Collegefootballfan.com – Among our 27 college football games attended in 2018, we here at collegefootballfan.com saw 24 different Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play during the course of our very entertaining season. Okay, we did attend a few clunkers, but most games are memorable even from a negative context (Purdue losing at the half to Auburn in the Music City, 56-7, c’mon). We usually can’t be at more than one place any given Saturday, but we did our best to see at least two or even three games over a three or a four-day period when things worked out for us. We did that eight times this past season.
So many teams, not enough weekends
Of course, we also attended FCS and D-3 contests as well when opportunities arose. What can we say? We’re college football addicts. Put two teams of comparable talent on the field and we’ll be there – from the SEC to the NEWMAC (New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference). With such quantity, we’re bound to see great quality when it comes to individual talent. We can see three of four players everyone knows about when we add Alabama to our post-season bowl schedule, but we can also find some hidden gems when we put UMass or a few American Athletic teams on our slate when we start planning our season. In the past, when people start raving about this pro player “out of nowhere”, we like to mention we saw him have great game for Mount Union. Or, we can say we knew he had talent when we watched him play against the Naval Academy.
Hey, you never know
If we sat home and hit the remote from the comfort of our couch, we’d get to see a little bit of everybody play and a lot of that Geico Gecko. Instead, we get out there to the stadium after a tailgate party to join an energetic crowd and possibly sit in the driving rain, or in intense heat, or on a windy, cold, snowy day, and we get to see some of the best talent perform in person.
Even limiting our All-American selections to 24 of 130 teams, you’d say that our All-American team from that relatively small sample rivals many of the other teams announced by the major publications, websites, and college football “experts”. Some of the players on our team who you’ve heard little about will be analyzed and primped for the 2019 draft, and some whom you’ve not heard of yet could become household names beyond this April.
Our All-American offense
Check this out. Here is our Collegefootballfan.com 2018 Offensive All-American FBS Team including individual performances that earned the each a spot on this team:
QB Tua Tagovailoa, Soph, Alabama – 3,353 yards and 37 TDs: we saw Tua outgun Heisman winner Kyler Murray of Oklahoma at the Capital One CFP Orange Bowl in a 45-34 victory. He completed his first nine passes finishing 24 for 27 for 318 yards and four TDs.
Honorable Mentions: Kyler Murray, OU; Trace McSorely, PSU ; Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State; Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
RB Jonathan Taylor, Soph, Wisconsin – led nation with 2,194 rushing yards. Scored 16 TDs. Against Penn State in a 22-10 loss, he started the scoring with a 71-yard TD run. He rushed for 185 yards on 20 carries against the Lions that day.
RB Darrell Henderson, Senior, Memphis – second in the nation with 1,909 yards on the ground. Led the nation with 8.9 yards per carry. Against Navy in an early season 22-21 loss, he carried 12 times for 214 yards and two TDs.
Honorable Mentions: AJ Dillon,BC; Miles Sanders, PSU; Michael Warren II, Cincinnati
WR Andy Isabella, Senior, UMass – led the nation in receiving yards with 1,698 yards on 102 catches. We saw the Minutemen lose early in their season opener at Boston College, but Isabella showed up big time in a 62-59 shoot-out in at home in Amherst against Liberty as we added them as our 130th FBS team. That day, the 5’10” 190-lb WR made nine receptions for 305 yards and two TDs from his team’s back-up QB Ross Comis.
WR Jerry Jeudy, Soph, Alabama – Biletnikoff Award winner who accelerates well to any ball thrown in his area. 1,103 yards, 12 TDs, averaging nation best 18.7 yard per reception. Against Oklahoma CFP win, gained 73 yards on four catches and scored one TD.
Honorable Mentions: Antonio Gandy-Golden, Liberty; Darius Slayton, Auburn
TE Irv Smith, Junior, Alabama – Good hands, good blocker, tough to bring down. Only two catches for 19 yards against Oklahoma, but his toughness and basic things he did well impressed us. Caught 44 passes for 710 yard and 11 TDs for the season averaging 16.1 yards per reception.
Honorable mention: Tommy Sweeney, BC: Pat Freiermuth, Penn State
Center Ross Pierschbacher, Senior, 6’4” 309 lbs. Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Guard Ben Powers, Senior, 6” 4″, 313 lbs. Oklahoma vs. Alabama
Guard Beau Benzschawel, Senior, 6′ 6″, 315 lbs. Wisconsin vs. Penn State
Tackle Jonah Williams, Junior, 6’5”, 301 lbs. Alabama vs. Oklahoma
Tackled Chris Lindstrom, Senior, 6′ 4″, 310 lbs. Boston College vs UMass and Miami
