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January 2009
Bad news for UGA fans: Florida is just getting started
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—For fans of the Georgia Bulldogs, I have some bad news and some WORSE news today.
The bad news? Florida, your hated rival, just won its second national championship in three years.
The worse news? The Gators, it appears, are just getting started.
Urban Meyer came here Friday morning to pick up all of the hardware that comes with being a national champ. Meyer said he enjoyed the first national championship he won as Florida’s head coach in 2006.
But Friday morning Meyer said he is going to enjoy this one a lot more. “I’m not sure I took the time to savor that first one because was all so new. That year we had a good team but we didn’t have a good program,” Meyer said. “Now we have both. That makes this one very special.”
In a private conversation with me in February of 2007, Meyer said he was not pleased with the state of the Florida football program after the national championship season.
“Too many people focused on themselves. Not enough people focused on the team and each other,” Meyer said. “We are going to change that.”
Meyer won the 2006 a national championship with a team dominated by recruits of former coach Ron Zook. Meyer liked those guys but they weren’t HIS guys. These are his guys and he doesn’t like them. He loves them.
“What we have here now is very special at Florida,” Meyer said. “We should have a really good team coming back next year.”
If you’re a Georgia fan, you need to understand what Meyer has built at Florida in just four short years and what things look like for the Gators down the road. Of the 24 players on the offensive depth chart last night against Oklahoma, 18 still have eligibility remaining for 2009 (6 juniors, 8 sophomores, and 4 freshmen).
The defense had held the nation’s highest scoring team (54 points per game) to only two touchdowns did not have a senior among its top 22 players. Of the group that played in the BCS championship game, 16 were sophomores, redshirt freshmen or freshmen.
No one here expects Percy Harvin, who is such an incredible talent, to return next season. Harvin made everybody hold their breath every time he touched the ball last night. But he is simply too fragile. He needs to go to the NFL and make some money.
Linebacker Brandon Spikes, who was the heart and soul of that defense, is also expected to turn pro.
Quarterback Tim Tebow will be a more interesting decision. Simply put, if Tebow comes back Florida should be the consensus preseason No. 1 pick. If he doesn’t come back sophomore John Brantley will take over and Florida will still be pretty good. But the Gators may not be national championship good.
Meyer said Friday morning that Tebow’s decision will come in the next few days. Tebow has two national championship rings and a Heisman Trophy. If he comes back, he could win both again.
Bottom line: If Urban Meyer signs another top five recruiting class, which he is expected to do, it may be a while before Georgia, or anybody else in the SEC East, is going to be able to unseat the Gators from the top of the division. Florida has separated itself from the field and shows no signs of slowing down.
Meyer was working the phones to recruits last night after the national championship game. He said Friday that he has only “4 or 5” slots left. “We want to make sure those four or five are really good ones.” It’s a pretty good bet that the Gators will have a lot of fun on national signing day.
I’m never comfortable using the “dynasty” word. It’s too vague. But what Florida appears to be doing is putting together a program that can have a Southern California kind of run. Yes, the Trojans play in the Pac-10 and not the SEC and that’s huge. But Florida took another big step forward last night. Everybody else in the SEC East, including Georgia, is going to have to step up to meet the challenge. Because as long as Meyer is in Gainesville, I don’t see the Gators taking a step back.
Ladies and gentlemen, that puts a wrap on the 2008 season for me and this blog. I am going off for an extended vacation with Mrs. Barnhart, something she has richly earned. I will return on Monday, Feb. 9 and will resume this blog. We’ll probably do it about three times a week until we get into spring practice which, by that time, won’t be far around the corner.
I want to thank all of you for the great support this season. It has been a wonderful season and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it. I always tell my friends from other media outlets that we have the smartest college football fans in the world in the South. You proved it once again this season.
Will see you on Feb. 9
Best wishes,
TB
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SEC wins third straight title; Will Tim Tebow come back?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Miami Gardens, Fla.—It was an incredible scene on the field after Florida’s 24-14 win over Oklahoma for the BCS national championship.
The cameramen simply mobbed Tim Tebow after the game. Tebow was clearly emotional when he was announced as the outstanding offensive player of the game. As he stood on the podium to accept the award, the Florida fans screamed “One more year! One more year!”
The question is: Will Tebow return for his final season? Just a junior, he has two national championship rings. He has a Heisman Trophy. If he returns, Tebow has a chance to win a third national championship and become the most decorated college football player in history. Tebow would not tip his hand after the game.
“I promised the guys that I would go out and play with all my heart,” he said. “I was so motivated tonight. Oklahoma’s a great team and they came out and played hard. I can’t put it into words—it was just an incredible night.”
As was the case in the SEC championship game, Tebow rose to the occasion when the game was on the line. With his team leading 17-14, Tebow led his team on a 76-yard touchdown drive to put the game away. In that drive Tebow threw a 29-yard strike to David Nelson that gave Florida a first down at the Oklahoma 20-yard line. Anybody who thinks Tebow can’t play in the NFL needs to look at that throw.
