This year’s Metchie and Williams Award goes to…

If you’re an elite offensive team because of skill position talent about to face your toughest opponent of the season, this can’t be good news.

TreVeyon Henderson’s sophomore season is over.

The Ohio State running back will not play in the College Football Playoff due to a foot injury he’s been battling for the majority of the 2022 season, Henderson confirmed Tuesday on Twitter.

… Ohio State will now be without two of its most prominent offensive players in the CFP as wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba announced last week that he will not play in the CFP due to his ongoing recovery from a hamstring injury.

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s been a stud in stepping up to fill the void created by Smith-Njigba’s absence this season, but check out the latter’s stats from 2021.  Then look at Henderson’s.  They definitely won’t be missed, if you’re a Georgia fan.

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Today, in chicks dig the deep ball

Bill Connelly posted this chart yesterday.

Ohio State “is willing to get burned deep a couple of times in the process”?  “Georgia doesn’t really burn you deep”?

Arian Smith and AD Mitchell, come on down!  Hope they’re fully healthy and ready to contribute when the time comes.

Balance? Mike Leach doesn’t think that word means what you think it means, Mike Bobo.

For obvious reasons, this will always be my favorite Leach quote.

Mike Leach explaining how the Air Raid is a balanced offense was always genius. To him, the Wishbone was balanced too. It was about distributing the ball to all your skill players, no matter how you did it. pic.twitter.com/VjjZFgo6SH

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 13, 2022

Today, in point to the scoreboard

Top 10 QBs in the 2023 NFL Draft, per @PFF_Mike ♨️ pic.twitter.com/IaQAo1PJAX

— PFF College (@PFF_College) December 14, 2022

I know it’s not exactly on point, but I still find it highly amusing that over his last 14 games, Stetson Bennett has beaten five of the top seven names on that list.

The only thing Mike Leach hated more than Texas Tech…

Shot.

Craig James told Tech chancellor Kent Hance that Adam had spent three hours in that electrical closet based on instructions from Pincock. That night, Craig called Larry Anders (chairman of the Tech board of regents) and complained that Adam had been forced to practice with a concussion and had been locked in an electrical closet. We’d already held out the starting quarterback for a month that season because he had a concussion — the starting quarterback. Adam was forbidden to practice because he had a concussion. We wanted him away from the field.

According to both his and Anders’s depositions, Craig demanded that I be fired. Hance called me and said that Craig had phoned Anders to complain about his son being forced to play before his concussion was healed, which was simply not true. I explained the situation to Hance, and also told him how often Craig called up the Tech coaches to lobby for more playing time for his son. I told him that Adam had been a constant discipline problem and that I planned on cutting him from the team. Hance told me not to cut Adam.

Chaser.

Never forget the time Mike Leach signed his book with "Craig James killed 5 hookers" ☠️🏴‍☠️ #SwingYourSword pic.twitter.com/Fpseze99s8

— Jonah Colbert (@mynameiscolb) December 13, 2022

At least he got a great meme out of the experience.

What do Erk and the Pirate have in common?

Stupid rules.

Mike Leach's .596 winning % leaves him just below (literally, three wins) the CFB Hall's .600 threshold for coaches.

I understand why the standard exists, but an exception must be made for him.

You can't tell the story of CFB without Mike Leach.

— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) December 13, 2022

What makes this especially stupid in Leach’s case is context.

Before Leach’s arrival, Texas Tech had been to the Cotton Bowl, historically a desired destination for Texas schools, just twice — in 1939 and 1995. Under Leach, they went twice in nine seasons, in 2006 and 2009. They have not been back since his departure in 2010. He’s the only coach in 103 years to win 11 games at Washington State.

Fittingly, Leach’s last win, Mississippi State’s 24-22 triumph over Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl, was the Bulldogs’ seventh win over a team ranked in the AP poll while the Bulldogs were unranked under Leach in the past three seasons. No other school has more than four unranked vs. ranked wins in that span.

Sadly, he’d likely have picked up those three wins with another season of coaching at Mississippi State.  Not that it’ll make any difference now.