Mind of Mike: Auburn and Penn State; NFL prospects; Mike Tomlin
National columnist Mike Farrell bounces around some college football topics that are inside the Mind of Mike.
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Can someone please tell me how Auburn and Penn State are still ranked with two losses? I was on the Penn State bandwagon for a bit there - I really was - but the Nittany Lions just lost to Illinois, and that’s downright horrible. So the Nittany Lions' marquee win is what, a victory over a bad 2021 version of Wisconsin? Or maybe their home win against Auburn? I can rip that one apart as well because Auburn has beaten nobody.
Auburn has beaten a very average LSU team and an Arkansas team that is now 4-3 overall. And don’t come back at me with Texas A&M. At least the Aggies beat Alabama. I just don’t get it.
Well, I kinda do — polls are stupid. I know there are going to be some two-loss teams in the Top 25 at this juncture in the season, but perhaps it could be a team like Oregon State or BYU or a Group of Five team like Louisiana, whose only loss is to Texas.
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Rivals released my top 32 for the 2022 NFL Draft today, but there are other players making a strong case to push into that elite first-round category that weren’t included. Here are a few:
QB Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati — Ridder has had a solid season and the inconsistency he’s shown in recent years has lessened so he’s being mentioned as a late first rounder.
OG Zion Johnson, Boston College — Johnson has had yet another consistent season as a pass blocker and run blocker and is one of the more steady linemen in the country.
OT Trevor Penning, Northern Iowa — Penning is raw compared to some of the top tackles in the draft but the 6-foot-7, 321-pounder has a great frame and is a project that some may want to take a chance on.
RB Kenneth Walker III, Michigan State — Walker has emerged as potentially the RB1 in the draft based on his amazing season. Remember, there is no Najee Harris or Travis Etienne here and it’s doubtful anyone will land in round one but Walker could be the guy if there is one.
LB Brandon Smith, Penn State — Smith is a freaky athletic specimen who has been playing more under control this season and reminding some of Micah Parsons. He’s not at the same level but getting there.
OT Nicholas Petite-Frere, Ohio State — Petite-Frere was a late bloomer in high school and now he’s coming into his own in college. The steps he’s taken over the last two seasons have been remarkable.
LB Nakobe Dean, Georgia — Dean is undersized but so was Devin Bush and Devin White. Neither were long but they closed so quickly and were so good in coverage it didn’t matter. Dean could be that guy.
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The Mike Tomlin to USC rumors are cute and all, but why on earth would he leave one of the dream jobs in the NFL for a rebuild at a school that often appears to not care about football? He’s a two-time Super Bowl champ and has been with the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2007 with a 146-79-1 record.
What I’d love to know is where this moronic rumor came from. Tomlin has no high-level experience in college football, has no ties to California and is way out of USC’s league for coaching. Perhaps Jeff Fisher or Jack Del Rio, since they played at USC and were average NFL coaches. But Tomlin? Might as well name Bill Belichick as a candidate.
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Wisconsin might stink this season, but at least the Badgers have found their next 2,000-yard rusher, right? That’s heady stuff, but hear me out. Freshman Braelon Allen jumped a grade as a linebacker prospect to be a part of the 2021 class, and he was instantly recognized as a physical and special prospect at running back. While Clemson transfer Chaz Mellusi started off as the main man, Allen has taken over as the closer of sorts and looks like the next coming of Ron Dayne, only thinner.
OK, maybe Melvin Gordon or Jonathan Taylor or John Clay. But you get the point, right? Allen is 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds and rushed for 131 yards against Illinois, 108 against Army and 140 against Purdue. All of this came on a total of 46 carries. That’s 8.24 yards per carry.
While I don’t want to extrapolate that number, let’s say he averages 6 yards per carry as the main man for Wisconsin next season. And let’s say he gets 320 carries or so, like Gordon and Taylor did in certain seasons. That’s 1,920 yards in a season. And I think he’s talented enough to push that past 2,000. He’s that good.