Well, the game is just about upon us. It’s sad, really, that we have to wait another nine months for college football to start up again.
I think this bowl season has served to remind us of the importance of varying styles and familiarity in college football. This is why I maintain that bowls don’t really give us a sound basis to judge a conference. Bowls often bring together teams with very different styles and the result is usually not what we’d see if the teams played each other more often. The bowls are laboratories, in a sense, one-time experiments that don’t necessarily translate to what the regular season was all about.
And so we’ll see two unique teams take the field on Thursday night. College football partisans from around the country will pore over the data in order to glean as much meaning as possible from what transpires.
If Florida wins, we are guaranteed to hear talk of SEC speed and talent being too much for other conferences. Never mind that Oklahoma and Florida are pretty evenly matched in the talent department, though Florida is an exceptionally fast squad. However, Florida beat the rest of the SEC (outside of Ole Miss, of course), by an average margin of 34 points. So how would Florida beating Oklahoma mean that the rest of the SEC is suddenly supreme? If OU loses by less than 34, can it then claim to have done better (on average) against Florida than the rest of the SEC? It’s silly.
Looking at this game, you can’t really compare opponents or stats. You have to look at what will happen when these two styles collide and which matchups will be exploited as a result. It is true that OU has not seen a defense like Florida’s. However, it is also true that Florida has not seen a passing attack like OU’s.
Sam Bradford is almost unstoppable when he is not being pressured. In my mind, the key to the game is how much pressure the Florida defense can put on the Heisman winner.
We have to remember, too, that this is not the same type of OU offense that has appeared in past BCS title games. The tempo of the Sooner offense is unique and there is not as much predictability based on personnel usage as in past years.
As a result, I think this game is going to get off to a wild start. I can see Florida scoring quickly with big plays from its skill guys–OU’s defense will only be asked to slow down, not stop the Gators.
I think that OU will be able to methodically pick its way down the field early and keep Florida off balance with its running game.
However, I think that by the middle of the third quarter, something is going to give. At that point, I can see Florida’s pressure getting to Bradford. Mistakes will then happen and the Gators will capitalize. I can also see a back-breaking punt or kick return by Brandon James contributing to the final result.
What was a close game will turn into a blowout. I think that Florida will win this one, 49-31, and Percy Harvin will be the MVP.
This game will entrench Urban Meyer as the best coach in the game. Two national titles (in three years) plus an undefeated season since 2004 and a Heisman is pretty impressive.
The urban ledgend is will be deemed the best coach in the game? Not until he figures out a way to beat my Tigers. So far he’s 0 fer 2 in that department. Plus you gonna catch hell from bammers about their Lil Nicky being the God of college coaches. lol
Good to see you took followed my lead and predicted UF to once again prove OU doesn’t belong in this game just like in 2004! How good would’ve an USC vs Florida game been? Almost as good as an USC vs AU in 2004! The BCS BS is suckin the life from the game and us fans. Hope the Utah AG does file an anti- trust lawsuit against the NCAA and wins. See how quick they good ol boys can say playoffs then.
Way to put the Auburn education to use, “The urban ledgend is will be deemed the best coach in the game?” Nice grammar and spelling.
lol
Boy this is really turning out to be a great game. Defense is really stepping up for both teams.
That post was sent at 10 29
Thanks MrCumSwallower76. Glad to see you are on the ball with the highlight marker. whatca usin, a yeller or orange un.
Does the color guy ever shut up? How the hell did Davis get his job? The announcers absolutely ruin the game by jabbering endlessly about useless shit. FOX please hire announcers with decent voices. Man the modern type of announcers suck.
The damn refs need to stay out of the game. Seems they are doing their best to help OU with the personal foul penalities.
LOL….big10 not….big12 not……next conference. lmao If you morons wanna see the real NC game in 2009 just watch the SEC Championship game every year. That winner takes all!
Three BCS Titles in a row for the SEC. 5 out of 11 played, and one rip job in 2004. Keep saying Auburn couldn’t have beaten USC in 04 but the SEC’s record in the BCS Title game says different. Read em and weep.
Humm…. were’s all the SEC hater’s now? Quiet as a mouse huh? So much for that greatest Chokelahoma Offense of all time that couldn’t be stopped. That is, according to the same old bunch of idiot talkin heads. Once again they are wrong.
You know, Oklahoma actually played some pretty decent defense in that game.
