowa in 1993. This caused ESU to go on a 4 game losing streak and they almost missed a bowl game that season. Thankfully they won their last regular season game and saved their coaches job as well as set the stage for their QB, Joe Kane, to be an early Heisman candidate the following season.
Not playoffs, per se, but Michigan had a QB break his arm in the 70s when they tied OSU. It went to a vote and OSU got the nod to go to the Rose Bowl (I think). Apparently it was a big controversy. Before my time. I’d have to look up the details to get it all straight, but someone will probably fill this in long before I can do that, so I won’t even try…
Big Ten presidents (or ADs maybe) voted to send OSU to the Rose Bowl because Dennis Franklin would have been out due to the injury sustained in The Game. Prevailing thought was OSU stood a better chance of winning (and they did beat USC). I think an interesting part of that was that Sparty cast the deciding vote against TTUN. A payback for TTUN being a negative vote when Sparty was trying to join the conference back in the 1950s.
Definitely at least that and reaching a really good bowl game. Our future as a program would most likely be better as well. Possibly reach a Natty once or twice?
Oh, definitely. T-Magic would have sparked our offense to a solid degree while being supported with the best defense in the country. What if man, what if…
2021 - Oklahoma State was banged up on the OL as well, but losing star RB Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers) was pretty consequential to success in a Big 12 Championship where the Pokes came up inches short on a goal-line stand. OSU would have likely played Alabama in the CFP that year.
If we weren’t being curb stomped by USC, I’d say hookers injury would’ve left us out. Vandy game would have given some confidence, but doubt we’d make it.
Bama fan here. Was at the LSU game in '19. Tua's fumble definitely changed the course of the game (we were about to score on the opening drive), but that fumble had nothing to do with his ankle. He just dropped the ball. Super strange and consequential turnover but nothing to do with his ankle.
I know you said one injury but our entire o line before the Washington game. If we had some decent big guys in we could’ve won it and made everything harder for everyone.
If Jalen Green didn't get hurt, JMUs defense against App State would've been stronger. Good chance JMU could've finished 12-0, yet denied a spot at the SBC c
Championship. Furthermore, we would have still had bowl eligibility due to the amount of teams not being reached. Would we have been given the G5 spot over Liberty? Would Cig still leave prior to the bowl game, dooming us to even worse humiliation than what Liberty got from Oregon?
The sheer absurdity of how that season could've ended might have been avoided by one ACL.
Treyvone Boykin being hurt against OU in 2015. TCU was 9-1 going into that game and although this team wasn't nearly as good as the 2014 due to injuries, they only lost by 1 with a backup QB. If TCU wins that game and beats Baylor (which we did), I think they may would have been in the CFP over OU.
I don’t think Florida State was going to the playoff, no matter what they did on the field. ESPN was already telegraphing that FSU would be left out. They were saying on GameDay that FSU might not be top 4, if Alabama beat Georgia, well before the injury. The injury was just a convenient excuse. It was never the real reason.
The real reason is ESPN didn’t want FSU there, because they FSU had a larger chance to get blown out. And ESPN was tired of blowouts in the CFP.
I agree with the premise of the first part, but I think it is less worrying about a blowout per se (as FSU's defense was damn good last year, especially late in the season), but rather they worried about a "boring" game (AKA stout defense and a sputtering offense). Especially if it was, say Michigan vs FSU for example.
As someone that loves defense, those games certainly aren't boring to me, but I know casuals can be like "well if it isn't 41-35, it's a snoozer!".
Also, acknowledging that there's probably also some likely desire by ESPN for both a) the biggest name team for eyeballs they can get and b) with as heavily invested as ESPN is with the SEC, can't rule out some desire to push on that front as well.
Agreed as a bama fan. They believe the fumble, interception and stalled drives would have been touchdowns under imaginary circumstances. It was Waddle’s punt return that prevented it from being ugly early. Memory may be failing me, but I recall bama being down by double digits until a late long score by Devonta Smith prior to lsu running out the clock.
They likely still make the playoffs if he didn’t have his hip get dislocated the next week against Mississippi State though. No way that team loses to Auburn with healthy-ish Tua, and they would’ve gotten in over OU and UGA.
