Author: Zach McKinnell

Winners & Losers (Week 6)

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

 

Winner: Jimbo Fisher & Kellen Mond

Going into this weekend, Jimbo Fisher had a 4-12 record against Top-25 opposition in his short time as the head coach for the Aggies. The Aggies also never knocked off a Top-5 opponent going into this game against the Florida Gators under Fisher. Kellen Mond has gained plenty of doubters throughout his career in College Station, even though at his best he may be the best QB in the SEC. Well, we finally see what the Aggies can be when everything comes together and they play up to their potential.

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Winners & Losers (Week 5)

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

 

Winner: Stetson Bennett 

Even the strongest supporters for Stetson Bennett could not have seen this coming; especially on the stage that was set Saturday night. Not many experts gave Stetson the respect he deserved, but to be fair he was facing a former 5-star QB in Bo Nix who was a candidate for breakout player of the year. But by the end of the night in Athens there was no question who was the better QB on the field. 

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Winners & Losers (Week 4)

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

 

Winner: Mike Leach, KJ Costello, & the Return of Stark-Vegas

Who said the “Air Raid” offense would not work in the SEC? Oh, that was all of us. Mike Leach made us all look like absolute fools this weekend and KJ Costello was the perfect QB to bring down to Starkville. Nobody, especially Bo Pelini & Coach O, thought Mississippi State could come to Tiger Stadium and throw for an SEC record 623 yards, while putting up 44 points on the vaunted LSU defense. 

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The Top Returning Players in the BIG-10

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

The 4th part of our 6-part installment highlighting the best players returning for the Power 5 conferences and finally made it to the BIG-10 after a short break. These players can be incoming recruits, but most of the players featured will be returning stars from previous seasons. 

We cover the BIG-10, which is home to fourteen different programs and is home to multiple national champions. Ohio State has been the best team for multiple consecutive seasons now; winning the past 3 conference championships. Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, & Wisconsin have all made New Year’s Six bowls. In the CFB Playoff era, Ohio State made a run and upset Alabama and Oregon to win the national championship. We have seen elite players, such as Dwayne Haskins take the college football world by storm and make a Heisman run. 

The BIG-10 is one of the deepest conferences in college football; indicated by the 40+ players that were drafted in this past NFL Draft. Make sure to check out these players in the 2020 season, because these guys will be playing on Sunday in the near future.

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2020 NFL Mock Draft

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

The NFL is the only league generating sports news currently, which makes this a perfect time to release the inaugural mock draft from The Bluebloods. The draft is currently projected to start on April 23rd in Las Vegas, NV. This mock draft comes after the NFL combine, which gives us a more complete picture of most prospects.

1. Cincinnati Bengals

Joe Burrow, QB 

Many experts seem to think the Dolphins could trade up for this pick, but I do not agree. The Bengals know that any pick other than the Ohio hero, Joe Burrow, will result in their jobs if things go south in the coming years. Burrow played at an elite level throughout the 2019 season and set multiple records in the process. The Bengals have weapons for Burrow to use (A.J. Green & Joe Mixon), which makes this pick a no-brainer.

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The Top Returning Players in the BIG-12

Posted on by Zach McKinnell
We are back to bring you guys the 3rd part of our 6-part installment of the best returning players for each conference. We have already released the best players for the AAC & ACC, which can be found on our blog. To reiterate, these players can be incoming recruits, but most of the players featured will be returning stars from previous seasons. 

We cover the BIG-12 here, which is home to ten different programs and multiple national championship teams. The conference is highlighted by Oklahoma, which has made the playoffs for 3 straight years and had multiple Heisman trophy winners (Kyler Murray & Baker Mayfield) in recent years. Texas has played for a national championship as recently as 2009; plus won the Sugar Bowl against Georgia two years ago. Baylor has experienced a drastic rise to national relevance and even made a New Year’s Six appearance this past season. Teams like TCU & Oklahoma State have had very recent success and are on the rise coming into the 2020 season. 

