Weekend Reflections: Heisman unrealistic for Georgia Tech’s King, top ACC player isn’t

What I think about some things I saw over the weekend …

Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King delivered a star performance on the big stage at Colorado on Friday night. Colorado coach Deion Sanders offered high praise (I think) for King.

“The quarterback is looking like a Heisman (Trophy) candidate right now,” Sanders told reporters after Tech’s 27-20 victory. “We made that happen for him.”

It’s hard to tell if Sanders was sincerely complimenting King or sarcastically critiquing Colorado’s defense. Maybe it was both. (Sanders should look in the mirror after his poor clock management aided the Yellow Jackets late in the game). Either way, King was too much for the Buffaloes while rushing for 156 yards on 19 attempts with three touchdowns, including a 45-yard game-winner.

Still, there’s no realistic way for King to enter the Heisman race even if he strings together more games like that one. He started too far back in the pack (65-1 preseason odds, per Vegas Insider). The Jackets don’t have enough marquee games on the schedule for him to earn wins that make him part of the Heisman narrative.

But King already was a leading candidate for the ACC’s top player. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik received 146 votes from media in voting for the ACC Player of the Year award. King was second with nine votes. Some of those votes should flip after Week 1.

While King was running through the Buffaloes in Boulder, Klubnik was laboring for 230 yards passing on 38 attempts with an interception during No. 4 Clemson’s home loss to No. 9 LSU.

“Got to be better,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told reporters.

So does King. He passed for only 143 yards on 20 attempts and threw an interception during Tech’s awful first quarter. The protection wasn’t great, but King had a few off-target throws. Expect that to get better: King dramatically improved his accuracy last season while leading the ACC in completion percentage (72.9%).

King was fantastic running the ball. He leads the ACC in rushing yards and ranks third nationally among players who faced Power 4 opponents in Week 1. The top two produced big numbers in blowout losses: Old Dominion’s Colton Joseph (179 yards at Indiana) and Texas-San Antonio’s Robert Henry (177 yards at Texas A&M).

The Buffs saw firsthand that King is a tough and smart player who makes Tech’s “gap” running scheme go. Maybe Colorado’s defense isn’t good, but Georgia also had trouble with King during its victory in Athens last November. It’s too bad King likely won’t earn serious consideration for the Heisman no matter what he does the rest of the season.

Becoming Tech’s first ACC player of the year since Jonathan Dwyer (2008) would be a great accomplishment for King.

Carson Beck gets big win in first start for Miami

No. 10 Miami beat No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24 on Sunday night in South Florida. Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck was 20-of-30 passing for 205 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. For those keeping score in Athens, Gunner Stockton was 20-of-32 for 234 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions against the Fighting Irish in January.

For those who appreciate context, that game was Stockton’s first collegiate start. Beck started 27 games for Georgia before transferring to Miami after last season. At the time, it seemed some Bulldogs fans convinced themselves that UGA was better off without Beck. I get that reaction on an emotional level, but, come on.

Beck won 24 of the games that he started and finished healthy for the Bulldogs. A loss to Alabama in the 2023 SEC title game kept Beck out of the College Football Playoff that year. An elbow injury suffered in last year’s SEC title game kept him out of the CFP last season.

Stockton could turn out to be a good quarterback for the Bulldogs. He’s just inexperienced, unlike Beck. But at least Bulldogs fans no longer need to be mad about Beck driving a Lamborghini.

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer is in trouble

After Kalen DeBoer flopped in Year 1 as Alabama’s coach, the Crimson Tide vowed to return to the standard they set with Nick Saban. Then they were handled by Florida State in Tallahassee on Saturday.

Alabama hadn’t lost a season opener since 2001. That was Dennis Franchione’s first season as coach. He left for Texas A&M the next year to escape NCAA sanctions. DeBoer might stick around only two years, too, even if there is no rule breaking.

Here was the headline for Joseph Goodman’s Sunday column at AL.com:

“Get it over with and fire Kalen DeBoer.”

DeBoer is now 9-5 at Alabama. He’s 2-4 in road games, including Bama’s second loss since 2006 to rival Tennessee and its first in 40 years to Vanderbilt. The Tide blew a 23-point lead to Georgia in Tuscaloosa before the Bulldogs let them off the hook. That game and a 42-13 win at LSU are DeBoer’s best victories at Bama.

There have been plenty more listless defeats, including the 31-17 decision in Tallahassee. Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson looked shaky. The defense looked soft. DeBoer looked outmatched by Mike Norvell, who is 34-27 at FSU.

It was Bama’s third loss as a double-digit favorite with DeBoer as coach. The betting markets still haven’t figured out that the Tide don’t have the juice with DeBoer. He said they played on their heels against FSU.

“That falls on everyone,” DeBoer told reporters after the game. “I don’t just point the finger at the players.”

DeBoer can’t even get falling on the sword right.

Atlanta Dream clinch playoff berth

The Dream (25-14) beat Dallas on Friday in College Park to clinch a playoff spot. The Dream were in strong position to finish second in the WNBA standings after back-to-back victories over Minnesota and New York the week before. But Las Vegas (26-14) is making the strongest push for the No. 2 playoff seed.

The Aces beat the Dream on Wednesday for their league-high 12th consecutive victory. They own the tiebreaker over the Dream by virtue of a three-game sweep of the season series.