Post BCS Update

Alabama Wins Third Title in Four Years

 

     Nick Saban did what he does best. Give that man a month to prepare for any team in the nation and I am pretty sure we will see the same kind of results. Could the game have been any worse? If you thought last year was a lame game to watch, you were one of those people who turned this game off 10 seconds into the second quarter. Yeah, it was that bad. And you know, the whole reason I was looking forward to this game was to see Nick Saban flip out on the sidelines. I figured 'oh well, we'll never see it this game because of the huge lead.' Then there was the simple delay of game penalty.....That penalty made the game for me. Anyways, the question we have to ask ourselves now...... 'Is Alabama in the middle of their dynasty or is this just the start?'

 

    Here are some clues on the answer to that question. Alabama's recruiting hasn't slowed down in the least bit. The Crimson Tide's defense lost a bunch of players last season to the draft and they still put up some of the best numbers this season. So many people thought that Mark Ingram was one of a kind.....then there was Trent Richardson and again people thought 'oh okay, no way they follow it up with another great running back.' Well, this season there was Eddie Lacy. And just to hint at what Bama will have next season, Yeldon looks to be equal or greater than Lacy. Many think Lacy will head to the NFL this year, but that really won't hurt Bama's offense at all. So...... Can Bama make it three straight? I know it's early to even be talking about that but if there was any team that had the eadge at this point, it's a no brainer. AJ McCarron will be back and I believe he could easily be a Heisman front runner going into the 2013 season. Spoiler Alert....... Alabama will be the overwhelming preseason #1 team in the nation. I said it before the season even started (and if you don't believe me, scroll back to my preseason top 10 breakdown), I said that if Nick Saban had a chance at winning back-to-back Titles, this was his BEST chance at doing it.

 

    So Alabama won another National Title.....Meh. What about  everyone else? Who had the most disappointing season? Who over achieved? Who under achieved? Send your  thoughts / comments to jeremy.cf2d@yahoo.com. Check back later this week when I will share your thoughts / comments and give you a piece of my mind on the topic.

BCS Title Game

BCS Title Game

      It's finally here! Alabama vs Notre Dame. It should be an exciting game. Who will win? Who has the biggest advantages? Will the SEC make it SEVEN straight, and if so, does that make them the best conference in all of college football? Perhaps the most 'under the radar' topic could be Nick Saban's future; will he stay or will he give it another run in the NFL? Let's not get too far ahead here..... Let's talk BCS Title Game first.

 

       The Irish are coming off an amazing season. Before the season started ESPN, and really everyone in college football, talked about how Notre Dame had the toughest schedule this season. There was no question about it. Of course nobody saw USC having the struggles they had, nobody saw Michigan struggling, but in the end who cares? Notre Dame still played one of the toughest schedules this season. Factor in where they played some of their toughest games and that makes it even tougher. Playing at USC is never easy. Playing and winning at Oklahoma is no joke. Taking down a Stanford team that came out of nowhere and dominated the PAC12 wasn't easy. The Irish have done everything asked of them this season. Sure they had the nightmare against Pitt, but every team has that one or two games that they escape with a win if it's meant to be..... Think Alabama vs LSU this season. LSU had Bama by their throats but LSU couldn't finish. Pitt is no LSU, but again, it's one of those games you could call a trap game and the point is that Notre Dame overcame it and has played great since then.

 

     Alabama has had an interesting but exciting season. The opening win over Michigan had Bama fans stoked for another chance at a BCS Title. The legend grew even more while the Crimson Tide rolled over teams like Western Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida Atlantic, and Ole Miss......literally in that order. Many teams would look like a National Title Contender after playing through the first five games of Alabama's schedule. However, the schedule did get slightly tougher down the stretch. LSU had their chance, but Bama did what a good team was supposed to do in that situation.....they overcame it and pulled out the win. The very next week Texas A&M came into Bama's house and shocked the country. Maybe it was exactly what Bama needed to get them focused again. Or it's just a fact that a Big 12 team came into the SEC and showed the nation that the SEC is not all it's hyped to be this year. Who knows? That's what makes tonight so exciting. This could put all the debate to rest or it could stir it all up again....

 

     So who has the biggest advantage in this game? Is it Alabama because they have the so called 'SEC Strength and Speed?' Or is it the Irish because of their amazing rush defense? Are there other advantages for either team not getting any attention? I can think of at least one that I have not heard anyone talk about in the weeks leading up to today..... Notre Dame has one major advantage that I think will play a major role in tonight's game. They have done something that nobody has done in decades. The Irish have sampled many of the most talented teams across the country and came out with ZERO losses. They sampled teams from the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC, and the PAC12. Notre Dame has seen every type of offense and defense you could imagine. Obviously the media and fans would have you believe that Alabama is a different animal but I think Bama is not that much different as far as who the Irish have played. Bama is a mixture of several teams the Irish have beaten this season.

 

    So what about Bama? What's their advantage? It's simple and very obvious if you aske me. Coaching. No other advantage holds the weight that this one does. Nick Saban is a mastermind in present day college football. He will gameplan like no other coach. If this game was played 3 weeks ago I wouldn't say it is as big of an advantage, but the fact is that Saban has had a month to prepare for this game (that should scare anyone and everyone). It would not surprise me in the least if Bama came in and shut the Irish down. Now, don't get me wrong, I want an interesting game. I don't want to feel like I am watching last year's BCS game all over again. That game was about as boring as watching 'Gone with the Wind' (or if you liked that movie, insert your own boring movie).

 

     Now for the prediction. Who do you go with? The Irish? (with their schedule and experience as their advantage) OR the Crimson Tide? (with Nick Saban at the controls in a BIG GAME) Wow it's hard to pick against Saban. On the other side of it, I have picked against the Irish two times this season and I was way wrong in both games. I said I learned my lesson earlier this season and that I wouldn't do it again......but who knew I would have to decide between these two for a National Champion. Does the luck of the Irish end tonight? We'll see, but I am going to try my luck with them tonight. I like the Irish by the score of......27-23. There may be a few fieldgoals kicked in this one.

January 2, 2013

New Year's Day Recap

 

       There were some great games on New Year's Day. Exactly what we all wanted to see in the Bowl games that matter. Most of the games came down to the final minutes. Lets check out what happened the last couple days.

 

        Another shout out to Vanderbilt for their win on Monday over NC State. Congrats on getting their 9th win and second bowl victory in a row.

 

        Georgia Tech took down USC. This was pretty ugly all the way to the end. Lane Kiffin may be on the hot seat heading into next season. This was a huge win for the ACC though, and congrats to the Yellow Jackets for salvaging a rough season. 

 

         Clemson defeated LSU. I picked the Tigers in this one (Hey, I couldn't go wrong with that pick, right?). Seriously though, I thought LSU's so called SEC talent would be the difference in this game...... I was wrong. Clemson had a great game and made, perhaps, the biggest impact for the ACC in bowl games this season. That put the ACC at a 3-2 record in bowl games heading into the Orange Bowl; where Florida State had a chance to win their first BCS Bowl since their 1999-2000 Sugar Bowl victory for the National Championship.

 

       South Carolina made some big plays down the stretch and beat the much improved Michigan Wolverines. This game was way closer than expected. I was really impressed with how the Wolverines played and represented the B1G Ten in this game. It was a great game to watch. It had a good taste of everything you want in a bowl game. From MONSTER hits (Clowney's massive hit after a controversial first down by Michigan), to last minute scores to win the game. And, if you are a fan of seeing Spurrier lose his mind for a couple minutes, then you loved watching this game. However, I have give credit where it is due; Spurrier had another incredible season with South Carolina. Congrats. 

 

        Georgia survives Nebraska. Yes, I used the word 'survives'. Nebraska had so many chances in this game to slam the door shut, but Georgia hung around long enough. Once Georgia got settled in the 4th qtr, there was no looking back for Richt and the Bulldogs. Nebraska represented the B1G Ten pretty well against the SEC, but in the end it comes down to W's and L's. And right now, the B1G Ten is having a terrible bowl season. Congrats to Georgia and Mark Richt on a great season.

 

 

        Wisconsin falls short to Stanford. I really thought Wisconsin would be able to pull this game out. They had their chances but just couldn't get it done. Another game where B1G Ten fans can say they represented well.........but come on, you are starting to sound like Big East fans. Who cares how close the game was? They lost and that's all you need to remember about the game. Stanford finally got a Rose Bowl win (The Cardinal's first Rose Bowl win in 40 years). This marked only the second time in school history that Stanford got to 12 wins in a season. The other happened with some guy named Luck playing.... Not sure how long ago he played at Stanford.

 

      Florida State shuts down NIU in the Orange Bowl. Well, it was kind of expected, right? The Noles' defense proved to be superior in this game and shut down Jordan Lynch. Speaking of Lynch, Anyone else catch his comments leading up to this game? Something along the lines of "we will have them on their knees in the 4th qtr". Hmmmm..... Yeah, that worked out real well. In fact, I think he did have FSU on their knees in the 4th qtr......because FSU was laughing so hard..... Real talk though, NIU played it close for about 2 and half qtrs (which I wasn't surprised by). Florida State had the stronger and faster players. That was the difference in this game. The Seminoles' defense was focused from start to finish. The offense, however, looked sluggish; which shouldn't surprise anyone because that's how they have looked the entire second half of the season. Either way you look at it; Florida State got their first BCS win since their Sugar Bowl win over Virginia Tech for the BCS Title, and Fisher got his team to 12 victories which tied a school record. Congrats to the Noles.

 

    Sugar Bowl Prediction

 

      Florida takes on Louisville Wednesday night. Is this going to be the biggest snoozer of the BCS games? It sure looks that way; No disrespect to Florida by any means...... But Louisville doesn't stand a chance in this game. If you took this matchup and put it in the Music City Bowl, then yes I'd say it could be a good game because Florida wouldn't care about that bowl. This is the Sugar Bowl and Florida will be ready to play. I hope Louisville wears their 'try-hard' pants. The Gators' defense will be swarming. I'm sure the Gators will be ready to ram the ball right down the Cardinals' throats. There is no way to really put a positive spin on this one. Gators win, 41-17.

 

    Check back for more Bowl Predictions leading up to the BCS Championship game next week.