The BIG-12 has a national stigma of fielding the best offensive talent in the country, but as you read this list you’ll notice there are some extremely talented defensive players in this conference as well. I expect the BIG-12 to be one of the most competitive conferences in the country in 2020 and these players will play a huge role in how that race finishes in Dallas. 

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The Top Returning Players in the ACC

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

The second of our 6-part installment highlighting the best players returning for the Power 5 conferences and the AAC is finally here. These players can be incoming recruits, but most of the players featured will be returning stars from previous seasons. 

We cover the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), which is home to fourteen different programs and is home to multiple national champions. Clemson has dominated the conference in recent years and has been a national powerhouse, winning two national titles since 2016. Miami had dominant runs in the 1980’s and in the early 2000’s, but is rebuilding itself into a national contender. Florida State was a national champion in 2013 and was one of the teams who made the first ever playoff in college football. Georgia Tech appeared and dominated Mississippi State in their New Year’s Six bowl appearance in 2014. Virginia made a strong run to the Orange Bowl this past season, but fell short to a red-hot Florida team. 

The ACC is home to some of the best programs in the country and always fields two or three national contenders every season. The conference lies in a recruiting hotspot, which includes states like Florida & Georgia. This conference is loaded with talented players, which made this list extremely hard to make. Make sure to check out these players in the 2020 season, because these guys will be playing on Sunday in the near future. 

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The Biggest Recruiting Busts in the Past Decade

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National Signing Day has passed and a sense of optimism is contagious; as programs across the country believe players in the most recent recruiting class will bring wins and championships to their schools. Regardless if you have the #1 class in the country or the #50 class in the country; fans & coaches will tell you that every player has the potential to be the next college football superstar.

Now whether that player has the potential or was completely overrated by analysts; the truth remains that most players will not win the heisman, but these players will lay the foundation of your program for 3-4 years into the future. You could have the next 3-star turned Heisman winner (Johnny Manziel) or you could have totally whiffed on a 5-star that had no real potential (Ryan Perrilloux).

Even the best programs in the country have recruited one of the best prospects in the current recruiting class and that player end up transferring and never playing a down in that uniform. We aim to cover some of these players here and highlight some of the most notorious busts in college football recruiting since 2010. As college football fans we all hope our team is not featured on this list in another 10 years, but the odds are not in our favor. 

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The Bluebloods’ Top AAC Players for the 2020 Season

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

It is only February, which leaves about 6 months until the first snap of the 2020 season, but it is never too early for season previews. This will be the first installment of The Bluebloods’ Top Players for all Power 5 conferences (Plus the AAC). These players can be freshmen, but a majority are returning stars from last season and are projected to make a serious impact on college football. 

We start with the American Athletic Conference (AAC), which is home to twelve different programs and has boasted multiple New Year’s Six Bowl appearances in recent years. UCF appeared in the Peach Bowl (2018) & Fiesta Bowl (2019) going 1-1 against Auburn and LSU. Houston had a huge victory in the Peach Bowl (2015) over Florida State, while this past season Memphis represented the conference in the Cotton Bowl and lost a tough game to Penn State. This conference has superb athletes that seem to stay under the radar due to their programs lack of national prominence, but I hope to shed some light on these players with this article. 

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The Bluebloods’ Top 10 Games of the 2019 Season

Posted on by Zach McKinnell

The 2019 season is officially over, but now it is time to reflect on an amazing season filled with outstanding moments and outstanding games. We will start by reflecting on the best games from this past season, which all contributed to this being one of the most exciting seasons of college football that I can remember. This was one of the hardest posts to write due to the large amount of games that deserve some mention when talking about this topic. These games will be replayed on ESPN & YouTube by a lot of fans and I highly recommend going back and watching these games if you love college football because these games showcase why this is the greatest sport in the world.

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