Tag: Alabama Crimson Tide (Page 15 of 20)

      Eating crow: Ball State is no joke

      November 26, 2008 /

      Ball StateA couple weeks ago Ball State University turned in an unimpressive victory against fellow MAC opponent Miami of Ohio and I wrote how the Cardinals and the BCS were a joke.

      Well, the BCS is still a joke – but Ball State isn’t. I was wrong about this team and I’m more than willing to eat crow. (I know a couple of Ball State fans that would be more than willing to watch me eat every bit of that crow, too.)

      There are a lot of media outlets that assume that just because a team isn’t in one of college football’s main conferences (i.e. SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac-10, etc.), that they would never be able to compete with the big boys. I fell into that trap after watching the Cardinals a few weeks ago, but I was wrong in my assumptions. After beating top MAC teams in Central Michigan and Western Michigan the past two weeks, Ball State has more than proved that they are legit.

      How do we know that Ball State wouldn’t compete with Oklahoma? Boise State certainly did when they beat the Sooners in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. It’s time to stop assuming that just because a team plays in the MAC that they couldn’t hold their own.

      BSU’s Nate Davis has been one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and while he doesn’t face defenses as good as Alabama, Texas, Florida and Oklahoma every week, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t deserve the opportunity to see what he could do on a national stage. He has tremendous arm strength, great leadership and has showed all season that he’s a tremendous competitor.

      We need a playoff in college football. Undefeated teams like Ball State, Utah and Boise State deserve the opportunity to see if they can compete against the likes of ‘Bama, Florida, Texas and Oklahoma. If they get waxed like Hawaii did last year against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, so be it. But maybe they’ll surprise some people, too. The main thing is, they deserve a shot. And college football fans deserve a better system.

      College Football

      Latest Bowl Predictions: Oklahoma vs. Florida in title game

      November 25, 2008 /

      CBS Sportsline.com has unveiled their latest bowl predictions and they have Oklahoma meeting Florida in the national title game.

      Tim TebowBCS National Championship: Oklahoma vs. Florida
      Comment: It all comes down to the BCS. With Oklahoma’s thrashing of Texas Tech and a victory over Oklahoma State next week, we predict the Sooners will be the highest ranked team in the Big 12 South and earn a spot in the conference title game. All it would have to do is beat Missouri to earn a spot in the BCS National Championship game. If Texas is ranked higher than the Sooners when the BCS is released, then Texas would be predicted to earn this spot. As for the other team … we predict Florida will beat Alabama in the SEC Championship game, setting up a No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Oklahoma in Miami for the national championship. Florida would be playing for its second BCS title in the past three years, beating Ohio State two years ago. Oklahoma would be playing in its fourth title game in the decade.

      Fiesta Bowl: Texas vs. USC
      Comment: With Oklahoma going to the BCS Championship game, the Fiesta Bowl will use its replacement pick to take another Big 12 team. Even though Texas Tech beat Texas, if the Longhorns are ranked in the Top 4 of the BCS, they are guaranteed a spot. With its other selection it takes at-large USC, which will only have one loss and ranked in the top 10 of the BCS.

      The rest of their predictions: Alabama vs. Utah (Sugar Bowl); Oregon State vs. Penn State (Rose Bowl) and Boston College vs. Cincinnati (Orange Bowl).

      Compared to last year, these matchups would be awfully dull outside of the title game and the Fiesta Bowl. Not saying the games would be bad, but the matchups leave something to be desired.

      That said, an Oklahoma-Florida or Texas-Florida title game would be absolutely fantastic.

      College Football

      Alabama not unanimous choice for No. 1

      November 24, 2008 /

      While they remain undefeated, the Alabama Crimson Tide aren’t the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to some voters.

      Alabama Crimson TideAlabama, which was idle this weekend, retained the top position with 56 of 61 first-place votes. The Crimson Tide are the only remaining undefeated team from one of the six conferences with automatic BCS tie-ins.

