Tag: Texas (Page 3 of 6)

      2009 College Football Odds: Championship Weekend

      December 2, 2009 /

      Thursday, December 3

      No. 16 Oregon State at No. 7 Oregon, 9:00PM ET
      There’s never been as much at stake in the annual Civil War game between Oregon State and Oregon, with the winner booking a trip to the Rose Bowl. The Beavers blew an opportunity to head to Pasadena last season when they were blown out by Oregon at home. The Beavers haven’t been to the Rose Bowl since 1964, while Oregon hasn’t made the trip to Pasadena since 1994.
      Odds: Oregon –9.5

      Saturday, December 5

      No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 Alabama, 4:00PM ET
      No game has as much at stake than this Saturday’s SEC title game in Atlanta. The winner will have the opportunity to play in the BCS title game, while the loser has to pray that Texas is beaten by Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship Game and that voters favor them over unbeaten TCU or Cincinnati. Can Tim Tebow lead the Gators to another victory over ‘Bama this season or will Mark Ingram and the Crimson Tide defense avenge last year’s loss to Florida?
      Odds: Florida -6

      No. 3 Texas vs. No. 22 Nebraska
      It’s pretty simple for Colt McCoy and the Longhorns: Either win and book a trip to the national title game or lose and watch their opportunity to become champions fly out the window. The Big 12 North hasn’t beaten the Big 12 South in the title game since 2003 when Kansas State beat Oklahoma. The last time these two teams met, Texas came away with a 28-25 victory in 2007. Can the Cornhuskers snap the South’s reign over the North?
      Odds: Texas –13.5

      No. 5 Cincinnati at No. 15 Pittsburgh, 12:00PM ET
      West Virginia’s win over the Panthers last Friday took a lot of the intrigue out of this matchup, but with the Big East championship on the line, both teams still have plenty to play for. A BCS berth is also on the line and speculation continues to grow that Cincinnati coach Brian Kelly is headed for South Bend. Can the Bearcats overcome this one final road challenge and head to a BCS bowl? Or will PITT ruin Cincinnati’s perfect season?
      Odds: Cincinnati -2

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      College Football

      2009 BCS Bowl Projections Version 1.0

      November 17, 2009 /

      SI.com’s Stewart Mandel compiled his projections for all 34 bowl matchups and this is how things shook out in the BCS Bowls:

      BCS Championship: Alabama vs. Texas
      Orange: Georgia Tech vs. TCU
      Fiesta: Iowa vs. Boise State
      Sugar: Florida vs. Pittsburgh
      Rose: Ohio State vs. Oregon

      Is it just me or are those some pretty lousy matchups outside of the BCS title game (Colt McCoy vs. ‘Bama’s defense is intriguing, I don’t care what anyone says)? I’m not saying that those teams aren’t deserving of those bowls, but I’m not entirely sure I’d like to see Iowa play Boise in one of the “big” bowls.

      That said, a Georgia Tech-TCU matchup would be intriguing because I would love to see the Horned Frogs try and defense the Jackets’ potent triple-option. TCU has one of the fastest and most aggressive defenses in the nation and it would be a thrill to watch them try and contain Jonathan Dwyer for four quarters.

      Something tells me an Ohio State-Oregon matchup wouldn’t be that bad either outside of the fact that the Buckeyes always lay duds in bowl games. OSU has a solid defense, although Jeremiah Masoli and company might tear them to pieces.

      Perhaps the most interesting takeaway from Mandel’s projections (outside of the fact that he has ‘Bama beating Florida in the SEC Championship Game, that is) is that he predicts Pittsburgh to beat Cincinnati in two weeks. The Bearcats can light up a scoreboard, but teams that can run straight at their defense have had success and the Panthers might be able to do that when the two teams square off next Saturday for the top spot in the Big East.’

      For those of you who are like me that would rather see a playoff system determine the champion in college football, check out John Paulsen’s breakdown of how a postseason would look like this season.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      TCU jumps to No. 4 in the BCS standings

      November 9, 2009 /

      The TCU Horned Frogs have leapt into the top 5 in the BCS standings according to ESPN.com.

      TCU took over fourth place in the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday behind Florida, Alabama and Texas. It’s the highest BCS ranking ever for a team from a conference without an automatic bid to the big-money bowl games. No potential BCS buster had ever done better than sixth in the BCS standings.

      Florida is first for the fourth straight week, and Alabama and Texas switched spots for the second week in a row.

      The Gators and Crimson Tide have clinched their respective divisions in the Southeastern Conference and will meet Dec. 5 in the league championship game. One of them is all but guaranteed a spot in the BCS title game on Jan. 7 in Pasadena, Calif., if they can get through the next month without a loss.

