Monthly Archives: November 2023

5 Surprises & 5 Disappointments through week 11 of the NFL Season

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Caption: CJ Stroud drops pack to pass in a game against the Saints

By Carsen Hageman

Carsen Hageman is from Liberty Center, Ohio and is a Senior at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. Professional & collegiate football are his main interests. Upon graduation in the spring, he hopes to pursue a career in professional and college football.

November 25, 2023

Surprises

Caption: Jared Goff throws a pass during a recent game against the Ravens

  1. Lions

The Detroit Lions have surprised everyone this season. It all started with upsetting the defending champion KC Chiefs on the opening weekend of the season. Now, they have an 8-3 record and are currently the 2nd seed in the NFC playoffs. Armed with a top 10 statistical defense, a top 5 offensive line, and offensive weapons like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions look poised to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Caption: Christian McCaffrey celebrates after scoring a touchdown.

2. Christian McCaffrey 

While his record-setting touchdown streak just ended, McCaffrey’s performance this year garnered early MVP attention. That talk has since subsided, but he is still arguably the top running back in the league and has been the workhorse behind the 49ers’ success this season. With a lack of a true deep threat at wide receiver, McCaffrey is the guy defenses key in on when playing the 49ers. Despite this focus, he leads the NFL in rushing yards.

Caption: Chiefs’ defenders celebrate.

3. Kansas City Chiefs’ Defense

    It is no surprise that any team with Patrick Mahomes is doing well. But unlike previous seasons, the Chiefs’ Defense has been a large part of their success this season. Statistically, they are currently the 4th best defense in the league. With a 7-3 record, the reigning champs look primed for another long postseason run.

    Caption: Lamar Jackson drops back to pass.

    4. Baltimore Ravens

    In the past, Lamar Jackson has been at the center of the Ravens’ issues. But with his turnover issues behind him for the most part, the Ravens are looking to challenge the Chiefs for the top spot in the AFC this year. Their defense is playing outstanding this year. Mike Macdonald’s unit has allowed the 2nd fewest yards per game average and has allowed the fewest touchdowns (15) so far this year.

    Caption: CJ Stroud celebrates with teammates.

    5. CJ Stroud

    With outstanding performance after outstanding performance recently, Stroud has officially entered the MVP conversation. It is almost unthinkable that he is a rookie and putting up consecutive great performances. As a rookie, he is 2nd in the NFL in passing yards. For a team that held the second pick in last year’s draft, the Texans look like a sneaky good team as the AFC playoff picture heats up. They look to earn a wild card and make a Super Bowl run with Stroud at the center of their playoff push.

    Disappointments

    Caption: Head Coach Matt Eberflus and players react to a play.

    1. Chicago Bears

    The Bears, a team with all the hype heading into the season, have disappointed in almost every respect this year. Preseason expectations had them challenging for a division title and making a postseason run. Now, their QB Justin Fields has been hurt most of the year, their defense has struggled all year by giving up 20+ points in all but 2 games, and they have not had consistent production from their weapons. With the likelihood that they will be in contention for a top draft pick, some are questioning if they should pick a quarterback.

    Caption: Patriots’ QBs Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe talk with Offensive Coordinator Bill O’Brien.

    2. New England Patriots

    With recent disappointing draft classes and poor coaching, the Patriots have been a mess this season. Perhaps the biggest story has been the lack of development of Mac Jones, their first-round pick from the 2021 draft. He has looked average at best over the past three seasons and has not looked good in general this season. It is because of draft misses like these that rumors of Bill Belichick’s departure have been swirling during their tumultuous season.

    Caption: Giants’ QB Tommy DeVito gets sacked.

    3. New York Giants

    About everything that could have gone wrong for the Giants this season has gone wrong. As a Giants’ fan myself, I personally have watched as this season has unfolded. Starting with a 40-0 Sunday Night Football route by the Cowboys, it has all gone downhill for a team that won a playoff game last season. With injuries to about every key offensive player, their offense has looked inept most of the season. Now with a 3-8 record, they are in contention for a top draft pick. With a top 5 pick all but locked in, it looks likely the Giants will draft a quarterback after not even a full season has passed since they guaranteed Daniel Jones an $82 million contract this spring.

    Caption: Raiders’ running back Josh Jacobs stiff-arms a Patriots’ defender.