Charlie Strong, the Florida defensive coordinator, could only smile. His defense had held the nation’s No. 1 offense, which was averaging 54 points a game, to only 14 points. Oklahoma reached the one yard line and the six-yard line in the first half and came away with no points. “I thought we could play with those guys but I never thought we could hold them to 14 points,” Strong said. “We just hung in there the entire game.”
Question: When is somebody going to hire this man as a head coach? What more does he have to prove? Florida has won two national championships in three years and defense has played a big part of that.
SEC Commissioner Mike Slive was all smiles as his league began celebrating its third straight national championship and its fourth in the past six years.
“It’s a great night for Florida and a great night for our conference,” said Slive. “It was just a wonderful season and a wonderful game.”
And the SEC got a little redemption. In a season where some of its franchise teams struggled, Alabama and Florida were ranked 1-2 in the AP poll when the met for the national championship. And for the third straight year the SEC team entered the BCS championship game as the No. 2 team and won. The SEC might not have been the best conference in the land from top to bottom this season. And maybe the SEC didn’t dazzle people with their offense. But defense wins championships. The SEC got another crystal football Thursday night.
That’s it tonight from South Florida. We have a press conference with Urban Meyer at 10 a.m. I will get back to you after that and file a final blog for the season. It has been a wild one.
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If Florida wins, can SEC claim to be best conference?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Miami Gardens, Fla.—It’s getting close to kickoff and I am set up in the press box at Dolphin Stadium and ready to blog with you during the BCS championship game between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida.
On the way down here I stopped off at a television studio and did a segment about the game for the NFL Network. The host, Paul Burmeister, asked me an interesting question: Does the winner of this national championship game get to claim that its conference is the best in college football?
Early in this season it became pretty evident that the SEC was not going to have a vintage year. Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU were all going to be down. Mississippi State, which won eight games last season, was struggling. Georgia, rated preseason No. 1, did not live up to expectations.
The Big 12, meanwhile, was scoring points in record numbers and had the best group of quarterbacks in the country. For several weeks the Big 12 game of the week was must-see TV. ESPN’s College Game Day set up permanent residence there. By the end of the season it was pretty much a given that the Big 12 was superior to the SEC.
But if Florida, the SEC champion, beats Oklahoma, the Big 12 champion, tonight does that perception change? Ole Miss beat Texas Tech, another high scoring team, pretty handily in the Cotton Bowl. In the only other SEC-Big 12 matchup of this season, Texas beat a very bad Arkansas team.
That would give the SEC three straight national championships and salvage what has been a tough year for the league, relative to what was expected in preseason. Remember that a lot of folks had four SEC teams ranked in the Top 10 in preseason, and that didn’t even count Alabama.
So I put it to you as we get a little closer to kickoff? If Florida, the SEC’s best, beats Oklahoma, the Big 12’s best, does the SEC still get to call itself the best conference in college football?
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Gators will win it all, 35-31
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.—We’ve been talking about this game since Dec.7 and now it is finally time for No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Florida to play for the BCS national championship. I can’t wait for the kickoff to finally get here.
Check back right before kickoff and I’ll give you some of the sights and sounds at Dolphin Stadium along with some final thoughts. During the game I’ll be blogging live so jump on if you have questions or comments. It should be fun.
But for now, here is my final breakdown of the game:
OFFENSE
Oklahoma: There has never been an offense in college football quite like the one Oklahoma put on the field in 2008. The Sooners led the nation in scoring with an average of 54.0 points per game. They scored 702 points, which is another NCAA record. Quarterback Sam Bradford won the Heisman Trophy after a spectacular season when he completed 302 of 442 passing attempts (68.3 percent) for 4,464 yards and 48 touchdowns. Only twice this season was Oklahoma held to under 49 points. The Sooners had two runners to go over 1,000 yards but one of them, DeMarco Murray, will not play because of an injury. Murray was their best big-play man.
Florida: The Gators have had a pretty strong offense since their 31-30 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27 in Gainesville. Florida, which faced 10 defenses ranked in the top 39 this season, scored 42 or more points in seven of their last eight regular season games. Quarterback Tim Tebow was incredible down the stretch as Florida finished fourth in the nation in scoring at 45.2 points per game. Tebow threw only two interceptions the entire season. If wide receiver Percy Harvin is as healthy as advertised and can go the whole game, the gap between these two offenses is not as wide as some would think. Tebow has a vast array of big plays guys like Louis Murphy, Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and others who can take a short pass and turn it into a touchdown. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a defense.
ADVANTAGE: OKLAHOMA.
DEFENSE
Oklahoma: The Sooners finished tied for No. 58 (with Georgia) in scoring defense, giving up 24.2 points per game. The Sooners struggled against some of the better offenses in the Big 12, giving up 45 points to Texas in their only loss and 41 in a 61-41 win over Oklahoma State. But some of those stats are misleading. Because of the fast-paced offense Oklahoma plays, the defense was on the field a lot. And because they dominated opponents, the second unit got a lot of playing time. Oklahoma’s defense had 42 sacks on the year and forced 32 turnovers. They will get after Tim Tebow on every play.
