On the fortnight of the new college football season, Kirk Herbstreit has come out with his nominations for the 2018 Herbie Awards, and Oklahoma football draws favor in several categories.
Herbstreit, an ESPN college football analyst, has been doing this for over a decade. This time every season, he has some fun identifying players, teams, coaches, compelling game matchups, College Football Playoff teams, even favorite college town restaurants, as nominees in a mixture of serious as well as wacky award categories.
Baker Mayfield was the Herbie Award winner last year in the “Offensive Player of the Year” category.
As an example of some of the more unusual Herbie Awards to be presented at the end of the season, there are categories this year for “Throwback Player,” “Best Looking Field” “Best Celebrity CFB Fan” and Rodney Dangerfield (no respect).” Mixed in are more traditional categories like “Best Freshman,” “Ultimate Game-Changer,” “Best Pass Rusher” and “Most Explosive Player.”
Sooner players are nominees in three individual categories, and the Oklahoma team is listed as one of the favorites in another category. Wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is one of five players in preseason consideration for “Most Exciting Player.” Running back Rodney Anderson is nominated in the “Ballers” category, and quarterback Kyler Murray is on Herbstreit’s watch list for “Biggest Shoes to Fill.”
The OU quarterback situation appears in the category Herbstreit calls “Question Marks That Aren’t Actually Questions.”
Herbstreit, who as a matter of full disclosure has shown some favoritism toward the Sooners ever since fellow Ohio-native Bob Stoops became the head coach, predicts Oklahoma will win a fourth-consecutive Big 12 championship this season, outdueling TCU, with Kansas State in a sleeper role, but he does not see the Sooner returning to the College Football Playoff.
Alabama, Clemson, Penn State and Washington are Herbstreit’s preseason picks for the 2018 CFP, with Alabama over Clemson in the national championship game.
There are 30 award categories with five nominees (preseason favorites identified by Herbstreit), as well as predictions on the teams to make this year’s CFP as well as the Herbstreit’s picks on who will be the champions, key challengers and sleeper teams in both the Power Five and Group of Five conferences.