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      Oklahoma will play Florida for national title

      December 7, 2008 /

      No surprise here:

      As expected, the final BCS standings had Oklahoma at No. 1 and Florida at No. 2 — the reverse order of their rankings in the Associated Press poll — setting up the first meeting between these storied programs.

      “Nine weeks ago our team got together and said let’s make every game count,” Gators coach Urban Meyer said, speaking of Florida’s rebound from its only loss, in September to Mississippi.

      Tim Tebow and the Gators did just that. So did Oklahoma, which bounced back from a loss in October to Texas.

      Two teams with one loss each doesn’t normally make for a debate-free lead-up to the title game, but even President-elect Barack Obama — outspokenly in favor of a playoff for college football — might have to agree that both these teams belong.

      Florida (12-1) has averaged 49 points a game in the nine games since its only lost. Oklahoma (12-1) became the first team since 1919 to score 60-plus in five straight games.

      Regardless of the mess of a BCS system, this should be a fantastic game. It really has it all – two great offenses, to excellent quarterbacks and two fast defenses, although the Gators definitely have the edge in that category. I can’t wait to see Sam Bradford and an OU offense that has scored 60-plus points in their last five games match up against Florida’s defense. Looking forward to January 8.

      College Football

      Cowboys blow massive opportunity in loss to Steelers

      December 7, 2008 /

      Steelers-CowboysEntering their game with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys had a great opportunity to take a one-game lead for the final Wild Card spot in the NFC because the Atlanta Falcons lost to the New Orleans Saints earlier in the day.

      After tying the game 3-3 just before halftime, the Cowboys built a 13-3 lead just before the start of the fourth quarter after Terrell Owens caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Tony Romo and Nick Folk converted on his second field goal of the day.

      Earlier in the fourth, Dallas also came up with a huge goal line stop on fourth down, but they couldn’t carry the momentum from the play and finish the Steelers off. Pittsburgh managed to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 13-6 on a Jeff Reed field goal, then scored a touchdown four minutes later when Heath Miller caught a 6-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger.

      Then disaster struck for the Cowboys as Romo was picked off by Deshea Townsend, who returned the gift 25 yards for the game-winning touchdown as Pittsburgh held on for a 20-13 victory. On the interception, it appeared that tight end Jason Witten ran the wrong route.

      Even with the loss, the Cowboys still hold onto the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC because the Falcons’ loss to the Saints goes against their conference record. But that said, Dallas can’t feel too good about practically handing the Steelers a victory. It hurt not having Marion Barber on offense, but the defense played well enough to win and had Witten run the right route on the interception, the Cowboys might have drove down the field or at least forced overtime.

      The Steelers did not look good offensively, but their defense is sick. And the funny thing is, because the offense hasn’t looked particularly sharp, this team continues to fly under the radar. But even with how good the defense has been this year, the Steelers still have some glaring, underlying issues. The offensive line is being held together by duct tape, Roethlisberger still holds onto the ball way too long and every once in a while, Mike Tomlin shows his inexperience as a head coach. For example, Dallas made a great play on that goal line stand, but Tomlin’s decision to go for it instead of making it a one possession game with the entire fourth quarter left to play was a questionable decision to say the least.

      That said, even anyone thinks that the Steelers aren’t a Super Bowl contender, you’re dreaming. Their defense is that good.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      AFC East wide open after Pats, Dolphins win

      December 7, 2008 /

      Miami DolphinsWith the Jets’ 24-14 loss to the 49ers coupled with the Dolphins’ 16-3 win over the Bills and the Patriots’ narrow 24-21 victory over the Seahawks, the AFC East is now up for grabs with all three teams sitting at 8-5.

      If the season ended today, the Jets would still claim first place because they have the best division record at 3-1. But they currently have the same conference record as the Dolphins do at 6-4 and the Jets still have to play Miami and Buffalo, although both games are at home.

