Bohls: It's a shame that Bijan Robinson isn't headed to the Heisman ceremony

While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

1. Heisman hoopla. The bet here is that USC's Caleb Williams wins in one of the closest Heisman Trophy races ever. I'm glad that TCU’s Max Duggan got an invite to New York City, but it’s a shame that Texas' Bijan Robinson did not. Running backs need not apply, having won just once (Derrick Henry in 2015) in the last 12 years. The Texas tailback deserved to go as the best running back in America. Unfortunately, the award has unintentionally evolved into a contest for the best player on the best College Football Playoff team (or CFP contender in USC’s case), and that’s almost always a quarterback. … Cleo Robinson, Bijan’s grandfather, told me Tuesday, “We were hoping Bijan could slip into the Heisman picture, but we knew it was a slim chance. We accepted it as a quarterback award. I think they should consider other positions. I wish they’d give them some respect.” On that note, it’d be great if the Heisman folks brought the highest running back vote-getter and defensive player to New York.

2. Almost pro? Bijan hasn’t decided yet whether to turn pro, Cleo said, but I hear he’s leaning strongly toward not playing in the Alamo Bowl against Washington and getting ready for the NFL Draft. … I really think one inch may have cost Duggan the Heisman because if he had gotten into the end zone from the one-inch line against Kansas State after single-handedly taking the Horned Frogs downfield to the point of sheer exhaustion, he might have been a lock for the prize. That would have been a singular Heisman moment that was missing from this year’s race. … Personally I wish the Downtown Athletic Club would wait and not allow a voter to cast his or her ballot before the conference title games finish. It’s all electronic now, so what’s the rush? Have a 48-hour window from the end of the final game until late Monday in which to vote.

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3. Portal pandemonium. The transfer portal is, without question, the Pandora’s Box of college sports, but there’s no closing it. Before noon Monday, the first day players could enter the portal, more than 850 players had put their names in, and it’s passed 1,000. Sure didn’t see Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders going in the portal, though. I hear West Virginia quarterback J.T. Daniels is considering switching to a fourth school. Alabama reportedly has 11 players in the portal, Texas A&M 10, Oregon and Arkansas 13 each and Louisiana Tech 17. … TCU maximized the portal last offseason, bringing in 13 players after losing seven. And they were highly impactful since Navy linebacker Johnny Hodges was the Big 12's newcomer of the year with only Sonny Dykes offering him among 60 schools Hodges contacted, and ULM cornerback Josh Newton was first-team All-Big 12. … In the last year, 1,946 players put their names in the portal but only 54% of FBS players found new homes. I think the overall percentage of those who got scholarships elsewhere, including walk-ons and Division II and III players, was 28%. Yes, there is major risk. Most should stay put. … If Williams wins the Heisman, he’ll be the fourth transfer quarterback to win in the last six years, joining Joe Burrow, Kyler Murray and Baker Mayfield. And don’t forget Jalen Hurts, who transferred from Alabama to Oklahoma, finished second to Burrow in 2019. … Really like Jake Spavital, who was fired at Texas State after going 13-35, but he overdid it with transfers and never won more than four games in a season. New hire G.J. Kinne has to repair relations with in-state high school coaches and fix what has been the unfixable Bobcats, who have had just seven winning seasons in the last 38 years — three by Dennis Franchione and two by Brad Wright — and were rated No. 117 out of 131 teams by The Athletic. Other programs have excelled quickly like UTSA (five winning seasons in its 13-year history), Central Florida (27 in 44 years) and Coastal Carolina (13 in 20 years).

