Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith voted The Associated Press college football player of the year.
DeVonta Smith of Alabama is The Associated Press college football player of the year and the first wide receiver to win the award since it was established in 1998.
In what could be a preview of the Heisman Trophy voting, Smith received 26 firstplace votes and 114 points to finish comfortably ahead of his teammate and quarterback, Mac Jones.
Jones received nine firstplace votes and 67 points as he and Smith became the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the voting for AP player of the year.
Smith is also the first Alabama player to win the award.
“Probably one of the most selfless guys that I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach in terms of whatever he can do to help the team he wants to do,” Tide coach NIck Saban said. “The guy is one of the most popular guys on the team and also one of the leaders of the team that everybody looks up to because of the example that he sets every day and how he goes about his work.”
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence finished third with nine first-place votes and 49 points and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask was fourth with three firstplace votes and 44 points.
Smith, Jones, Lawrence and Trask are the Heisman Trophy finalists. The trophy will be presented Jan. 5.
The AP player of the year has gone to the Heisman winner 17 of 22 times previously. The two most recent times when the AP player of the year and the Heisman went to different players involved Alabama’s Heisman winners.
In 2009, Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram won the Heisman in one of the closest votes in the history of the award, but Nebraska defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh was AP player of the year.
Derrick Henry won the 2015 Heisman for the Tide, but Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey was AP player of the year.
Like the Heisman, quarterbacks have dominated the AP player of the year, with 17 QBs winning the award, along with four running backs.
Smith, who is trying to become the first receiver to win the Heisman since 1991, has 98 catches for 1,511 yards and has scored 19 touchdowns.
Cheez-It Bowl
Oklahoma State 37, No. 18 Miami 34: Spencer Sanders threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns, and Oklahoma State held off Miami in Orlando, Fla.
Brennan Presley caught three of Sanders’ TD passes, finishing with six receptions for 118 yards. Sanders also led the Cowboys with 45 yards rushing.
Oklahoma State (8-3) scored on its first three possessions while jumping out to a 21-0 lead. Sanders threw TD
passes of 30 and 32 yards to Presley, and LD Brown had a 2-yard touchdown run.
Miami (8-3) got on the board in the second quarter when D’Eriq King threw a 10yard touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan. But King left the game with a right knee injury with 4:06 remaining in the first half.
Valero Alamo Bowl
No. 20 Texas 55, Colorado 23: Texas senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger missed the second half after injuring his shoulder but the Longhorns (7-3) still routed Colorado (4-2) in San Antonio.
Ehlinger returned to the field in the third quarter with his arm in a sling. There was
no word on the extent of Ehlinger’s injury.
Ehlinger played the entire first half, completing 10 of 16 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Backup QB Casey Thompson went 8 of 10 for 170 yards and four touchdowns.
Notable
Buffalo running back Jaret Patterson is foregoing his senior year by declaring for the NFL Draft.
Patterson this week joined current Chicago Bears linebacker Khalil Mack in becoming the Bulls’ second player to earn All-America honors. He was selected to the second team.
In six games, the 21-yearold from Maryland led the nation with 178.7 yards rushing per outing and finished with 1,072 yards. He matched his own school record from 2019 with 19 touchdowns rushing.
• The Texas Bowl sceduled for New Year’s Eve has been canceled because of an increase of positive COVID-19 tests within TCU’s program, becoming the 19th bowl canceled this season.
Illinois quarterback Brandon Peters will return for a third season with the Illini and play for new coach Bret Bielema.