Inside The Hashes Football Q & A with Kris Thomas

Did the committee get the CFB playoffs right?

For the first time in their show history, I have no complaints of the 4 teams that are in. LSU, Ohio State, Clemson were all undefeated and won their conference. Although the Sooners had a loss to Kansas State, Oklahoma bounced back to win the Big 12 and beat a tough Baylor team twice. No one else on the outside looking in had the resume to jump Oklahoma. Utah had their chance but was blown out against Oregon and Georgia was steamrolled by LSU. The only thing you could argue was between LSU and Ohio on who deserved to be the #1 seed. Although LSU had a tougher schedule, Ohio State had more top 25 wins and a bigger margin of victory. However, it’s a semantics game. In the end, the four best teams are in without any doubt. LSU takes on an offense as good as theirs. Jalen Hurts gets to make history to win 2 national championships with two different teams. Ohio State gets a chance to get that Clemson Tiger off their back and Clemson has been under the radar and underestimated all season. I’m excited about Bowl season.

49ers or Ravens? The Best team in Football?

Baltimore. I love everything the 49ers are doing. A forceful defensive line a suffocating pass defense and an offense that Jimmy Garoppolo is finally his stride and a proper supporting cast. However, there have been too many times this defense has been gashed this season. Kyler Murray twice, Russell Wilson and now Drew Brees. Outside of the back to back Chiefs and Browns games, the defense hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in 8 of the last 9 which included the Patriots, Texans, Rams, Seahawks, and 49ers themselves. The Ravens still have a top tier even with all the losses to their defenses in the offseason. The Ravens offensive line dominates in the trenches every week and Lamar Jackson shows you can slow him but he still can’t be stopped. I said this a few weeks ago when you two teams evenly matched the QB is the tiebreaker. Although Garoppolo has shown major progression, Lamar Jackson is already over 1,000 yards rushing as a QB with 3 games left to go and is on pace to have over 4000 all-purpose yards and 40 all purposes TDs. Ravens fans rejoice, you have that title until further notice. 

Titans or Texans for the AFC South? 

This was tough because for one I’m a Deshaun Watson fan and for two I have always had a soft spot for the Titans because growing up Steve McNair was my favorite QB growing up. However, although it did look like the Texans were getting legitimate separation from the division but going 2-2 in the last four, here come the Ryan Tannehill led Titans who won four straight. I’m happy for Tannehill for finally finding his place in the league. He was never a bad QB just unlucky with injuries. With two of the last 3 games are between the two teams, I’m leaning towards the Titans. More consistent defense, Tannehill is giving life to a wide receiver core that wasn’t able to shine with Mariota QB and Derrick Henry has become a top 10 running back. The brilliance of Deshaun Watson has been made clear on several occasions however in this instance, there have been several cases that it just hasn’t been enough to overcome. Titans are coming in hot at the right time and that isn’t good news for Bill O’Brien and company. 

Who wins the Heisman on Saturday?

It will be Joe Burrow. The Narrative is there. An undefeated season, navigated through a tough SEC conference, and most TDs throws, passing yards and completion percentage than any other QB in SEC history. Although Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields were both responsible for 50 TDs in their own right and to Justin Fields credit has only turned the ball over twice all season long, Burrow has been more consistent and has been the best player on the field for LSU all season. With dominating performances against Alabama and Georgia this past weekend it has been award to lose for weeks and has yet to let anyone else get in the conversation. Chase Young has been the most dominating defensive player and a two-game suspension ruin his campaign but come Saturday night, Chase, Justin, and Jalen are just there for show. Joe Burrow is walking on that stage to claim his award. 

Where do you see Ron Rivera ending up?
After considering all options for fit and need, he’ll either replace Pat Shurmur in New York or go to Cleveland. Both teams make sense. For New York, he brings establish identity and credibility. New York defense is going through a massive rebuild so why not bring a coach whose claim to fame is defense? Rivera is a players coach and with the firing, Cam Newton went to IG to showcase his love for Rivera and when you are a young rebuilding team bring in a hard-hitting players coach is what this team needs to be successful going forward instead of losing 9 in a row with Shurmur. Cleveland makes sense because you have a young talented team but no proper leadership to reel it all in. Freddie Kitchens has gotten the Browns playing good football in the later stages of the season but the damage has been done after the 2-6 start. Baker Mayfield continues to call out everyone in the media and Odell reportedly wants out, Rivera could come in and kill all the infighting and have the young players buy-in. Baker doesn’t need the head coach to be his buddy, Baker needs a wake-up call and someone to challenge him. Riverboat Ron is a two-time coach of the year, has a winning record and has taken the Panthers to the Superbowl. His message will get home harder than a coach wearing a shirt saying “Pittsburgh started it” and losing the rematch to staying in the playoff hunt.