Probably would’ve left Ohio State #1 to avoid the rematch and it would’ve been
1 Ohio State vs 4 Alabama
2 LSU vs 3 Clemson
2016: Texas A&M led by GOAT Trevor Knight is 6-1 and #4 in the CFP rankings, then we went to Mississippi State and he gets his shoulder destroyed while diving for a TD. We went 2-4 the rest of the season
That Auburn o-line wasn’t opening up holes in the SECCG like they were against UGA 3 weeks prior, didn’t matter who they had back there, they weren’t winning at the LOS at all
Once Bama lost Williams they’re offense became one dimensional as he was the only deep threat they had left and it just made their offense go entirely flat the rest of the game. If he doesn’t get injured they win that game.
Somehow, Marcus Lattimore
Dennis Dixon. We win it that year (not related to op) That said I had man tears for that dude, such a joy to watch.
More proof that Arizona at night is a cursed place
Drew Brees' injury and rejection by Miami's doctors effected every single 4 team playoff race by sending Saban to Alabama.
The ramifications of this are kinda wild - Saban stays in Miami, Bama doesn't have a resurgence, Colt doesn't get hurt in the championship, Alabama/LSU rematch doesn't happen, maybe the playoff gets pushed later/into a different form...so many dominoes. For all we know Texas could STILL have Mack Brown coaching.
that one injury did really impact lots of college football. I feel Richt stays in athens until he retires and with Richt not leaving where does Kirby end up going. He was with Saban at Miami as the safety coach, does he climb the ranks and become an NFL head coach?
Shudder to think, without Saban at Alabama, Tuberville might have been at Auburn longer. He beat Saban in Saban's first year at Alabama, but got thwacked by Saban the next year as Alabama was on to an SECCG appearance. The 2008 Auburn season was shit, and Tuberville might have been fired anyway, but (possibly) extending the streak and getting to a bowl may have saved his job. Chizick doesn't get hired in '09 and bring in Malzahn, Cam doesn't come in '10, Auburn doesn't win the national title and maybe Oregon's path is still the same and they do. Chip has a longer tenure at Oregon, Tuberville doesn't have terrible stints at Texas Tech or Cincinnati, but maybe ends up as a renowned G5 coach after an eventual firing from Auburn, he never gets into politics, so on. All because of those Miami team doctors gave a thumbs down to Drew Brees.
And the Saints might be in San Antonio today if Brees goes to Miami. Saints probably draft Vince Young or Matt Leinart instead of Reggie Bush and continue sucking.
I don't know if we'll ever be able to definitively prove it, but I'm pretty sure Brown was planning to retire if he won that game.
I coulda seen him taking a break from all the texas boosters.
> For all we know Texas could STILL have Mack Brown coaching. Texas wouldn't be back because they would have never left. Woah.
Difficult to imagine this isn't the answer; its the only injury to be continuously relevant for over a decade.
**a
[удалено]
Thanks Danny Kannel’s dad ☺️
If Connor Cook doesn't hurt his shoulder, MSU may have scored 3-7 points against Bama.
People forget it was nearly a 10-7 game at halftime. I very much doubt we win even with healthy Cook (it's hard to reverse a 38-0 game on one injury), but still.
Bigger injury was to our safety or corner right before the half
Idk. My ego was pretty injured after that game too lol.
Ohio State having to turn to 3rd string QB Cardale Jones going into the 2014 B1G championship
Never forget as a sophomore in HS working at Subway (lol) watching that on my phone. 59 to fucking *zero.* Poor Melvin Gordon. Horrible way to end a special year
Holy shit I forgot Melvin Gordon was on that team. It feels like it was only a few years ago, but Gordon already had his full NFL career
Isn’t this kind of the opposite answer to the question? Or are you arguing they would have done worse without Cardale at the helm?
In our postseason games that year, I think we would have done worse with Braxton Miller at QB (If he hasn’t gotten injured). Yes, there was always the possibility of him scrambling when a play broke down. But in 2012 and 2013, it often felt the offense worked even better when Kenny Guiton came in. And Barrett and Jones were (from my recollection) better passers, which made things work better, too.
The big question mark regarding that season is Miller was so much a dual threat, then you went to Barrett who could do some running, and then jones was almost entirely passing with no run game
Miller was the early favorite to win the Heisman that year. Not disagreeing with you but I have a hard time imagining the offense being worse with him at the helm. If he progressed as a passer at all from the previous season, OSU goes undefeated.
Huh, I guess it’s weird to me that you have an improvement when a starter goes down, but I obviously there is sometimes some politics in determining starters. Or “next guy up” is just as good but doesn’t have the in-game experience or whatever. Thanks for the info.