      The same goes for Texas, which has three regular-season games and possibly the Big 12 championship remaining.

      The other undefeated teams — TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State — need the top three to stumble to have any shot of reaching the title game.

      Some complain about TCU’s schedule, but at least they crush their opponents on a weekly basis. Clemson and Air Force are the only two teams that have given the Frogs a game this season and TCU played both of those contests on the road. And the fact that they’re willing to play non-conference foes like Clemson and Virginia should count for something.

      The Frogs have one of the fastest, most aggressive defenses in the nation and I’d love to see what they could do in a BCS bowl. Of course, they have to get by Utah first, whom they play next Saturday.

      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      College Football

      Bradford hurt again as Texas knocks off Oklahoma

      October 17, 2009 /

      The unexpected happened today in Dallas. What was supposed to be a grudge match between quarterbacks Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford was anything but after Bradford was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. And what was supposed to be an offensive slug fest actually turned out to be a defensive struggle.

      Some may say it wasn’t pretty, but Texas earned a hard-fought 16-13 victory over Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday. Bradford only attempted six passes in the game, completing two for 77 yards before suffering another injury following a first-quarter sack. On the other side, McCoy was just 12 of 39 passing for 127 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

      This game turned on the first possession of the second half. After Oklahoma took a 6-3 lead into halftime, the Longhorns came out in the third quarter utilizing a hurry-up offense that allowed McCoy to finally get into a rhythm passing. While the drive only produced a field goal, it instilled confidence in McCoy after the Sooners had frustrated him in the first half. This was the second straight year in which OU’s defense got the best of McCoy.

      Freshman receiver Marquis Goodwin also played a huge role in the Longhorns’ victory. Oklahoma completely took emerging Heisman candidate Jordan Shipley out of the game by blanketing him in coverage, but Goodwin hauled in three passes and caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from McCoy midway through the third quarter to give Texas its first lead. With Shipley held in check, Goodwin came up huge.

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      College Football

      McCoy vs. Bradford: Who will be the better pro?

      October 14, 2009 /

      With Oklahoma set to square off against Texas in the Red River Rivalry on Saturday night, I thought it would be fun to breakdown the quarterback matchup between the Sooners’ Sam Bradford and the Longhorns’ Colt McCoy to figure out who would make the better pro.

      Colt McCoy vs. Sam Bradford: Who will be the better pro quarterback?

      Arm Strength: Bradford.
      Neither quarterback has elite arm strength, but Bradford can make all the throws, while McCoy excels at the short to intermediate passes. Lack of arm strength could be an issue for McCoy at the next level.

      Size: Bradford.
      Bradford is two inches taller than McCoy and nearly 15 pounds heavier. Bradford can probably add to his frame, where McCoy is essentially maxed out.

      Accuracy & Decision Making: Push.
      Both QBs have outstanding accuracy, get the ball out of their hands quickly and are excellent decision-makers.

      Leadership: Push.
      Bradford and McCoy’s leadership have been evident in how good their teams have been with them under center. Both players truly love playing the game and it shows both on and off the field.

      Athleticism: McCoy.
      Although Bradford does have decent athleticism, he loses this category by a long shot. McCoy has displayed excellent athleticism in his career while rushing for over 500 yards in each of his past two seasons. He’s also very mobile, which helps him elude pressure and buy extra time to find receivers.

      Release: Bradford.
      Bradford has a great release, but we’re probably splitting hairs in this category because both quarterbacks get the ball out of their hands quickly.

      The Final Whistle:
      Both of these quarterbacks have weaknesses in that neither runs a pro-style offense in college. So on most occasions, neither is forced to make difficult reads and neither has faced a consistent pass rush. They both benefit from playing in a conference with weak defenses and have out-of-this-world stats because of it. That said, Bradford has fewer question marks surrounding his pro potential than McCoy does. McCoy has never operated under center and that could be a huge problem once he gets to the next level. While Bradford doesn’t have the arm strength to zip the ball into tight windows, he can make all the throws at the next level. The same cannot be said for McCoy, who will struggle with the deep ball in the NFL.

      In the end, the question of which quarterback will make a better pro comes down to what offenses they’re drafted into. If a team figures out how to use McCoy’s athleticism and accuracy to hide his lack of arm strength, then he could become an outstanding pro. But Bradford has more intangibles that pro scouts look for and thus, would be my choice to emerge as the better NFL quarterback.

      Winner: Sam Bradford.

      Which quarterback will make the better pro?
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      College Football

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