Football (real)

[oVo]

#11 TCU ends #9 Boise State's bid for another perfect season by erasing a 13-0 deficit to win the Poinsettia Bowl 17-16. A strong defense prevailed over a high octane offense in this one and with the Horned Frogs' only losses being a thumping from Oklahoma and a last second escape by Utah they should climb into the final top 10 rankings.

[strike wolf]

While I agree that TCU was the better team, Boise really let them escape from this one. They tried a couple of badly timed trick plays when they should have been more conservative that really ended in disaster. I still think that even with this loss Boise deserved a chance at a BCS game. I still think they deserved it more than a 2 loss OSU team that will most likely be embarassed by Texas.

[oVo]

All those trips to the red zone producing a single touchdown for a team that averaged about 40 per game is one thing, but the 28 rushing yards compared to 275 for TCU as well as the time of possession really stands out too. This isn't the BCS busting team of previous years and I doubt they would have faired well against Alabama, Texas, Texas Tech or the other BCS bowlers... well, maybe Va.Tech or Cincy.

I don't anticipate Ohio State getting bowled over by this experienced Texas team and expect a good tough game. The Buckeyes have grown a lot since going on the road to face USC in their third game of the season and even with a freshman QB... I think they will keep it close and won't be shocked if they actually win this one.

[strike wolf]

So we'll agree to disagree?

I don't they were the BCS bowl busting team of years past either. That was apparent from last night's game. I do think that they deserved the opportunity to play in a BCS bowl over just about any 2 loss team.

[SEAsportsfan]

Am i the only one who believes Texas Tech was totally ripped? They lose to Oklahoma, but are ranked lower than the team who lost to Iowa (Penn State)!?! I really believe Texas Tech has a spot in the Nat'l Champ game, but oh well.

[oVo]

So we'll agree to disagree?

Of course... that's what all the mythical ncaa champs and matchups that never happen are all about.
Lots and lots of varied points of view... and all the yakkity yack just kills some time as we wait
to see how it all plays out.

The Buckeye's only edge to squeeze into the BCS is who they lost to...
and the Bulldogs' Capital One Bowl opponant got smoked on their home field
by both OSU and PSU... which will generate some chat too.

Big 12 seven bowl teams (67-19) (1-1)
Missouri v Northwestern (Big 10) 30-23 OT
Oklahoma State v Oregon (Pac 10) 42-31
Kansas v Minnesota (Big 10)
Nebraska v Clemson (ACC)
Texas Tech v Mississippi (SEC)
Texas v Ohio State (Big 10)
Oklahoma v Florida (SEC)

SEC eight bowl teams (61-25)
Vanderbilt v Boston College (ACC)
LSU v Georgia Tech (ACC)
South Carolina v Iowa (Big 10)
Georgia v Michigan State (Big 10)
Mississippi v Texas Tech (Big 12)
Kentucky v ECU (C-USA)
Alabama v Utah (Mountain West)
Florida v Oklahoma (Big 12)

Big Ten seven bowl teams (61-23) (0-2)
the games above plus
Wisconson v Florida State (ACC) 42-13
Penn State v USC (Pac 10)

Pac 10 five bowl teams (44-17) (3-0)
Arizona v Brigham Young (Mountain West) 31-21
California v Miami (ACC) 24-17
Oregon v Oklahoma State (Big 12) 42-31
Oregon State v Pittsbugh (Big East)
USC v Penn State (Big 10)

Big East six bowl teams (52-24) (3-0)

ACC ten bowl teams (79-48) (3-3)

C-USA six bowl teams (49-27) (2-1)

Am i the only one who believes Texas Tech was totally ripped?

Unfortunately Tech got ripped a really big one on National TV and late in the season to boot,
but there is no shortage of one loss teams who got the short end of the stick.

