College Football 2011

[oVo]

#24 Southern Mississippi stuns #6 Houston in the CUSA Title Game
49-28 to get the day off to rumbling start.

[strike wolf]

Georgia could be up 21-0 except there's been 2 dropped touchdown catches. Georgia leads 10-0. LSU has dealt with multiple 3 and outs. So far it really looks like Georgia wants it badly. GO DAWGS!

[oVo]

Bulldogs are off to a great start and the Tigers would be reeling
IF... Georgia could just catch the ball.

TWO potential touchdowns dropped in the first quarter as well as
an INT at LSU's end of the field.

A "Honey Badger" punt return makes it 10-7.

BUT... LSU has no first downs in the First Half --seven 3 & outs--
and 8 yards of offense.

[rockfist]

Redemption! UW 42 MSU 39.

My observation:

Michigan State is much better than most people give them credit for...no way they deserved to be big underdogs both times we played them.

[oVo]

Redemption! UW 42 MSU 39.

My observation:

Michigan State is much better than most people give them credit for...no way they deserved to be big underdogs both times we played them.

Absolutely... they were only a 2 loss team going into yesterday's game
and it took a running into the kicker penalty to save Wisconsin from a
second loss to Michigan State in the Championship rematch.

Clemson whalluped Va Tech in the ACC Championship and
Georgia's fast start was followed by 42 unanswered points.

[rockfist]

I agree that penalty was huge, but I would argue that even if it had not been called the game was not over even if MSU scored a touchdown, since there was close to two minutes left and UW had 3 timeouts. We would've needed a touchdown, quickly. We've scored quick touchdowns against MSU and others in the past this year, so while that penalty secured the win, it not being called would not have guaranteed a loss.

[oVo]

I agree that penalty was huge, but I would argue that even if it had not been called the game was not over even if MSU scored a touchdown, since there was close to two minutes left and UW had 3 timeouts. We would've needed a touchdown, quickly. We've scored quick touchdowns against MSU and others in the past this year, so while that penalty secured the win, it not being called would not have guaranteed a loss.

It was less than 2 minutes after the punt return and I won't say no penalty would have guaranteed a MSU win, since anything could have happened in the final minute. BUT... without the penalty or a final minute turnover, odds are it would have at least lead to overtime, which would have been a fitting end to this hard hitting rematch between two excellent teams.

[rockfist]

I thought that MSU played better last night than we did. But I thought we played better than they did the first time. The final score of both games would disagree with me, as would many observers, but that was my honest observations. Could've/Should've had overtime in both games.

[oVo]

Considering the way their first game ended, the long pass on 4th Down that put the Badgers in position to take the lead was a perfect moment. It's a shame a dumb penalty resulted in a first down to ice the game... unless you're a Wisconsin fan of course.

It was great beginning to end... I'm sure the First Quarter had everyone thinking this rematch was going to be dominated by the Badgers and to the Spartans' credit they fought back.

[strike wolf]

LSU-Alabama for an SEC rematch in the national title. The last one came down to a missed field goal in over time leading to a 9-6 LSU victory. The defense lived up to the reputation in the last game and both teams have only seemed to get better since. I think Alabama wins the rematch in another defensive battle.

As far as the Georgia-LSU game...I think it was closer than the final score shows...Yes Georgia slowed down in the second half and LSU was hitting on all cylanders but the first half alone was an amazing showing from Georgia and after a slow start in the third I feel they competed well from there. I wasn't really surprised by Georgia's offensive struggles in the second half. As much as some seem to want to praise our offense for not turning it over and Aaron Murray being a good quarterback our offense has been sub par all season and the funny thing about the turnover margin is that Georgia just either doesn't turn it over or they turn it over a lot so that stat is fairly deceiving. Aaron Murray has streaks of luck but for the most part his accuracy and maturity is still in the early stages of development (He isn't good at reading blitzes or throwing away the ball). I think Murray will be much better next year and I expect Georgia to repeat as the SEC East winner even in what will probably be a tougher SEC East (Florida recovering, Tennessee Maturing and I think South Carolina will be good again possibly without losing their running back to injury and their qb to getting kicked off) and maybe have a better chance at prevailing in the SEC championship game.

