Dein erstes Forum » rday night he was far from perfect. His deep

Out in Arizona and Utah they have whats called the Grand Staircase, a gigantic swath of America stretching from Bryce Canyon through Zion National Park and into the Grand Canyon. Anyone who travels that route is able to witness the evolution of our planet firsthand, a visible journey that reveals Earths development from the depths of the earliest days to the doorstep of modern times. Todays world, as we know it, was formed by pressure and eruptions, storms and explosions, conditions where only the strongest and most resilient escaped extinction and moved forward. To survive and advance one had to adapt and evolve.On Saturday, I traveled the Grand Staircase of College Football. But instead of the high desert of the west, my truck rolled through the hills and past the lakes of I-85 North, from central Georgia to upstate South Carolina. A day that started Between the Hedges with Tennessee vs. Georgia and ended in Death Valley with Louisville vs. Clemson carried me from one layer of the game -- two teams working desperately to regain footing among college footballs elite -- to the highest echelon of the sport and two teams already operating at the level the other two dream of reaching. At both games it was impossible not to be locked into the leaders of those teams, the four quarterbacks.Its a lot for ones brain to process. Especially when they ended up being two of the greatest games one could ever hope to see.So, I drove 532 miles in one day, from hotel departure at 8 a.m. to arrival at home in Charlotte at 3 a.m. Nuts? Maybe. Worth it? Totally. (Hey, I tried to do three games, starting with Miami at Georgia Tech to take it down one more step to the old-school powerhouses trying to catch back up level. Alas, the travel gods didnt allow for it.) Heres what I took away from what I saw, presented here as I wait for my eyes to stop instinctively darting back and forth.Jacob Eason is better than I thought ... but he needs help. The Georgia QB is made out of steel. Sadly, he has to be. He was sacked three times Saturday, including the late hit that caused a fumble and TD for Tennessee. But he still bounced back to throw for 211 yards and a pair of TDs, including the would-be game-winner with 10 seconds remaining. If youve watched him closely over the first five weeks, even with the two straight losses, hes improved so much, an NFL scout told me from the back row at halftime, when the Dawgs led 17-7. After the game and the all-time classic finish that same scout texted me as I hammered out of Athens: See?! That loss isnt on QB. Kid needs help.Joshua Dobbs biggest asset is also his biggest problem. Thatd be his brain. The much-lauded engineering ace is so smart he appears to be a victim of paralysis by analysis, particularly in the first half when the game is moving slower. He goes through progressions slowly and theres a methodical speed in his throws, even just throwing it out of bounds, that creates trouble. But the clock gets tighter and the game speeds up, hes forced to make those decisions faster and makes them better. See: those four double-digit second-half comebacks.Theres no reason why he cant be as dynamic as the guys you are going to see later tonight, former Georgia coach Vince Dooley told me at halftime, speaking of Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. But I dont think weve ever seen him do that for four straight quarters. If he could be as good as he is late in games for 60 minutes it would really be scary. Moments after the game ended on the Dobbs Hail Mary to Jauan Jennings I was sprinting to my truck so I could bolt for Clemson before the stunned UGA fans started trudging toward their vehicles. I ran into Dooley in the concourse. See? said the man who has seen it all. Scary.Deshaun Watsons slow start is over. People around Clemson have been concerned with their quarterbacks mindset since the season started. Was he a victim of the preseason Heisman hype? Was he trying to do too much? Was the post-Chad Morris playbook hangover many expected in 2015 finally showing up a year later? Watson even admitted his head hadnt been totally right to my colleague Marty Smith early last week. On Saturday night he was far from perfect. His deep ball is still off-target, but his synapses are most certainly finally firing in sync.Like Dobbs in the second half, Watsons magic seemed to become conjured back up the more he was pushed to the brink. Take this insane second-quarter drive sequence and watch how Watson becomes January Playoff Watson: Clemson turnover, Louisville turnover, Clemson touchdown, Louisville turnover, Clemson turnover, Louisville turnover, Clemson touchdown, Louisville punt, Clemson touchdown, Louisville field goal, Clemson touchdown. Clemsons four TD drives covered two, one, three and four plays for 20, 11, 57 and 26 seconds, respectively. So, yes, at one point Clemson scored three touchdowns in six plays.Then, when Louisville did push back in the second half, Watson wasnt rattled. I wouldnt say I was more comfortable in the middle of all that, he said around 1 a.m. Sunday. But I would be lying if I said it wasnt the most fun Ive had all year. That, ladi