    4. Las Vegas Raiders

    This season might not be a total wash since an in season coaching change appears to be the spark this team needed. Interim coach Antonio Pierce has guided the Raiders to a 2-1 record since Josh McDaniels’ departure and has this team playing harder than they ever did with McDaniels as their head coach. It is unfortunate that it took such a drastic move to get this team playing better. In the offseason, they looked like a team that could steal a playoff spot with newly acquired Quarterback Jimmy Garappolo, Davante Adams, and an improving defense.

    Caption: Panthers’ QB Bryce Young prepares to pass.

    5. Carolina Panthers

    While preseason expectations did not have the Panthers making the playoffs, I don’t think anyone had the Panthers looking this bad. The biggest storyline for this team has been Bryce Young. With the Panthers trading for the first pick in the 2023 draft, they could choose from the cream of the crop of available quarterbacks. With the first pick, they choose Bryce Young out of Alabama. Young has looked like one of the worst in this class. The Alabama product has recorded 8 passing touchdowns with 7 interceptions and 29 sacks. By comparison, the No. 2 draft pick CJ Stroud has 15 passing touchdowns with 2 interceptions and 19 sacks. Without a first round selection in this year’s draft things are looking bleak for the Panthers. They could also head into next season with a new coach with rumors of Frank Reich’s job status in question.

    2024 MLB Free Agent Predictions

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    By Ryan Harless

    Ryan Harless is a fourth-year undergraduate at BGSU from Hillsboro, Ohio. He is majoring in Sport Management with a Journalism Minor. Baseball and golf at all levels are his primary interests but he is also interested in combat sports, hockey, basketball, and football.

    November 19, 2023

    ­Baseball season has come to an end yet again and now is time to look forward to what may be at the start of next season with some free agents! This is one of the most star-studded free agent classes of recent memory, so I am expecting some fireworks and some interesting looking teams come next April.

    Criteria: I am only selecting the free agents I wanted to talk about so unfortunately, I won’t be doing deep dives on Drew Rucinski.

    Catcher: Gary Sanchez – After having a few weird years with the Yankees and Twins, Sanchez made a huge impact this year with the Padres. He helped ace Blake Snell to have one of the best seasons of his career from behind the plate and helped bring a little more fight to the already pretty stacked Padres. He didn’t provide a lot of help in the batter’s box BUT as an elite defensive catcher and with the ace of the staff asking to be caught by him, I imagine Sanchez will stay in San Diego.

    First Base: Rhys Hoskins – Following a disappointing NLCS loss to the Diamondbacks, Hoskins is in an odd spot. The rumors around MLB are that Bryce Harper is planning on being full time at first base from 2024 onward which makes it look like Hoskins will be finding a new home this offseason. I think a great spot for him would be San Francisco. He could take over for Wilmer Flores and free him up to become a utility player yet again and help be a piece to the puzzle the Giants are trying to put together.

    Honorable Mention: Joey Votto – The Reds announced that they wouldn’t be renewing Votto’s deal (largest in team history) after a cool 19 years in the organization. I’m still very hopeful that the Reds sign him to a one-year deal so that he can retire as a Red. But if he has to leave, I wouldn’t mind him signing with his hometown Toronto Blue Jays or even possibly a playoff contender so that he can finally play meaningful October baseball again.

    Second Base: Looking through the list of free agent second basemen was pretty disappointing. The biggest names were Elvis Andrus and Whit Merrifield (both 35). Don’t get me wrong, great players but I don’t see either of them making a huge impact when they find new teams.

    Shortstop: Amed Rosario – One of the best and youngest names on the free agent list Rosario is a career .272 batter with a glove that is next to a sure thing. He had spent multiple seasons with both the Mets and Guardians before he was shipped to the Dodgers late last season before the playoffs. I think that he will end up resigning with the Dodgers as they can probably get him for just over $10 million a year.

    Third Base: Matt Chapman – Coming off of an offensively disappointing year where he was still able to secure his fourth Rawlings Gold Glove, Chapman will probably be commanding a relatively high yearly salary. While his offense is much more hit or miss than Nolan Arenado, his defense in the hot corner is undeniable. Under the right circumstances, Chapman could easily be an MVP contender. He has turned down a sizable deal from Toronto already so I don’t anticipate him to be back next year, but I think he would be a great fit with the Giants much like Hoskins. With the Giants looking to be big spenders this offseason, I think two new stars to anchor their infield is more than believable.

