Johnny who?
Nobody at Texas A&M was lamenting Johnny Manziel’s absence Thursday night when his replacement, Kenny Hill, was torching South Carolina in Columbia, SC, to the tune of 511 passing yards and three touchdowns in a surprising 52-28 rout.
It would be easy to go gaga over Hill’s performance, start coming up with catchy nicknames for the sophomore — he would prefer not to go by Kenny Football, by the way — but that would be making the same mistake we all made the last two years when raving about Texas A&M’s prolific attack.
That mistake? Forgetting head coach Kevin Sumlin and his innovative attacking style of offense.
The traveling circus that was Johnny Football made it easy to overlook Sumlin, because so much of what Manziel did seemed to be based on his own improvisations and talent. But Manziel wasn’t the first quarterback Sumlin developed and he doesn’t seem like he’ll be the last either.
Texas A&M knew what it had, which is why it gave Sumlin a six-year contract extension last November, worth $5 million a year, when USC showed interest, and not just because he was a “good negotiator” as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier cracked during SEC Media Day.
NFL quarterback Case Keenum, the NCAA’s all-time leader in total passing yards, touchdowns, and completions, has credited Sumlin for his development at the University of Houston. Sumlin was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma when Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy in 2008. And despite the Aggies losing three offensive starters to the first round of the NFL draft — Manziel, wide receiver Mike Evans and offensive tackle Jake Matthews — Hill looked as good as Manziel ever did against South Carolina.
Sumlin’s head-coaching career is that of a winner, five winning seasons in six years between Texas A&M and Houston, 20 victories in his first two seasons in College Station when the Aggies had registered 17 losses the previous three years. Manziel is given most of the credit.
There was even the silly suggestion that newly renovated Kyle Field should bear the quarterback’s name. But based on the start to the post-Johnny Football era, that narrative could — and should — be changing.
Kevin Sumlin may have been the real star this whole time.
It felt like the Lane Kiffin ‘error’ all over again this week in Southern California. Off-the-field issues, infighting, media firestorms. Then the season actually started Saturday night, and we were reminded how wrong we were.
New coach Steve Sarkisian isn’t Kiffin, even if he didn’t handle the Josh Shaw ordeal — the cornerback fabricated a heroic story about how he injured both of his ankles and the school ran with it — as well as many would have liked. Then there was the accusation of racism by running back Anthony Brown, who abruptly quit the team this week.
But for a few hours, the new coach could breathe easy. He certainly has a lot of talent to work with, particularly on offense, and it showed in a 52-13 decimation of Fresno State that reminded us of the Pete Carroll years in Trojan Land. USC ran a Pac-12 record 104 plays, piling up an astronomical 702 yards of total offense, as quarterback Cody Kessler threw four touchdown passes to three different receivers.
Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon said he wasn’t hurt, and coach Gary Andersen didn’t offer an explanation for giving the dynamic junior just four carries in the second half — four carries that went for 64 yards — other than to say he didn’t know why he didn’t get more touches. But something has to be missing here, right? Gordon was eating up LSU, finishing with 140 yards on 16 carries, but was nowhere to be found as Wisconsin blew a 17-point lead in a demoralizing 28-24 loss.
Maybe the Badgers were just saving Gordon for Western Illinois.
The best performance nobody is talking about? How about Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty throwing for 569 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions in a 59-31 blitz of Bowling Green. That’s a good month for most quarterbacks.
Top 10
1. Florida State (1-0)
Jameis Winston and the Seminoles looked unbeatable early, shaky in spots, but found a way to hold off pesky Oklahoma State, 37-31, at Jerry Jones’s palatial palace Saturday night. Our biggest knock: Those new uniforms. Why change what works?
2. Alabama (1-0)
Fortunately Nick Saban’s crew has a few weeks until it gets into the SEC schedule — because the Tide’s performance in a 33-23 win over mediocre-at-best West Virginia won’t cut it in the rugged conference.
3. Oregon (1-0)
The Ducks would have challenged themselves more with an intrasquad scrimmage than by their 62-13 pasting of South Dakota. Now, ready or not, Michigan State comes to Eugene, a showdown that will tell us a lot about both teams.
4. Oklahoma (1-0)
The Sooners rolled up 436 yards of total offense en route to a 48-16 pasting of Louisiana Tech in Norman, Okla., a win that truthfully tells us very little about Oklahoma, considering the cupcake opponent.
5. Auburn (1-0)
Auburn doesn’t seem to miss Heisman finalist Tre Mason. The dominant ground attack remains lethal, and piled up 302 yards in a 45-21 mauling of Arkansas. Cameron Artis-Payne, Mason’s backup a year ago, ran for a Mason-esque 177 yards.
6. UCLA (1-0)
With Heisman hopeful Brett Hundley and the prolific UCLA offense struggling, the defense — yes, the unit that held the Bruins back last year — led the way in a 28-20 victory at Virginia, coming up with three turnovers.
7. Michigan State (1-0)
The Spartans can put themselves in nice early position by knocking off Oregon on Saturday night. Of course, that will be no easy feat in the intriguing matchup of styles as different as their locales.
8. Stanford (1-0)
Michigan State-Oregon is the Game of the Week, but Stanford-USC is a close second.
9. Georgia (1-0)
Todd Gurley and the Bulldogs have to be champing at the bit to head to Columbia, S.C., after seeing the beating Texas A&M put on South Carolina.
10. LSU (1-0)
Les Miles still has got it. His fake punt ignited a stunning comeback against Wisconsin, turning a 17-point deficit into a thrilling 28-24 victory, as LSU sophomores Travin Dural and Anthony Jennings came alive.
On the Bubble: Baylor (0-0), Ohio State (1-0), USC (1-0)
Playoff Prediction: No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Alabama. Auburn, UCLA and Michigan State on the outside looking in. This, of course, will change frequently, but by all accounts, it should be a fun ride.
Heisman watch
QB Jameis Winston, Florida State
The reigning winner threw two picks, but he did throw for 370 yards and made all the important tosses down the stretch. And there was his acrobatic 28-yard touchdown run, on which he looked like Charlie Ward in the open field.
RB Todd Gurley, Georgia
All that Heisman hype was well warranted. Gurley looked like the best running back in the nation in a 45-21 rout of Clemson, amassing a school-record 293 yards that included a 100-yard kickoff return.
QB Brett Hundley, UCLA
It was not the junior’s finest day — he failed to throw a touchdown pass, though he did run for a score. He’ll have to make up for it in the coming weeks.
QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon
Mariota was typically sharp, throwing three touchdown passes, running for another and completing 14-of-20 passes for 267 yards. He can really grab voters’ attention with a big performance against Michigan State on Saturday.
RB Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska
The senior averaged a whopping 11 yards per carry as he rang up 232 and a touchdown against Florida Atlantic.