      Even though they’re still technically in the best shape, the Jets have just suffered two ugly defeats. Miami has won six of their last seven games and arguably has the easiest remaining schedule as they host the 49ers next week before finishing at the Chiefs and Jets to end the season. New England’s remaining schedule isn’t too daunting either, as the Pats travel to Oakland next week, host the Cardinals in Week 16 and end the season at Buffalo.

      It’s amazing to think that this division is so wide open given that just three weeks ago many were talking about the Jets being a possible Super Bowl contender after they beat the Titans. Granted, all of that talk was incredibly premature, but it’s crazy to think that a Tom Brady-less Patriots and a Dolphins team coming off a 1-15 season have just as much of a chance to win the division as a Jets team that looked like world beaters just two weeks ago.

      Comment fodder: Who wins the division? None of the three teams have a very difficult schedule, so it might come down to home field advantage. The Jets have two more home games left, while the Pats and Dolphins each have one apiece. I still think New York wins the AFC East, but it’s going to be interesting over the next three weeks.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Jets are imploding in front of our eyes

      December 7, 2008 /

      Brett FavreThree weeks ago the New York Jets were the talk of the NFL after they beat the previously unbeaten Tennessee Titans. But they were crushed at home by the Denver Broncos last week and on Sunday were rather surprisingly beaten by the San Francisco 49ers 24-14.

      What the hell happened?

      The 49ers have been a much more competitive team since Mike Singletary took over as head coach, but how do the Jets total just 182 yards of offense against San Fran’s defense? Brett Favre threw for just 137 yards and as a team, the Jets rushed for only 59 yards.

      It’s hard to travel cross-country and win. But that said, if the Jets want to win a division, they have to be able to beat a poor 49er team starting Shaun Hill at quarterback. It’s not like the Jets turned the ball over multiple times (Favre threw one interception) and beat themselves (although eight penalties certainly doesn’t help) – the 49ers just flat out took it to them. San Fran had a 39:49 to 20:11 time of possession edge and totaled 375 yards of offense.

      With this loss, the Jets have now opened the door for the Patriots and Dolphins in the division. All three teams are now locked in a three-way tie at 8-5.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Saints find offensive balance, keep postseason hopes alive

      December 7, 2008 /

      New Orleans Saints’ head coach Sean Payton was rightfully criticized throughout the week for not maintaining enough offensive balance this season. While the Saints statistically rank as the best offense in the league, they entered Sunday’s game against the Falcons as a 6-6 team with slim playoff hopes. No offense – not even the best in the league – can win consistently if they can’t run the ball. But the Saints rushed for 184 yards and beat division rival Atlanta 29-25 on Sunday.

      Their running game was essentially the key because it opened everything up for Drew Brees and the passing game. Outside of the opening drive of the first quarter and most of the third, the Falcons’ defense looked befuddled at what Payton was throwing at them. They had no answer for New Orleans’ offense and allowed Pierre Thomas to rumble for 102 yards on just 16 carries. If Payton can keep himself from going Andy Reid on everybody, the Saints are going to be tough to beat the rest of the way.

      For the Falcons, their loss cannot be placed on rookie Matt Ryan (24 of 33 for 315 yards, 1 TD) and the offense. Ryan was unbelievable and got a ton of help from Roddy White (10 catches, 164 yards) and Michael Jenkins (5 catches, 69 yards), who made the rookie quarterback look good on a couple of errant passes. Outside of a rookie mistake on an interception thrown in the first quarter, Ryan was damn near perfect and constantly kept drives alive with pinpoint passes.

      The Falcons really put themselves in a hole with this loss, however. At 8-5, they’re still very much alive in the playoff race, but they host a tough Buccaneers team next week and then travel to Minnesota before finishing with the hapless Rams. They’ll have to win at least two of their next three games to make the playoffs, so a win over the Saints could have gone a long way.

      We’ll see what Ryan and the young Falcons are made of over these next three weeks.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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