#1 USC lost at Oregon State
#4 Florida lost at home to Mississippi
#1 Oklahoma lost in Dallas to #5 Texas
#1 Texas lost at #7 Texas Tech
#2 Texas Tech lost at #5 Oklahoma
#1 Alabama lost in Atlanta to #4 Florida

and the BCS points rankings generate an Oklahoma/Florida National Championship Game,
while the only remaining unbeaten is Utah who meets Alabama in the Sugar Bowl Jan. 2nd.

Which is all going to generate a lot of football debates
for many years to come.

[strike wolf]

Am i the only one who believes Texas Tech was totally ripped? They lose to Oklahoma, but are ranked lower than the team who lost to Iowa (Penn State)!?! I really believe Texas Tech has a spot in the Nat'l Champ game, but oh well.

Not really. Texas Tech is a great team. But they do not deserve a spot in the national championship.

[strike wolf]

So we'll agree to disagree?

Of course... that's what all the mythical ncaa champs and matchups that never happen are all about.
Lots and lots of varied points of view... and all the yakkity yack just kills some time as we wait
to see how it all plays out.

The Buckeye's only edge to squeeze into the BCS is who they lost to...
and the Bulldogs' Capital One Bowl opponant got smoked on their home field
by both OSU and PSU... which will generate some chat too.

Big 12 seven bowl teams (67-19)
Missouri v Northwestern (Big 10)
Oklahoma State v Oregon (Pac 10)
Kansas v Minnesota (Big 10)
Nebraska v Clemson (ACC)
Texas Tech v Mississippi (SEC)
Texas v Ohio State (Big 10)
Oklahoma v Florida (SEC)

SEC eight bowl teams (61-25)
Vanderbilt v Boston College (ACC)
LSU v Georgia Tech (ACC)
South Carolina v Iowa (Big 10)
Georgia v Michigan State (Big 10)
Mississippi v Texas Tech (Big 12)
Kentucky v ECU (USA)
Alabama v Utah (Mountain West)
Florida v Oklahoma (Big 12)

Big Ten seven bowl teams (61-23)
the games above plus
Wisconson v Florida State (ACC)
Penn State v USC (Pac 10)

Pac 10 five bowl teams (44-17)
Arizona v Brigham Young (Mountain West)
California v Miami (ACC)
Oregon v Oklahoma State (Big 12)
Oregon State v Pittsbugh (Big East)
USC v Penn State (Big 10)

Big 12 I can see going 7-0 in bowl games but they also have 3 easily losable games too and probably more from teams I really don't know much about.

SEC I can see going 6-2 (simply because of mismatches between in the GT-LSU game and the TT-Miss game) in bowl games but most likely will have at least 3 losses.

I can actually see the Big 10 losing all their bowl games but highly doubt it will happen.

I can see Pac 10 going 1-4 in their games but I doubt any of them will go down easily and they can pull off a better record without too much hassle.

Just to note these are the extremes in the matter. I do not actually expect to see these results as much as I simply believe they are possible. I also would like to recognise that it is possible that both Ole Miss and LSU may actually win their games however I do not think that will be the case. From what I've seen they are overmatched by superior teams and LSU especially will have trouble keeping up with Paul Johnson's offense.

[strike wolf]

Now I'd like to take a moment to adress something about the SEC. The underachievers

The underacheivers on defense are Georgia and LSU. For all the buzz about LSU let's face it their defense especially in the second half of the season was horrendous. They even gave up 21 points to an Auburn team who lets face it was extremely poor on offense especially around the time when they actually played LSU. The highlight of their defensive season: Holding Alabama to 27 with OT.

As for Georgia, well they were a little better off than LSU on defense but not much. Georgia had a horrible run defense shown through poor tackling and an almost non-existant defense against the option. GT came back from trailing 28-12 at half against the Dawgs winning it 45-42 WITHOUT RUNNING A SINGLE PASS PLAY IN THE SECOND HALF! Georgia gave up 38 points to UK (a team that Florida held to 5), 49 to Florida (35 in the second half), 41 to Alabama (31 in first half) and 38 to LSU. There really is no highlight to a Georgia defense that was supposed allow them to contend for a National Championship but instead led them to a 3 loss season and a less prestigious bowl. Thank goodness their offense was good.