[oVo]

Aaron Murray started out the game with a hot hand and his receivers let him down. If Georgia had managed to take advantage of all their first half opportunities that game would likely have gone right down to the wire. But LSU is a deep team at all positions, with a lot of experienced talent that makes them tough down the stretch. After what the Bulldogs accomplished in the first half, I was surprised by the 42 unanswered points as the Tigers pulled away in the second.

I agree with you that Georgia should be a contender next year.

With both teams rested the LSU/Alabama rematch in the BCS Championship Game is a toss up and I have high expectations that it will be an awesome game. With the home field advantage, 'Bama was favored the first time these teams met and the Tigers escaped Tuscaloosa with the win. Two great coaching staffs with an abundance of talent to work with should make it a grand finale to this Bowl Season.

[AndyDufresne]

Overall, I'm not very enthused about too many of the bowl match-ups this year.


--Andy

[oVo]

There's a few good bowl matchups...

LSU vs Alabama - BCS Championship, New Orleans, LA

Kansas State vs Arkansas - Cotton, Arlington, TX

West Virginia vs Clemson - Orange, Miami, FL

Michigan vs Virginia Tech - Sugar, New Orleans, LA

Stanford vs Oklahoma State - Fiesta, Glendale, AZ

Wisconsin vs Oregon - Rose, Pasadena, CA

Ohio State vs Florida - Gator, Jacksonville, FL

Nebraska vs South Carolina - Capital One, Orlando, FL

Michigan State vs Georgia - Outback, Tampa, FL

Houston vs Penn State - Ticket City, Dallas, TX

Virginia vs Auburn - Chick-fil A, Atlanta, GA

Cincinnati vs Vanderbilt - Liberty, Memphis, TN

Georgia Tech vs Utah - Sun, El Paso, TX

Texas A&M vs Northwestern - Meineke, Houston, TX

Iowa vs Oklahoma - Insight, Tempe, AZ

Mississippi State vs Wake Forest - Music City, Nashville, TN

BYU vs Tulsa - Armed Forces, Dallas, TX

Washington vs Baylor - Alamo, San Antonio, TX

Florida State vs Notre Dame - Champs Sports, Orlando, FL

California vs Texas - Holiday, San Diego, CA

Toledo vs Air Force - Military, Washington D.C.

Louisville vs NC State - Belk, Charlotte, NC

Western Michigan vs Purdue - Little Ceasars, Detroit, MI

Missouri vs North Carolina - Independence, Shreveport, LA

Nevada vs Southern Mississippi - Hawaii, Honolulu, HI

Arizona State vs Boise State - MAACO, Las Vegas, NV

TCU vs Louisiana Tech - Poinsettia, San Diego, CA

Ohio University vs Utah State - Potato, Boise, ID

Temple vs Wyoming - Gildan, Albuquerque, NM

[Doc_Brown]

My thoughts on the choice of Alabama over OK State:
1) This isn't the first time a team failed to win its conference and still received a spot in the NC game. In 2001 and 2003, Big XII teams lost the conference championship game and then played for the National Championship.
2) While I think this is the first rematch in the BCS era, we've had NC game rematches before - notably Florida vs. Florida State in 1996.
3) The 2004 Auburn Tigers offer their condolences to a very worthy Big XII team getting passed over for the NC game and are just annoyed that it's Alabama exacting revenge for that year rather than Auburn.
4) The SEC has pushed for a +1 NC in the past. The proposal was supported by ACC but was always shot down by the Big10, Big12, and PAC10. Now that the current rules have affected teams from one of these conferences, maybe the proposal will get revisited.
5) Alabama isn't being given a mulligan anymore than OSU would have if they played for the NC. OSU had the chance to go the NC game, just so long as they win out. They cracked under the pressure, just like OU, Oregon, Stanford, and Boise State (you could probably throw Houston on that list, though they were never going to the NC game).
6) This wasn't just SEC coaches voting Alabama over OSU. All but one of the voting SEC coaches had UA at 2 and OSU at 3 (Saban ranked OSU at 4). Several other coaches from other conferences had OSU at 4 (or even 5 in the case of the Air Force coach). No coach ranked UA lower than 3rd (17 ranked them 3 and 43 ranked them 2).

