 Another wacky college football regular season has reached its conclusion. So what have we learned? We've learned that you can lose to a team on a neutral field and still leapfrog over them into the national title game because you score a lot of points. We've learned that you can go undefeated by beating nobody of consequence (not that Alabama could have known Georgia, LSU, and Clemson would be so average) and justice will usually be served in the end. We've learned that you can lose four games and still be crowned conference champion and "earn" a BCS berth while an undefeated top 10 team gets left in the cold. We've learned that Lou Holtz still has no idea what he's talking about as his prediction of 11 wins for Notre Dame came up juuuuust a bit short. We'll learn a lot more during bowl season, but for now let's hit on the topics of the day.
BCS Matchups Announced
One of the drawbacks of reading about and watching so much sports is that speculation can sometimes overtake your life. When it came to the BCS, nothing was left to the imagination. The projections were accurate and we got the exact matchups we thought we would based on Saturday’s action. Thankfully, the matchups should be pretty interesting. The plotlines are endless. Florida and Oklahoma throw down for the national title in a matchup of the two most terrifying offenses in the country. Texas v OSU is the third meeting in four years between the teams and the stakes are just as high as they were in 2005 and 2006. Texas will probably be heavily favored, but the rubber match of this series should be a good one. Penn State vs USC is another chance for the Big Ten to regain some respect, although USC’s defense is far superior to the Buckeye defense that held the Nittany Lions to just 13 points. On paper this matchup looks good, but I fear Penn State may get destroyed. Alabama winds up in the Sugar Bowl in what is a truly intriguing game against Utah. And the Orange Bowl features Cincinnati and Virginia Tech, and it should zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, whoa, passed out for a second there. Check in next week with my detailed BCS game predictions.
My Heisman Ballot
1. Colt McCoy, QB (Texas)
Blame Blake Gideon. Had he held onto that creampuff interception against Texas Tech in the final minute, this wouldn’t even be a discussion. Texas would have won the Big 12 South outright, destroyed a mediocre Missouri team, and advanced to the national title as the top team in the nation, and their leader would have been crowned with the best individual award in all of sports, the Heisman Trophy. He out-Tebowed Tebow by leading his team in rushing and rushing touchdowns. He out-Bradforded Bradford, completing almost 10% more of his passes than the Oklahoma quarterback so noted for his accuracy. And he did all this with less around him than either of his main competitors. He was a dropped interception away from being a lock after leading his team past Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. He showed the grit and heart of a champion in bringing his team back from a 19-point deficit on the road against Texas Tech to take the lead with under two minutes to play. When it comes down to it, he’s done more with less and his team was robbed of a shot at the conference and national titles. Unfortunately, he’ll probably get robbed of the award he deserves.
2. Tim Tebow, QB (Florida)
The defending Heisman winner has a pretty compelling case. Since the loss to Ole Miss, he has lived up to his promise to play harder than any player in the nation. He is the catalyst for the juggernaut that is the Florida offense. He also showed the heart of a champion in the SEC Championship, leading Florida to a 14-point 4th quarter and making several brilliant throws under duress. In fact, his Alabama performance was so impressive that the great Lou Holtz jumped off Colt McCoy’s bandwagon and straight onto Tebow’s. He made the point that a Tim Tebow only comes around once in a lifetime (which, of course, is hyperbolic bullshit, but let’s chalk that up to old age). After Mark May stumbled through a comparison to Halley’s Comet that made absolutely no sense, he gave Lou a good verbal beating about being a bandwagon jumper. It’s this Lou Holtz mindset that is going to give Tebow his second Heisman. It’s not that he doesn’t deserve it for what he and his team have done, but McCoy is more deserving and is going to get the shaft due to events beyond his control. Still, I love watching Tim Tebow and the Florida offense in general. Here’s to hoping he stays around for a three-peat.
3. Sam Bradford, QB (Oklahoma)
It’s hard to believe that this is only Bradford’s second year under center. He has the poise of a senior and leads the ridiculous vertical passing attack that has racked up over 60 points in five straight games. Bradford threw for an incredible 48 touchdowns and nearly 4,500 yards. Sure, his team is in the national championship, but they shouldn’t be. I realize this isn’t his fault, but I’m understandably annoyed at how the system works. I’m very interested to see if Bradford ends up ahead of McCoy in the voting because that would prove that this year’s Heisman was all about glitz, glamour, and terrible tiebreakers rather than the play on the field. Bradford is a great player and a tantalizing NFL prospect, but he should not win the Heisman this season. Then again, if he destroys Florida in the title game, a la the Vince Young over Reggie Bush post-Heisman award debate, I’m willing to change my mind.
OJ Is the Dumbest Human Alive
I’m going to create a hypothetical. Let’s say that you’re a Heisman Trophy winner who is one of the greatest running backs in the history of the most beloved sport in America. Let’s say, again hypothetically, that you murder two people. Then you endure a low speed car chase and a trial that are more public than any events in the history of U.S. law. Somehow, despite being the only suspect and with evidence linking you to the crime scene, you evade the long arm of the law like it’s a slow-footed safety. Now you’re playing with house money. All you have to do is kick back and enjoy your kids and your freedom because the family of one of the victims that you owe millions to can’t touch your NFL pension. What would you do in that situation? My guess is one of the things you wouldn’t do is enter a hotel room with a group of guys with guns in an effort to recover some memorabilia that was stolen from you.
Well you and the Juice are on a different wavelength. Stupid decided that armed robbery and kidnapping was an awesome idea, so now his dumb ass sits where many thought it should have been firmly planted for over a decade, in a tiny cell. So enjoy your three squares a day OJ, sitting alone with the thought that you are the runaway winner of the award for world’s dumbest human. You won the lottery with your athletic ability, then won it again when you got off for a double murder that nearly started a race riot, but that wasn’t good enough. I only wish that years could be tacked onto a sentence based on the stupidity of the person involved. Then you would be serving multiple lifetimes. Have fun spending the rest of your 60s and maybe longer in that cell. You deserve nothing less.
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