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ESPN’s “College GameDay” came to us live from Philadelphia, the site of this year’s Army/Navy game.
Kirk Herbstreit had a few opinions to share, as he always does, and here are the highlights:
On Army-Navy — “This will be an intense game because of the attitude of the Cadets and (coach) Jeff Monken. I think Army will hang around.”
On Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds — “He makes such good decisions with the football on the option. Because of that, it makes them difficult to defend no matter who they play.”
On the Heisman Trophy race — “We have three guys in a given year that could have won the trophy. What Derrick Henry has done the last few games he’s played in is remarkable. In this day and age with spread offenses, quarterbacks throwing it all over the place, 90 carries against Florida in the SEC Championship Game, Auburn before that in a rivalry game. … The durability. The guy seems to get better as the game goes on. But again, you could talk about McCaffrey and Watson, too.”
On bowl games — “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen more of a letdown from players and their reaction to bowl games than this year. I think it’s because of the era that we’re in with the playoff now. So, whoever gets motivated to play (in these games) is the team that will win.”
On Michigan State vs. Alabama — “(Alabama runs) about 62 percent of the time to establish their identity. What’s ironic to me is that Michigan State prides itself on stopping the run. And they’ve not played any better than the way they’ve played in the last month because of their health. They’ll play with a chip on their shoulder, and to me, this is going to be one of those games where the motivation of both teams is going to be exciting.
“On the one hand, you’ve got Michigan State who’s hearing ‘you can’t match up with Derrick Henry and the physicality.’ And then you’ve got Alabama, who has looked awful in their last two bowl games. The way they lost to Oklahoma and the way they lost to Ohio State. They’re going to be incredibly motivated and Nick Saban’s going to be pushing buttons making sure they’re ready to roll.”
PICKS
Desmond Howard — Philadelphia over Buffalo (NFL), Northern Iowa over N. Dakota State, Colgate over Sam Houston State, Mount Union over Wisconsin-Whitewater, Derrick Henry (to win Heisman), Navy over Army
Lee Corso — Philadelphia over Buffalo (NFL), N. Dakota State over Northern Iowa, Sam Houston State over Colgate, Mount Union over Wisconsin-Whitewater, Derrick Henry (to win Heisman), Navy over Army
Roger Staubach (guest picker) — Philadelphia over Buffalo (NFL), Northern Iowa over N. Dakota State, Sam Houston State over Colgate, Mount Union over Wisconsin-Whitewater, Derrick Henry (to win Heisman), Navy over Army
Kirk Herbstreit — Philadelphia over Buffalo (NFL), N. Dakota State over Northern Iowa, Sam Houston State over Colgate, Mount Union over Wisconsin-Whitewater, Derrick Henry (to win Heisman), Navy over Army
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