Florida: Florida had a young defense that only got better with each game. The Gators are much improved in the secondary, which was the weak spot a year ago, as safety Ahmad Black had six interceptions and cornerback Joe Haden had three. The emergence of freshman Janoris Jenkins as a big time corner has allowed Florida’s defense to be much more creative. Florida had 24 interceptions on the season. Florida has a big-time linebacker in Brandon Spikes who is the emotional leader of the defense. If he plays well early, the rest of the defense will feed off of his energy. Remember the big hit he put on Knowshon Moreno in the Georgia-Florida game? Look for one of those in the first quarter.
ADVANTAGE: FLORIDA.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Oklahoma: Oklahoma’s weakness all season has been special teams. The Sooners have had to kick off a lot and have given up four touchdowns on kickoff returns. The kickoff return average (24.0) is ranked 106th nationally. Field goals (8 of 12) have sometimes been an adventure. The net punt return average (33.8) is one of the worst in the country. There is a lot of hidden yardage in special teams and Florida will be able to exploit this weakness.
Florida: Coach Urban Meyer is obsessive about the special teams. Here is where I think the Gators have the biggest advantage in this game. Brandon James is one of the top punt return men in the country (14.4 average) and has taken two back for touchdowns this season and four over the past two seasons. Look for Oklahoma to be creative with its punts in order not to give James a full head of steam with the ball. That sometimes causes bad kicks and lost field possession. James, by the way has also broken several long kickoff returns this season. If is as high scoring as everybody thinks, James will get a bunch of touches on kickoffs. Florida has blocked eight kicks this season. Look for them to try to get another one tonight.
ADVANTAGE: FLORIDA
COACHING
Oklahoma: This is the fourth BCS championship game for Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops. Oklahoma beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl for the 2000 national title. Oklahoma lost to LSU in the Sugar Bowl after the 2003 season and to Southern Cal after the 2004 season. Stoops comes into tonight’s contest having lost four straight BCS bowl games. The pressure is clearly on because many believe that this is his best team.
Florida: Florida coach Urban Meyer won a national championship in his second season (2006) as the head Gator. After dropping to 9-4 last season because a young defense, he rallied his team after a 31-30 loss to Ole Miss. Down the stretch the Gators dominated SEC competition like they used to do under Steve Spurrier. Meyer is one of the best in the country when it comes to preparing a game plan and accounting for all the little details that can mean the difference in winning and losing. But there is an X-Factor. Dan Mullen, the Florida offensive coordinator, was named the head coach at Mississippi State back in December but stayed on to work this game. A game like this can come down to the slightest edge. Is Florida less efficient on offense because Mullen has been distracted? We’ll see.
ADVANTAGE: EVEN
THE X-FACTORS
Tim Tebow is motivated: Tebow is one of the most competitive football players I’ve seen in my 30 years of covering the sport. Yes, he laughed it off when Oklahoma’s Dominique Franks said that Tebow would be, at best, the fourth best quarterback in the Big 12. Privately, he can’t wait to get on that field tonight.
SEC Pride: There is a lot on the line for the SEC tonight. The league was hyped as the best at the beginning of the season but then Tennessee, Auburn, and LSU fell apart. Georgia started at No. 1 and did not meet expectations. The SEC has won two straight national championships and a third would allow the league to still call itself the best in college football. If Oklahoma wins, the Big 12 gets to pound its chest in the offseason.
Home Field: The tickets are supposed to be divided evenly, but there are a lot of Gators down here and on the Orange Bowl committee. Florida, which has 13 Miami area players and hopes to get more, should have something of a home field advantage.
Heisman Jinx: The Heisman Trophy winner is pulled in a lot of directions in December and all of that traveling can be a distraction. Some Heisman winners have a tough time coming back from the award and playing well when the national championship is on the line. We’ll see tonight if it has affected Sam Bradford, who very likely will be playing his last game for Oklahoma
FINAL ANALYSIS
With all due respect to Texas and Mack Brown, these were the two most dominating teams in college football at the end of the season. Both have Heisman Trophy winners at quarterback. Both are filled with future NFL talent. They are the championships of the best two college football conferences in the country this season.
These are the best two teams in the country when it comes to taking care of the football. Oklahoma has only nine turnovers this season to lead the nation. Florida had only 11 turnovers. So to me, the game will absolutely come down to which team makes the crucial mistake at the most critical period of the game. I believe that with Florida’s overall team speed, which is the best in the country, Oklahoma will make that critical mistake and Tebow, who was magnificent in the final quarter of the SEC championship game, will take advantage of it.
If you’re watching at home tonight, don’t leave your television set because something big may happen. This has a chance to be a game for the ages.
FINAL SCORE: FLORIDA 35, OKLAHOMA 31
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Can Florida hold Oklahoma to 31 points?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today we will finally get away and head down to South Florida for the BCS championship game. It’s going to be a busy Thursday for us. Here is what is coming up:
On Thursday morning I’ll break down my five keys to the game and give you the final winner and the score. Then just before the kickoff I’ll bring you up to date on the atmosphere at Dolphin Stadium and share some final thoughts.
