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Another fantastic college football season has come to an end, and despite all the whining about the lack of a playoff and speculation about who got screwed over, a worthy national champion has been crowned and college football is still the home of the best regular season of any sport in the land. Over the last few months, I've mostly hit on college football topics, and while the coming weeks will definitely be a change, this week is all college football, all the time.
Chomp, Chomp
To nobody's surprise, Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators are the national champions for the second time in three years. This game was reminiscent of the title game two years ago when the Gators came in ranked #2 and stopped a previously vaunted offense en route to a 41-14 beating of the Buckeyes. Simply put, the Gators made big plays at big times. Major Wright set the tone early with a bone-jarring hit that may or may not have been interference. Regardless of the no call, Wright sent a message to a spread offense known for flinging the ball around the field to largely unmolested receivers.
The offensive line that kept Sam Bradford encased all season played well, but Florida was relentless with their pressure and were able to get to Bradford on a number of occasions. When he made a throw that was even slightly off-target, he was punished with the opportunistic interceptions by Major Wright and Ahmad Black, or his receivers were punished by a hard-hitting defense that will finally get the credit it deserves. They shut down a record-setting offense, created a beautiful mess when the Sooners got to the red zone, and were as opportunistic as any defense has been this year.
The Gator offense, and Tim Tebow specifically, looked out of sync for much of the first half. But in the second half, it became clear who wanted it more. Percy Harvin, who said he was about 90%, gashed Oklahoma at will. He had two gigantic runs and was a level above anybody on the Sooner defense, despite feeling pain with every cut. These guys are truly terrifying for any defense, and what they've done over the last three years makes me at least 1% less depressed about the 2006 national title game.
The loss capped off a largely disappointing bowl season for the Big 12, previously thought to be the finest conference in America. While they have certainly fallen from grace a bit, they still rank among the best. It's unclear who the best conference in the nation is after a crazy bowl season. The SEC certainly makes a case having produced the last three national champions, though that unsightly loss to Alabama is a major blemish.
There is one thing we can assume for now, and that is that the fastest, most talented team in college football resides in Gainesville, and that the same will be true next year. With Tim Tebow's announcement that he will return for his senior year, the Gators have to be overwhelming favorites to take a third trophy in four years, which would make them one of the truly great classes in the history of the sport. Though Lee Corso and the rest of his ESPN crew don't seem to mind, I shy away from comparing Tim Tebow to Jesus. Though I will say that he can stake his claim to the title of Football Jesus next season. As a college football fan, how can you not want this guy to come back? He is the catalyst for the most entertaining offense since the Matt Leinart-Reggie Bush Era at USC. The Gators are the most exciting team in the country to watch, and the longer Tebow and Percy Harvin stay, the better it is for my eyes. Hopefully they can find an obscure lopphole to give them highly illegal fifth years.
My BCS Predictions in Review
The Pick: Virginia Tech + Cincinnati = zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Actual Score: ?????
In Review: This was probably my finest pick. I predicted that this game would cause me to involuntarily pass out, and I was right. The matchup had all the intrigue of an episode of King of Queens, and I still don't know who won. I can tell you who didn't win: America. Not only did I predict my own involuntary nap, but the rest of the nation joined me in one cacophonous snore as this "BCS" bowl garnered some of the lowest ratings of any BCS game in history.
The Pick: USC 31, Penn State 10
Actual Score: USC 38, Penn State 24
In Review: The Nittany Lions found their offense after the Trojans stopped caring about the game. I'm reasonably sure I saw Rey Maualuga talking to some Trojan cheerleaders about an after party for much of the third quarter. This game was over at the half, and nothing Penn State tried could change that. I always love when teams and players talk about being disrespected as if that's some extra motivation for the game. If you aren't motivated to play in the Rose Bowl, then you shouldn't be playing college football. No amount of motivation could change the fact that USC is way, way better than Penn State. While the Trojans gave the betting public a scare, they still covered without trying too hard. Two thumbs up for me on this one.
The Pick: Alabama 24, Utah 13
Actual Score: Utah 31, Alabama 17
In Review: Of course this loss looks terrible for a team that was #1 for six weeks and from a conference as respected as the SEC, but let's take a closer look. Bama had nothing to play for after losing their all-or-nothing conference title game to Florida in heart-breaking, Tim Tebow is way more ballin' than all of you fashion. Their best player and likely Top 3 draft pick was suspended for the game, and they had to play from behind for the first time all year. Turns out that's hard to do when your best lineman is gone and you running game has become obsolete thanks to a 21-0 deficit. It's all of these reasons that lead me to believe that Alabama would win this game four times out of five if it actually mattered. Then again, maybe I just have trouble admitting how horrifyingly wrong I was. Two thumbs down here.
The Pick: Texas 35, Ohio State 20
Actual Score: Texas 24, Ohio State 21
In Review: As a Buckeye fan, I knew they were going to lose and lose big. They were simply overmatched by a team that featured a dominant quarterback from a dominant offensive-minded conference. The Buckeyes defense has shrunk in these games over the last few years. All logic pointed to a blowout, and I was supremely confident in Texas covering. I was fully prepared for the beating, and due to a lack of expectations, I thought I was impervious to getting hurt. But then something happened. The Buckeyes dominated the first half, but came away with just six points. Beanie was running well, the defense was making plays and were more physical than the Texas offense, and it looked as if they had a real chance. When Terrelle Pryor caught a touchdown pass on a fade, I knew they were going to win.
Then something else happened. The defense, which brought pressure all night in an effort to stop Colt McCoy, collapsed again. That may not be fair because McCoy really is just that damn good. I would use the words "fairly well contained" to describe the job the Buckeye defense did on McCoy. But when you look at the stats and see McCoy had over 400 yards passing, including the game-winning touchdown with seconds to play, it goes to show just what it takes to stop crazy Colt. Alas, I ended up heartbroken and drank away my misery for yet another night following a BCS loss. One thumb up on this one as I got the winner but failed against the spread.
The Pick: Florida 38, Oklahoma 24
Actual Score: Florida 24, Oklahoma 14
In Review: I don't think this game played out the way anybody thought it would. I felt fairly confident that the Gators could slow down Sam Bradford and company, but to the tune of just 14 points and with pure domination of the red zone? No way. Both defenses showed more mettle than I expected, and the better team won. Utah fans will use the argument that they are the only undefeated team and it's the en vogue thing for sports writers to agree with that sentiment, but I've seen Utah play several times this year. They would not beat Florida. They are the most successful non-BCS team and surprise us every few years with a huge win like this, but they play in a weaker conference than the SEC and they beat a Crimson Tide team with nothing to gain. The only team that could have a beef is USC, but if they'd stop losing to the Stanford's and Oregon State's of the world, then maybe we would have gotten to see the two best teams in the nation play Thursday. Two thumbs up for picking the winner and taking the points.
Overall: Three of four winners (2-2 against the spread) and one correctly predicted nap time makes this a mildly successful BCS pick 'em for me, and I'm okay with that.
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