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Oklahoma rips MIZZOU, sets up title game vs. Florida?

Oklahoma SoonersAfter absolutely demolishing Missouri 62-21 in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday night, will the Oklahoma Sooners take on the Florida Gators in the BCS National Championship Game?

Considering they set a record for scoring 60-plus points in five straight games, it’s going to be hard to deny the Sooners a trip to Miami. I realize they played a high school secondary in MIZZOU, but lighting up the scoreboard for 62 points is impressive – I don’t care if it’s done against a woman’s flag football team. If Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas in the BCS standings last week, than there’s no way the idle Longhorns top the Sooners in the new standings.

OU’s victory Saturday night was impressive. And their non-conference schedule was harder than UT’s. But even considering all that, the Longhorns deserve a chance to play for a nation title – as does USC, Penn State, and yes, even Boise State. Nobody will convince me that the current BCS system is fair. And nobody will convince me that the current system is the best way to determine who the best two teams are in college football.

A playoff wouldn’t solve everything, but it would certainly be better and more exciting than the crap way college football relies on computers to determine what teams are more deserving to play for a title. I would love to see Texas get another shot at Oklahoma and to see what Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford could do against USC’s defense. That would be exciting. What’s not exciting is playing the “what if” game – what if Texas played MIZZOU on Saturday night and won 62-21?

If it winds up being Florida and Oklahoma in the title game, nobody is going to argue that it isn’t an exciting matchup. But that’s not the point. The point is that the current system is full of loopholes. And it’ll be the same mess next year, only probably with different teams.

Think about this, the system is so screwed up that the announcers during the end of the OU-MIZZOU game were actually debating whether or not the Sooners should score just once more (they were already up 55-21 by the way) with under four minutes remaining to make sure they appeared dominant enough to the BCS. How sad for a team (and announcers for that matter) to be worried about something like that with the game already in hand.

Florida knocks off No. 1 Alabama, heading to national championship game

Florida-AlabamaPerhaps no team in college football has played better over past two months than Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators. And thanks to their impressive 31-20 victory over No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday, Tebow and the Gators will head to Miami to play in college football’s national title game on January 8.

In the end, the Crimson Tide didn’t have enough offensive firepower to knock off Urban Meyer’s Gators, who just had too many players to control. The started to wear down the Gator defense in the third quarter, but couldn’t muster any points in the fourth and it wound up being their pitfall. The stout ‘Bama defense couldn’t contain Tebow, either, who threw for 216 yards and three touchdowns, including a five-yard scoring pass to Riley Cooper with 2:50 remaining in the game, which turned out to be the nail in the coffin.

It’s hard to place blame on running back Glen Coffee, who rushed for 112 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown, but QB John Parker Wilson couldn’t come up with enough big plays throughout the course of the game. He threw for just 177 yards and outside of a 64-yard pass to Julio Jones in the first quarter, Wilson struggled throwing vertically against an extremely fast Florida defense.

What’s amazing is that Florida scored 31 points against a fantastic Alabama defense and did so without Percy Harvin, who is their most explosive playmaker. The Gators’ win is truly a testament to how good this team is to knock off a previously undefeated Tide program, which had stifled their opponent’s offenses all season.

And does Tim Tebow get thrown back into the Heisman discussion after this game? The Big 12 quartbacks – Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford and Graham Harrell – have been impressive, but Tebow has been on an absolute tear and in the biggest game of the season, he produced. His leadership, determination and heart have also been unrivaled this year.This is why college football should wait until after the championship game is played to crown the Heisman winner, because what if Tebow outshines Bradford or McCoy yet one of those two Big 12 QBs win the award? It’s kind of ridiculous not to wait until the BCS bowl games are played to crown a Heisman winner.

So Florida is in (assuming of course that the BCS doesn’t screw things up, which of course is still a major possibility), and will await the result of the Big 12 Championship Game. If Oklahoma beats Missouri, it’ll be the Gators and the Sooners in the national title game. If MIZZOU produces a massive upset, than all hell breaks loose and college football fans will pray all of the BCS’ computers explode and mass chaos ensues.

Oregon State loses to Oregon – will Boise State get an at-large bid?

Oregon-Oregon StateThe task was simple enough for Oregon State – beat Oregon on Saturday night and they would set up a date with Penn State in the Rose Bowl. But the Ducks crashed the party, beating the Beavers in a wild, 65-38 shootout in Corvallis.

