Lou Pickney's 2025 NFL Mock Draft

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Arguably, the gutsiest college football call of the season (I hesitate to say "year" since Boise State going for two vs. Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl was in this calendar year) was Ron Zook opting to go for it last night on fourth and inches in his own territory -- on his own 33, with Illinois holding a precipitous seven point lead in Columbus over Ohio State. Not only did sophomore QB phenom Juice Williams get the first down, Illinois managed to run out the clock with an 8 minute plus grinder of a closing drive.

Let's just say if the move had backfired, my e-mail inbox would have been clogged with rude comments about Coach Zook from friends of mine who are Florida fans. Yes, they still hold Zook in contempt, but yesterday his roll of the dice paid off, and his critics were silenced. After the game, a choked-up Zook and Williams embraced on live TV after the game, both near tears with emotion over the historic win.

How did Illinois do it? They were smart, constantly running away from LB James Laurinaitis and using the spread offense to mostly neutralize the shutdown factor that CB Malcolm Jenkins has. Neither player's stock dropped (at least in my eyes) with the loss; it was just an impressive gameplan and execution by a gutsy Illinois team that found a way to beat the #1 team on the road.

This creates the possibility of a dream game for the national title: Oregon vs. LSU. The Oregon offense vs. LSU defense matchup is particularly intriguing to me. Seeing Jonathan Stewart try to run on Glenn Dorsey and company on that stacked LSU defense would be interesting, as would finding out if Dennis Dixon could outmaneuver the likes of Ali Highsmith and Chevis Jackson.

Incidentally, Dixon has shot up some draft boards as of late (in particular Mel Kiper's Big Board.) I can't see Dixon being a superior NFL prospect to Andre Woodson, Brian Brohm, or Matt Ryan, but at 6'4" Dixon has both NFL quality height and superior speed for a QB at any level. Can he operate an NFL offense from under center and not going from a shotgun stance on nearly every snap? That remains to be seen. But with his athleticism and vastly improved decision making, he has lept into the second-tier of QB prospects for the NFL Draft.

Last night I was watching the Kansas win over Oklahoma State when my buddy Dustin asked me why the Jayhawks have been so successful this year. Shutdown junior CB Aqib Talib is the unmistakable superstar for the team on defense, and junior ILB Mike Rivera is an underrated playmaker.

On offense, the answers aren't as clear. Sophomore QB Todd Reesing is not NFL material at 5'10", but his moxie and ability to make a play happen by scrambling in the pocket is fascinating to watch. Kansas has a two RB attack with a bulldozer in senior RB/FB Brandon McAnderson and a speedy change of pace with sophomore RB Jake Sharp. Junior WR Marcus Herford has provided an able target (6'3" 210) at wideout, though his skills have been most impressive on kick returns.

I'm not sure that Kansas will be able to run the table with a perfect record, but their performance this year has been nothing short of spectacular.

The other unbeaten Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly I-A) team, Hawaii, lost QB Colt Brennan to a concussion in its win over Fresno State last night on ESPN2 (in glorious non-HD -- seriously, do they not have any HD cameras on the island besides the ones they brought in to tape the show Lost?) With concussions finally receiving the serious attention that they deserve, Brennan's injury should not go without notice relative to his position in the draft. Keep that in mind before you criticize any players who leave school early for the NFL.

If Hawaii wins out, which is not a given since they have 9-1 Boise State remaining on the schedule, they won't play for the national title. It's a raw deal, to be sure, though it's not just the FBS where that happens. In the Football Championship Series (formerly I-AA), unbeaten Yale won't be able to participate in the 16 team playoff, despite a #12 ranking in the polls, as the Ivy League does not allow its teams to take part in it. The New Haven Register describes the reason why:

"The quarterfinals fall on the last week of classes, the semifinals will be played during Yale's reading period and the national championship is during finals."

So don't feel too bad, Hawaii fans -- inequities exist on other levels as well.

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