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College Football, Major Sports
Posted by josh_weisman, November 10, 2008 - 2:47 pm
At the start of the season, I had declared the SEC the best conference in the country. I still believe they have the two best teams in college football, but the best conference top to bottom is the Big 12 and especially the Big 12 south.
As of Sunday night, the Big 12 has 4 teams in the top 10, and 5 in the top 15. Texas Tech remains the only unbeaten, while Texas, OSU, and Oklahoma have one loss and Missouri has 2. Kansas is not having the same Cinderella season as they did last year…but still is a strong team. The two worst teams in the conference are Iowa State and Baylor with 2-7 and 3-6 records respectively.
The Big 12 south is the toughest conference in the country…bar none. The SEC east is a close second….but the depth in the south is crazy. Texas Tech knocked off #1 Texas and jumped up 5 spots in the BCS standings. OSU and Oklahoma have lost only to Texas. 4 out of the 5 top scoring teams in the nation are in the Big 12 south. The talent in this conference is also amazing.
The quarterbacks in the Big 12 are scary. Bradford, Daniels, McCoy, Harrell, and Robinson will all play in the NFL. Robinson, Bradford, McCoy and Daniel are in the top 5 in the country for Passer Rating. Graham Harrell and Bradford are 1-2 in Passing Yards. Who are they throwing to get all these yards? They have possibly the 3 best receivers in the country with Macklin, Bryant and Crabtree.
Dez Bryant might be the best receiver in the country no one knows about. He is 2nd in both scoring and receiving yards in the nation while Macklin is perhaps the best kick returner in the country. Crabtree is by far the best overall receiver in the nation. The combination of size, speed, and strength make him an NFL GM’s wet dream. The last play against Texas is evidence of that. When he comes out…he will be a top 5 pick without a doubt.
In a down year for the SEC, the Big 12 has emerged as the best and most talented conference in the country. There is another huge game in the Big 12 South this weekend when #2 Texas Tech takes on #9 Oklahoma State. Could the next BCS champion come out of the Big 12? We shall see…Alabama and Florida might have something to say about that and are trying to make it 3 straight national champions out of the SEC.
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College Football, Major Sports
Posted by josh_weisman, October 30, 2008 - 9:25 am
BCS Mess?
It’s that time of year again…to talk about how the BCS is terrible for college football and the annual argument for a playoff begins. The season is in its final month and a half and shaping up to be surrounded by a world of controversy.
The BCS is hoping for one of the remaining unbeatens to lose and pray that two teams stay undefeated so that nothing happens. Not likely. Of the remaining unbeatens, Penn State has the best chance of going undefeated. Their remaining games are Iowa, Indiana and Michigan State. Alabama perhaps has the toughest schedule playing at LSU, Mississippi State and then the SEC championship game. Texas has two tough games remaining…and epic showdown with Texas Tech in Lubbock and then the Big 12 championship game, most likely against Missouri.
So what happens if Penn State is the only undefeated team left after championship weekend? Chaos my friends; chaos. Let’s look at the possible one loss teams that are vying for the national title: USC, Georgia, Florida, OSU, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas, Alabama. How the hell would the BCS determine which team would play undefeated Penn State? Ya…I don’t know either. So let’s say Alabama loses to either Florida or Georgia in the SEC championship game and Texas loses to either Texas Tech next weekend or Missouri in the Big 12 championship game. Does that mean the SEC winner deserves to go over the Big 12 winner or vice versa? What about USC. They will win the Pac-10 for another year, do they deserve some love? There is one answer to this problem….PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? PLAYOFFS?
Ahh…the wonderful rant from Jim Mora. I couldn’t have said it better. It’s about damn time Jim. College football is the best regular season in the sports world because every game means so much. The so called “experts” argue that a playoff would diminish the regular season. Well…do the NFL playoffs ruin the regular season? Not at all. The playoff system would also give some of the smaller conference teams a chance to play with the big boys. Utah, Boise State and TCU if they all win out would have to get some consideration to play. So how would it work…14 teams, 3 weeks and one true national champion determined on the field. We can use the BCS standings to determine the top 14 teams and then play based on rankings like the NCAA tournaments with two #1 seeds. So: here is what the playoffs would look like after championship weekend:
The final four games might be the most watched games in the history of college football. These would be epic match ups that we have never seen before. Now…we can argue who makes it into the top 14 but once in…this would be the most exciting playoffs in history!
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Posted by josh_weisman, October 7, 2008 - 3:21 pm
Did that Just Happen? - Crazy Games and Big Upsets :
On my way back from Ann Arbor, MI where I witnessed the biggest comeback in “Big House” history (Thanks Wisconsin!), I started thinking about the upsets of the weekend and how the college football world was turned upside down. This season started out as if it was going to be a BCS success with no huge upsets, until this weekend; where we saw the #1, 3,4 and #9 teams fall as well as ECU’s cinderella season take another huge hit with its second loss. Here are some of the highlights of the 1st part of another wonderful college football season.
UPSETS:
1. Unranked Oregon State over USC:
USC opened up Pac-10 play visiting Oregon State after coming off a big win against Ohio State. USC came out flat and Oregon State played with no fear. The Beavers steamrolled the Trojans and were up 21-0 at halftime. USC tried to make a comeback but Sanchez and the Trojan’s fell short. True freshman running back Jaquez Rogers had 189 total yards and made a name for himself on a national stage.
2. Ole Miss upsets the Gators.
Houston Nut took a lot of criticism after leaving Arkansas for his ala matter Ole Miss, but this weekend’s victory over the vaunted Gators validates this move for him. Ole Miss played the Gators tough all game but Teebow and Harvin came back with a touchdown with under 2 mins to cut the lead to one. All the Gator’s needed was an extra point. But Ole Miss stepped up and blocked the extra point and sealed a huge win for their program.
3. Unranked Michigan over Wisconsin
Wisconsin has not won in the Big House in 3 decades. Wisconsin came in as the #9 team in the country and seemed as if history was going to change. The Badgers were up 19-0 at halftime and they had forced 5 Wolverine turnovers. More of the same until the end of the 3rd quarter when the Wolverines scored a touchdown and scored 27 unanswered points. The Wolverines let the Badgers drive down the field at the end of the game and gave up a touchdown. All the Badgers needed was a 2 point conversion, which they got but a penalty negated it. They tried again but to no avail. The Big House erupted and the student section and the players mocked the “Jump Around” tradition of the Badgers. The Wolverines got a huge win for new coach Rodriguez and now may see their season turn around.
4. Alabama holds on against UGA.
This was the game that I was looking forward to the most this weekend. Two top ranked SEC teams going head to head “between the Hedges.” Too bad only one team looked like a top ranked team. Alabama came into Georgia and whooped the “dawgs” in the 1st half to the tune of 31-0. Alabama’s offense looked unstoppable while their defense held Moreno and Stafford to barely 50 yards of total offense. The 2nd half was a little different. Georgia finally got on a roll and a huge punt return seemed to turn the tide. But, the Crimson Tide would not give up and even though they gave up 30 2nd half points, held on for a 41-30 victory and made a statement that they deserve to be in the top 5.
SURPRISES
1. ECU: ECU had two huge wins in the beginning of the season against Virginia Tech and West Virginia. They seemed destined to run the table but with two straight losses, it doesn’t look like the Pirates will crash the BCS party this year. Although, ECU has now become a household name and will continue to improve.
2. BYU: The Cougars hold the nation’s longest winning streak and with their absolute destruction of UCLA (59-0), they seem on their way to a BCS game in January.
3. BFOC (Big “Frosh” on Campus”): This year has been the year of the freshman. Last year it was Jeremy Macklin and Knoshon Moreno. This year it’s Terrell Pryor, AJ Green, Julio Jones, and Sam McGuffie. These 4 freshmen have made major impacts on their team immediately and now all 4 are starters and Green and Pryor seemed destined for greatness. Pryor looks like a man child on the field eating up defenses with his arm and legs. Green shows the skills that NFL scouts drool over and at 6’4”, he’s a big target for Stafford. McGuffie has proven that he is not such a YouTube star. McGuffie has 4 touchdowns and has shown he is a dual threat both running and catching the ball out of the backfield. Jones came into the season as the #1 rated WR coming out of high school and has lived up to his billing. This freshman is a true star and gives John Parker Wilson a huge target after the departure of All-American DJ Hall.
4. Javon Ringer: The MSU star is on pace to set the NCCA record for carries in a season. In the 1st four games of the year, Ringer is averaging 42 carries and over 200 yards per game. While MSU may not be complete team, Ringer is sure turning heads and defenses and MSU looks like it could contend in the Big 10.
5. Missouri: Mizzou continues to destroy opposing defenses with its high powered offense. Chase Daniel is a definite Heisman contender and sophomore Jeremy Macklin is quickly turning into the best WR/KR combo in the nation. Watch out Oklahoma, Mizzou is going to give you a run for the Big 12 title.
DISSAPOINTMENTS
1. FSU: Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles were ranked at the start of the year but the absence of a quarterback has left the Seminoles reeling. What happened to the good ‘ole days when Miami and FSU were always in the top 5? Those days are long gone and so are the ‘Noles.
2. Clemson: I had Clemson as a top 10 team at the start of the season. Oops! The Tigers fell flat on national TV against the Crimson Tide and haven’t played well since. Even with what many consider to be the best RB tandem in the country, the Tigers can’t seem to get on track. Even in a weak ACC, the Tigers need some serious help if they want to have a chance at the conference championship game.
3. Tennessee: The Vols came in as probably the 6th ranked team in the SEC but always plays tough. This year…something happened. After losing to UCLA in the season opener, they have lost to their bitter rival Florida and then Auburn. With games at Georgia, South Carolina, and Vandy, and a home game against Alabama, it looks like the Vols are in for a long season.
Early Season Heisman Hopefuls:
Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy, Jeremy Macklin, Chase Daniel, Knowshon Moreno, Javon Ringer.
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