During the game I’ll be on-line providing commentary and at various times. If you have questions or comments of your own during the game, jump in and we’ll discuss. When it’s all over I’ll provide some post-game analysis and you can tell me where I was all wrong.
But today, as I prepare to get on Delta and head South, I still have five burning questions about the BCS championship game:
1. Can Florida hold Oklahoma to 31 points? The Sooners led the nation in scoring by averaging 54 points per game. They set an NCAA record with 702 points (97 touchdowns, 8 field goals). Only two teams held Oklahoma to less than 40 points this season. TCU had the nation’s No. 2 defense and Oklahoma beat the Horned Frogs 35-10. Texas held Oklahoma to 35 and scored 45 to win in Dallas back on Oct. 11. I think the magic number for Florida is 31. If Florida can hold Oklahoma to 31, it can score enough points to win against a Sooner defense that was No. 58 nationally (24.5 ppg).
The Gators have the nation’s No. 4 scoring defense, giving up only 12.8 points per game. Oklahoma has faced only one defense like Florida’s and that belonged to TCU, which gave up 11.3 points per game this season. I also look for Florida to try to sustain some drives and eat up some clock in an effort to limit Bradford’s possessions.
2. Is Percy Harvin REALLY at 90 percent? You saw during the SEC championship game that Florida’s offense is effected when No. 1 is not on the field. Fortunately for Florida a bunch of guys stepped up and made plays in the fourth quarter, especially Tim Tebow. But when Harvin is out there the defense really has to obsess about his location on every single play and it opens up opportunities for other players. The bottom line is that Harvin at 90 percent is better than just about everybody else at 100 percent. I’m hearing his speed in practice is just fine. The uncertainty is about his ability to cut off that tender ankle. If he can make those sharp cuts, then the Oklahoma defense is going to have some problems.
3. How will the loss of DeMarco Murray really effect Oklahoma? Chris Brown actually led the Sooners in rushing his season with 1,110 yards and 20 touchdowns. But one of the reasons Oklahoma closed with five straight games over 60 points is that Murray (1,002 yards rushing), had become the team’s best big-play runner. Murray is out of Thursday night’s game with a ruptured hamstring and a lot of big play potential goes with him. But don’t be surprised of Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson gives some extra carries to sophomore Mossis Madu (111 carries, 468 yards) in an effort to pop some big plays against the Florida defense.
4. Will Florida really be affected by the status of Dan Mullen? Mullen, the new head coach at Mississippi State, decided to stay on as offensive coordinator and call the plays in the BCS championship game. Steve Addazio, Florida’s offensive line coach, will take over as the coordinator after this game. Mullen and Tebow are very close and basically share the same brain when it comes to calling plays during the game. Does that change because Mullen might be distracted with the demands of his new job? Everybody is saying all the right things and everybody is trying to make this work. But what happens when the lights come on and the game starts?
5. How many turnovers will there be? If the teams hold true to form, not many. When it comes to taking care of the football, it’s hard to find two better teams than these. Oklahoma had only nine turnovers all season, which is the lowest total in the country. Florida had only 11 turnovers, the second lowest total. The quarterbacks are ridiculous in this area. Tebow threw the ball 268 times this season and had only two interceptions. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, the Heisman Trophy winner, threw it 442 times and had only six interceptions. These are the top two teams in the nation when it comes to turnover margin, which I believe is the most important stat in football. Oklahoma leads the nation with plus-23 (32 turnovers gained, 9 lost) while Florida is plus-22 (33 gained, 11 lost). If either team forces more than two turnovers in this game, it wins.
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Garner, Searels decisions speak volumes about Richt
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just one man’s opinion as we prepare for the last game of the 2008 college football season:
1. The decisions by Garner, Searels, tell you volumes about Richt: The people who work in college football for a living will tell you that the most important quality a program can have, other than great players, is stability on the coaching staff. Hiring the wrong assistant coach or multiple assistants at the wrong time can put an otherwise decent program in the ditch. Just ask Auburn.
That is why, no matter who Georgia signs in February, head coach Mark Richt has already had a good recruiting season. The decisions by assistant head coach Rodney Garner and offensive line coach Stacy Searels, who turned down big money offers at Tennessee and Auburn to stay at Georgia, is a tribute to Richt and what he has built in Athens.
And while I’m at it, let me get this off my chest as we start the New Year. There is a reason that coaches work where they work and it’s not always about money. It’s about a quality of life. Garner and Searels like and respect the man they work for and they like the quality of life in Athens. In the “disappointment” of a 10-3 season there have been some on this blog who have tried the characterize Richt as some sort of choirboy who doesn’t have the gravitas to go head to head with the Urban Meyers and Nick Sabans of the world.
Gently put, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. And the decisions by Garner and Searles prove it.