[strike wolf]

It's definitely not a fluke that Alabama is in the title. I didn't think it would happen at first but some logic convinced me plus from what I've seen they and LSU are easily the best two teams. I think either one in any other year would still be playing for a National Title.

I won't pick scores but:

Ovo:

There's a few good bowl matchups...

LSU vs Alabama - BCS Championship, New Orleans, LA. I think Alabama wins the rematch.

Kansas State vs Arkansas - Cotton, Arlington, TX Have to go with the SEC here. Arkansas may have gotten blown out in both their losses but they came to the 2 best teams in the country (who have just seemed to be on a different level than everyone else they played this year). Should be a good match up.

West Virginia vs Clemson - Orange, Miami, FL, I think Clemson should win this one.

Michigan vs Virginia Tech - Sugar, New Orleans, LA As much as I'd like to root against the Big 10, I'm not convinced VT deserved a BCS bowl. Michigan wins.

Stanford vs Oklahoma State - Fiesta, Glendale, AZ. Andrew Luck has had a little bit of trouble in the big games. If he can get over that in this one Stanford cruises. If not OSU

Wisconsin vs Oregon - Rose, Pasadena, CA. I think Oregon has too much speed for the Badgers defense. Oregon wins.

Ohio State vs Florida - Gator, Jacksonville, FL Rematch of the game that started the SECs current NT streak. This has been a down year for Florida and Ohio State. I actually think Ohio State will win this time around but it should be close and I'm rooting for Florida.

Nebraska vs South Carolina - Capital One, Orlando, FL Should be a good game but I think SC will win.

Michigan State vs Georgia - Outback, Tampa, FL Obviously I can't root against the Dawgs and I honestly feel they will prevail.

Houston vs Penn State - Ticket City, Dallas, TX Houston should win this one.

Virginia vs Auburn - Chick-fil A, Atlanta, GA I think Auburn wins this one

Cincinnati vs Vanderbilt - Liberty, Memphis, TN Cincinnati should win

Georgia Tech vs Utah - Sun, El Paso, TX I think GT will win.

Texas A&M vs Northwestern - Meineke, Houston, TX. Texas A&M

Iowa vs Oklahoma - Insight, Tempe, AZ Oklahoma

Mississippi State vs Wake Forest - Music City, Nashville, TN I think Mississippi is better than their 6-6 record and should win this one.

Florida State vs Notre Dame - Champs Sports, Orlando, FL Hoping for Florida State.

California vs Texas - Holiday, San Diego, CA Texas should win this one.

Western Michigan vs Purdue - Little Ceasars, Detroit, MI

Missouri vs North Carolina - Independence, Shreveport, LA Missouri

Arizona State vs Boise State - MAACO, Las Vegas, NV. Boise State should win easily.

TCU vs Louisiana Tech - Poinsettia, San Diego, CA TCU

Ohio University vs Utah State - Potato, Boise, ID Utah State

Deleted the ones I didn't care to make an opinion. I know I picked a lot of SEC teams but I do feel the match ups in general favor the SEC this year.

[oVo]

While I agree that LSU and Alabama are the most balanced teams
and probably the best... I'm not totally convinced Oklahoma State
didn't earn a shot at the title game.

There are three 11-1 teams with schedules full of ranked teams
and the other two behind Bama will play in the Fiesta Bowl.