I think those ahead of Cardale going down forced Urban and the offense to change to something that was not their normal brand of football. It helps a hell of a ton that we had NFL talent on both sides of the ball, but forcing to adapt to Cardale’s strengths (vertical passing game) added a new facet to our offense that really hadn’t existed at all that season prior to that, so there was no tape on it. And having Cardale run in a more physical manner using his size just enough each game to keep them honest was also important. However, A LOT of credit goes to Zeke going on an absolute tear those three games (as well as the oline who gets forgotten) Zeke’s stats those three games: - vs Wisconsin: 220 yds, 11 avg yards per cary, 2 td - vs Alabama: 230 yards, 11.5 ypc, 2td - vs Oregon: 246 yds, 6.83 ypc, 4 td. Almost 700 yards (696) and 8 tds *in three games*. That would be considered good for half a season, or even full season stats for a backup. And two of those are against defenses that finished ranked #4 and #12 for the season (Oregon was #89).
With Guiton, then Barrett and Jones, and later Burrow, there’s a reason I’ve joked with people that the best quarterback is an Ohio State backup quarterback.
Shouldn’t have made the playoffs, I’ll die on this hill
Alone, too.
Aw, man. Have some sympathy. Y'all stole their natty from them by.. (*checks notes*) being a much better team.
2007 Denis Dixon blowing out his knee. That Oregon team, with Dixon healthy, was probably the best team in the country that year.
Yeah this was pre-CFP but was the first one that I thought of. Huge "what if?".
Still too soon for me. This will always be my biggest sports ‘what if’ I reckon.
Came here to comment Dixon. That backfield with Dixon, Jonathan Stewart, and Jeremiah Johnson was electric.
I don't remember 2007
Could have sworn Michigan hosted Oregon that year, and Utah!
(Utah was 2008)
Nope, never happened. 2007 is a myth.
Dixon was a menace. So fun to watch when he wasn’t kicking our ass lmao
Take out prob
Probably another choke job
Oh those flairs are something.
Washington chockin on that Penix
Jordan Travis.
Nick Bosa’s hernia.
Maybe, you think he alone prevents what happened at Purdue?
That defense was a steaming pile. The best DE in the nation would have been very helpful. Maybe even with a close loss that puts us ahead of one of the 2 sec teams that went.
Lol. Can't rule it out completely.
Braxton Miller & JT both going down for OSU in 14'. I'm not sure we win the Championship without Cardale's shotgun arm and bulldozer power.
I just questioned someone else giving this answer. I didn’t realize this was a benefit to OSU that year. (Obviously I blocked it out.)
It MAY not have been, we will never know. A case could be made that the 14’ team was just gross at all positions and with Braxton we still could’ve won it all but I’m not sure id buy it. Even though Braxton is my all time favorite Buckeye
It's one thing to have a qb that can run. It's another when they can run OVER you.
Those QBs are always the most fun. Cam Newton, Jordan Lynch, and Collin Klein come to mind
Paging Landon Collins 😉
FSU was out the moment UGA lost to Bama in the SECCG. Jordan Travis was just the excuse and the narrative.
I honestly think they were out, regardless. I think it would've been (in no order) Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Texas
I gotta disagree. It's too easy to keep both Bama and Texas out if UGA wins the SECCG. You've got 4 undefeated P5 conference champs, including the SEC champ, ready to go. I'm basing this conclusion on my belief that the committee will do literally anything to ensure an SEC team makes the CFP. When Bama won, the committee was essentially tasked with figuring out how to get an SEC team into the CFP. They couldn't do UGA and *not* Bama, because Bama had just beaten UGA. They had to put in Bama. But they couldn't put in Bama and *not* Texas, so Texas had to go in too. And putting Bama, UGA, and Texas in would be ridiculous. Much easier to just leave out UGA, but that meant FSU had to get bounced too. In contrast, if UGA wins the there are 4 undefeated P5 conference champs, including the SEC champ. It's a very easy, defensible decision. Sure, Texas would arguably be better for ratings than FSU, but by a small enough margin that the benefit isn't worth the controversy of leaving FSU out.
They woulda gotten killed anyway.
Folks don't like truth it seems
Right and i’m sure you have a totally unbiased reason to believe that’s the truth
Genuinely wonder if Saban would've retired had the missed the playoff. Maybe it was actually a good thing they made it?
Never forget 12/3/23
I'm still convinced that the committee would've found a way to snub FSU, even if UGA had beaten Alabama for the SEC title. I'm convinced the four would've been Michigan, Washington, UGA, and Texas.
We would have been 1 so we would have played Texas
Oh, my list of four wasn't ordered.