Now the underachievers on offense are Auburn and Tennessee. No surprise about either of these teams. Auburn's offense was in shambles all year. Their highest scoring games never exceeded 37 points even against teams that are supposed to be inferior in every way, you know the teams you are supposed to put up a minimum of 45 against. They even competed in one of the lowest scoring games in history eeking out a 3-2 victory against an even worst Mississippi St. Offense. Oh and did I mention they got shut out by Alabama? Highlight of the season on offense, putting up 34 points in the season opener against LSU-Monroe.

Tennessee may have been just as bad or even worse than Auburn on defense. Tennessee's highest score of the season was only 35 points though they also had one more game in the thirties range than Auburn. Tennessee was plagued by problems at quarterback and fumbles by their former star rusher. They even managed to lose to a UCLA team that got blown out by Stanford in the last game of the season.

The underacheiver of the second half of the season goes to Vanderbilt. Now i'm sure that Vanderbilt exceeded just about everyone's expectations but the second half of their season was a major disappointment as I believe they lost and correct me if I'm wrong 6 of their last 7 games including one against Miss. St who was probably the worst team in the SEC. I would say that is a major disappointment after opening the season 5-0 and getting an upset win against S. Carolina.

Now the SEC's overall underacheiver. I would give this to Tennessee. They may not have been as highly ranked as Georgia or Auburn but let's face it. Auburn should have never been ranked that high and neither should have Georgia with all the missing players from their line up. In the end, it comes down to a Tennessee team that was as little as one game and even 5 points from their worst season ever. Last year they were a team that made it to the SEC championship and were one interception away from upsetting LSU, this year they were in the crapper of the SEC East saved by a weak Kentucky team and a crumbling Vanderbilt.

[strike wolf]

Well, it seems like this Sunday was a day for comebacks to fall short. The Rams took a late lead against Atlanta only to blow it a few minutes later as Norwood scored the winning TD. New Orleans overcame a 20 point deficit only to lose by 2 points in the final seconds of the game. And the Giants took the lead in Minnesota after trailing for most if not the whole game (I missed the first part) only for Minnesota to kick a clutch field goal.

In other news, The Lions have officially reached perfection and Miami wins the AFC East while Baltimore prevents a playoff spot for the Patriots. Steelers QB (I'm not attempting to try and spell his name) was carted off the field though I believe his X-rays were negative. Last time I checked the Chargers were beating up on the Broncos 45-21 with just over 2:00 minutes left and threatening to score yet again. The Colts (possibly the hottest team in football right now) shut out the team with the best record in football 23-0 giving them their 9 straight victory. Philly rolled while the Cowboys tumbled in one of the most lopsided games of the season. And Tampa got embarrassed by a sub par Oakland.

So I believe the playoff picture looks something like this.

NFC

1. New York
2. Carolina
3. Minnesota
4. Arizona
5. Atlanta
6. Philly.

AFC

1. Titans
2. Steelers
3. Miami
4. San Diego
5. Colts
6. Baltimore.

Am I the only one noticing that the 5th and 6th seeds in both divisions have better records than the 4th seeds? Not only that buit the 5th seeds have better records than the 3rd seeds?

[oVo]

The biggest difference in between these two #4 seeds is that Arizona endeded the year badly while San Diego basically finished the season with 5 consecutive playoff games, so two of the hottest teams on the AFC side of the playoffs will meet in the first round.

The Cowboys totally imploded this weekend after consecutive games against tough teams (Steelers, Giants, Ravens) and turned the ball over on FIVE straight possessions netting the Eagles 27 points. In fact, two second half Dallas' incursions into the Philly red zone resulted in Eagle's touchdowns... so essentially the Eagles defense had more scoring firepower today than the Cowboys. Amazing enough the only thing the Eagles didn't do in this game was block a kick or score on special teams and judging by the whiskers on his face (and the way this game went) I don't expect Andy Reid to be shaving any time soon. It's hard to imagine the Eagles losing to the Redskins last week 10-3 while watching this horrorshow unfold.

