The major problem with committing my thoughts to this blog instead of ranting at my friends is that when I’m wrong, I can’t just deny everything. It’s right there in black and white for the entire world to see. So, as the college bowls have proven so far, I’m an idiot. So, here are some comments after the fact.
I misjudged the Rose Bowl, but not completely (like I did with the Fiesta Bowl). I thought that USC was overrated, which was wrong. They are very good when Booty is healthy and working with a lead. There defense is top-notch. Still, they were one series away from getting smoked. In the third quarter, USC is up 21-10, yet Illinois is driving. Illinois in the doorstep after Rashard Mendenhall put on the Superman cape yet again and got 55 yards on a screen pass. Then, with receiver Jacob Willis sprinting toward the end zone, the ball gets popped out of his hands and recovered by USC in the end zone. USC then drives the length of the field for the TD and for the victory. That one series just seemed to completely deflate Illinois and they couldn’t get anything started after that. I misjudged the fight Illinois had in them.
I was wholly wrong about the Fiesta Bowl. West Virginia got it done. They completely smoked Oklahoma. This was for two main reasons. One, they are an extremely athletic and physical team. They were able to dominate the line of scrimmage and they harassed Sam Bradford all night long. Two, Oklahoma was out-coached. Weird that one of the most respected coaches in the game was outsmarted by a guy who had the word “interim” in front of his title, but it’s true. Stoops got desperate and that’s not something you like to see in your coach during a bowl game. There is nothing wrong with gambling, but gambling at the wrong times can be disastrous, as proven by Stoops. Here’s hoping that Bill Stewart loses the “interim” part of his title.
What a gag job by ASU in the Holiday Bowl. It was like they purposely went out of there way to prove me wrong (no, I’m not paranoid). Texas just isn’t that good.
Colt Brennan doesn’t deserve all the blame for the Sugar Bowl disaster. If anything, his offensive line failed him. He is still a viable NFL quarterback. Are you seriously telling me that you would trust Quinn Fry over Colt Brennan? I don’t even know who Quinn Fry is, yet some NFL team is trusting him as there starting QB. And Cleo Lemon? That sounds like a drink my girlfriend, The Duchess, would order at a bar instead of a starting NFL quarterback. I mean, Miami needs a quarterback. It’s not like Brady Quinn fell into there lap in last years draft and instead of taking him, took the wildly overrated Ted Ginn Jr. and then took John Beck in the second round. Oh wait…..
Along the same lines, Hawaii’s beat down does NOT prove that non-BCS schools don’t belong in BCS bowls. Right now, non-BCS schools have a 2-1 record in BCS bowl games. In my estimation, the only team out there right now that can beat Georgia is LSU. Georgia is a buzz saw and they feel they were slighted. That’s not a delightful combo for any team. Plus, it helps a lot when your defensive linemen have free rein to rush the quarterback (do they teach blocking at Hawaii?).
What the hell happened in the Clemson/Auburn game? Yes, I’m a Clemson fan, but that was pathetic. Auburn was using an offense that they only implemented a week ago, yet everything looked good. The problem was the Clemson completely forgot about there intermediate passing game and either went with bombs or screens. Screens are good if the defense is over-pursuing, but Auburn is too good for that. As they probably saw in game film, Clemson was going to do that and was prepared. They should have used slants and crosses to open up the middle of the field, then you can use the bomb or screens to take advantage of a softened up defense. Well, wait until next year I guess.
While watching the bowl games, I think that the team of Brent Musburger and Kirk Herbstreit are definitely the A team, with the team of Brad Nessler and Bob Griese a close B team, and Mike Patrick and Todd Blackledge a solid C team. The FOX team of Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis would be a solid R team. I wanted to hit mute during the Sugar Bowl.
Tell me I wasn’t the only one surprised not only by the beat-down that Oregon delivered, but the impressive victory by Michigan. Rich Rodriguez was on the sideline for Pete’s sake and the players were focused on one task, beating Florida. Since I played the “let’s win one last one for the old coach” card in my analysis of the Ohio State/Michigan game, I figured it just wasn’t happening. Oops.
Well, I’ll probably come back on Tuesday with some insights on the Orange Bowl and the BCS Championship Game. Does anyone outside of Ohio actually think that Ohio State has a shot in this one? I didn't think so.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment