Jan 7, 8:30pm FOX, The BCS National Championship Game, #1 Ohio State (11-1) vs #2 Louisiana State (11-2)
Well, its here folks. The mythical national championship game is upon us. OSU vs LSU for all the marbles. In a season that did nothing but prove that a playoff is needed to crown a championship, we are given this game for all the marbles. Who’s gonna take home the trophy? Let’s take a look…
OFFENSE: The edge here goes to LSU. They have athletes coming out the wazoo on offense, and we already know Les Miles won’t hesitate to make the gutsy call. They have a rotating qb system led by SR Matt Flynn and Ryan Perrilloux and a whole slew of running backs that can get it done, with Jacob Hester being the main horse. In a defensive struggle, I give them the nod. Ohio State is too vanilla on offense for my taste. Beanie Wells is an okay back, but nothing overtly special, just another typical Big 10/11 back. Todd Boeckman, despite being hyped by Jessie Palmer and ESPN, is nothing special at all; his saving grace is that he isn’t known to make dumb decisions.
DEFENSE: This is where the NFL calibur talent exists in this game. Glenn Dorsey, despite being injured by a cut block by Auburn, is a beast; look for him to take at least a double-team all game, he is an impact player. James Laurinitis is the main man on the Ohio State defense, he is very good but not great; I suspect if he played for anyone other than Ohio State that he would not be an all-american, but I digress. At any rate, this will be a defensive struggle with LSU having the ever-so-slight edge.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The edge clearly goes to LSU. Les Miles will pull out all the stops in this area (see: USC game). OSU isn’t bad on special teams but LSU is coached up much more and executes better.
Look for LSU to celebrate in their home away from home tonight.
Now that the lower-tiered bowls are out of the way, I can focus on the BCS previews. For these, I will go a little more in-depth than the previous picks.First up, “The Granddaddy of them All.”
Jan 1, 4:30pm ABC, The Rose Bowl, #6 Southern California (10-2) vs #13 Illinois (9-3)
When this matchup came up, I was very puzzled to say the least. Although Illinois had a very good year, especially considering their previous years, the Big10/11 was A-W-F-U-L this year. I understand the “tradition” of the Rose Bowl dictates a Pac10 vs Big10/11 showdown, but seriously the Rose Bowl needs to get over itself and start playing nicely with others. They need to give people games they want to see, and not be so locked into mindless tradition.
At any rate, when Southern California (notice how I do not say USC because that team resides in Columbia, SC) has the ball, look for them to lull Illinois to sleep with their stable of dominating running backs, then strike quick with the play action. Look for TE Fred Davis to have a good day against the Illini.
On the Illinois side of the ball, they have some definite playmakers. Rashard Mendenhall is an absolute monster, gaining 1526 yards on 245 carries this season, with QB Juice Williams sitting at 774 yards rushing and 1498 yards passing. Although the Illini are the definition of 1-dimensional, that one demension is utilized very well in the spread option scheme. Most importantly, they do not turn the ball over very much. Southern California is 4th in the nation in rushing defense, but they will still have their hands full with Illinois. The Zooker will be studying copious tapes of SoCal’s game against Oregon for inspiration.
Special teams seem to be a wash, with maybe a slight edge given to Illinois.
Les Miles is a dirtbag.If you haven’t heard by now, there are reports that Les Miles is in contact with Michigan.What are they in contact about you wonder?Well it’s not about the weather, I can tell you that much.Now rewind a couple of weeks ago and think back to how Miles crucified Kirk Herbstreit for reporting that there were talks going on between Miles and Michigan.Then think about how Miles had that dramatic press conference and talked about how he’s not going anywhere.Then think about how he went on Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN Radio and adamantly denied any knowledge of talks by him or his people with Michigan.Now think back to last week and how he signed an extension to stay with LSU for years to come and a hefty pay raise.Now think about today, and how reports have surfaced that he was in contact with Michigan regarding the head coaching job last Friday.What a piece of scum he is, assuming these reports are true.I don’t understand how someone can have the spine or nerve to be able to stand up infront of not only his team, but the sports nation and deny something when they are speaking nothing but lies.I don’t understand.I know people do it; I don’t know how they can.Realize that college athletes are held by their teeth to their commitments.They can’t just hop around one school to another at will the way coaches can.The fact that a coach can sign an extension, and then the following week, consider another job and be allowed to take it is absurd.And for those of you who are screaming that Les Miles has a buyout clause for the Michigan job stated in his contract, save your breath.I know what a buyout and opt out clause is, and I know how it works.But don’t sit here and tell me that it is meant for leaving the very next week!IT’S BEEN LESS THAN 10 DAYS SINCE HE SIGNED THE EXTENSION!If he wasn’t sure about staying at LSU and passing on the Michigan job, he shouldn’t have signed the extension!I could go on and on about this and how I think Miles is a complete prick, but I won’t.He’s not worth my breath.
Tom Brady is one bad white boy.I have made it clear all year long that I absolutely hate the New England Patriots.I hate their head coach, and I hate everything about that team.But man, watching Sportscenter made me sit back and laugh because it showed a clip of Tom Brady getting into the endzone after a touchdown pass, standing directly in the face of Anthony Smith, and absolutely going OFF.A Steeler came from behind and shoved him and Brady got in his face too.The refs came to break it up and as Brady was going back to his sideline, he was still nodding his head, pointing, and talking some smack to the Steelers.You can’t ever convince me that Tom Brady is a pretty boy because no pretty boy would get in the face of Steelers when he’s by himself and mouth off like that.I hate Tom Brady a lot less because of the balls he showed Sunday.It was a badass moment, to the say the least.
Power Rankings are NOT pointless.I had a discussion with Colin, who often posts his opinions on this very website.The conversation started when I said, “Man, ESPN isn’t giving any love to Boston (Celtics) in the power rankings.”He has been a Garnett fan for years, and now, naturally is a Boston fan.He responded by saying how the power rankings mean nothing and are pointless.Then, much to my dismay, he text messages me while I was asleep at 12:18am with “Why are the power rankings worthless?Because Orlando lost to the Hawks tonight and the Suns lost to Miami.”After cleaning up the water that I spilled as I fumbled for my blackberry, nearly destroying it, I decided I would respond to him in the morning…which is what I’m doing right now.
The power rankings are not pointless.The whole reason they exist is because people look at teams’ records in various leagues and try to determine which team is the best.An NFL team that is 7-2 may not be better in the opinions of many than a team that is 6-3.We then argue and state reasons why the 6-3 team is better, eventually leading to a discussion about the entire league, which then leads to power rankings.Power rankings are not full proof.They do not mean that a team is now allowed lose a game here and there, especially in the NBA.I’ll talk specifically about the NBA.Yeah, Orlando is ranked ahead of Boston because they’ve played harder teams whereas Boston hasn’t played anyone yet.Okay, the Hawks beat the Magic last night.That will hurt them in the rankings and they will drop slightly.Yeah, the Heat beat the Suns for the first time in 4 years.That doesn’t mean the Heat are suddenly better than the Suns and should be ranked ahead of them in the power rankings.It’s an 82 game season and the power rankings are based on your resume; who have you beaten, who have you lost to, and whose resume is the best looking.It’s similar to college football rankings.So, my point is, power rankings are not pointless.They are there for people to debate, argue, and enjoy.They take a conversation that every sports fan has, and put it on a sports website essentially.At some point, Colin and I were going to talk about who the best teams in the league are anyway.The power rankings that are already posted just give our conversation a starting point.And according to my power rankings for latest arguments and debates, I sit comfortably at the 1 spot while Colin is eating my dust from the 2 spot.