Vikings led early 10-0, but it was 10-9 at the half... and the Giants had the lead for most of the second half, until Minnesota put together that drive for a go ahead field goal as time expired. Eli Manning didn't play the second half, but they didn't miss a step with David Carr (8-11) finishing an 80 yard drive with a 23 yard TD pass to Domenik Hickson and adding a field goal early in the 4th. But the Vikings hung in there, getting a 54 yard TD (which was a gift as the defender fell down) and the final 3 minutes drive that led to a 50 yard field goal to win it in the final seconds. To the Vikes credit they did hold the Giants out of the end zone on several trips into the red zone.

[strike wolf]

Yes, Chargers are really hot right now too. However, I think Colts will win.

[pimpdave]

Fire Mangenius!

Cause he's a Manfailure!

[gannable]

How bout them cowboys!


Go Eagles

[strike wolf]

Fire Mangenius!

Cause he's a Manfailure!

I didn't really think they would fire him yet. but in hind sight it did make sense to me.

[danfrank]

Fire Mangenius!

Cause he's a Manfailure!

I didn't really think they would fire him yet. but in hind sight it did make sense to me.

The correct term for the Jets coach is MANGINA ( like vagina )

[oVo]

The big games are here...

Big 12 seven bowl teams (67-19) (4-2)
#21 Missouri v #23 Northwestern (Big 10) 30-23 OT
#13 Oklahoma State v #17 Oregon (Pac 10) 42-31
Kansas v Minnesota (Big 10) 42-21
Nebraska v Clemson (ACC) 26-21
#7 Texas Tech v #25 Mississippi (SEC) 47-34
#3 Texas v #10 Ohio State (Big 10) 24-21
#1 Oklahoma v #2 Florida (SEC)

SEC eight bowl teams (61-25) (5-2)
Vanderbilt v #24 Boston College (ACC) 16-14
LSU v #14 Georgia Tech (ACC) 38-3
South Carolina v Iowa (Big 10) 31-10
#15 Georgia v #18 Michigan State (Big 10) 24-12
#25 Mississippi v #7 Texas Tech (Big 12) 47-34
Kentucky v East Carolina University (C-USA) 25-19
#4 Alabama v #6 Utah (13-0) (Mountain West) 31-17
#2 Florida v #1 Oklahoma (Big 12)

Big Ten seven bowl teams (61-23) (1-6)
Wisconson v Florida State (ACC) 42-13
#23 Northwestern v #21 Missouri (Big 12) 30-23 OT
Minnesota v Kansas (Big 12) 42-21
Iowa v South Carolina (SEC) 31-10
#18 Michigan State v #15 Georgia (SEC) 24-12
#10 Ohio State v #3 Texas (Big 12) 24-21
#8 Penn State v #5 USC (Pac 10) 38-24

Pac 10 five bowl teams (44-17) (5-0)
Arizona v #16 Brigham Young (Mountain West) 31-21
California v Miami (ACC) 24-17
#17 Oregon v #13 Oklahoma State (Big 12) 42-31
Oregon State v #20 Pittsbugh (Big East) 3-0
#5 USC v #8 Penn State (Big 10) 38-24

Big East six bowl teams (52-24) (4-2)
#12 Cincinnati v #19 Virginia Tech (ACC) 20-7

ACC ten bowl teams (79-48) (4-6)

C-USA six bowl teams (49-27) (4-2)
Tulsa v #22 Ball State (MAC) 45-13

[strike wolf]

PAC 10 is doing quite well they could actually win all their games. Tough break for Oklahoma St. They never seemed to get their offense into a rhythm after Bryant got hurt and more or less keeled over late in the game.

[strike wolf]

How about the Broncos firing Shanahan?

