FIELDS OF VISION
Despite other QBs taking spotlight, easy to see future success for Justin
TREVOR Lawrence is considered the can’t-miss prospect. Kyle Trask and Mac Jones are the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy.
Quarterbacks have again owned this college football season and will be the storyline of what on paper looks like a fascinating College Football Playoff if the favorites win as expected the next two weeks.
Somewhat forgotten is Justin Fields, a Heisman finalist last year. But if you watched the Ohio State quarterback on Saturday behind a makeshift offensive line, if you’ve watched him at all through five games, it’s hard to imagine anyone not wanting the junior leading their team.
Despite a late start, two-week gaps between his last two games and not having his head coach on Saturday, Fields has been brilliant. He’s been a leader. He’s shown everything an NFL team could want out of its franchise quarterback.
He’s produced 20 touchdowns and 1,646 total yards in five games. He’s committed three turnovers. His team is undefeated. He’s a physical marvel, big and fast at 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds.
Saturday was particularly impressive, leading a 52-12 shellacking of Michigan State. Ohio State was down 23 players due to positive COVID-19 tests. Coach Ryan Day was at home in isolation. The Buckeyes were without three starting offensive linemen.
It didn’t matter. Fields threw for 199 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 104 yards and two more scores. He saved bad snaps and even threw a block on Trey Sermon’s 64-yard touchdown run, sprinting downfield to ensure safety Tre Person would not stop Sermon from reaching the end zone. He showed his maturity by throwing the ball away under a heavy rush, avoiding the kind of mistake he made in the narrow win over Indiana two weeks earlier.
The playoff will be intriguing, granted we get as expected Clemson, Alabama, Notre Dame and Ohio State. Remember, last year Clemson and Lawrence edged Ohio State and Fields. Playing on a bad ankle, Fields couldn’t run much, though he did throw for 320 yards and a touchdown. Lawrence got the better of him, because he was healthy and able to use his legs.
A rematch would be an apropos finish to the college careers of the two Georgia natives who share the same quarterback coach. No matter what happens though, the extremely likely odds are that Fields won’t sniff the Heisman Trophy or be even considered for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Trask and Jones, the quarterbacks at Florida and Alabama, seem like virtual locks to be Nos. 1 and 2 for the Heisman. Lawrence has been talked about as the best quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck.
But, consider this: Since Fields landed at Ohio State last year after barely playing as a freshman at Georgia, this is how they compare with Lawrence playing in four more games:
Fields has 56 touchdown passes, 14 rushing touchdowns, six interceptions and 5,403 allpurpose yards. He has a career completion percentage of 70.2.
Lawrence has 56 touchdown passes, 15 rushing touchdowns, 11 interceptions and 6,780 yards. He has a career completion percentage of 66.4
It should go without saying, whoever lands Fields should be extremely happy. Just look at how he has performed this season while dealing with unique adversity.
On the fly
The little guys saved Saturday. With nothing but blowouts, BYU and Coastal Carolina provided drama. The teams set up the game just 48 hours in advance and gave the sport a needed jolt, a 22-17 victory by Coastal Carolina that ended with BYU receiver Dax Milne being tackled at the 1-yard line.
Credit to BYU for traveling to play the game on short notice. Credit to Coastal Carolina for being flexible when its game against Liberty was canceled on Thursday. It was good for both programs and good for the sport, a chance for two teams not in a power conference to get a rare shot in the spotlight.
It should be an example of the possibilities moving forward. Why not create an open weekend when a game like this can be scheduled for the non-elite? If the pandemic has shown us one thing, it’s that scheduling does not have to be finalized years in advance.
Chip on their shoulder
For all the big-name disappointments this season has produced, from Michigan to Penn State and Texas to LSU, there is one power conference school that has rebounded. Chip Kelly and UCLA are 3-2, after consecutive wins over Arizona and Arizona State. The Bruins have won three of four, with the lone loss a three-point setback at Oregon. It may not sound like much, but it is a positive step for Kelly and UCLA, which had gone 7-18 in his first 25 games as its head coach.