      Third-ranked Florida, an easy winner over The Citadel, claimed the last No. 1 vote. The Gators will square off with Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game in two weeks. If both can handle their in-state rivals over Thanksgiving weekend, the winner is sure to claim one spot in the BCS championship game.

      Hmm. How can an undefeated Alabama team not receive 61 of 61 first place votes? I thought the BCS system was set up so that a clear No. 1 and No. 2 would be determined?

      Nobody should be surprised that ‘Bama didn’t receive all the first place votes, because it’s still unclear at this point if they are truly deserving. Everyone wants to point to Florida’s loss to Ole’ Miss as proof that the Gators shouldn’t be ranked No. 1, but in the back of many people’s heads they’re not so sure that Urban Meyer’s team isn’t the best team in college football. The same could be said for Oklahoma, which absolutely crushed Texas Tech over the weekend and got four first place votes. And what about Texas? They lost to Tech on the final play of the game and beat Oklahoma, yet received no first place votes.

      The system is a mess, which is a dream scenario for supporters of a playoff, because it proves that the BCS doesn’t work.

      College Football

      OU crushes Tech – BCS standings turned upside down

      November 23, 2008 /

      In one of the most lopsided games of the 2008 college football season, No. 5 Oklahoma waxed No. 2 Texas Tech 65-21 on Saturday night, essentially proving that the Red Raiders were a tad overrated.

      I loved Tech going into this game and backed them as a team that still wasn’t getting enough credit. I even bought into the small hype that they should be the No. 1 team in the nation instead of Alabama. Apparently was wrong, like, way wrong.

      This wasn’t just a bad night for the Raiders – the Sooners were just flat out better in every phase of the game. It was easy to see that OU was going to put up some points. Not only is the Sooner offense one of the best in the nation under Heisman hopeful Sam Bradford (14 of 19 for 304 yards, 4 TDs), but the Tech defense is also nonexistent.

      But for the Sooner defense to hold Tech to only 21 points is simply amazing. No team in the nation (besides maybe OU) was running its offense better and more efficiently than the Raiders were. And OU made Tech look like they were in their first spring practice of the year.

      This obviously throws a massive kink in the BCS rankings, which is fantastic for fans that want a playoff in college football. What team is the best in the nation? Can you honestly say it’s Alabama? Can you honestly say it’s not Oklahoma? What about Texas, who, oh-by-the-way beat Oklahoma earlier this year but lost to Tech on the final play of the game. What about Florida? The Gators lost Ole’ Miss, but are playing their best football of the season right now and have a date with ‘Bama in the SEC Championship Game coming up.

      The BCS is getting what it deserves with OU’s win – complete anarchy. Everything is a mess right now and their little computers don’t have a clear-cut answer (not that they ever do). A playoff would be absolutely great for a season like this.

      College Football

      Is Florida the best team in the nation?

      November 16, 2008 /

      Florida GatorsThe rankings and polls suggest that Nick Saban’s Alabama Crimson Tide is the best team in college football. Considering they’re 11-0 this season with wins over previously No. 1 ranked Georgia and SEC foe LSU in Baton Rouge, it’s hard to question why the polls have ‘Bama at numero uno.

      But are the Tide the legit top ranked team in the nation or are they there by default because they’re unbeaten? With the way Florida crushed South Carolina 56-6 on Saturday and have run roughshod over everybody since losing to Ole’ Miss in late September, are the Gators the true No. 1 team in college football?

      Not to take anything away from Alabama or No. 2 Texas Tech, but no team in college football is playing better than Florida is right now. They’re arguably the fastest team in the nation and their defense has played absolutely remarkable this season, holding opponents to just over 11 points a game.

      Obviously we’ll know more on December 6 when the Tide and Gators meet in the SEC Championship Game, but you just get the feeling that Alabama is due to stumble. They weren’t overly impressive in a 32-7 win over Mississippi State on Saturday (at least in the first half) and they’ve struggled playing four quarters outside of their impressive win over LSU.

      If the two teams meet tomorrow on neutral ground, I’ve got to believe that Florida would hand ‘Bama its first loss of the season.

      College Football

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