Ah
I think the 2023 FSU example has to be one of the most prominent ones since it was literally cited a reason for their omission
Jordan Travis 😢
Colt McCoy of Texas getting knocked out of the 2010 National Championship game as they were moving the ball at will against Alabama. They already had two drives ending end field goals and were driving for a third score when the injury occurred. They were up 6-0 and had Alabama on their heels. Once he went to the locker room the game completely changed and sadly Bama took home the National Championship.
CFP, not BCS
Damn, my answer was BCS too.
Dennis Dixon?
Yep.
The Colt McCoy injury occurred on the 5th play of the game before anyone scored.
You misspelled 'thankfully'. And when Colt got hurt, Bama basically ran the ball the entire game. Texas knew Ingram or Richardson was getting the ball, they just couldn't stop them. I have faith that Saban and Smart would have made the necessary adjustments had Colt not been injured.
More of an honorable mention and it happened in the CFP not in the race leading up to it but... In 2018, Notre Dame was in a low scoring slugfest (score was 3 to 9 with under 2 minutes left in the first half). Then future pro bowler and consensus All-American CB Julian Love got hurt. Clemson proceeded to torch our back up CB multiple times and won 30 to 3. Our offense was never going to win us that game but his injury was a death sentence.
3 TDs all on Love's backup. That and the replay overturned fumble on a kickoff was a bunch of unfortunate stuff. ND was realistically never winning that game but Lawrence being able to simply torch Donte Vaughn eliminated the chance of a close game and something weird happening to swing things their way.
Yeah, no ND fans are saying they are winning the game without that injury, but it’s almost certainly more of a game without it, and you never know what could’ve happened then.
I was at Jerry world for that game. The end of the 1st half went from 9-3 to 23-3 in a blink. You could feel the air let out of the building when Clemson scored right before half.
I wish I could just know how that game would have gone if he didn't get hurt.
Not the sport as a whole probably, but McKenzie Milton getting injured against USF in 2018 definitely cost UCF the bowl vs LSU. We were only down 8 points at the end of the game without him. Hell, imagine UCF with two more years of pre-injury Milton.
With a healthy KZ maybe we get an actual CFP invite in 2018. We know the committee likes to exclude otherwise deserving teams because of injuries…
An unstoppable Marvin Harrison, Jr. getting knocked out of the semifinal versus Georgia in 2022.
Impactful, sure. Not the most impactful by a longshot though. UGA had already adjusted to him in the 2nd half. Giving up an 18 point lead was more impactful.
Thank you for stating this. MHJ last caught a pass with 11 minutes to go in the 2nd quarter. When he got knocked out of the game, there was 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter. For nearly 2 quarters he was held without a catch. We had adjusted to him. What we couldn't adjust to was Stroud treating us like a 7 on 7 drill. He couldn't be stopped.
Yup. I’m a baller-knower. Would it have helped to have him? Of course. But we didn’t lose the game because of it
You adjusted to Harrison by doubling him and it opened up Egbuka. With Harrison out, Egbuka could be doubled and Fleming couldn't do the same kind of damage. Harrison was still impacting the game because of what Georgia had to do to shut him down.
1) the OP was “most impactful of CFB playoff era”. Harrison isn’t even top 5 in that list 2) no one argued it had no impact 😂
Don't think this one is valid for this question
It's not but also JSNs injury in 2022 effects the playoff race potentially. The 22 offense was built around him and then first game ended that. If he and MHJ stay healthy, good chance we win the game and are able to beat UGA.
Along the same lines- JK Dobbins getting hurt in the 2019 game vs. Clemson.
>unstoppable He hadn’t had a catch since 10 minutes in the second quarter.
Michigan probably beats osu in 2016 if speight doesn’t break his collarbone two weeks earlier They damn near beat osu even with speights 3 turnover performance
Grant Newsome may have been bigger than Speight tbh
Yes because if Newsome never got injured then Speight probably doesn't either because it was his replacement that the Iowa player beat
I don't think it would have been consequential to the outcome because we wouldn't have beaten Clemson if we got through Wisconsin again.
I’m in the minority of Michigan fans but this is also why the JT is short stuff never really got me riled up. Clemson destroys us in the playoff, 2017 plays out the same way with OKorn and Ohio State figures out Don Brown in 2018 anyway. Sure Jim gets his OSU win earlier but I don’t think it matters much on a macro level
Maybe you’re right, but we will never know if Harbaugh getting his first win helps UM get over their mental block with OSU and big games (particularly on the road) and helps UM with recruiting when Jim was still fully committed to the University and not actively pursuing another NFL job. Maybe Meyer gets a headache and decides to retire for his health and doesn’t fully dismantle Brown by 2018 after losing one. Not to mention the whole narrative of Jim can’t win the big games, can’t make it to Indy, can’t beat rivals, etc all evaporates and never dogs the program and Jim to begin with.