Besides, are you absolutely, positively sure that you would stand behind your pro-SEC philosophy if Alabama won the SECCG?
I mean, c’mon, there’s only so much love to go around.
Otherwise, my hat goes off to Florida for an excellently played game.
Florida was definitely the best team out there, congratulations gators
That was a travesty that Tebow won the offense player of the game. Without Percy Harvin Florida loses. They would have won with me as the QB of that game. Tebow made one good pass all game (the bullet across the middle for the first down on their last TD drive).
slippy, I agree that Harvin was the MVP, POG or whatever they call it nowadays but you as QB? lmao Wake up man you dosed off again. lol
Yep absolutely sure. bammer has no depth and it cost em against the Gators. It also cost them against Utah. That plus the fact Lil Nicky ain’t all he’s cracked up to be. Only 3 ten win seasons in his career. That’s not a $4,000,000 a year stat in my book. I’m tellin y’all the whoaa tide whoaaa bunch will lose 4 SEC games next year. They overachieved and were injury free most of the season. My AU Tigers ain’t gonna win the SEC West but we will have a lil payback for the little red devils coached by Satan….ooops I mean sayben. lol Ole Piss is the team to beat and Florida will lead the pack as usual in the East.
As far as the SEC goes, i do not believe that this one game a superior conference makes. UT also beat OU by 10 on a neutral field but didn’t make this game, Utah finished undefeated and beat Alabama by more than Florida and USC is a very good team as well. The bowl season does not effectively prove which conference is better. The Pac-10 was 5-0 this year. Would anyone in they’re right mind think that the most of the bowl teams in the Pac-10 would even have been eligible had they played in the Big 12 or even the Mountain West.
Hornsgotscrewed, you know how Cal felt when your coached lobbied for the BCS spot a few years ago, huh? Try being undefeated in a conference that has won 3 strait BCS Title games and 5 of the 11 played and being left out of this game and see how that feels. You have no clue what being screwed is, Auburn does!
In 2003 USC beat Auburn 23-0 at Auburn with basically the same players as 2004. SC would have beat auburn like a drum.
The BCS is rigged to give the SEC the inside track to the Title game. This year Utah, USC or Texas have as much right to claim they are the best team as Florida.
AU you do realize that when Mack lobbied for Texas that they actually dropped in the polls, as well as the little fact that Cal lost to a Tech team that got blown out by Texas earlier in the season, where as Texas beat Michigan.
So, AUman, are you actually telling me that, if given the right circumstances, you would forsake the Iron Bowl if it meant greater glory for the conference?
By the way, if they get 13, it’s unlucky.
But when Auburn went undefeated the SEC hadn’t won 3 straight NC. The conferences go through cycles. This happens all the time. OSU heart-attacked it’s way through the Big 10 in 2002 and then shocked the world when they beat Miami. They absolutely destroyed their way through the Big 10 in 06 and then got destroyed. Just an example of up and down conference years.
Bradford played a helluva game. When it was 17 to 14 and he threw that pass to his receiver it should have been pulled in which gave the defender an opportunity to snatch it. Also early in the game when Oklahoma was on the goaline, they should have used a play action instead they try to pound it in every time and Florida knew it. Kudos to Florida for playing great D though. Least this was a competitive game for three quarters. Tebow also showed he was a man of his word. He is a true leader and I’m sure he will be back next year. It would really be nice to see him take it to the next level, but the spread is not an easy thing in the NFL, though in a wildcat formation, Tebow could be a QB or even a Tight End.
You know next year I would like to see USC and Florida in the big show.
bucknut, I’d like to see Auburn and USC in the big show. Hell I’d just like to see your team show up for any show. But you did give an overrated UT a scare. Was actually a decent game, that…… beleive it or not, I enjoyed.
slippy I hear what you’re saying but LSU had defeated OU the year before. Remember this is 4 outta the last 6 the SEC has won. Thanks to an overrated OU gettin the nod due to the talkin heads we’ll never know if it would’ve been 5 of 6? I say yes and that’s not just my heart speaking.
