Though the SEC has a strong hold on the BCS top ten, filling spots 4-9, all deservingly so, it appears that the unprecedented 6 straight title game appearances will come to an abrupt end after “Johnny Football”(which is now a trademark, btw) and the Aggies delivered a shot to the chin of Nick Saban and the all might tide, by downing them 29-24 on Saturday. A lot can be taken from this; down goes Goliath, who many thought would not be beat for years to come, or the continuing emergence of Johnny “Football” Manziel, which appears to be the most exciting player since Reggie Bush of the All-Century Trojans. But don’t count the SEC out of it yet. After all, there is three weeks of football left, and well yeah, it’s the BCS.
#1 Kansas State
Hard to argue against K State. They play sound , mistake free football, they are well disciplined, which could correlate with the morals and ethics of their coach, who turned 183 last week. They aren’t overly exciting to watch, but they are sound, and have a tank in Collin Kleinl eading the way. They win out and they are in. A clash with Texas at the duration of the regular season, will be watched by nearly every fan in the country, especially those with hopes of playing in Miami. Texas has played much better the last four weeks, improving in every major defensive category, and since being benched two weeks ago, QB David Ash is 36-50 for 628 yards with 5 touches versus no turnovers, while improving his completion percentage by 13 points. Look for a hard fought game,that if won by K State, will have punched their ticket to Miami.
Hard to argue against K State. They play sound , mistake free football, they are well disciplined, which could correlate with the morals and ethics of their coach, who turned 183 last week. They aren’t overly exciting to watch, but they are sound, and have a tank in Collin Kleinl eading the way. They win out and they are in. A clash with Texas at the duration of the regular season, will be watched by nearly every fan in the country, especially those with hopes of playing in Miami. Texas has played much better the last four weeks, improving in every major defensive category, and since being benched two weeks ago, QB David Ash is 36-50 for 628 yards with 5 touches versus no turnovers, while improving his completion percentage by 13 points. Look for a hard fought game,that if won by K State, will have punched their ticket to Miami.
#2 Oregon
A few years ago you could argue that the Ducks defensive was inferior to the explosive offense. Hardly the case these days. Minus the USC game in which they gave up 51, to one of the most talented offenses on paper in recent memory, the Ducks are giving up just 19.1 points per contest. Granted, the Duck offense scoring early, and very often, could have a psychological impact on opposing offenses,none the less, teams don’t score on the Ducks. Score a lot, create turnovers. That’s Duck football. The Ducks have a tough stretch of games to close the year with Stanford, Oregon State, and more than likely UCLA in the Pac12 championship game. The Ducks are used to being in this position, and I feel that Chip Kelly has the best coached team in all of football. The Ducks may stumble, but they won’t fall. And will ultimately end up in Miami as the number one team in the land.
A few years ago you could argue that the Ducks defensive was inferior to the explosive offense. Hardly the case these days. Minus the USC game in which they gave up 51, to one of the most talented offenses on paper in recent memory, the Ducks are giving up just 19.1 points per contest. Granted, the Duck offense scoring early, and very often, could have a psychological impact on opposing offenses,none the less, teams don’t score on the Ducks. Score a lot, create turnovers. That’s Duck football. The Ducks have a tough stretch of games to close the year with Stanford, Oregon State, and more than likely UCLA in the Pac12 championship game. The Ducks are used to being in this position, and I feel that Chip Kelly has the best coached team in all of football. The Ducks may stumble, but they won’t fall. And will ultimately end up in Miami as the number one team in the land.
#3 Notre Dame
ND has run the table thus far, after Pitt decided they didn’t want to play hero last week, and gave the Irish the game in overtime. ND has a show down with USC on the 24th, and look for ND to blow there shot at the title, and we can finally stop hearing how deserving ND is for a shot at the title game.
ND has run the table thus far, after Pitt decided they didn’t want to play hero last week, and gave the Irish the game in overtime. ND has a show down with USC on the 24th, and look for ND to blow there shot at the title, and we can finally stop hearing how deserving ND is for a shot at the title game.
#4 Alabama & #5 Georgia If two of these three were to lose, the #4 Alabama/#5 Georgia match up in the Georgia Dome becomes the most intriguing game of the year. Assuming the circumstances, the winner of this game more than likely ends up with a shot in Miami, taking on the Ducks. Now, UGA doesn’t have a Johnny Manziel at the helm, but the Dawgs pose a good match up against the Tide. The Tide’slack of a dominant pass rusher (which has to be intriguing to recently de-committed defensive end Robert Nkemdiche) favors UGA’s big offensive line. The UGA defense will do their part in taming the ‘basic’, for lack of better words, offense of Alabama. It will come down to the leadership and play of QB Aaron Murray to step up and lead his team, and claim the SEC trophy, and put themselves in position for Miami. The scariest part of this scenario for UGA fans has to be relying on Mike Bobo to call a good game. Ask 96% of Georgia fans, (the 4% being Mark Richt, and Bobo’s kinfolk)and this is a nearly impossible task.
I feel K State loses close to Texas, and USC ultimately routes ND. Georgia gives it everything they have against Bama, from the ball boy (who will let out a little air from the balls for Murray, without being caught) to the fans cursing Bobo from the comfort of their recliner, and they pull it out close on December 1st, 29-24 over the Crimson Tide.
So we’ll end up with a UGA vs. Orgeon Title Game, in which is sure to be a great match up that even I would pay to see. But good news is, there is only one remaining year of this BCS format, at which time we will get a playoff system, that we will continue to complain on how it is not a fair way of choosing. Ahhhh, gotta love college football.
– The Cawthron Column
No comments:
Post a Comment