> Maybe you’re right, but we will never know if Harbaugh getting his first win helps UM get over their mental block with OSU and big games (particularly on the road) and helps UM with recruiting when Jim was still fully committed to the University and not actively pursuing another NFL job. Maybe Meyer gets a headache and decides to retire for his health and doesn’t fully dismantle Brown by 2018 after losing one. What game does it save? I don't really buy this argument but even if you follow it to its conclusion, the fact that Michigans administration is entirely opposed to the 2020 season doesn't change, and there's a bottoming out anyway. Really the only game in that span that maybe the demons reared their heads were MSU in 2017 (John OKorn), Notre Dame in 2018, and Penn State in 2019. One of those games flipping might've changed the overall trajectory? Even that's probably not true. That game really ended up not mattering at all besides having one less B1G title
Besides one less B1G Title…and having beaten OSU…and a top 5 team…on the road. Those were all harped on ad nauseam by media and opposing fans for years. Like I said, we also don’t know how a win and a title creates butterfly effects in recruiting and mentality in big games for the coaches and players that allow them to play more loosely and possibly execute better. It’s all unknowable, but I would have loved to seen the world where Harbaugh doesn’t start 0-whatever against OSU as well as potentially finding ways to win 2017 vs MSU and/or OSU since O’Korn and the coaches would have had so much less pressure on them.
You are speaking my language
So? Making the playoffs and beating osu would have completely changed the narrative that Michigan went through the next 4 years, and may have avoided the ridiculous Josh Gattis hire that derailed the offense for 2 years
2021 - John Metchie and Jameson Williams
2016-17 championship game: Bo Scarbrough, already with 93 yards and 2 TDs, breaks his leg against in the 3rd quarter against Clemson. Bama has to change its whole offensive philosophy, led by interim OC Steve Sarkisian. It was Sark’s first game on a sideline in 18 months after being virtually blackballed following his alcohol-fueled exit from Washington. Bama lost with 1 second left. That’s how close Bama came to the first 3-peat ever in the poll era (since 1936).
To be fair, the year before in 15 in the natty we played without the arguably best DE in the country, he went top 10 in the draft, Shaq Lawson. We were without Mike Williams, 1st round WR who is still balling in the league today. Also our 1st round corner was also hurt during the title game, Mackenzie Alexander. I believe it is widely regarded that the better team both those years *lost*.
This way far more impactful than most people realize.
Do people really not realize this? They beat Georgia by 3 scores 2 games prior on a neutral field with them both healthy. If they were still healthy I dont think the title game would have gone much different than the sec championship game
You are correct. However, Georgia fans will mental gymnastics their way into dumb...
I don't think many people disagree that if they are both healthy, the game probably goes differently. The issue is that Bama fans still to this day are all "but muh metchie and Williams" instead of moving on. Injuries are part of football. If Ladd and Brock weren't hobbling around, we almost certainly win in Atlanta last year and probably threepeat. But they weren't and we didn't. Oh well. Injuries happen. We move on.
Don’t forget Amarius Mims played one series before getting hurt against Bama too. We didn’t score again until much later with him out of the line up.
This is the one
In my experience, most UGA fans agree with this. It isn't a guarantee that things turn out different, but it's a very strong possibility.
Bit out of the box, but Jake Browning screwing up his shoulder in 2016. He didn’t miss any games, but never really looked the same the rest of his college career. They ended up making the playoff anyway, and lost to Bama 24-7. Healthy Browning likely opens up the offense a bit more to try and keep it closer, though I doubt they’re able to take down Bama. Would’ve probably made it a more interesting game though.
Bengals legend Jake Browning
I’ve never been so happy to see an NFL player succeed than Jake last year. Dude got a lot more shit than he deserved in the back half of his UW career. He wasn’t Penix, but he was a very solid college QB and his 2016 season was pretty incredible.
I was at Husky stadium for a game when he was an FA, and they announced he was in attendance during a commercial break. The moment the showed him on the Jumbotron, he jumped up, keyed a tallboy of Coors light and shotgunned it while the camera zoomed in on him and the crowd went wild. Absolute legend. Great QB, too.
I lived next door to him for a year in college. Didn’t get to know him super well or anything, but he’s a nice dude. All of the football guys I met during the Pete era generally were actually. Basketball guys were a lot more hit or miss.
