College Football: Week 14 Wrap-Up

#7 Oregon def. #16 Oregon State 37-33
I learned all I needed to know about this game in the first half of the first quarter. Oregon's first possession lasted only about 30 seconds and 5 yards before Jeremiah Masoli was intercepted. Oregon State promptly drove 22 yards to the end zone and Oregon was down 7-0 just over three minutes in. I think the way a team reacts to adversity says everything, and what did Oregon do? Marched 77 yards in 8 plays to tie the game. All in all, it was a good showing for Beavers QB Sean Canfield and the magnificent Rodgers brothers, but the trio of Masoli, LaMichael James and returned bruiser LeGarrette Blount was too much to handle. On to Pasadena.

Central Michigan def. Ohio 20-10
Man, I love small time football. Big time record set here though, as Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour became the all time FBS leader in touchdowns. Congrats Dan, hope to see you in the NFL. Oh yeah, the game. Kind of slow, I guess, but Lefevour was good, as was Chippewa RB/WR Antonio Brown. Ohio's QB Theo Scott had some good moments, but was for some unclear reason unable to throw a screen pass, which made it very hard for him to run his offense. He also pretty much gave up any chance to win when he was sacked out of field goal range with the Bobcats down 20-10 in the 4th quarter. Live and learn...

#5 Cincinnati def. #15 Pittsburgh 45-44
Some teams just love to lose. Michigan State, the Buffalo Bills, and now we can add Pitt to the list. This is the second week in a row they blew a game in which they were obviously the better team. Cincinnati didn't look too good either, seemingly hampered by the snow and also by a massive team wide choke in the first half. Looked a little like Brian Kelly didn't have his team ready to play, which of course makes me wonder what the Fighting Irish brass thought. So can Cincinnati stop Dion Lewis? No. Lewis was good, but Pitt's offensive line dominated and Lewis often wasn't touched until he already had a three yard gain. Can Pitt keep the Bearcats from scoring 50? Technically yes, but not really. Did I jinx Bill Stull? Complicated. He wasn't particularly good, but then again, when your running back has 50 touches, how involved can you be? Generally, a shootout doesn't come down to one play, but then the Pitt holder dropped the extra point snap. D'oh.

Arizona def. #18 USC 21-17
How the mighty have fallen! USC somehow forgot AGAIN that McKnight is their best weapon and instead put Mr. Barkley in some tough situations he wasn't experienced enough to handle. The Trojans also used all of their second half timeouts before the closing minutes of the game, which hurt 'em a bit in the end. Maybe this is just because I'm used to them being so good, but it looks like they aren't really trying. And what do you get for that? 6th in the Pac-10 and a bowl date with the Jesuits of the Northeast.

#2 Alabama def. #1 Florida 32-13
I feel kind of stupid for blowing this call. I knew Alabama had a more complete team and I also knew that Florida basically hadn't played a decent team all year (someone called it a 12 game preseason). I just overestimated the Tebow factor. As did Tebow, obviously. And Urban Meyer. And for a lone Florida drive before the half, it looked like Tebow might lead them back into the game. But while Florida's offense was by no means good, the game was lost by the defense, which was on its heels from the very beginning of the game. Alabama put together several incredibly long drives and I actually think what you saw was a 49-13 blowout hampered by Alabama's plodding (although steady) offense. Good news for Texas (and excuse me for being vulgar): McElroy probably shot his wad on this one. It's hard to imagine him playing so far above himself twice in a row.

#3 Texas def. #22 Nebraska 13-12
Blech. If you take this game and the Oregon/Boise State travesty at the beginning of the season, you have disaster bookends to the regular season. Texas looked really really really tight. I kept thinking they would get over it and just throw short passes to Shipley all night, but they never did. The Cornhuskers had a fantastic defensive game plan (kudos to Bo Pelini for providing Alabama with a blueprint) and possibly the best punter/kicker I've ever seen, but on the other side of the ball...well, an ESPN column referred to them as "the team that offense forgot". No matter how many sacks Ndamukong Suh has, 32 yards in an entire half of football just isn't going to get it done. And so, despite the fact that Texas was completely unable to protect Colt McCoy, despite the fact that Texas had significant trouble with a very mediocre team, they're going to the national championship.

This Week's 'Yell at the TV' Moment: After Nebraska intercepted Colt McCoy on Texas' first drive, they faced a 4th and 1 in field goal range and Bo Pelini decided to go for it, which I thought was incredibly dumb. Pelini has to know how god-awful his offense is. Even if you make the first down, what are the odds that you make two more and score the touchdown (they didn't, by the way, and kicked the field goal anyway)? And if you don't make it, wow, momentum right back to Texas. I'm usually in favor of making an early game statement, but this was an early game bluff.

