At the end of the day, winning games in college football is the only thing that matters. That’s why Alabama won’t apologize for its 12-10 victory over Tennessee at home on Saturday, even though it needed a blocked field goal as time expired to secure the win.

That said, Nick Saban better figure out a way for his team to move the ball through the air or else the Tide won’t find themselves playing for a national title this year.

The Alabama coaching staff showed little to no confidence in quarterback Greg McElroy today. Either that, or McElroy played too conservatively because he barely threw the ball vertically and his average pass went for a paltry 4.1 yards.

The playcalling was also highly questionable at times for Alabama, especially in on the Tide’s final drive before halftime. Their offensive line was blowing the Vols off the ball and Mark Ingram had gapping holes to run through. Yet when ‘Bama got inside the 10 yard line, Saban’s crew called two straight passes on second and third down, both of which fell incomplete and the Tide had to settle for a field goal.

Why, when you’re completely dominating the line of scrimmage and running the ball at will, would you call two straight pass plays? The calls made no sense and they probably cost ‘Bama six points. Granted, Monte Kiffin’s defense deserves a lot of credit for taking away the run and neutralizing Ingram (he had 99 yards on 18 carries) as much as possible, but the Tide coaching staff flat out blew it before half.

Outside of the final two minutes when they allowed Tennessee to get back into the game, the Tide defense played great. There were multiple times today when the Vols got on ‘Bama’s side of the field and the Tide defense knocked them backwards. Just as they’ve been all season, they were impressive.

But again, if this team wants to play for a national championship then Saban needs to figure out how to move the chains outside of handing the ball to Ingram every play.

One would have thought that Tim Tebow and Florida learned from their loss to Ole Miss last year to never take an opponent for granted. Maybe that wasn’t the case on Saturday, but it sure seemed like it.

The Gators are extremely lucky to still be undefeated and when the BCS releases its standings for the first time on October 20, Florida will be extremely lucky if they’re still ranked No. 1.

The word “lucky� might not sit well with some Gator fans, but most teams that play as bad as Florida did in its 23-20 win over Arkansas on Saturday usually don’t win. The Gators turned the ball over four times, benefited from two Razorback missed field goals and had no answer for backup running back Dennis Johnson, who broke so many tackles the stats people will need a calculator to add them all up.

Tebow was good – damn good. He threw for 255 yards on 17 of 26 passing with one touchdown and also added 60 rushing yards on 24 carries. But the key in this game wasn’t Tebow – it was that Arkansas didn’t capitalize on Florida’s mistakes. For all intents and purposes, it was a game they probably should have won.

But “should have� and “did� are two different things. Bobby Petrino’s squad didn’t win and that’s the bottom line. They could have shocked the college football world by beating the No. 1 team in the nation but in the end they choked. That said, this is one of the most dangerous unranked teams in the nation, which they’ve proved over the past two weeks by routing Auburn and hanging with Florida.

Back the Gators. If Alabama comes out and absolutely crushes South Carolina, does the Crimson Tide deserve to be No. 1? Alabama hasn’t suffered one setback this year – not one. I realize Florida still won today, but the Gamecocks are ranked and would therefore prove to be a more worthy opponent than Arkansas.

If ‘Bama produces a rout tonight, Nick Saban’s squad has an argument that it deserves to be No. 1. Tonight should be interesting.

Alabama might be ranked third in the nation, but so far this season the Tide have taken a backseat to Florida, Texas, USC, Sam Bradford’s shoulder, Miami and Michigan being relevant again, Lane Kiffin’s big mouth, Urban Meyer’s constant stream of tears (sorry Gator fans, but dude’s a crybaby), a Subway being built on Texas’s campus and what brand computer Tim Tebow types on when he sends e-mails.

Meanwhile, ‘Bama just keeps plugging along. They crushed Kentucky 38-20 in Lexington on Saturday and it wasn’t even that close outside of the Wildcats keeping it tight in the first quarter. Mark Ingram rushed for 140 yards with two touchdowns on 22 carries, while the Tide defense forced four turnovers.

Alabama deserves more attention. They have the second best defense in the nation and the eighth best offense. They also have an excellent rushing game led by Ingram, as well as an efficient passing game thanks to quarterback Greg McElroy, who has eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions in his last four games.

