This week was the culmination of a long and hard-fought college football season as the national championship between Clemson and LSU was played last Monday. While football may be done for the season, that is not to say that the news has stopped.
With that in mind, let’s recap the national championship game and take a look at news from around college football.
Recapping the National Championship Game
This matchup featured two 14-0 teams and one of the nation’s best defenses versus the best offense. In this one, the offense prevailed. No. 1 LSU was able to dominate the Clemson Tigers and won 42-25.
In the win, Joe Burrow threw for 463 yards and five touchdowns, as well as rushing 14 times for 58 yards and another score. On the ground, Clyde Edwards-Helaire led LSU with 16 rushes for 110 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had an outstanding game, with nine catches for 221 yards and two touchdowns.
In the loss for Clemson, Trevor Lawrence had 234 yards passing but did not throw a touchdown pass. He did rush for one as part of his 10 rushes for 49 yards.
Leading the way on the ground for Clemson was Travis Etienne, who rushed 15 times for 78 yards and a touchdown. Justyn Ross led the wide receivers for Clemson with five catches for 76 yards.
Moss To Go Pro
The national champion Tigers already knew they would be losing several players to the NFL Draft, but this week, another one was added to the list, and this one has some significant NFL bloodlines. Thaddeus Moss, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, has decided to enter the NFL draft.
The younger Moss played in 12 games this season, recording 47 receptions for 570 yards and four touchdowns. Moss also had a pretty good night in the national championship against Clemson, making five catches for 36 yards and two touchdowns.
It will be tough sledding for the younger Moss to match the career his father had, but he is sure going to try.
Etienne Not Going Anywhere
While many of the biggest names in the sport are declaring for the NFL draft, it appears one star will be returning to try again for a national championship. Clemson running back Travis Etienne is set to return for his senior year next year despite a strong season.
Etienne rushed 207 times for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also hauled in 37 receptions out of the backfield for 432 yards and another four touchdowns.
Etienne’s return makes an already loaded Clemson team that much stronger and the likely favorite to win it all next season. With quarterback Trevor Lawrence and wide receiver Justyn Ross returning, the Tigers should be absolutely loaded on offense.
This decision was likely much more about draft positioning than a bid for another national championship, though, With players like Jonathan Taylor, J.K. Dobbins and D’Andre Swift set to enter the draft, Etienne may have seen his draft positioning fall more than he would have liked. Now, he has an opportunity to cap off a fantastic collegiate career before entering the draft next season.
Moving On
Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons has announced that he is entering the 2020 NFL Draft. Simmons had one more year of eligibility, but decided to leave early after a very strong season.
This year, Simmons had 104 tackles, including eight sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss. He also had three interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
While the Tigers’ offense may be stout, this is a big loss for Clemson’s defense. For Simmons, there is a very good chance he gets drafted early in the first round.
Aranda Lands Head Coaching Job
It has been a good week for LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda. First, he helped the Tigers win a national championship with his defense allowing just 25 points to Clemson and not allowing Lawrence to throw for a touchdown. Then, just a few days later, he landed a head coaching job.
Aranda is leaving LSU to take over as the new head coach at Baylor. With Baylor’s previous head coach, Matt Rhule, leaving to take over as the new head coach for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, the school was left looking for someone to take over the program.
It turns out that their man was Aranda. He will be taking over a team that went 11-3 this year and will be hoping to lead them to success in the Big 12 this upcoming season and for years to come. Of the three games the Bears lost, two of them were to Oklahoma, and the third was to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
Petrino Gets Another Shot As Head Coach
After being fired from Louisville and sitting this season out, Bobby Petrino is back in college football. Petrino will be taking over as head coach at Missouri State on a five-year deal that will pay him approximately $250,000 annually.
As a head coach, Petrino has a wonderful 119-56 record. Petrino’s past comes with some baggage, but Missouri State is hoping that reeling in a name like Petrino can help give its program some relevancy moving forward.
