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With bowl season finally upon us, we can look back and see who made one of the highest, longest-standing honors in college football: All-America Teams. With a rich history that dates all the way back to 1889, being named an All-American is synonymous with success and outstanding play.
We'll split this up into two sections: Unanimous/Consensus Criteria Lists and the Specialty Lists. The Unanimous/Consensus lists consist of 5 lists: The Associated Press, The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News, and The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). To be a Consensus All-American, you have to make the first team of 3 out of 5 of these lists. Unanimous is 5 out of 5 first-team spots.
For our specialty lists, we're going to use a few of the bigger name ones. On tap: SB Nation, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, ESPN, and CBS Sports. If you think of any more, feel free to throw them in the comments section below and we'll take a look.
So let's jump right into it.
Consensus/Unanimous Lists
AP - Jordan Lynch (1st team/All-Purpose), Khalil Mack (2nd team/Linebacker), Jimmie Ward (3rd team/Safety)
AFCA - No one
FWAA - Khalil Mack (1st team/Linebacker)
Sporting News - No one
WCFF - Khalil Mack (2nd team/Linebacker)
So no one technically made consensus status this season to join Archer. If you're like me though, you still count Mack as one since he made 3 of the 5 lists. The odd things that stand out are probably the two NIU picks. Sure Lynch was an All-American, but to draw only one of the five lists, and being named "All-Purpose" is a tad bit surprising, but you take it. Jimmie Ward stealing a 3rd team safety spot is also surprising
Specialty Lists
SB Nation - Khalil Mack (1st team/Linebacker), Jordan Lynch (2nd team/QB), Zac Murphy (2nd team/Punter)
ESPN - No one
SI - Khalil Mack (1st team/Linebacker), Jimmie Ward (1st team/Safety), Jordan Lynch (Honorable Mention/QB), Travis Greene (Honorable Mention/RB), Branden Oliver (Honorable Mention/RB), David Fluellen (Honorable Mention/RB), Willie Snead (Honorable Mention/WR), Roosevelt Nix (Honorable Mention/DL), BooBoo Gates (Honorable Mention/DB), Jeremiah Detmer (Honorable Mention/Kicker), Zac Murphy (Honorable Mention/Punter), TommyLee Lewis (Honorable Mention/All-Purpose)
USA Today - Jimmie Ward (1st team/Safety), Jordan Lynch (2nd team/QB), Khalil Mack (2nd team/Linebacker)
CBS Sports - Khalil Mack (1st team/Linebacker), Jordan Lynch (2nd team/QB)
Thoughts. Obviously, we see Khalil Mack was a stud and earned a few 1st team honors. No surprise. Jordan Lynch generally fell between 2nd or 3rd team honors. Jimmy Ward again stealing some spot-light, earning a pair of 1st team honors, but otherwise didn't receive any love. Also, shout-out to the mothership and Sports Illustrated for Zac Murphy love!
Now let's combine it all! Note that 3rd team and Honorable Mention will be considered the same thing here.
| Player | Team | 1st Team Selections | 2nd Team Selections | 3rd Team Selections |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Khalil Mack | Buffalo | 4 | 3 | - |
| Jordan Lynch | NIU | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| Jimmie Ward | NIU | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Zac Murphy | Miami | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Travis Greene | BGSU | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Branden Oliver | Buffalo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| David Fluellen | Toledo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Willie Snead | Ball State | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Roosevelt Nix | Kent State | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| BooBoo Gates | BGSU | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jeremiah Detmer | Toledo | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TommyLee Lewis | NIU | 0 | 0 | 1 |
So if you use the 5-3-1 point scale (which I will, since earning a 1st team over a 2nd team honor is WAY more difficult in the MAC), Ward and Lynch actually tied with 11 points each. Obviously, Mack was dominant and just took the whole thing with 29 points. Murphy coming in with 4 points is surprising, but hey, punters need love too!
| TEAM-BY-TEAM BREAKDOWN | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team (# of individuals selected) | 1st Team Selections | 2nd Team Selections | 3rd Team Selections | All-America Points |
| Buffalo (2 players) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 30 |
| NIU (3 players) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
| Miami (1 player) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| BGSU (2 players) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Toledo (2 players) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Kent State (1 player) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ball State (1 player) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| WMU, CMU, EMU, Akron, UMass, and Ohio combined | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
So yeah, Khalil Mack just dominates and single-handedly carries Buffalo to the top of the MAC. In funny notes, Miami, winner of absolutely no games this season, finishes 3rd in the MAC in All-America points due to SB Nation giving him a 2nd team nod and earning 3 solid points from it.
So what do you think? Who was snubbed and who earned too much credit? What about other lists we may have missed? Let us know.