Oregon State still has a shot at the Rose Bowl, but now they must have USC lose to UCLA next week. That would put the Beavers in a three-way tie with Oregon and USC, which would mean all hell breaks loose. If USC beats UCLA, then the Trojans would play Penn State in the Rose Bowl and open up an at-large bid for either Boise State or Ohio State.

Even though Boise is undefeated and the Buckeyes have two losses, the Broncos won’t necessarily get the at-large bid because they don’t play in one of the bigger conferences ala Ohio State. It might not be fair, but it’s the way the system is set up. Essentially the BCS only cares about one thing – figuring out which two teams are the best in the nation. They could care less about the rest of the matchups.

You could essentially make an argument for either team. The only team Boise beat with any substance was Oregon. But they beat the Ducks in Eugene, which happens to be one of the toughest places to play in college football. Ohio State’s most impressive victory was in East Lansing when they beat Michigan State, although how would Boise have done against USC and Penn State (two teams that beat the Buckeyes)?

Personally, I say Boise deserves the at-large bid more. It’s tough to go undefeated – I don’t care who’s on your schedule. But I think Ohio State will get the bid because the folks handing out the at-large invitations are more worried about having two schools from bigger conferences than whether or not the teams are deserving.

SEC Championship Game is going to be wild

Alabama Crimson TideNot even their rivals could slow down Alabama or Florida. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 36-0 victory over Auburn, while the Gators trounced Florida State 45-15 in Tallahassee on Saturday.

Even before their victories on Saturday, the two teams were set to meet in the SEC Championship Game, which will be played December 6. But their performances did add an air of intrigue to the SEC’s title game, because both teams looked so dominant against two squads in Auburn and FSU that are no pushovers.

Perhaps the best matchup in the SEC Championship Game will be ‘Bama’s defensive line vs. Florida’s massive offensive line. The Tide’s front four gives most teams fits, but the Gators certainly have the bodies up front to keep Tim Tebow upright. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not ‘Bama can get enough pressure to get Tebow out of rhythm. Another thing to keep an eye on is how healthy Florida wideout Percy Harvin will be after he left the FSU game due to an injury. He’s been such a huge part of Florida’s offense this year that it would be a huge blow not to have him in the lineup.

As of this post, the Big 12 Championship has not been determined, but an argument could be made that the SEC title game will provide the better matchup.

Georgia Tech upsets Georgia – crushes the hopes of CBS announcers

Georgia Tech-GeorgiaLet me state for the record that I have no allegiance to either Georgia or Georgia Tech. I watched the game today (a thrilling 45-42 Yellow Jackets victory) and I was completely unbiased.

That said, did anyone else notice how the CBS announcing team of Craig Bolerjack and Trev Alberts were damn near openly rooting for Georgia? I swear every time the Bulldogs scored, it was all the duo could do from creaming in their pants. Then whenever Tech scored (which was often in dramatic fashion), they seemed almost disappointed. I thought maybe I was overacting because UGA looked so good in the first half, but after paying closer attention in the second half, I stand by my initial conclusions.

Regardless of the CBS crew and their alliances, this was an amazing game. It was really a tale of two halves because the Bulldogs dominated the first two quarters, yet after Tech returned the second half kickoff for a touchdown, the tide completely turned.

And win lose or draw, UGA quarterback Matthew Stafford is the real deal. He looks every bit of a NFL-caliber quarterback.

Will MIZZOU play whipping boys in Big 12 Championship?

Chase DanielThey might have finished the 2008 season with a winning record for the second time in a decade, but by all accounts this year has been a major letdown for a Kansas team coming off a fantastic 2007 campaign. But with their 40-37 win over rival Missouri on Sunday, the Jayhawks have plenty to smile about.

KU quarterback Todd Reesing actually out dueled Heisman candidate Chase Daniel, throwing for 375 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. Daniel was equally impressive, throwing for 288 yards and four touchdowns, but it was Reesing who found Kerry Meier with 27 seconds remaining in the game to propel the Jayhawks to victory.

I realize the Tigers didn’t necessarily need this game – they were going to appear in the Big 12 Championship with a win or a loss – but how flat did they look in the first half? They were playing a Kansas team that had struggled mightily against top competition this year, but they just appeared to want it more. This is supposed to be a major rivalry and while the game was exciting in the second half, the Tigers were surprisingly uninterested.