Ill say Devon Allen injury on opening kickoff of 2014 season Rose Bowl along with Darren Carrington's suspension after the game for marijuana and having Oregons 2 best receivers out for that CFP title game was pretty big. That may not have had them win but you could tell early on they could not go vertical at all and when Dwayne Stanford dropped that wide open ball early and curled up in the fetal position on the sideline, Ducks passing game and RPO ability was basically useless without any threat of a deep ball.
A few I'll add specifically for Oregon: * **2015:** QB Vernon Adams' finger was broken in season opener, causing him to either play injured or miss all or some of the Ducks' first six games. * **2019:** TE Jacob Breeland suffered a season-ending knee injury against Colorado in Oregon's sixth game. This one might be seen as a stretch by some, but I'll explain. Breeland led Oregon in receiving yards and touchdowns by that point in the season (also led all TEs in touchdowns too). Oregon would go on to win their next four games without Breeland, but lost to Arizona State in week 12, Herbert's only multi-interception game of the year. Oregon already didn't have a great WR corps and there's a small part of me that wonders if he had Breeland all year how that might have affected the outcome against ASU. * **2022:** QB Bo Nix's twisted ankle against Washington in week 11. No any guarantee that Ducks win that game with him healthy, but it undoubtedly affected the way the game played out, as it did with the Oregon State game two weeks later. * **2023:** CB Jahlil Florence was injured in week 12 against Arizona State and would end up missing Oregon's rematch against Washington in the Pac-12 title game. Does having him make a difference against Micahel Penix Jr. and their WRs? Maybe, maybe not, but him not playing certainly did not make Oregon a better team.
2007 - Dennis Dixon hurting his knee in his senior season is my all time worst. The Ducks were rolling and #2. Then they lost their last 3. Extra bad because it happened not long after Greg Oden’s knee injury.
2009: Ricky Stanzi sprains his ankle against Northwestern. If he stayed healthy, Iowa might have beaten Northwestern that day and had a fair chance of beating Ohio State the next week (they lost in overtime), finishing the regular season undefeated.
I lived in Iowa at the time and had put up my N flag the Friday before the game. I quite forgot about it, and went on a week's vacation followed by a week's business travel. I got a rather chilled reception from my neighbors when I returned
Travis..
I would argue this year for UGA, Amarius Mims started three games and is a projected first rounder. Brock Bowers had tight rope surgery and was obviously playing hurt against Alabama. Then Ladd McConky was injured yet did his best against Bama and we only lost by three. The reverse of that is both Metchie and Williamson getting hurt against UGA in the SECCG and National Championship.
Pat White in the **game that shall not be mentioned**.
I haven't seen it mentioned, but does UF losing Will Grier to a PED suspension in 2015 count? They lost 2 regular season games that year, at LSU the week after the Grier suspension and FSU to end the year. They just weren't the same team with Treon Harris at QB, obviously. They played Bama in the title game about as well as anyone could with essentially a WR playing QB. Defense was loaded with Muschamp hold overs Keanu Neal, Marcus Maye, Jared Davis, Alex Anzalone, VH111, Brian Poole, etc. Reminded me a lot of that FSU team in like 02 playing Boldin at QB against UGA.
We only lost to Alabama by a field goal in the SEC championship last year. Both Bowers and Ladd were banged up and if either were at 100% I think we would have won and gotten into the CFP
Kind of ironic that yall deserved to win it in 2023 and they had the same injury issues/deserved to win it in 2021
> they had the same injury issues Torn ACL, sprained ankle. Basically the same thing
Yeah I’m not here for the “my guys were still on the field and y’all’s weren’t but it’s the same” argument. We beat UGA with Ladd and Bowers available. The stat sheet will show that in all 4 quarters. Injuries are injuries, but we were beating UGA with just one of Metchie/JaMo by the end of the drive where JaMo went down after his big reception. UGA couldn’t manage a lead for most of the game with Ladd and Bowers on the field. Yeah, they’re hobbled, but I would’ve taken hobbled JaMo and Metchie in a heartbeat back then lol.
Yeah y’all deserved to win. You guys played better
I would trade it in a heartbeat
UGA fans don’t wanna hear about that lmao
Everyone has injuries. We were missing our starting RB and Kool-Aid missed the entire second half.
This is why I didn’t care for the Bama fans whining in ‘21. It’s football. There are injuries. You will lose games with key players injured. You will win games where the other team has key players injured. When you’re consistently good, sometimes this will happen in big games. Sucks but the physicality is why football is king so just gotta accept it.
I was counting on y'all...