    Outfield: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. – After a World Series run with Arizona, I would be very very shocked to see the youngest Gurriel brother anywhere but with the snakes in 2024. He has been a beacon of consistency and clutch as he proved this postseason. This will more than likely cost Arizona a decent bit of change but I think it would be well worth it for their future.

    Cody Bellinger – After winning National League comeback player of the year, Bellinger looks to be back to his 2019 MVP winning ways. One of the least surprising free agents of the entire class, Bellinger excelled in Wrigley and if it weren’t for possibly the biggest free agent of all time (spoiler) also being available, I would say he’s a shoo in to come back. But I still find it hard to believe he will go anywhere else after finding this success. However, for the sake of predicting something other than him resigning, I could see him ending up in pinstripes as a Yankee in 2024.

    Teoscar Hernández – Two seasons removed from his last All-Star appearance, Teoscar looks to have regressed a little over the past couple years. This is not to say he is no longer a good player, but he simply isn’t hitting almost .300 and doesn’t seem to have as much pop as he formerly did. Now, I really like Teoscar, he has all the tools and seems to be universally liked by his teammates! He absolutely should get picked up by someone, and I predict that he will go to Colorado. Plenty of room to roam in the outfield, and the elevation ought to help bring some of the ever-valuable pop back to his game.

    Pitchers: Aaron Nola – The ace of the almost National League champs surely set himself up well to finally get paid this season. He had his fifth consecutive full (162 game) season of 200+ strikeouts and was able to contain offenses in the postseason that were very dangerous. As much as I wanted to see him stay in Philly, I thought they missed their chance to ink a long-term deal with him last offseason. I thought Nola would be walking and likely to another contender as a great fit in Seattle. He and Luis Castillo would be a terrifying 1-2 punch. It turns out, he just inked a 7-year deal with the Phillies.

    Blake Snell – After possibly his best season to date, Snell will likely be commanding a lot of money with his second career Cy Young. This will certainly limit the teams that are available to go after him, I could easily see Snell getting the eye of a New York team like the Mets. My only concern with him is that the majority of his success this season came after the acquisition of Gary Sanchez. I would almost be willing to bet that if the Padres are open to re-signing both of them, they will stay together.

    Sonny Gray – Following his first All-Star appearance since 2019, Gray showed some dominance; despite his 8-8 record he allowed a league leading 0.4 home runs per 9 innings. I think his direction will be super dependent on the direction the Twins are wanting to take. If they feel that they can compete for a championship next year and looking forward, I imagine he would come back. But if Minnesota is looking to dismantle and rebuild, I think Gray would make a lot of sense for St. Louis as a veteran pitcher as the Cardinals have lost a lot of veteran presence over the past few seasons.

    Who we all came to hear about: Shohei Ohtani – I mean, its Ohtani. Coming off his second unanimous MVP season in the last three years, the only thing we are able to have a conversation about is how long and where he will go. I think he will be first, looking for a long-term deal, but that will cost substantially more money. I anticipate Shohei getting more than $40 million a year as he is both an elite pitcher and hitter AND is coming off arguably the best baseball season ever played. From everything I have seen and heard, I expect him to (unfortunately for the Reds fan in me) land with the Chicago Cubs. They were finalists in the Shohei sweepstakes the first time around, and now that he has some MLB service under his belt and is more comfortable in the states, I think his only limitation is himself.

    2023 Heisman Candidate Breakdown

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    Caption: USC QB Caleb Williams winning the 2022 Heisman Trophy.

    By Sam Morris

    Sam Morris is from Madison Heights, Michigan, and is an undergraduate student at BGSU majoring in Sports Management. He has a passion for sports writing and journalism. In his free time, he also performs, writes, and produces his own raps for the music industry club at BGSU.

    November 18, 2023

    Background Info on The Current Heisman Race

    Last college football season, I did a breakdown towards the end of the year on the major Heisman candidates and predicted that USC QB Caleb Williams would be the winner. Williams ended up winning the Heisman, despite losing to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl. Heading into the 2023-2024 season he was the betting favorite to repeat as the Heisman winner. However, despite his impressive 2023 individual statistics, Williams’ ability to repeat as Heisman winner has vanished quickly as his team has accumulated 4 losses. With Williams out of the picture, new candidates have emerged and there should be a tight race down the stretch between the four major candidates. With two games remaining, there is plenty of time for candidates to make up or lose ground in the race. Below, I’ll break down how each of the 4 candidates have performed so far this season, what their biggest weaknesses are, and what they each need to do to win this year’s Heisman award.

