Tag: Missouri Tigers (Page 5 of 8)

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

      December 6, 2008 /

      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.

      College Football

      College Football Championship Weekend Primer

      December 6, 2008 /

      Nick SabanSEC Championship: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Florida, 4:00 PM ET CBS
      This is going to be an absolute battle and I for one think that this is going to be extremely close throughout. Ironically, even though ‘Bama is the top team in the nation, many college football purists have been clamoring for weeks that Florida is the true No. 1. It’s hard to argue that point with the way the Gators have destroyed opponents by a 414 to 97 margin since losing to Ole’ Miss on the last Saturday in September. Still, the Crimson Tide have one of the most disruptive defensives lines in the nation and while the Florida offense is incredibly explosive, defense will win this game in the end. If ‘Bama can get to Tim Tebow and disrupt the flow of the Gator offense, the Tide might be able to rely on Glen Coffee and their ground game to grab victory, finish the season undefeated and secure a spot in the national championship. A win won’t be as easy to come by as it was last week against Auburn, however, as the Gators boast one of the fastest defenses in the country. Oddsmakers have made Florida a 9.5-point favorite but ‘Bama has a great shot to win outright. If we’re making predictions, I say the Gators win, but don’t cover.

      ACC Championship: No. 17 Boston College vs. No. 25 Virginia Tech, 1:00 PM ET, ABC
      Ah the ACC…the red-headed step child of the 2008 Championship Weekend. Ten of the 12 teams in this conference finished with a 5-3 or 4-4 record and arguably the best team in the ACC (Georgia Tech) won’t even play for a title due to a tough loss to Virginia back in September. But despite the allure of the SEC and Big 12 championship games, this matchup pits two of the best defenses in the nation against each other as VA Tech ranks sixth nationally and BC is eighth. The Hokies held opponents to only 268 yards or less in six of their 12 games while offensively, BC has totaled 244 yards or less in four of its last six games. In their first meeting this year, VA Tech returned two interceptions for touchdowns, while BC scored on a punt return to edge the Hokies 28-23. Defense is going to win this game and VA Tech has a small edge in that department, but the Eagles have been very opportunistic this season, forcing a remarkable 16 turnovers in their last five games. Oddsmakers have made this game a pick ’em and while it’s hard to back a struggling Hokies’ offense, defense wins this game and I say VA Tech is your ACC Champion at the end of the day.

      Oklahoma SoonersBig 12 Championship: No. 20 Missouri vs. No. 2 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ABC
      Regardless of whether or not you think Texas should be playing MIZZOU this weekend, this is the matchup that the BCS produced so live with it. The Tigers essentially have a small edge with the game being played at Arrowhead Stadium, but they better hope for bad weather to slow down Sam Bradford and OU’s explosive offense. While Chase Daniel and the MIZZOU have taken a backseat to OU, Texas and Texas Tech over the past couple weeks, the Tiger offense is still dangerous and posses a threat to Oklahoma and a defense that was absolutely shredded by Oklahoma State last weekend. Still, this game will come down to whether or not MIZZOU has enough defense to slow down Bradford, DeMarco Murray and a host of talented Sooner receivers. No opponent has even come close to containing Bradford. TCU’s and Texas were the only two teams to hold OU to under 40 points this season and the Sooners have scored 60-plus points in their last four contests. Oddsmakers have made OU a 17-point favorite and while it’s tempting to thing Daniel will keep the game close, I wouldn’t bet on it.

      Other Notable Games:

      No. 5 USC at UCLA, 4:30 PM ET ABC
      The last time the Trojans traveled to Pasadena, they were upset 13-9. Ironically that was also the same year Oregon State beat USC in Corvallis. And who beat USC earlier this year in Corvallis? Hmm…

      Navy at Army, 12:00 PM ET CBS
      The most underrated rivalry in college football will once again be on display this week in Philadelphia.

      No. 12 Ball State vs. Buffalo, 8:00 PM ET ESPN2
      This game might not get the attention of the other title games, but the MAC has produced some quality NFL-caliber players over the years, including Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington and Randy Moss. And this game features one more: Ball State QB Nate Davis.

      College Football

      Should Missouri step aside and allow Texas to play in the Big 12 Championship?

      December 3, 2008 /

      Kevin Blackistone of AOL Sports writes that the Missouri Tigers should cancel their plane tickets and hotel accommodations for the Big 12 Championship Game this Saturday and allow one-loss Texas to do battle with Oklahoma instead.