In other news: During the Civil War, ESPN displayed a stats comparison between Colt McCoy and Nebraska QB Zac Lee. That's just mean.....Have you ever seen slower crawling than that Oregon lineman's attempt to pick up that Ducks fumble in the backfield? It looked like a slow motion replay.....Sad play of the week: Oregon State is lucky to have a really crappy punt called back because of a false start. On the second iteration, the punter does even worse.....After USC fullback Stanley Havili was called for a personal foul for spiking the ball in frustration after a play, the announcers said they didn't think that should be a penalty. I disagree wholeheartedly. Havili spiked the ball five yards out of bounds forcing the ball boys to crawl under the bench to get it. Despite our incredible ability to tolerate them from athletes, temper tantrums are definitely unsportsmanlike conduct.....Tim Tebow really needs to work on his poker face. I understand that it was disappointing, but who cries during a blowout? You have so much time to get used to the idea!.....Did anyone notice Blake Gideon dropping an INT in much the same manner as he did last year against Texas Tech? Almost cost his team a national championship two years in a row.....Great Musburger quote: Ndamukong is dominating! (He was though. Great to see a defensive player invited to the Heisman ceremony)

College Football: Week 14 Preview

Thursday, 8PM: #16 Oregon State at #7 Oregon
The Civil War (you gotta love matchups that have special names), Beavers and Ducks, and the battle for who beats Ohio State in the Rose Bowl (I was apparently incorrect about Oregon clinching the Pac-10 with the win over Arizona, but I got that from ESPN, so you can blame them!).
Prediction: Well, I watched a couple of Oregon State games last year, but I haven't seen them this year which means I haven't had a look at former and now again starting quarterback Sean Canfield. But put the fact that the Beavers were routed at home last year with the fact that they have to go into Autzen tomorrow night and you've got yourself a Ducks win. Quack quack.

Friday, 7PM: Ohio vs. Central Michigan
This will be Central Michigan QB Dan Lefevour’s third MAC Championship game in four years. I can’t really say I know how good of a matchup it will be, but Lefevour is always fun to watch and it will be a good nationally televised chance for him to show his stuff to the NFL so he should be ready to go. Remember, this is a guy whose numbers have been better than Tebow’s!
Prediction: Gotta go with the Chippewas here. They've had a great season, including beating Michigan State in September, and they won't drop the ball here.

Saturday, 11AM: #5 Cincinnati at #15 Pittsburgh
Pitt made this one quite a bit less exciting by letting West Virginia beat 'em last weekend. Still, it's for the Big East championship and the automatic BCS bid, which could have big implications for TCU and Boise State.
Prediction: Tough one here. Can Cincy's weak defense stop Dion Lewis at all? Can Pitt hold the ball long enough to keep the Bearcats from scoring 50? Will I contine to jinx Bill Stull? In the end, I think a quick scorer beats a plodder (spoken like a true disappointed Big Ten fan) and I have to pick Cincinnati.

Saturday, 2:30PM: Arizona at #18 USC
This year is the entire Pac-10's chance to knock of USC, so it's fun seeing who takes advatage of it. I was impressed with Arizona QB Nick Foles' performance against Oregon and I'd like to see if he can duplicate it here. Meanwhile, it will be nice to check in on the Trojans, who I haven't seen since they were steamrolled by Oregon.
Prediction: Arizona's on a nice little high after beating rival Arizona State and I think they'll ride it out here. Plus, I learned my lesson about picking USC in the Oregon game...

Saturday, 3PM: #1 Florida at #2 Alabama
The Granddaddy of 'em All. No wait, that's something different. But this one's exciting nonetheless, since it functions like a national semifinal for the second straight year. I just hope Florida will be showing off those white helmets again - those were nice.
Prediction: I do think Florida's defense will have some trouble with Ingram, but you just can't bet against Tebow in these situations. Alabama does have a good defense, but all it takes is a couple of touchdowns. And frankly, I'd rather see a Florida-Texas championship game. Go Gators.

Saturday, 7PM: #3 Texas vs. #22 Nebraska
Big 12 Championship and the last chance for Texas to crumble and give us a little more BCS intrigue. Bo Pelini's team can always be counted on for some decent defense even if the offense and QB Zac Lee are a little...lacking.
Prediction: Texas. Not even close.

For anyone who isn't so into the above games, it might be worth it to watch #21 Houston at East Carolina or South Florida at Connecticut. I'd watch the latter myself if I were going to be home. But alas, people's birthdays take precedence :)