    Jayden Daniels (QB) (LSU)

    HT: 6’4    WT 210    CLASS: Senior

    Current 2023 Stats

    Carries: 114  

    Rushing Yds: 918           

    Total TD: 38

    Comp %: 71.4%      

    Passing Yds: 3,164     

    INT: 4

    Passer Rating: 202.1

    Remaining Schedule (7-3) (Ranked 15th)

    VS (6-4) Georgia State

    VS (6-4) Texas A&M

    Overall Candidacy

    Jayden Daniels has proven to be one of the most electrifying players to watch in college football this season. LSU’s captain is in his second year with the program after transferring from Arizona State in 2022 and he is posting massive career highs and improvements this season compared to last year. His passer rating is up 55 points from 2022, giving him a career high, and ranking him 1st in the FBS in passer rating. He also currently has career highs in passing yards, passing touchdowns, rushing yards, and completion percentage. Daniels ranks 1st in the FBS in passing touchdowns and total touchdowns, is 7th in the FBS in completion percentage, and is 3rd in the FBS in passing yards, making him one of only two players (along with Bo Nix) in the FBS to be ranked in the top 10 in all of these categories. Daniels is also the most prolific running quarterback on this list as well, giving him an extra edge over his opposing candidates in that regard.

    Overall, Daniels probably has the most impressive statistics on this list, and his remaining schedule is the easiest out of the 4 candidates, as he is the only person who doesn’t have to play a ranked team down the stretch. However, Daniels’ biggest weakness is that LSU has 3 losses and has absolutely no shot of making the CFP, whereas the other three candidates are all undefeated or have 1 loss and are ranked in the top 10. To win the Heisman, Daniels will have to have monster statistical games in his last two contests. I believe he can pull this off as he threw for over 600 yards against Florida last week and could have similar impressive statistics the next two weeks to win the committee over.

    J.J McCarthy (QB) (Michigan)

    HT: 6’3    WT 205    CLASS: Junior

    Current 2023 Stats 

    Carries: 45

    Rushing Yds: 171            

    Total TD: 21

    Comp %: 76.2%      

    Passing Yds: 2,194     

    INT: 3

    QB Rating: 187.2

    Remaining Schedule (10-0) (Ranked 3rd)

    @ (6-4) Maryland

    VS (10-0) 2. Ohio State

    Overall Candidacy

    McCarthy has taken a huge leap forward in his junior year as a leader and as a player. The Michigan captain has to deal with UM scandals in recruiting violations and sign stealing that have currently sidelined head coach Jim Harbaugh for a total of 6 games, and will keep him from coaching against Maryland and Ohio State. Despite this drama, McCarthy has pushed through to give one of the most impressive season performances in college football. He ranks 2nd in completion percentage and 3rd in passer rating, along with only throwing 3 interceptions all season (all of which came against Bowling Green). McCarthy has also led Michigan to an undefeated record and a crucial top 10 matchup victory over Penn State.

    McCarthy’s biggest weakness is that Michigan’s run game with RB Blake Corum is being used more this year than it has ever been since McCarthy took over the starting QB role. For example, against Penn State, Michigan ran the ball a total of 46 times, including 19 straight times in the second half. McCarthy didn’t complete a single pass in the entire second half as the run game was working extremely effectively. While McCarthy has proven to be an accurate and powerful thrower, the rushing attack has limited some of his stats, ranking him just 44th in passing yards and 33rd in passing touchdowns. In my opinion, McCarthy can overcome these low stats to win the Heisman, but will need to win the last two games and be the difference maker in the game against Ohio State.   

    Bo Nix (QB) (Oregon)

    HT: 6’2    WT 215    CLASS: Senior

    Current 2023 Stats 

    Carries: 38

    Rushing Yds: 121             

    Total TD: 34

    Comp %: 77.7%      

    Passing Yds: 3,135     

    INT: 2

    QB Rating: 184.7

    Remaining Schedule (9-1) (ranked 6th)

    @ (3-7) Arizona State

    VS (8-2) 10. Oregon State

    Overall Candidacy

    As previously mentioned, Nix is one of only two players (besides Jayden Daniels) to rank in the top 10 in completion percentage (1st in FBS), passing yards (6th in FBS), passing touchdowns (2nd in FBS), and passer rating (4th in FBS), giving him some of the most impressive statistics in college football. The 5th year senior is like Daniels in that he also transferred in 2022, coming to Oregon from Auburn. Nix has improved in each of his past two seasons and has led an offense that has scored over 30 points in every single game they have played this season, including 81 against Portland State, 63 against Cal, 55 against Hawaii, and 42 against Deion Sanders-led Colorado! Despite losing to Penix Jr. and Washington earlier in the season, Nix has currently overtaken him as the betting favorite to win this year’s Heisman.