Desesrtman, 2002 and 2003 hads nothin to do with 2004. You couldn’t be more wrong about the players being the same. We were very young in the earlier years and matured very well in 2004. Every overyone has a claim to the title till we have a 16 team playoff. Plus one is still a poll voter championship. 8 is not enough teams in this age of parity. There’s very little difference in the top 30 teams these days. It all depends on who’s hot, luck, and or ref’s calls. Seems the powers that be are afraid of a challenge on the field. They know they will lose money and their teams can’t win a title on the field of play. That’s were the SEC is different. We don’t give a shit who we have to play or how many games it takes, we wanna win it on the field. Just give us a chance and we’ll sure as hell show up! Too damn bad my Tigers were denined that opportunity in 2004 then we wouldn’t be havin this conversation and I’d be lookin at my AU 2004 National Championship Banner instead of a headline sayin OU didn’t belong in the game!
You will never know and that is one of the many reasons why you’re so pissed off. That’s like me saying if USC would have been there against Florida that USC would have won it all this year. Is that really fair to Florida? Or Utah for that matter.
Desesr”tman, 2002 and 2003 hads nothin to do with 2004. You couldn’t be more wrong about the players being the same. We were very young in the earlier years and matured very well in 2004.”
SC was also very young in 2003, the game at Auburn was Lienarts first game and Reggie didn’t really play that much until 2004.
Still I totally agree with you that Auburn should have had there chance to prove it on the field. The current setup is a complete joke.
2004 was the one year that a team from the SEC was screwed by the system. A team(s) from the West Coast gets screwed by this system every year.
Just ask USC, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Cal, Boise State, etc. When it comes to BCS games or the BCS championship, if two teams have pretty much identical records the eastern team will go and the Western team will not.
“It all depends on who’s hot, luck, and or ref’s calls.”
It seems like you’ve described why a play-off isnt the way to go
swallowman76, why don’t you just toss a coin till you have a winner and we’ll pollish a glass slipper for the winner. You have not one thread of common sense ho;ldin your brain in place. lol Those things happen in every game all season every season. Those things have nothin to do with a playoff. A playoff is the only way to determine a real champion. But guys like you would rather have the contraversy caused by the old system and the BCS so y’all can talk a good game. The SEC isn’t afraid to play it out on the field. Unlike the pac1 and lil11 we allow the players to determine who wins our conference not a bunch of morons in the polls and the talkin heads. BUt hey…if you’re afraid to bring it on the football field then enjoy hiding with your team behide the curtain of this beauty contest we now have.
desertman I agree that there’s always a team or teams that get screwed yearly. But the assholes in charge don’t care about that. They got things set up to line a cretain few pockets and that’s how they want it to stay. They are fools in the truest sense of the word. No bowl system would haul in the bucks a playoff would. College football not the NFL is the most popular sport in this nation. There are many more college teams that get strong fan support than the NFL. You don’t see fans donating millions to keep their pro franchise in up to date facilities. They do get the funds but it’s from screwing the fans and citizens with seating fees and taxes to build new stadiums. College fans are loyal to the team and would support em if the played on a vancant lot. Who cares about fancy shit we just wanna see our team win it all, right?
AUman76,
Yes you are correct we just want to see it settled on the field. However I don’t think that things will change. At best maybe a +1 in 5 years is about the best we can hope for.
The people who have the power to push for change are making too many $$ to want change.
There also afraid of rocking the boat because at some point the issue of compensation for the players is going to come up. Considering how much money these kids make for other people. (Schools, Media, Bowls, etc).
“why don’t you just toss a coin till you have a winner and we’ll pollish a glass slipper for the winner. You have not one thread of common sense ho;ldin your brain in place. lol Those things happen in every game all season every season. Those things have nothin to do with a playoff. A playoff is the only way to determine a real champion. But guys like you would rather have the contraversy caused by the old system and the BCS so y’all can talk a good game.”
Wow, just read this. You throw insults around and YOU can’t even spell or have a logical thought in your brain. Either that or your DRUNK.
desertman, is this a football board or your grammer classroom? I don’t mess with spell check and never took typing lessons. I do this for the fun of it and am not gonna spend extra time proof readin a post. I spuosse yuo tinhk tihs is unraedalbe btu I bte yuo cna dehcepier wath I jsut siad. lol ooops I spelled lol correct.
AUswallows76Man,
Your lack of education shows and you have no CLASS. You don’t know very much about football either!
thanks for being my judge and jury dessertman do you want me to bring a rope to hang me since you think we all have one down here in the south? Now fuck off you dumbass! How’s that for a reply? Any spelling mistakes in FUCK YOU?
I’ve seen and played more sports than you ever will. Well… except for the video games guys like you play. Here’s the deal don’t reply to my post and I’ll do the same concerning your’s.
That’s what I thought!