#2 Alabama's only loss was to LSU in overtime, but it was in Tusaloosa
and a game the Crimson Tide probably should have won. 9-6
Points For #15 (36.0) Points Against #1 (8.8 )
Last Game: Beat #24 Auburn 42-14

#3 Oklahoma State's only loss was in double overtime at Iowa State. 37-31
The way OSU shut down Oklahoma to claim the Big 12 Title was impressive.
The Sooners only TD of that game came in the final two minutes.
Points For #2 (49.3) Points Against #61 (25.8 )
Last Game: Beat #10 Oklahoma 44-10

#4 Stanford's one loss was on their home field to Oregon. 53-30
Points For #5 (43.6) Points Against #23 (20.3)
Last Game: Beat #22 Notre Dame 28-14

#1 LSU: 13-0 Points For #12 (38.5)Points Against #2 (10.5)
Last Game: Beat #14 Georgia 42-10 SEC Championship in Atlanta

I believe LSU and Oklahoma State will win their bowl games.

[oVo]

ARMY vs NAVY
While Navy has dominated this rivalry with their ground & pound rushing game lately,
today's installment has the potential to be the best match up in years.

[oVo]

It's been a great Bowl Season, with a lot of very close games,
including 3 BCS Overtimes already.
Michigan State blocks a Georgia FG attempt to win in the third OT,
Oklahoma State slips past Stanford with a FG in OT and
Michigan escapes Virginia Tech with a FG in OT.

IF Alabama beats LSU in their rematch it's possibly a 3 Way National Championship.
Oklahoma State spotted Stanford a 14 point lead before coming back and winning
it in OT. Stanford (and Andrew Luck) played a near perfect game and lost.

Only a LSU win provides an undisputed Championship.

[strike wolf]

I don't think it's going to be a disputed champion. The last time there was with LSU and USC it was because USC was already ranked #1 and there was the feeling they had been cheated out of the championship. When Auburn went undefeated the next year and won their bowl game there was no disputed champion. With all polls placing Alabama and LSU as #1 and #2 I don't feel there will be any surprise poll ranking OK State as #1. If they had blown out Stanford it might be a different story and while their victory was dramatic it wasn't like they took the spread and broke it by any significant amount.

As far as the Michigan State-Georgia game. It was a great effort by Michigan State to come back in the second half but it was really about blown opportunities for Georgia that made the difference. Ball on the 12 yard line 4th & 1, kick the field goal but instead they go for it and don't get it. Turnover get the ball in the red zone, miscommunications between QB and receivers forced to kick. Missed field goal in over time. The blocked kick was so low I wasn't sure if it was going to clear the bottom of the uprights. Crucial turnovers and every time it seemed like Georgia was getting momentum they either turned it over or the offensive line missed an assignment (1 out of every 2 to 3 plays there was an unblocked player because of an obvious missed assignment) leading to negative yards or a forced throw. I give Michigan State a lot of credit they played a good second half but Georgia let them back into the game.

On a related note, Aaron Murray does indeed have the potential to be one of the elite qbs in college but he needs to gain some consistency and learn when to throw the ball away. Right now he gets sacked too often when he should be able to scramble or throw it away (part of this was the offensive lines fault in this game but he does tend to hang onto the ball and stay in the pocket too long) and he turns the ball over too often.

All said and done, I like Georgia as the team to beat in the SEC east.

[oVo]

The Big 12 is 6-2 and the SEC is 4-2 in this year's Bowl games,
which is a strong statement about both Conference's strength.

On a day when a plane crash took the lives of 4 Oklahoma State coaches the football team traveled to Iowa State and after turning the ball over 5 times eventually lost the game in triple overtime late that night. 4th Ranked Stanford played a near perfect game in the Fiesta Bowl, dominating time of possession with Andrew Luck threw for 347 yards (27/31, 2TDs & 1 INT) while piling up 590 yards of total offense. Oklahoma State came back from a two TD deficit to tie the game 21 all at the Half and eventually win it in overtime. The game winning field goal at the Goal Line in OT was the only time the Cowboys led in this game and still it was a very impressive win. Brandon Weeden threw for 399 Yards (29/42, 3TDs & 1 INT) and that INT was a pick six on his very first pass of the game.