    Nix’s biggest and only weakness in his candidacy is his week 6 loss to Penix. While the 5 candidates on this list can all win the Heisman, Nix has a clear-cut path if he can win the last two games and beat Penix in the Pac 12 championship game.

    Michael Penix Jr. (QB) (Washington)

    HT: 6’3    WT 215    CLASS: Senior

    Current 2023 Stats 

    Carries: 20  

    Rushing Yds: -27            

    Total TD: 30

    Comp %: 68.0%      

    Passing Yds: 3,533

    INT: 7

    QB Rating: 170.5

    Remaining Schedule (10-0) (ranked 5th)

    @ (8-2) 10. Oregon State

    VS (4-6) Washington State

    Overall Candidacy

    Yet another player who has used the transfer portal to his advantage, Penix is in his 6th year of eligibility, playing 4 years at Indiana, and now in his second at Washington. Despite the close battle between these 4 candidates this season, Penix has been the slight favorite for most of the year. Penix is a defensive back’s nightmare as he has shredded both zone and man coverage all season. His completion percentage ranks 15th, he has the 4th most passing touchdowns, and is 12th in passer rating. On top of that, he currently ranks 1st in the FBS in passing yards, with a whopping 284 more yards than last year’s Heisman Winner, USC QB Caleb Williams, who has the 2nd most passing yards. While some of Penix’s statistics aren’t as good as Nix, he currently has an advantage over him in that he beat him 36-33 week 6 in a head-to-head matchup.

    Despite his many pros, Penix also has a few weaknesses. First, he is the worst rushing QB on this list by a long shot, carrying the ball only 20 yards all season, for a total of -27 yards! Also, Penix has the most interceptions out of the QB’s on this list, with 7, which has caused Washington’s games to be a lot closer than Oregon’s or Michigan’s, where their QB’s turn the ball over much less often. Overall, Penix controls his own Heisman destiny. If he can win the last two contests against 10th ranked Oregon State and last place Washington State, and then beat Nix and Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship, he will most likely win the Heisman.

    Final Thoughts and 2023 Heisman Prediction

    Overall, this year’s Heisman race has been an intriguing one and it will be interesting to see what the committee values on December 9th when they give out the award. Recent history has suggested that a QB will win the award, so despite Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr and Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon having phenomenal seasons I don’t think they realistically have a chance to win. With the 4 QB’s I highlighted above, each has compelling cases that could turn into a Heisman run.

    If the committee values winning, Michigan QB J.J McCarthy could end up as the champion. He has become a proven winner and has impressive accuracy and passing rating statistics this season. If he were to beat Ohio State and Penix and Nix both had unimpressive performances in the Pac-12 title game, then I could see him as the winner. However, his low usage down the stretch of the season has decreased his statistics in which others on this list thrive and is the reason why I think he will end up in 4th place.

    As for LSU QB Jayden Daniels, his current statistics have him as arguably the most impressive player in the nation this season. His ability to throw the ball into tight windows and to throw for over 450 yards any given night is something that is unique to this year’s list of candidates. However, he has a slim chance to win as his team has 3 losses and the committee has shown to value winning as an important part of winning the Heisman as a QB in recent years. In fact, the last QB to win the award with more than 3 losses was Lamar Jackson in 2016 when Louisville went 8-5. Similar to Lamar’s insane rushing statistics that season, If Daniels can compile two more games of impressive passing yards, he may be able to leapfrog Nix and Penix. However, I ultimately think his 3-loss record will put him into 3rd place in the final Heisman voting.  

    Ultimately, the biggest Heisman-related storyline down the stretch of the season will be the Pac-12 title game with Oregon and Washington. Unless Oregon State beats both Oregon and Washington, then Nix will have a rematch against Penix with huge playoff and Heisman implications. In my opinion, because of the impressive statistics and ability to win so many ranked games this season by both Nix and Penix, whoever wins that Pac-12 Championship game will be the Heisman winner. Both Nix and Penix have many strengths but Penix’s weakness to be turnover prone is what I think will propel Oregon to victory and Bo Nix to become the 2023 Heisman winner.