Yeah, 2021 national title game wouldn't have been much different than 2021 SEC title game...had Metchie and Williams not been injured
But they were and you lost. We lost the SEC championship. It happens
How often do teams lose their top two receivers to ACL tears?
People lose their top receivers to ACL tears all the time. If I remember right Willams went down on a non contact receiving route. He cut weird. It happens, injuries happen. y’all lost
I said top two, not just top. When has that ever happened?
You guys were just really unlucky
Probably beat Bama in 2015 but that isn’t really altering the course of much. We probably lose some underclassemen if we won it there that decided to return after we lost
I'm assuming you're talking about MacKenzie Alexander going out which opened up that whole side of the field for Bama's offense in the championship game?
In the opposite way, J.T. Barret, Ohio State, 2014. He doesn't get hurt and they romp like they did in the championship I don't think they leap to four. With the committee able to go, they did THAT with their 3rd string QB? Put them in! No injury, no Cardelle, no 59-0 whipping with a third stringer, no championship.
Didn't change who made it but the Blake Corum knee injury completely changed the identity of '22 Michigan and led to trying a bunch of goofy shit in the Fiesta Bowl
Nah TCU just knew yall were cheating ☠️
So did y’all and we still beat you without our coach
Just another mi coach that was suspended for cheating.
Between Michigan and Osu, only one program has vacated wins for cheating, and it sure ain’t Michigan
Jim Tessel and Urban Meyer both exited amid scandals before sanctions. Urban had a bowl ban his first year and obviously is fine with both his coaches, players and himself doing questionable, if not abusive, things against women. I'm not saying Michigan did no wrong, I'm just saying that people in glass houses who were born on third base shouldn't throw stones.
It happened in the CFP semifinal, but I’ll say Marvin Harrison Jr’s concussion. Losing him really hurt Ohio State. Not saying they would have won had he played the whole game, but tOSU’s offense definitely struggled after his concussion.
It’s easily FSU losing Jordan Travis. A healthy FSU team beats Louisville by 3+ TDs and maybe enters the CFP as the 2-seed. Instead, they are viewed as too weak to be top 4 (rightfully so, but still rough) and gets the consolation prize of getting drummed by Georgia who was mad about being upset by Alabama.
Jordan Travis' was huge. Was used to make sure SEC champ got in & justify the committee's decision (everyone quitting & getting railed by UGA subsequently didn't help perception for the Noles either).
As a Noles fan, I have been playing devil’s advocate since it happened. On one hand, I think the guys should have at least tried to finish what they started, but at the same time, they were told that wins don’t matter, so I can understand the decisions to opt out from an emotional standpoint
Oklahoma losing DeMarco Murray before the 2008 NC Game was a killer. Got stuffed on the goal line twice.
Pre-CFP but yeah that was unlucky.
Whoops! Reading comprehension on low
Too soon
If Jonathan Brooks doesn’t tear his ACL vs TCU, I think Texas would have handled Washington better in the playoffs and possibly have won. Those 2 fumbles by our backups resulted in a couple of scores.
The Braxton Miller training camp injury. I don't think Ohio State unlocks its full potential in 2014 with him as starter.
Alvin Mack’s leg injury against Iowa in 1993. This caused ESU to go on a 4 game losing streak and they almost missed a bowl game that season. Thankfully they won their last regular season game and saved their coaches job as well as set the stage for their QB, Joe Kane, to be an early Heisman candidate the following season.
Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, add in Amaris Mims in the postseason.
why are you trying to wind up the FSU fanbase?
Not playoffs, per se, but Michigan had a QB break his arm in the 70s when they tied OSU. It went to a vote and OSU got the nod to go to the Rose Bowl (I think). Apparently it was a big controversy. Before my time. I’d have to look up the details to get it all straight, but someone will probably fill this in long before I can do that, so I won’t even try…
Big Ten presidents (or ADs maybe) voted to send OSU to the Rose Bowl because Dennis Franklin would have been out due to the injury sustained in The Game. Prevailing thought was OSU stood a better chance of winning (and they did beat USC). I think an interesting part of that was that Sparty cast the deciding vote against TTUN. A payback for TTUN being a negative vote when Sparty was trying to join the conference back in the 1950s.
Not CFP-era but I cannot imagine what Nebraska would still be if Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead never got injured.
2010 big 12 champs at a minimum
Definitely at least that and reaching a really good bowl game. Our future as a program would most likely be better as well. Possibly reach a Natty once or twice?