-By: Kris Thomas

Writer/Interviewer

Don’t Call it a Comeback! Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma stun Baylor

In a game where everything seemed to go wrong for Oklahoma, and everything seemed to go right for Baylor, Oklahoma did the impossible. The Sooners erased a 31-10 halftime deficit to stun the now defeated Baylor Bears by a score of 34-31. Let’s look at how they did it and what this means for these teams.

Charlie Brewer Dominates First Half

For the first 30 minutes, it looked clear that Baylor was dominating both sides of the ball. Baylor was led by quarterback Charlie Brewer. In the first half, the junior had four total touchdowns (two rushing, two passing) and was pacing the Baylor offense up and down the field. To finish the game, Brewer went 18/29 for 194 yards and 2 TD and 1 INT. On the ground, Brewer carried the ball 17 times for 65 yards and 2 TD. It was all Bears early on, and Brewer was the focal point of their success. Both of Brewer’s passing touchdowns were thrown to Denzel Mims, who also totaled 92 yards on the day.

Early Miscues by Oklahoma

The key to beating a good team is taking advantage of their mistakes. Heisman candidate Jalen Hurts had a first half to forget, and Baylor took advantage. In the first quarter around midfield, Hurts was sacked by Blake Lynch and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Blake Lynch, Baylor linebacker. Two plays later, Charlie Brewer crossed the goal line for a four-yard rushing touchdown. Later in the half, with Oklahoma approaching the red zone, Hurts had a pass intercepted and returned for 71 yards. The next play… a Charlie Brewer touchdown pass, putting the Bears up 28-3. Hurts also fumbled in the second half just before he crossed the goal line that looked like a crucial play at the time.

Heisman Gets Hot

In the second half, the Heisman candidate woke up, and so did Oklahoma. The Sooners marched down the field against the Bears, starting the second half with a six-minute drive that ended in a three-yard touchdown to Austin Stogner. With the score of 31-17 going into the fourth quarter and the absence of star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, a comeback seemed to be a little too farfetched.  Just 1:30 into the last quarter, Hurts connected with Theo Wease for a 19-yard touchdown. After a three-and-out, the Sooners got the ball back, and Hurts put the team on his back. Totaling 71 yards on the drive, Jalen Hurts led a six-minute drive into the endzone for a touchdown, a two-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Willis. This was Hurts’ fourth touchdown on the day, and it brought the game to a dead tie at 31-31 with a little over five minutes to play.

The Final Drive

After another three-and-out by Baylor, Oklahoma would yet again drive down the field and kick a 31-yard field goal that would put them ahead 34-31 with under two minutes to go. Baylor had a chance to win the game. Their drive was starting to get going. Charlie Brewer completed 3 passes for almost 40 yards and got the ball to the Oklahoma 40. With 40 seconds on the clock, this drive was do-or-died for Baylor. 5-10 more yards would put them into field goal range. Baylor would never get into field goal range though, because, on the next play, Brewer fired a pass that was jumped by Nik Bonitto for an interception, icing the game at 34-31 for a wild Oklahoma victory.

Recap

Facing the impossible, Jalen Hurts and the Sooners completed the largest comeback in school history. This win improved Oklahoma to 9-1, and dropped Baylor to 9-1, their first loss of the season. Every Heisman candidate needs a signature moment to boost their chances. After Joe Burrow beat Alabama last week, Jalen Hurts topped that with a historic comeback against a ranked team in their conference. With this win, Oklahoma is now the top team in the Big 12 with the tiebreaker over Baylor. Next week, the Sooners will face off against TCU (5-5) and Baylor will look to rebound against a suddenly mediocre Texas team (6-4).

Player of the Game

Jalen Hurts

Passing 30/42 297 Yards 4 TD 1 INT

Rushing 27 carries 114 yards

-By: Richie Dordas

Writer/Interviewer