2. Time to give Chizik some credit: I can’t think if a coaching hire that has been more widely second-guessed than Auburn’s decision to hire Gene Chizik. And yes, race was injected into the issue when Charles Barkley said what he said. But now it’s time to start giving the new head coach at Auburn some credit. He has made a couple of very inspired hires by bringing in Guz Malzahn as offensive coordinator and Trooper Taylor as assistant head coach. Taylor, who was one of Tennessee’s best recruiters before he went to Oklahoma State last season, is a great get for Auburn. He was a big reason why the Oklahoma State offense lit up the scoreboard this season.
My friend Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News pointed this out this morning but it bears repeating. Chizik has hired five assistant coaches thus far and four have been African-American. If you’re going to criticize Auburn for passing on Turner Gill as a head coach, you have to credit the school for having a diverse staff. Here is Kevin’s column.
3. Tennessee will have the highest paid staff in college football: Defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin will get a $1 million plus. Ed Orgeron, who is not even a coordinator, could be in the $600,000 range. Reports said Tennessee was prepared to pay Rodney Garner about $400,000 as a position coach. Tennessee has put out the word that it is going to hire the best coaching staff that money can buy.
In 2008, Tennessee spent $1.935 million on its assistant coaches. Before the hiring is done the budget for the Volunteer staff could double. It’s a good thing the new TV contracts with CBS and ESPN are getting ready to kick in. Tennessee is going to need the money.
In a recent poll in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, 63 percent of those who took part said that Tennessee was not overspending for its staff. Thirty percent said they were.
4. Texas will not win the AP national championship: The Longhorns made a great comeback to nip Ohio State at the buzzer in last night’s Fiesta Bowl. But I know the voters in the AP poll. I used to be one of them. They were looking for Texas to make a statement in last night’s game that they should share the national championship if Oklahoma beats Florida.
Texas looked sluggish in the first half and then got things cranked up in the second half behind Colt McCoy, who will definitely be in the Heisman discussion again next season.
Texas coach Mack Brown said that he will join Utah’s Kyle Whittingham and defy the rule that coaches must vote for the winner of the BCS championship game in the final USA Today coaches’ poll. He’s going to vote for Texas. I also predict, after talking with Brown last week, that he may not be a voter in the coaches’ poll next season. “I want to do what’s right but I also want to be fair to my team,” Brown told. “It’s just a conflict that we shouldn’t have as coaches. I’m going to do a lot of study and see if I should stay in.”
5. Tebow’s comments are a non-issue: Unfortunately, media day at the BCS national championship game has become like media day at the Super Bowl. It is a cluster you-know-what where the media desperately attempts to get a player to say something that will be a sound bite or a headline in an otherwise routine day. The players have to be coached to be boring instead of being themselves.
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said earlier that he would like to play against some of the defenses in the Big 12 like Texas and Oklahoma. So the media spent the first half of the day trying to get Tebow to admit that he was really dissing the Big 12. Tebow’s point was that he would like be on the same field with two of the great franchises in the history of the sport. But that’s boring.
Oklahoma defensive back Dominique Franks said that Tebow would be the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12. If I was a defensive back in the Big 12 and had seen Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell and Colt McCoy I would probably say the same thing. Franks was not knocking Tebow, he was taking up for his own league, which SEC players do all the time. But that’s boring.
Sometimes we in the media treat college football like it’s the WWE. At the end of the day it’s about who is going to win the game and why.
I know. That’s boring.
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By Friday, four teams could lay claim to national championship
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The 2008 college football season comes to close Thursday night when No. 1 Oklahoma (12-1) meets No. 2 Florida (12-1) for the BCS national championship. For a lot of people, that game in Dolphin Stadium will settle the question of which team is No. 1.
But come Friday morning we could have as many as four teams with a claim to at least a share of the national championship. Here is the case for each team. If you were a voter in the final polls, which team would you choose?
Oklahoma-Florida winner: The Big 12 and the SEC were the two strongest conferences all season (I’ll admit that there is some debate about the SEC) and these are the two champions who prevailed from those leagues. Florida’s loss was by one point to Ole Miss (31-30) and the Gators will have beaten two No. 1 teams (Alabama, Oklahoma) since Dec. 6. Oklahoma’s only loss was to Texas (45-35) on a neutral site and it will have beaten the SEC champion. Both of these teams were playing lights out at the end of the season and should give us a pretty compelling BCS championship game. But will the winner of this game be the best team in the country?
Texas (11-1): The No. 3 Longhorns have only one loss, which came at Texas Tech when the Red Raiders scored with one second left to win 39-33 in Lubbock on Nov. 1. Texas beat No. 1 Oklahoma head to head on a neutral field. If the Longhorns win convincingly tonight against No. 10 Ohio State (10-2) in the Fiesta Bowl, and if Oklahoma beats Florida, Texas will make its case for the Associated Press national championship. The 65 media members of the AP Poll are not obligated to vote for the winner of the BCS championship game. The voters in the coaches poll, by rule, must support the BCS winner. Of the 65 voters in the AP Poll, 50 voted for Florida in the last poll. If Florida loses those votes have to go somewhere. Does Texas get the sympathy vote because the BCS standings were also used to decide the Big 12 South title, thus knocking the Longhorns out of their shot to play for the big prize?