‘Bama has some big games coming up. They play at Ole Miss next week before hosting South Carolina, Tennessee and LSU. They hit the road again to face an improving Mississippi State team after playing the Tigers and after a gimmie against Chattanooga in late November, they play at Auburn to finish the year.

They certainly have their work cut out for them playing in a tough SEC, but people are sleeping on the Tide right now because many pundits figured they would take a step back after their great run last year. But anyone who thinks that Nick Saban’s team can’t hang with Florida, think again.

- NESW SPORTS has video of Chris Bosh and some friends spoofing MTV’s “The Hills.” Pretty good stuff.

- AWFUL ANNOUNCING slams SI.com for getting the B.J. Raji story wrong and then continuing to stand by their (bad) sources.

- EAST COAST BIAS says that Jason Campbell deserves better than the Washington Redskins. And they make a good point.

- SPORTSBYBROOKS has quotes from Nick Saban blaming the Crimson Tide’s fan base for his team’s poor showing at the Sugar Bowl. Way to take responsibility, Nick!

Lane Kiffin hasn’t even held the Tennessee head-coaching job for three months and already he’s managed to tick off fellow SEC coaches Urban Meyer (Florida), Nick Saban (Alabama), Steve Spurrier (South Carolina) and Mark Richt (Georgia).

That kind of preaching-to-the-choir comment fit perfectly into the rhetoric of his first press conference. I doubt it got much of a rise in Gainesville, since the Gators have owned the Vols in recent seasons.

What really irked Florida Coach Urban Meyer was that Kiffin continued to attempt to hire — unsuccessfully, as it turned out — receivers coach Billy Gonzales while the Gators were preparing for the national championship game.

More recently, Kiffin has gotten on the nerves of Alabama Coach Nick Saban to the extent that Saban is asking players who already have committed to the Crimson Tide not to take official visits to UT.
This is in response to Kiffin’s hiring of Lance Thompson off Saban’s staff. Thompson, considered Alabama’s best recruiter, got a big raise to jump to the Vols just two weeks before signing day.
Considering that UT is a combined 1-6 since Meyer and Saban arrived at Florida and Alabama, you have to take your victories wherever you can find them.

And don’t forget that Kiffin also has tugged on Steve Spurrier’s visor. First Kiffin hired his brother-in-law, David Reaves, off the South Carolina staff. Then Kiffin and Spurrier exchanged comments in the press about recruiting.

While we’re at it, Kiffin also threw a $400,000 offer at super recruiter Rodney Garner in an attempt to lure him off Mark Richt’s staff at Georgia. Garner chose to stay at Georgia.

For those keeping score, Kiffin has kicked sand at Meyer, Saban, Spurrier and Richt. It’s no coincidence that those are the coaches of the four most important opponents on UT’s schedule every year. Those are also four programs that the Vols must match in recruiting if they are to regain relevance in the SEC.

Obviously this is all part of Kiffin’s plan to breathe a little life into a Tennessee program that could use a shot in the arm. Is he going about it the right way? Probably not, although that won’t matter if he wins.

If pissing off your fellow conference coaches motivates the program and players, then go for it. But if nothing changes and the Vols get flattened by all of these teams next year, then Kiffin is just going to look like a pompous ass who got what was coming to him.

In one of the more dominating performances of the bowl season, the undefeated (and still undefeated) Utah Utes flat out ran over Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide 31-17 in Friday night’s Sugar Bowl.

I’ll always be the first one to admit when I was wrong and I was dead wrong when I previewed this game in my BCS Bowl Preview.

I thought Alabama would control both lines of scrimmage and wear down Utah over four quarters. Wrong. I said that Saban would shove Glen Coffee down the Utes’ throats for four quarters and that Utah would eventually cave in the second half. Wrong. I said that the Tide’s defense would shut down an explosive Utah offense, but one that hadn’t seen a decent defense outside of TCU’s in the regular season. Wrong.

What happened was that Utah was flat out the better team and they showed it Friday night. They played with more passion, more fight and more determination than any team this bowl season and they proved that they not only belong in the top 10, but they belong playing for a national title.

Utah’s game plan was executed brilliantly. Alabama had one of the best defensive lines in college football this season, but Utah quarterback Brian Johnson neutralized the Tide’s front seven by getting rid of the ball in a timely manner every time he dropped back. The result was a 336-yard, three touchdown performance and more importantly, Johnson didn’t throw any interceptions.

Then in the fourth quarter up by 10, it was Utah who wore down the Tide – not the other way around. Instead of Coffee being shoved down the Utes’ throats, it was Matt Asiata being shoved down ‘Bama’s throats as he picked up important first downs late in the fourth quarter. And Utah wasn’t doing anything unique; Asiata just lined up at quarterback, took a direct snap and rushed right up field. ‘Bama knew it was coming, but they couldn’t do anything about it.

This was by far the most impressive win of the bowl season and I tip my hat to the Utes. They were far and away a better team than I gave them credit for in my bowl preview and they were fun to watch. Too bad college football isn’t smart enough to have a playoff system so we could really see what Utah can do.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban suspended offensive tackle Andre Smith for the upcoming Sugar Bowl for violating team rules. Smith is highly regarded as ‘Bama’s best offensive lineman and a future top 10 NFL Draft pick.

“The University of Alabama, the team and the football program are more important than any individual player,� Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said in a released statement today. “Every one on our team depends on each other to be responsible, to make good choices and decisions relative to their actions.�

Saban did not specify Smith’s violation leading up to Friday night’s game against No. 7 Utah.

The junior is expected to be one of the top players selected in the NFL draft if he opts to skip his final season at Alabama. Smith has been noncommittal about his future plans, but Saban offered a hint in his statement that the player wouldn’t be back.

“Andre Smith has done an outstanding job in our program as a person, student and a player, and we will do all we can as an institution to support him in all future endeavors,� Saban said.

An instant starter with the Tide, Smith has allowed only one sack this season and seven during his 38-game career.

He won the Southeastern Conference’s Jacobs Blocking Trophy as a sophomore and was a finalist for the Lombardi Award this season.

One can’t help but wonder how this will affect the Tide’s game plan for Utah. ‘Bama definitely had the edge (and might still have the edge) up front, but maybe the Utes will overload one side and bring added pressure on quarterback John Parker Wilson.

Utah’s defense is quick and can fly to the football. Not having to get around Smith will be a huge advantage for them.

At the end of the year, it’s always interesting to look back at all that has happened in the world of sports over the last 12 months. 2008 brought us a host of compelling sports stories, including the culmination of the Patriots’ (unsuccessful) quest for perfection, a Bejing Olympics that featured incredible accomplishments by the likes of Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Redeem Team, and, of course, Brett Favre’s unretirement, which managed to hold the sports news cycle hostage for a solid month or more.

As is our tradition, we’ve once again broken our Year End Sports Review into three sections. The first is “What We Learned,� a list that’s packed with a number of impressive feats. And when there are feats, inevitably there are also failures.

Don’t miss the other two parts: “What We Already Knewâ€� and “What We Think Might Happen.â€�

The New England Patriots weren’t so perfect after all.

After rolling through the 2007 regular season unscathed, the Patriots entered the 2008 Super Bowl as overwhelming favorites to roll over the pesky, but seemingly inferior New York Giants. The Pats were just one win away from staking their claim as the best football team in NFL history. But thanks to a dominating Giants’ defensive line, an improbable catch by David Tyree, and a virtually mistake-free performance by Eli Manning, the unbeatable New England Patriots were beat. It’ll go down as one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, and considering Tom Brady’s season-ending injury in 2008 cost the Pats a chance for redemption, it seems that many have forgotten how New England stood just one win away from perfection. – Anthony Stalter

Michael Phelps is part fish.

Eight gold medals in one Olympiad? No problem. Michael Phelps made the seemingly impossible look (relatively) easy en route to one of the most – if not the most – impressive Olympic performances ever. Phelps had to swim all four strokes, compete in both sprint and endurance races, and deal with the constant media attention and pressure that came along with his quest. Sure, NBC turned up the hype, but what Phelps accomplished is simply incredible. – John Paulsen

Usain Bolt is part cheetah.