Alabama's only loss came on their home field in OT against top ranked LSU and the final BCS Standings is the smallest margin ever between #2 and #3. So the gap between these three teams isn't much at all... IF "Bama upsets LSU in the BCS Championship next week.

The second half of the Michigan State/Georgia game was what I expected it to be, as I thought both those teams matched up well against each other.

The climax of the Rose Bowl was disappointing when Wisconsin didn't get the ball spiked in the final seconds for one final play from the Oregon 25 yard line. That was a great game too and I really wanted to see it decided in overtime.

[oVo]

Last night was it...

#2 Alabama prevailed over #1 LSU with defense and five field goals, leaving three 1 Loss teams and me wondering how #3 Oklahoma State's offense would fair against the Tide.

I hoped for a great game, but it was anti-climactic. Bama was quick, crisp and inspired, while LSU bumbled about piling up offensive penalties, looking rusty and out of sync after the long layoff. The Tide's only penalty occurred with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game and their pass receivers made some great catches to generate the only offense in the game.

[AndyDufresne]

The game about summed up my disappointment overall in the bowl season.


--Andy

[strike wolf]

Last night was it...

#2 Alabama prevailed over #1 LSU with defense and five field goals, leaving three 1 Loss teams and me wondering how #3 Oklahoma State's offense would fair against the Tide.

I hoped for a great game, but it was anti-climactic. Bama was quick, crisp and inspired, while LSU bumbled about piling up offensive penalties, looking rusty and out of sync after the long layoff. The Tide's only penalty occurred with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game and their pass receivers made some great catches to generate the only offense in the game.

People are quick to say that LSU was out of sync but honestly that's how LSU's offense was most of the year, slow to get going and pick up momentum until someone does it for them. Alabama just exposed that weakness by never letting them get it going. Alabama also proved that there only loss of the season was indeed a fluke.

I'd also say that LSU played better than what it looked like. As far as being riddled with penalties, LSU had 5 penalties called against them and only 3 or 4 were called against the offense, I don't call that significant and would rather point out that Alabama only had 1 penalty all game and that came late in the 4th. Another thing about LSU's offense I think can be attributed to how well Alabama's defense played:

The option play which they seemed to expect would be the difference maker was just swallowed up by an Alabama team that proved quicker than the running back (Half the time the pitch man was chased down from behind). The Alabama team played physical overpowering LSU's offensive line and rarely missing tackles. Half the time, if not more Jefferson was under duress trying to throw. The big thing I would say is that LSU needed to call more shots down field, Alabama was playing zone and the safety on a couple plays came over a bit late to guard the receiver.

Let's not forget that the LSU defense actually did play well, for most of the game they were beating Alabama's line up front. The only problem is even when they did hit the Alabama runner whether it be Richardson or Lacey, they always fell forward for at least an extra yard. As far as passing, McCarron was under duress most of the game and had to make some pin point throws into a secondary that was covering well despite Alabama playing to their weaknesses to move the ball.

I know it's easy to say LSU was out of sync and they were but I give the majority of credit to how well Alabama played on all sides of the ball. They outplayed LSU on offense, outplayed them on defense and out played them on Special teams (their
Kick and punt defenses (when they had to use it) were great all night.) LSU even adjusted at half-time and Alabama adjusted with them.

[barackattack]

Click image to enlarge.

[oVo]

I agree... it was the Alabama Defense that was the difference and they did the job all game long. On offense the Crimson Tide couldn't uncork the running game and made it work through the air. Their receivers made a lot of great catches to keep possession and move the ball.

Alabama definitely rocked their world and LSU never solved it. They were out played last night by a dominant defense.