Big Ten takes lead in CBS Sports’ midseason All-America team
After Week 7, CBS Sports’ voters agreed far more often than in August, and Notre Dame, despite its record, has no player on the midseason roster.
In brief
- CBS Sports lists six unanimous picks at midseason, against three in the preseason.
- The SEC fell from 15 first-team selections to five and now shares second place with the ACC.
- Four of the five offensive linemen come from Big Ten schools.
- Notre Dame, 6-1 and ranked fourth, has nobody on the team.
When CBS Sports released its midseason All-America team after Week 7 of the college football season, the ballots showed far more agreement than the preseason version did. Six players now have unanimous support, where the preseason team had three.
Two names carry over from the first list to the second as unanimous choices: Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State receiver, and Colin Simmons, the Texas EDGE defender. Two others, Malachi Toney of Miami and Jesse Legree of Oregon State, were named on every ballot too. Their votes were divided at their positions, though, so neither counts as a unanimous pick at a single spot.
The SEC’s slide and the Big Ten’s rise
The balance between conferences has shifted sharply since the preseason team. The SEC then held 15 first-team selections, which was the most of any league. At midseason it holds five. The Big Ten now leads the count, and the SEC sits level with the ACC in second place.
The drop is sharpest on offense. The SEC had six offensive players on the preseason team, and Tennessee running back DeSean Bishop is the only one from the conference to make the midseason cut.
| Conference | Midseason standing |
|---|---|
| Big Ten | Most selections |
| SEC | Tied for second |
| ACC | Tied for second |
On the preseason first team, CBS Sports gave the SEC more than half of the available roster spots. That share has been cut sharply, and the writer admits the voters may have gone too far in favor of SEC players in August.
As for the reasons, the same outlet lists three possible readings: strong defenses, ordinary quarterback play (Arch Manning is named in particular) or injuries. It concludes that several of the conference’s brightest names entering the season have not delivered.
An offensive line built in the Big Ten
Four of the five offensive line spots went to Big Ten programs: Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota. Iowa alone supplies two linemen, Trevor Lauck and Kade Pieper.
Indiana tackle Carter Smith stands out in another way. Among the players on the preseason first team, he is the only one who also appears on the midseason first team. Indiana has allowed just 10 sacks through its first seven games.
Pieper was already on the preseason list, as a second-team choice, according to CBS Sports. Minnesota guard Greg Johnson, the fourth Big Ten lineman, also began on the second team in the preseason and moved up after a strong first half of the season.
The outlet adds that Smith could earn All-America honors for a second consecutive year if he keeps up his current level.
Why Notre Dame has no representative
Notre Dame guard Anthonie Knapp was part of the preseason team but was not retained at midseason. Cornerback Leonard Moore, who was a unanimous preseason choice, is also gone from the list.
Moore suffered a concussion in the game against North Carolina and did not play against Stanford. That game was a chance for him to add to his numbers, and he missed it.
According to CBS Sports, both Knapp and Moore still appeared on ballots, just in too few of them to make the team. The writer ties the shutout to Notre Dame’s schedule, which he calls relatively weak, and to its loss against the only quality opponent it has faced so far.
The writer also floats a theory about Moore: opposing offenses know he will be playing on Sundays next year and may simply avoid throwing in his direction.
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