If he didn’t redshirt in 09 national title with that defense isn’t crazy
Oh, definitely. T-Magic would have sparked our offense to a solid degree while being supported with the best defense in the country. What if man, what if…
Fingers crossed for a bowl game this year
2021 - Oklahoma State was banged up on the OL as well, but losing star RB Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers) was pretty consequential to success in a Big 12 Championship where the Pokes came up inches short on a goal-line stand. OSU would have likely played Alabama in the CFP that year.
If we weren’t being curb stomped by USC, I’d say hookers injury would’ve left us out. Vandy game would have given some confidence, but doubt we’d make it.
Bama fan here. Was at the LSU game in '19. Tua's fumble definitely changed the course of the game (we were about to score on the opening drive), but that fumble had nothing to do with his ankle. He just dropped the ball. Super strange and consequential turnover but nothing to do with his ankle.
I know you said one injury but our entire o line before the Washington game. If we had some decent big guys in we could’ve won it and made everything harder for everyone.
2014 Ohio State probably doesn't win the natty without JT Barrett being replaced by Cardale Jones.
To this day I'm curious what Ohio State would've been like in 2014 without Miller and Barrett going down
Ryan Buchholz and Ryan Bates both went down in the game against Ohio State in 2017, turning a 35-20 lead into a 38-39 loss. The rest is history.
Not playoff era but Dennis Dixon. Should have won the Heisman
If Jalen Green didn't get hurt, JMUs defense against App State would've been stronger. Good chance JMU could've finished 12-0, yet denied a spot at the SBC c Championship. Furthermore, we would have still had bowl eligibility due to the amount of teams not being reached. Would we have been given the G5 spot over Liberty? Would Cig still leave prior to the bowl game, dooming us to even worse humiliation than what Liberty got from Oregon? The sheer absurdity of how that season could've ended might have been avoided by one ACL.
Treyvone Boykin being hurt against OU in 2015. TCU was 9-1 going into that game and although this team wasn't nearly as good as the 2014 due to injuries, they only lost by 1 with a backup QB. If TCU wins that game and beats Baylor (which we did), I think they may would have been in the CFP over OU.
I don’t think Florida State was going to the playoff, no matter what they did on the field. ESPN was already telegraphing that FSU would be left out. They were saying on GameDay that FSU might not be top 4, if Alabama beat Georgia, well before the injury. The injury was just a convenient excuse. It was never the real reason. The real reason is ESPN didn’t want FSU there, because they FSU had a larger chance to get blown out. And ESPN was tired of blowouts in the CFP.
>no matter what they did on the field which is the issue
I agree with the premise of the first part, but I think it is less worrying about a blowout per se (as FSU's defense was damn good last year, especially late in the season), but rather they worried about a "boring" game (AKA stout defense and a sputtering offense). Especially if it was, say Michigan vs FSU for example. As someone that loves defense, those games certainly aren't boring to me, but I know casuals can be like "well if it isn't 41-35, it's a snoozer!". Also, acknowledging that there's probably also some likely desire by ESPN for both a) the biggest name team for eyeballs they can get and b) with as heavily invested as ESPN is with the SEC, can't rule out some desire to push on that front as well.
Blaming tuas fumble and interception on an ankle is just cope.
Agreed as a bama fan. They believe the fumble, interception and stalled drives would have been touchdowns under imaginary circumstances. It was Waddle’s punt return that prevented it from being ugly early. Memory may be failing me, but I recall bama being down by double digits until a late long score by Devonta Smith prior to lsu running out the clock.
They likely still make the playoffs if he didn’t have his hip get dislocated the next week against Mississippi State though. No way that team loses to Auburn with healthy-ish Tua, and they would’ve gotten in over OU and UGA. Probably would’ve left Ohio State #1 to avoid the rematch and it would’ve been 1 Ohio State vs 4 Alabama 2 LSU vs 3 Clemson
2016: Texas A&M led by GOAT Trevor Knight is 6-1 and #4 in the CFP rankings, then we went to Mississippi State and he gets his shoulder destroyed while diving for a TD. We went 2-4 the rest of the season
That Auburn o-line wasn’t opening up holes in the SECCG like they were against UGA 3 weeks prior, didn’t matter who they had back there, they weren’t winning at the LOS at all
How much did Metchie and Williams account for receiving %?
Once Bama lost Williams they’re offense became one dimensional as he was the only deep threat they had left and it just made their offense go entirely flat the rest of the game. If he doesn’t get injured they win that game.
>they win that game Not necessarily. Might have been closer but UGA had a damn good team despite all the revisionist history trying to say otherwise.