Southern Cal (12-1): Trojans coach Pete Carroll was pretty emphatic on New Year’s Day after his team jumped out to a 31-7 lead and trounced Penn State in the Rose Bowl. If you’re going to look at a one-loss team for the AP championship, why not us? USC lost to Oregon State (9-4) back on Sept. 25 and never could seem to get back in the mix. But after that loss nobody but Arizona (17-10) got close to the Trojans the rest of the season. In 2003 Southern Cal was No. 1 in the human polls but got squeezed out of the BCS championship game by the computers. The AP gave the Trojans their national championship and LSU won the BCS championship. Could they do it again?
Utah (13-0): As the only undefeated team in Division I-A, the Utes can make a very compelling case that if anybody is going to share the national championship, it should be them. It’s a pretty strong resume. Utah went on the road and beat Michigan (25-23) in its opener. The Utes won at Air Force (8-5). They beat Oregon State (31-28), the only team that beat Southern Cal. They beat TCU (11-2), a team that will finish in the final top ten. TCU’s only other loss was to No. 1 Oklahoma. And finally, Utah played No. 4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and won 31-17. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is obligated to vote for the winner of the BCS championship game in the final poll. He’s not going to do it. He’s voting for his Utes. Good for him.
Again, if you were a voter in the final polls, which of these teams would you pick and why?
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Alabama could not overcome the loss of Smith
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I don’t normally do this blog on Saturdays, but I felt compelled to share a few thoughts about Alabama’s 31-17 loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl last night:
1. Bama could not overcome the loss of Andre Smith: Georgia learned this lesson early in the season. When you lose your starting left tackle on offense it impacts the entire line. Smith, the Outland Trophy winner, was suspended for contact with an agent’s representative that violated school rules. Smith’s replacement, converted guard Mike Johnson, was hurt early in the game and from that point on Alabama was scrambling to put an offensive line together. Utah took complete advantage of that by sacking quarterback John Parker Wilson eight times and hurrying him countless others. Even for really good teams, some personnel losses are bigger than others. To me this loss eliminates the possibility that Smith comes back for this senior season. As I said earlier in the week, Smith is a great, great player. This loss, however, pretty much guarantees that he won’t be embraced by the Crimson Tide Nation. That’s sad.
2. Utah was the aggressor: Give Utah all the credit in the world. They had been hearing for a month how the bigger, stronger Alabama team from the SEC was going to wear them down and knock them out in the second half. Utah came out smoking behind quarterback Brian Johnson to take a 21-0 lead. And when Alabama made its run to close the gap to 21-17, the Utes didn’t panic. They came back with a touchdown drive that was aided by a couple of missed Alabama tackles by Kareem Jackson to get a touchdown and go up by 28-17. That is when I knew that Utah was going to win. They didn’t blink. That is a well-coached football team.
3. Do you think Utah watched the Florida-Alabama tape? Utah seemed to have a good idea of what would work against that Alabama defense. That offense was installed at Utah when Urban Meyer of Florida was the head coach four seasons ago. It stands to reason that Utah spent a lot of time watching the fourth quarter of the SEC championship game when Florida had two impressive touchdown drives against Alabama.
4. So where do you vote Utah now? The Utes, who were No. 6 in the BCS Standings coming into the game, will finish as the only 13-0 team in Division I-A football. They won at Michigan, who wasn’t very good but winning at the Big House is still impressive. They beat Oregon State (31-28), which won nine games and beat Southern Cal. They beat No. 11 TCU (13-10), which finished 11-2 and beat Boise State, which was undefeated and ranked No. 9 at the time. And finally they beat the nation’s No. 4 team, which was ranked No. 1 for five weeks this season, in Alabama’s back yard. The voters in the Associated Press poll are not bound to vote for the winner of the BCS championship game against Oklahoma and Florida. Fifty of the 65 votes were cast for Florida in the final poll. If Oklahoma (12-1) wins, how many of those votes go to Utah? Where would you rank Utah in the final poll?
5. The little guys have made their case for better access: Four times in the past five seasons the non-BCS conferences have earned their way into a BCS game. They have won three of those games:
2004: Utah over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.
2006: Boise State over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
2008: Utah over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Under the new BCS contract, which goes into effect for the 2010 regular season, the five non-BCS conferences are going to ask for greater access to the five games. Right now those conferences are limited to one spot for placing a team in the final top 12. They would like to be rewarded with another spot if they have three teams in the Top 12 (No. 6 Utah, No. 9 Boise State, No. 11 TCU) as they did this season. Those are going to be some interesting discussions.
BONUS QUESTION
So what happens to Alabama now? This game confirmed what a lot of people close to the program were saying privately all season: Alabama was a good, but not a great, football team. Nick Saban and his coaching staff got every ounce of production out of the talent they had. Alabama was very good on the offensive and defensive lines, but had clearly liabilities in other areas. So when the offensive line, which was the strength of the team, was damaged Alabama wasn’t good enough at the quarterback position to overcome it. Defensively, Alabama was exposed in the final two games against Florida and Utah.