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4. Marking Marquette. No. 2 national volleyball seed Minnesota takes on No. 3 seed Ohio State in the NCAA regional semifinals Thursday morning at Gregory Gym, but don’t look for top-seeded Texas to be looking ahead. It’s entirely focused on Marquette. The Golden Eagles might seem like a speed bump on Texas’ path to a 10th Final Four, but they're more than a sleeper. Marquette may have been to only two Sweet 16s in program history — the first came in 2018 — but Ryan Theis’ club has a school-record 28 wins and is coming off back-to-back sweeps of Ball State and Georgia Tech in the first two rounds. … Like Texas, which has 11 newcomers, Marquette added seven new faces with five freshmen and two transfers. The Big East co-champs are led by outside hitters Aubrey Hamilton and Jenna Reitsma and middle blocker Hattie Bray, a trio that provided 36 of Marquette’s 46 kills against Georgia Tech. “They’re well-coached, and they’re super fast,” UT coach Jerritt Elliott said after the Longhorns’ second consecutive sweep of Georgia and Fairleigh Dickinson. “They’ve got a lot of good arms, and they can hurt you in many different ways. They’re a really good team and they’re going to serve and pass really well. They’ll be a handful.” … Texas and Baylor play on while TCU, Kansas and Iowa State got early NCAA exits but not before the Frogs upset Washington and the Jayhawks upset Miami. Of the Sweet 16, five Big Tens remain alive. Wisconsin, Minnesota and Ohio State all swept their first two opponents while Penn State and Nebraska each dropped just a single set. Only Stanford and Oregon are still playing from the Pac-12 after four others fell. Five of the tournament-high seven SEC teams have been eliminated — four in the second round — with Kentucky and Florida advancing. “There’s so much parity in the game,” Elliott said. “You can see it with the level of play.”

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5. There's the door. Can’t say I embrace Deion Sanders’ approach at his introductory press conference at Colorado. “We got some positions already taken care of,” he said before introducing his son as his starting quarterback. “I want y’all to get ready to jump in the portal.” Smart? Risky? I don’t think any coach wants someone on his roster who doesn’t want to be there. But telling them to leave before he’s met with a single player seems harsh, and I bet some players and parents were rightfully ticked off. … If Deion does make Colorado a prime-time program, he may be the first Hall of Fame player and coach. That seems like a dead-end job, but Sanders went 27-5 at Jackson State and won two SWAC championships. He will definitely be helped by his dynamic personality, his ability to recruit, and USC’s and UCLA’s departures to the Big Ten. He’s lived in Georgia, Florida, Texas and Mississippi and you know he’ll recruit the hell out of the Southeast. I’m not going to bet against him in the diluted Pac-12.

6. On Second Thought. TCU not only made it into its first CFP ever, but it’s the only one of the four qualifiers with a first-year head coach in Sonny Dykes. But it’s interesting the Frogs’ and Michigan’s starting quarterbacks didn’t start their season openers. Duggan was beat out by Chandler Morris but came off the bench when Morris was injured in the opener against Colorado and never gave the job back. Wolverines sophomore J.J. McCarthy won a two-man derby with incumbent Cade McNamara, who started the first game against Colorado State. McCarthy started the next week against Hawaii, throwing for 229 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and never relinquished the position. … It’s weird that Michigan and Ohio State both got into the playoff because I think the Big Ten has been as down as it has in a long time. I’m not even sure how good Penn State is, and the Nittany Lions are in the Rose Bowl. That said, we could sadly end up with an all-Big Ten national championship game. … Does anybody honestly believe that the CFP selection committee didn’t discuss a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State as chairman Boo Corrigan said Sunday? I don’t. … I don’t blame Nick Saban for lobbying for his two-loss Alabama team. Why shouldn’t he fight for his players as well as for himself? Many took Mack Brown to task in 2004 for lobbying for a BCS spot for the Longhorns. But it was funny that Saban brought up betting odds and said his Crimson Tide would probably be favored over other teams being considered for CFP spots. I’ll be curious if Saban tries to get a transfer quarterback if he doesn’t think Jalen Milroe is big-time. … I hope Sark was listening. Loved Kirby Smart’s response when asked about his reaction to his Georgia team’s trouncing of LSU in the SEC title game. “We can’t play defense like that and expect to win any championship,” the Bulldogs coach said. I bet 99% of coaches would be reveling in their team’s 50-point showing and an SEC championship.

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7. A good get. The ATX Open isn’t exactly a Grand Slam event. But that won’t stop former U.S. Open champ Sloane Stephens from coming to Westwood Country Club at the Hologic WTA Tour 250 tournament from Feb. 27-March 5. “It is fantastic that Sloane will join Danielle Collins to play the first ATX Open,” DropShot Series tournament director Christo Van Rensburg said. “We anticipated American players would welcome the opportunity to play on home soil, and these early commitments certainly validate that.”

8. Scattershooting: While wondering whatever happened to Texas tailback Ivan Williams, who led the Longhorns in rushing in the 2001 Holiday Bowl win over Washington.

9. On the couch. Finished the new season of “The Crown.” Very well done. Gave it 7 ducks.

Crazy prediction: Ohio State will knock off Georgia.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Robinson should be a Heisman finalist, leaning toward the pros