[oVo]

Yup... the Pac 10 definitely has a good shot at an unblemished bowl season
and I'm looking forward to seeing how the BIG GAMES play out.

I'm surprised that Shanahan is done in Denver, unless it's his choice.
It's not like there are an abundance of good coaches out there with
his track record to replace him. Guess we'll see eh?

[strike wolf]

I'm going to go ahead and call it. I think that Oregon St. will beat Pittsburg. I think a fairly close defensive battle will decide the Rose Bowl, but I believe that USC will hang on to win.

Iowa may beat South Carolina but it will be the Big 10's only victory, unless of course Georgia drops the ball yet again. Of course that is Georgia's specialty this year. They easily could have been 10-2 right now and maybe even 11-2 (though highly unlikely) if they hadn't dropped the ball in the first half of the Florida game, where Florida played it's worst half of football since the Ole Miss loss and possibly the whole season.

[oVo]

I don't expect the Beavers to get past Pitt, but Iowa will definitely need to be in top form to escape South Carolina... The Rose Bowl should definitely be a defensive showdown, with the fewest errors prevailing and even though the Trojans essentially have home field advantage I won't be shocked to see Penn State win if they can keep it close into the 4th quarter. I also won't be surprised to see the Buckeyes pull a rabbit out of their hat and make this an entertaining game now that their freshman QB has a full season under his belt. Of course if Colt McCoy is focused and sharp... Texas may be hard to keep up with.

LSU may be back to early season form now that they've had some time to lick their wounds and should give Tech a run for their money... not sure what to expect in the other "Tech" game, Mississippi is a well coached team and a tough out for anyone when they don't fumble the game away and of course the Red Raiders have the potential to score quick and often and are never out of it... regardless of the score.

Alabama/Utah and Oklahoma/Florida... I'm just hoping for two good games. One should be a real bruiser while the other has the potential to be the most entertaining grand finale since Texas/USC or Miami/OSU.

Cincinnati slips past Va.Tech... Tulsa rolls over Ball State and ECU nips Kentucky.

[strike wolf]

I just have a feeling about Oregon St. I think they will pull it out. As for Texas, I think this may prove to be their best game all year. I think Colt McCoy will play one of his best games all year (If not his best) and I think the rest of their offense will be punishing as well. I imagine it will be a very high scoring Florida/Oklahoma game. I think it may even come down to a late 4th quarter turnover to seal the deal. This is where Florida's real specialty will come into play. They will force the turnovers and true to how they've played since the Ole Miss game, Florida will have no turnovers in this game. I give Florida a 6 point advantage. Alabama will control the Sugar Bowl. It won't be a blow out and I don't see them winning it by more than 16-17 points but I do expect Alabama to control the game from start to finish even without one of their best players. I don't know enough about Cincinnati or Ball St. to feel comfortable calling those games but I think that ECU will beat a Kentucky team that I am still trying to find out how they got 7 wins to begin with.

As for LSU, they weren't that good before they went on a late season skid. Their victories came against a struggling Auburn team who despite having a terrible offense still managed to put up 21 points on the year. An Appalachian St team that was not the same one that upset Michigan last year. Mississippi St. Who despite having the worst offense in the SEC still managed to put up 24 points on the board. An average South Carolina team that struggled through the year (really their most impressive game). And 3 other opponents who were supposed to be easy victories. If Mississippi St and Auburn can put up over 20 points on the board against LSU than GT is going to run all over them.

[oVo]

I just have a feeling about Oregon St. I think they will pull it out.

Final Score: Oregon State 3 Pittsburgh Ø

LSU 38 Georgia Tech 3 . . . a pair of surprise scores

[strike wolf]

I have to say that the Oregon St game was a weird one but not nearly as weird as LSU blowing out GT. Really I think LSU had their best game all year while GT struggled early. So with LSU and Vanderbilt winning. If Ole Miss can get somehow manage to get by TT than there's the very real possibility of the SEC winning all their games.