The truth is that Alabama was at least a year ahead of schedule in 2008. With the way Saban and his staff are recruiting, there are very bright days ahead. Alabama may lose Kevin Steele, one of their best recruiters, in the coming days. Steele is the top choice to become the next defensive coordinator at Clemson.
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One Man’s Opinion: Moreno stays; Stafford goes
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Looking back on Jan. 1 and ahead to today’s games:
1. One man’s opinion: Moreno stays. Stafford goes: David Greene has to get the nod as Georgia’s best quarterback ever because he won an SEC championship and more games than any QB in history. But there has never been a Georgia quarterback more talented than Matthew Stafford. He was magnificent in the second half of yesterday’s Capital One Bowl, making every big throw that Georgia needed to pull away and win. Stafford has everything the NFL is looking for in a quarterback and, I believe, will soon learn that he will be the first quarterback taken in the draft should he decide to come out. Selfishly, I would love to see him come back because I’m a college football guy and we don’t see that many truly great quarterbacks come along. But I’m betting the sheer numbers involved tell Stafford to go. Hope I’m wrong.
Running back Knowshon Moreno will be a star in the NFL as long as he stays healthy. But there are going to be a bunch of really good running backs in this draft. Iowa’s Shonn Greene has already announced that he is leaving. Ohio State’s Beanie Wells may also go. If Stafford goes out there is no question that next season’s Georgia offense will be built around Moreno. I think he comes back and makes a run at the Heisman Trophy.
2. It’s painful watching South Carolina and The Ball Coach: I did not think it was possible for a team coached by Steve Spurrier to look so bad. We all knew that South Carolina really didn’t belong in a New Year’s Day bowl (the Outback) because the Gamecocks were so disjointed at the end of the season. Part of me thought Spurrier would rally his troops and put forth a really good effort against a decent Iowa team. Instead what South Carolina fans got was a pretty embarrassing performance. Iowa kicked South Carolina’s butts in just about every possible way and the Gamecocks finished 7-6. Now we get word that two of South Carolina’s best players—cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and linebacker Eric Norwood—are going to leave school early and turn pro. There needs to be a lot of soul searching in that football program in the offseason because something is not right.
3. Southern Cal could be the best team in the country: I thought Penn State’s defense was good enough to keep yesterday’s Rose Bowl with Southern Cal reasonably close. But the Trojans just steamrolled Joe Paterno’s team and the final score (38-24) did not reflect USC’s dominance. After the game coach Pete Carroll said his team could compete with anybody in the country and I think he is right. Southern Cal paid dearly for a road loss to Oregon State on Sept. 25. This would have been a really good year to have a four team playoff, or “Plus-One,” as SEC Commissioner Mike Slive likes to call it. Think there would have been any interest in semifinals that matched No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 Southern Cal and No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas?
Yes, Alabama fans, I know your team finished No. 4 in the BCS standings. But I believe very strongly that if the voters knew they had to put four teams in a playoff instead of just two, they would have voted USC at No. 4 and Alabama No. 5. Is that fair to Alabama? Of course not, but that is what I believe would have a happened.
4. Frank Beamer did his best coaching job ever: When Virginia Tech lost its opener to East Carolina, there were people—seemingly intelligent people—who thought that Frank Beamer was losing his touch. It looked bad for the Hokies because they had the worst of all worlds: a young defense, inconsistency at quarterback, and uncertainty at running back. But Virginia Tech’s defense improved every week, as it usually does under Bud Foster, and Beamer held his team together. The Hokies won their third ACC championship in the five seasons since they joined the league. And with last night’s 20-7 win over Cincinnati in the Orange Bowl, Virginia Tech has won 10 or more games in five straight seasons. Only Southern Cal and Texas can make that same claim. And speaking of coaching, when will one of these schools wise up and hire Foster as a head coach? There is no way this should have been a dominating defense this season at Virginia Tech. The man knows how to coach.
5. The SEC will go 3-0 today: Am I the only person on the planet who thinks Ole Miss will beat Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl? Based on the ESPN surveys there aren’t many of us. I know Texas Tech throws the ball all over the place but I also know that Ole Miss has some athletes up front and is fifth in the nation in quarterback sacks with 37.
It will be an ugly game, but remember that Kentucky has a chance to make history in today’s Liberty Bowl against East Carolina. The Wildcats have never won three straight bowls in the history of the school but could do exactly that today. In fact, this is only the second time that Kentucky has even PLAYED in three straight bowl games. The ‘Cats did it back in 1949-51 under Bear Bryant.
Alabama will prevail over undefeated Utah tonight in the Sugar Bowl. It will happen through the sheer force of Nick Saban’s will. Now this is not going to be an easy game for Alabama. Utah is a solid, well-coached football team. And the Alabama offense may be a little disjointed early because OT Andre Smith is gone. But over the course of 60 minutes Alabama will wear Utah down and pull away in the fourth quarter. Alabama will finish 13-1 and ranked in the final top five. That’s a pretty remarkable achievement in Saban’s second year.