You hate to assume anything in college football (or draw conclusions from one game), but it’s easy to think that either Texas or Oklahoma would roll all over MIZZOU in the Big 12 Championship Game. Kind of ironic to think that the best conference this year in college football might produce a dud for its championship game.

Does undefeated Boise State deserve a chance to play for a national title?

Boise StateWith their 61-10 plastering of Fresno State on Friday night, No. 9 Boise State officially wrapped up its season unscathed. For the second time in three years, the Broncos finished the regular season undefeated, and yet the only thing they can hope for is a chance to play in a BCS bowl game.

Do they deserve more? Do they deserve to play for a national championship?

Some say they do because they were one of only three teams (Utah and Ball State being the others) to finish undefeated. But most say they don’t because the only team with a pulse on their schedule was Oregon, who the Broncos beat 37-32 in Eugene earlier this season (which is more impressive than people are letting on).

Personally, I say they do have the right to play for a national championship, just as Utah and Ball State do. It’s not fair to assume anything in college football. It’s not fair to say, “Well, if Boise State played Alabama in the national championship, they would get waxed.”

Guess what? We already played that game two years ago with Boise and they produced one of the greatest bowl games ever when they beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. We can’t assume anything in college football and that’s what makes the game so exciting.

Did Boise State play anybody outside of Oregon? No. But you can make the argument that nobody plays anybody. College football teams are lucky to get two teams worth a damn on their schedule every year. The SEC is down this year and so is the Big Ten. But just because the Big 12 is arguably the power conference this year, doesn’t mean that Oklahoma or Texas would roll over Boise in a bowl game. Granted, I’m not suggesting that Boise plays a similar schedule to any team in the Big 12 or SEC, but the point is that not a lot of teams are playing daunting schedules.

And this is why the BCS is so screwed up. It assumes things. It assumes things based on schedule, and points and everything else but what really matters – beating another opponent on the field. The only way we would know if Boise could hang with the “big boys” in college football is if they played them in a playoff.

But I guess the Broncos don’t deserve that shot. Why? Because a computer says they don’t. It’s the most ridiculous thing in all of sports next to some NFL teams not having cheerleaders.

Is Colt McCoy the best quarterback in the Big 12?

Here’s a fluffy conversation to start everyone’s day-after Thanksgiving recovery: Who’s the best quarterback in the Big 12? Jimmy Burch of the Star-Telegram writes that Texas’ signal caller Colt McCoy holds the honors, even if the Heisman voters don’t eventually think so.

Colt McCoyIn short, McCoy is the league’s MVP. He is more valuable to the Longhorns as a rusher, passer and leader than any player on any other roster in the Big 12.

McCoy drove home that point against A&M. He threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns. He rushed for 49 yards and two scores. He picked up his 31st career victory as a starting quarterback, passing Vince Young for most in Longhorns’ history.

Most important, McCoy jump-started the Texas offense — time and again — on a night when the Longhorns (11-1, 7-1 in Big 12) struggled early to rack up the style points they needed to blow away BCS voters.

Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford? He hands off to three players who could start ahead of any member of the Longhorns’ current tailback tandem. He is protected by a huge, veteran offensive line.

Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell? He throws to Michael Crabtree, the nation’s best receiver and a certifiable first-round NFL draft pick.

McCoy keeps the wheels spinning behind an offensive line that is good but not as dominant as others in the league. Most of McCoy’s most telling tosses wind up in the hands of Jordan Shipley and Quan Cosby, two undersized and underappreciated guys who won’t wow any NFL scouts with their measurable qualities.

McCoy has my vote, too. I loved him as a freshman, believed last year was just a small setback and think he’s currently having the best season of any quarterback in the nation. Bradford is an absolute stud and Harrell executes Tech’s offense better than any quarterback before him. But McCoy does so much for the Longhorn offense in terms of passing and running that he deserves (at this point) to be the frontrunner for the Heisman. But I think we should wait to see how this year plays out before drawing any conclusions. What if he struggles in the Big 12 Championship Game or stumbles in the title game if UT makes an appearance? Those games ultimately should decide the value of a player – not the ones at home against Texas A&M on Thanksgiving night. (Although it’s also fair to judge a player’s entire body of work throughout the season, not just one game.)

Comment starter: Who do you think is the best quarterback in the Big 12?

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