SinCityGriz2005
Well-known member
Good questions. Unfortunately, like the Heisman, stupid people like to award the trophy to QB's. I will never understand why. There are other players who are far superior year in and out than QB's.
In the last 21 years, 20 have gone to QB's and the only WR to win the WPA was Cooper Kupp. Soooo not much hope for a RB or WR to win the award, even though Payton was a RB and I think it should go more to RB's than stupid QB's.
I like EG and if it were up to me I would promote him for the WPA. I think he has the resume for it and already won the JRA, and has fantastic numbers this year. Unfortunately there are too many crap conferences with sub-par competition that have RB's with more rushing yards and TDs. Also, there have been 9 RB's that have won the award so statistically he has a better chance than Wortham does.
Wortham is a freak, and it should go to the all around BEST football player in the FCS. That is Michael Wortham hands down. He has more APY than any player in the FCS or FBS. He can do it all, and he does it all at an elite level. Also, he is recognized nationally. My money would be on promoting him. BUT he is a WR, and there have only been two wide receivers in the history of the award who have won the WPA. So I doubt he has a shot in hell at it despite everything. I wouldn't waste the money and time.
Ah Yat doesn't have the numbers to be a WPA candidate compared to the other crap conferences. It's EASY to get ridiculous stats for other crap conference QB's. Really, only players in three conferences should ever be considered for the Buchannan or Payton awards. THE BSC, MVFC, and SoCon. Unfortunately, KAY just doesn't come off as the BEST QB in the nation, let alone the best football player. He IS a QB so he has that going for him. I wouldn't waste my time or money.
So Wortham or Gillman? I don't know about everyone else, but I fully expect Eli to jump to an FBS program for his senior year. He will have a far better chance of raising his stock for the Draft. So I would like to see him win the WPA before he transfers. I think he has the best chance of winning out of all three, but hey lightening strikes once in a while and Wortham might win. So maybe promote him. Idk.
I would say obviously Vigen’s coaching style has been effective. He has helped raise the Puds to an elite level of football. How much has it elevated them? Well, everyone knows about NDSU, SDSU and the Puds all over the mid-west and east coast and no one knows Montana. Montana was a household name from 1995-2008 everyone knew about App State, Georgia Southern, Richmond, Youngstown and Montana back then. It's all about who is successful right here, right now. UM doesn't have the marketing campaign that MSU has been using. UM hasn't had the exposure, with the exception of one NC appearance. Also, it didn't hurt the Puds at all that CGD went to Bozoland AND the Puds won that game. So yes, Vigen has had a significant impact and has contributed to their elevation as a nationally recognized program.
Maaaan, I REALLY want to put my faith in KAY to be the QB that leads UM to a NC and win over NDSU. That would be awesome, and something his dad didn't do, win a Natty. I just don't trust him. He makes good decisions and throws, then does REALLY dumb things at the worst possible times. He has 7 interceptions on the season. That's unacceptable for an elite level QB. I would like to say he has improved since his first two games, but he has thrown a pick in 3/6 games against questionable competition. You can see that KAY has improved with each game. He is also just a Sophomore, so he has more room to grow, He isn't a transfer, so he should have a better grasp of the playbook, more familiarity with his offense, and be more successful. Yeah he has more yards and TD's than Lamson. But the Puds have played a little stronger schedule, not much more, but a little more.
Lamson. Stats wise, Lamson edges out KAY by a little, but not much. The most impressive performance and stats he has as a QB to me was his .74% completion rating at Oregon. Aside from that he isn't really that impressive. He absolutely protects the ball better and doesn't make mistakes. He has two interceptions on the year. You would think Oregon would have torn him apart, but they didn't. No picks at all in that game. That is flat impressive. He does have a year on KAY. He wasn't even average at Stanford, but he DID play at Stanford. However, he is up and down like KAY. It's like he matches the level of the team he is playing.
If this were blackjack, I'd probably push. My gut says Lamson and my heart says KAY. If I had to put one or the other on the field in the big games, say UC Davis, the Griz/Cat, or a deep run for the NC? I lean toward Lamson based on his play against Oregon and SDSU. Although, KAY has been clutch when he needed to be, but it was his dumb mistakes that forced him into those clutch situations.
I don't really think there is a THAT guy QB in the FCS this year. So I will go with KAY. I think he is growing in leaps and bounds each game. I do think he is the QB that could get us to the NC and possibly win it. NDSU isn't all that and a bag of chips this year. SDSU isn't the team it was.
I think in the end it's going to come down to SDSU/NDSU; UM/MSU; SDSU/UM; SDSU/MSU; NDSU/UM; NDSU/MSU in the Natty.
The rest just aren't that good.