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Five things we will learn on New Year’s Day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jacksonville, Fla.—Happy New Year everybody! I’m in Jacksonville today to work the Gator Bowl for CBS with Tim Brando and Spencer Tillman. We’re looking for a fun game between Clemson and Nebraska. We’ll talk more about that game in a minute.
The biggest shock of the college bowl season was the way that Georgia Tech was simply manhandled by LSU last night in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. During dinner a number of Clemson fans came up to us in absolute shock with the way that Tech was just getting dominated by the Tigers. LSU was obviously ready to play and excited about being in the game. Just shows you how many athletes are still in that program.
And for Georgia Tech it was a painful, sobering reminder that as far as the Yellow Jackets came in Paul Johnson’s first season, they still have a long way to go if they aspire to win an ACC championship.
But on to today, which is still one of the best days of the year for a college football fan. I read on another blog recently where someone questioned if New Year’s Day was still relevant when it came to the sport that we all love. After all, the national championship is no longer decided on Jan. 1 and the biggest games are spread out over several days. All of that is true but there are still compelling stories that will be played out during this day and evening. Here are just a few:
1. Redemption for Clemson and James Davis: Seasons are not only defined by wins and losses but by images. On Oct. 13, when Tommy Bowden stepped down as head coach, I thought Clemson’s season would be defined by the tear-streaked face of Clemson running back James Davis of Atlanta. Davis was so upset because he had passed on a chance to go to the NFL in hopes of having a special senior season with his teammates. On that day all of those dreams appeared to be over for him. But under Dabo Swinney Clemson fought its way back and is playing on New Year’s Day against Nebraska. Davis is smiling again and with 112 yards today against the Cornhuskers he will become the leading rusher in Clemson history. “I want to win this game more than any in my life,” Davis told me yesterday. A lot of family has come down from Atlanta to share this moment with Davis.
2. Will Georgia play like a proud football team? Few teams ranked preseason No. 1 have been beaten up more than Georgia has during a 9-3 season in 2008. I think today’s game with Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl is huge for the offseason conditioning program and for recruiting. Georgia needs to take care of business to show that they have an ability to bounce back. Also, it’s a pretty good bet that Florida will be the nation’s No. 1 team in the preseason polls for 2009. The target will be on the backs of the Gators which will give Georgia motivation in the offseason. Lose to Michigan State and Georgia starts next season in a deeper hole. It’s time for some leaders to step up on this team and show some pride. I’ll be watching to see if that happens.
3. Stephen Garcia returns home: South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is from Tampa and will get the start today when the Gamecocks face Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Garcia had a chance to practice at his old high school where he was welcomed back as a hero. If you have followed Garcia’s career, he has done very little that has been heroic as a college football player. But if the South Carolina defense can at least slow down Iowa running back Shon Greene, the nation’s No. 2 rusher (144.08 ypg), Garcia may be able to lead the Gamecocks to a victory they so desperately need. South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier needs some good energy going into the offseason. His quarterback needs to step up and give it to him.
4. Virginia Tech is carrying the ACC banner: After losses yesterday by Boston College (to Vanderbilt in the Music City) and by Georgia Tech, the ACC is now 3-5 in its bowl games. The league needs for Clemson and Virginia Tech to win today to at least finish 5-5. There is a lot of pressure on Virginia Tech, the ACC champion, to beat Big East champion Cincinnati in tonight’s Orange Bowl. I was in Miami on Monday and I can tell you that the Hokies are very aware that the ACC has lost eight straight BCS games, a streak that league officials would like to be snapped. Virginia Tech played in the Orange Bowl last season and lost to Kansas. “We learned some things from being here last year and have made some adjustments,” coach Frank Beamer told me. “We want to win this game for our school but also for the ACC. That is important to us.” Cincinnati (11-2) is a very good team but I’m giving Virginia Tech the edge because of its defense and because the Hokies are used to being on the big stage. This is the first BCS bowl game ever for the Bearcats.
5. Can Penn State keep it close? I’ve had a lot of people write and tell me that they think Southern Cal (11-1) is the best team in the country and would definitely beat Oklahoma, Florida or Texas in a head-to-head matchup. If the Trojans take care of business today against Penn State (11-1) in the Rose Bowl, those arguments will be stronger than ever. You have to pick USC because of their defense, which leads the nation in just about every major category. Here is a stat that jumped out at me: USC shut out its opponents in the second half EIGHT times in a 12-game schedule. USC coach Pete Carroll is in his seventh straight BCS game. The only question I have is whether or not Joe Paterno’s team can score enough points to keep it close. Between Ohio State getting beat in the last two BCS championship games and Illinois getting crushed in last year’s Rose Bowl (by USC), the Big Ten doesn’t need to get embarrassed again on the national stage. I’m just not sure this Penn State team is good enough to avoid that.
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