      Missouri TigersSo I phoned the Big 12 office on Monday to see if it could get the Tigers to cancel their bus or plane reservations — however they figured this week to make the two-hour drive from Columbia, Mo., to Kansas City — for the conference championship. After all, the Tigers, with three losses and hanging on to the Top 20 by their claws, could win the Big 12 game by 100 points and still not get a certificate of appreciation from the organizers of the national championship game, let alone an invitation to participate. The only people who would benefit would be those who bleed Burnt Orange.

      But the Big 12 office informed me there was nothing it could do. NCAA rules bound the conference’s championship procedures.

      So it is up to the Tigers to voluntarily step aside and let Texas and Oklahoma settle the Big 12 crown. And everybody would win. I bet Texas and Oklahoma would even agree to give Missouri a little more of their title game loot.

      Above all, the Tigers moving aside would further demonstrate the ridiculousness of how the highest level of college football decides who plays for its championship — with voters, computers and hocus pocus. Every college sport decides its champion with a postseason tournament except for D-I (that’s right, I said it again, so sue me) football. Every college team that goes undefeated in its sport can play for that sport’s championship except D-I football, where this season three undefeated teams — Utah, Boise State and Ball State — are locked out.

      I know Blackistone is being facetious with most of this, but it’s not MIZZOU’s fault (or concern) that Oklahoma and Texas play in the same division. They won the North and therefore deserve to play in the Big 12 title game. That’s the bottom line.

      But it is a novel idea. Outside of MIZZOU fans, most of the college football world would love to see Texas and Oklahoma settle this debate on the field once and for all. (Settle the debate on the field again, that is.)

      College Football

      Will MIZZOU play whipping boys in Big 12 Championship?

      November 29, 2008 /

      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.

      College Football

      Week 10 College Football Primer

      November 1, 2008 /

      No. 25 vs. No. 25:
      Graham HarrellNo. 1 Texas vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 8:00 PM ET ABC
      Both of these teams are coming off convincing wins but in completely different fashions. The Red Raiders absolutely routed a Kansas team that many thought could possibly hand Tech its first loss of the season. The Longhorns, meanwhile, got a major challenge from Oklahoma State but managed to hold on to victory despite some second half mistakes by Heisman candidate Colt McCoy. This will be the fourth consecutive ranked team (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State) that UT faces in as many weeks. Can they keep playing at a high level or are they due for a letdown? The big question surrounding this game is how UT’s defense will stack up against TT’s explosive offense and vice versa. Not that the Longhorns are playing stout defense by any means, but they’ll be Tech’s toughest challenge to date. It’s going to be interesting to watch the dynamics of this game play out between Horns’ McCoy and Red Raider Heisman hopefuls Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree. McCoy certainly has an easier challenge this week, but Harrell and Crabtree have helped Tech average over 400 yards of offense in every game this year. Texas is arguably the most complete team in college football, while Tech can light up the scoreboard. The team that plays defense last might be the one that comes out victorious.

      No. 8 Florida at No. 6 Georgia, 3:30 PM ET CBS
      The game formally known as “The World’s Largest Outdoor Party” should be quite interesting this year after Mark Richt instructed all of his players to have a team celebration on the field after UGA scored the first touchdown in last season’s contest. The shrewd move didn’t go unnoticed by Urban Meyer and the Gators, who will no doubt seek a measure of revenge this weekend in Jacksonville. Florida has come alive since Ole’ Miss upset them a few weeks ago, pounding Arkansas, LSU and Kentucky with the greatest of ease. The Gators seem to have re-focused and a win over the Bulldogs could make a huge statement. Both of these teams still have national title aspirations and there is absolutely no love lost here. This is one of the fiercest rivalries in college football.

      Georgia TechUpset Watch:No. 15 Florida State at Georgia Tech, 3:30 PM ET
      The Seminoles have ridden strong defensive play all the way to the No. 15 spot in the polls, but does anyone else get the feeling they’re due for a letdown? GA Tech was a major disappointment last week in losing to Virginia, but that might have been more a testament to how great of a coaching job Al Groh has done turning around the Cavs than an indication that the Jackets are overrated. Even though GT isn’t ranked anymore, this is still an even matchup and I think the Jackets are going to try and make a statement to get back into the top 25.

      Other notable games:
      Nebraska at No. 4 Oklahoma, 8:00 PM ET ESPN
      The Huskers’ defense has improved over the past couple weeks, but will they be any match for Sam Bradford and the explosive Sooners’ offense?

      Northwestern at No. 17 Minnesota, 12:00 PM ET
      It doesn’t have the same luster as Ohio State-Penn State did last week, but this is the best of what the Big Ten has to over this weekend. The transformation of the Golden Gophers has been remarkable after they one just one game last year.

      College Football

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