First, Usain Bolt made Jamaica proud by setting a new world record (9.69) in the 100-meter sprint. Then, he broke the 12 year-old 200-meter world record with a time of 19.30 seconds. He showboated during the first race but cleaned up his act to win the second race in a professional manner. Some even say that Usain Bolt – not Michael Phelps – was the biggest story to come out of the Bejing Olympics. – JP

The Big 12 has the best quarterbacks in the nation.

The Big 12 housed some of the best quarterbacks in all of college football in 2008. Texas’s Colt McCoy, Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Missouri’s Chase Daniel and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell were all considered Heisman candidates at least at one point during the season, while McCoy and Bradford are still in the running. Amazingly, Bradford and McCoy aren’t done; both will return in 2008. And although they don’t receive as much attention as the top signal callers in the conference, Kansas’s Todd Reesing and Baylor’s Robert Griffin certainly turned heads this year as well. In fact, the highly versatile Griffin is only a freshman and could make the Bears a very dangerous team for years to come. – AS

The AP named Alabama’s Nick Saban coach of the year for 2008.

This season, Saban led a team with only nine scholarship seniors to a 12-1 record and a Sugar Bowl date against Utah for only its second Bowl Championship Series berth.

In voting by college football writers, he drew 32 of a possible 62 votes. He outdistanced Texas Tech’s Mike Leach (nine), Utah’s Kyle Whittingham (six), Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson (five), Penn State’s Joe Paterno (three) and Ball State’s Brady Hoke (two). Five coaches got one vote apiece.

Saban led the Tide to a five-game turnaround after going 7-6 in his debut season after he was hired for a then-college football record $4 million a year. No other Alabama coach has engineered such a Year 2 turnaround.

The transformation happened faster than the most ardent fan could have anticipated.

Alabama was in the chase for a BCS national title shot until losing to Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game, an unexpected rise for a team that entered the season ranked No. 24. The Tide hadn’t topped a regular-season AP poll since Bear Bryant’s 1980 team.

This makes LSU and Miami Dolphin fans want to punch a hole in their bedroom wall, but Saban really has done an incredible job at Alabama. No one expected Saban to turn things around this quickly and to have that team playing in the SEC Championship Game was remarkable.

The 2009 BCS Bowl Season is quickly approaching – not that anyone should care.

I’m not trying to sound bitter, but if the BCS doesn’t care about any of its five bowl games outside of the national championship game, then why should we? All the BCS essentially cares about is figuring out who the top team teams are in college football – and they can’t even do that right.

But I digress. I’m not going to burn another 1,200 words on why college football needs a playoff because it’ll just fall upon deaf ears. Instead, I’ll get into the bowl season spirit and break down the five BCS bowls, as well as hand out predictions for each game.

Predictions are essentially meaningless, but they’re fun so make sure you throw out your picks in the comment section below.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. USC
The Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California, January 1, 4:30PM ET ABC
Some college football pundits believe that this one will be over with by halftime, but if Penn State uses Oregon State’s victory over USC as a blueprint for success, the Nittany Lions could make this a tighter game than most expect. PSU tailback Evan Royster has been a playmaker this year and if the Lions can employ him the same way the Beavers’ used Jacquizz Rodgers to beat the Trojans earlier this season, then maybe they can exploit USC’s quick defense. Then again, the Trojans’ D is one of the fastest and most talented units in the country and it won’t be easy for PSU to spread the field on them like they did against Big Ten opponents this season. USC has the most talented linebacker corps in the country and their secondary features two safeties in Taylor Mays and Kevin Ellison that blanket the field in both coverage and run support. In order for the Lions to claim victory, quarterback Daryll Clark will have to play mistake free and not try to force action in the passing game. Offensively for USC, quarterback Mark Sanchez has been outstanding, but he will make mistakes. He threw at least one interception in seven games this year and if PSU’s defense can generate some pressure, they could force Sanchez into some turnovers and capitalize on some prime field position. But outside of getting pressure on Sanchez, Penn State needs to tackle well and limit the yards-after-catch opportunities that USC’s receivers thrive upon. Sounds basic enough, but the Trojans have one of the fastest offenses in the league and Sanchez has excelled at taking what defenses give him and in getting the ball into the hands of his playmakers. The Lions would be wise to get 11 defenders around the ball at all times, especially when USC tailback Stafon Johnson gets the opportunity to make plays.
Rose Bowl Prediction: USC 30, Penn State 17.