Well America, you voted and we listened! After receiving a staggering 410,000 entries, we have tabulated the results and are ready to announce this week's honors winners! We hope you're as excited as we are.
Note: Due to personnel and raw computing power constraints, the following results are based purely on a small sample size of roughly 41 total voters.
Offensive Player of the Game
This was the poll I was most interested in finding out the results for. While Smelter definitely stole the show with two incredibly impressive plays, Justin Thomas and two of his trusty RBs quietly put together quite a good night for themselves. JT threw for 235 yards and 3 TD, Laskey rushed for 74 yards and 2 TD, and Zenon had 36 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving with a touchdown. These solid performances were not enough to unseat DeAndre Smelter though, who had arguably two of the most impressive plays of the night - a long reverse TD and a Calvin Johnson-like catch for another score.
A new-age thinker also wrote in fan-favorite walk-on kicker Andrew Chau, the do-it-all redshirt junior who has never missed a single kick in his entire career as a Yellow Jacket. Something tells me this won't be the last time we see him in these polls.
Offensive Play of the Game
This poll wasn't as close. DeAndre Smelter's 75-yard touchdown rush on the reverse late in the fourth quarter won this one by a landslide. I definitely agree with this result; it was a great play call, great execution, and should have been a game-winning touchdown. It was a great counter to an aggressive UNC defensive front - the misdirection caught the entire defense off guard. Dialing up a run play to your wide receiver on 1st and 25 while trailing with 3 minutes left is also probably hard to predict from a defensive standpoint as well. Great job DeAndre! Now save that play for the georgia game.
Defensive Player of the Game
The closest poll of the day, the Defensive Player of the Game vote brought controversy, drama, and utter chaos to Polling Sites across the nation. Multiple recounts were called for throughout the night, but the results never changed: Jamal Golden has officially edged out Paul Davis and KeShun Freeman for the honors by a total of two votes. Jamal had a solid seven tackles and a game-changing interception early in the first quarter that set up the Jackets' first touchdown.
Let's break this vote down a little bit more though. A couple of voters expressed their discontent with the defense's overall effort by simply voting "None" - a sentiment that may or may not be felt by more than just two people out there. Write-in warrior Andrew Chau also made an appearance in this poll. If he keeps playing both sides of the ball at this level, he is a Heisman shoe-in for
Defensive Play of the Game
The final honors for the day go to Jamal Golden for his first-quarter interception. Not too big of a surprise here - an INT vs the only two or three instances of the defensive line getting pressure on Marquise Williams the whole game is kind of a mismatch. Nevertheless, it was an outstanding effort for the safety who is currently hot, recording two picks across the last three games. "None" received three votes of the 41 total. Our target for this weekend vs Pitt? No "None"s. And if the Jackets pitch a shutout and one of you trolls still puts "None", I'm going to be angry.
Summary
Offensive Player of the Game: WR DeAndre Smelter
Offensive Play of the Game: Smelter's 75-yard reverse TD
Defensive Player of the Game: S Jamal Golden
Defensive Play of the Game: Golden's INT
Interestingly enough, both players of the game went on to win their respective plays of the game as well.
What could this say about our team? Do you agree with this week's award winners? How do you feel about "None"?