[BCS NC Game] #1 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #2 Florida Gators

Oh wow, you cited one game where the best player in the country (Michael Crabtree) was hobbling around on one leg, and you think that proves an entire season?

As for Texas, they put up the most total yards and second-most points on Ohio State all season long. The Buckeyes are known for big game struggles offensively, but on defense, they're legit. I'm not sure how putting up 24 points and nearly 500 total yards is proof of anything but the fact that Texas has a very, very good offense.

The Big 12 is every bit as good as most of us thought, and the bowl season thus far hasn't given me any reason to think otherwise.

 

I think the score is about right, but the teams are switched. UT and OSU put >40 on OU. Neither offense is as loaded and balanced as Florida (though I do thin McCoy is probably the best college football player--though Tebow has his chance to change my mind). And 4 other teams also put up over 28 points, so half the teams OU faced scored 28 or more against them. In general in fact most of OU's opponents did better offensively against them than they did to their bowl opponent--that does not smell like a NC defense.

The only chance OU has is the sustained perfect pass protection they have had--because they will have to try to outscore UF. But the only defenses of any quality (Texas and TCU) they faced they had a bit more mixed days, and put up 35 each. Florida's D is more athletic/bigger than those two.

I think we are going to see OU look a lot like we saw versus LSU and USC in previous BCS games. They will be ill prepared to face the defensive speed and pressure and all those long slow video game pass patterns are next to useless under the speed and pressure they face. They will have to have some success on the ground and go quick timing because Florida will pin their ears back if OU tries to go pass pass pass. I don't see OU having enough success on the ground or quick passes to keep it honest. UF also has the depth and athletes to keep up with the uptempo OU might try.

So assuming both teams play more to their standard, I'd say 45 UF 31 OU. OU needs a B- game from Florida to have it up for grabs. And if OU turns the ball over under the defensive pressure of Florida the score could get crazy ugly quick. I remember watching UF versus LSU, Georgia and FSU--all teams that looked good this bowl season--and those teams had the look of a challenger in the 2nd quarter, than before you know it, Florida has hanged 50 on them and they win by 30+.

 

A few days ago, you were saying the B10 wasn't even a legitimate major football conference. I don't see how the #1 or #2 team in the B12 barely beating the #2 team in that conference can be called impressive.

The #3 team in the B12 got smoked by the #4 team in the SEC.
The #4 team in the B12 had a solid loss to the #2 team in the Pac 10.
The #5 team in the B12 squeaked by the #5 team in the B10.
The #6 team in the B12 barely beat the #6 or #7 team in the ACC.
The #7 team in the B12 had a solid win against the #6 team in the B10.

I don't see how the B12 has been impressive at all in the bowl season. If the B12 was the best conference, then given the matchups, Texas, Tech, and Missouri all underperformed. OSU also underperformed based on the rankings and expectations. And all of those teams struggled offensively.

The SEC's been pretty good but the Alabama loss really doesn't help. The only conference that has been truly impressive has been the Pac 10. Oregon, Oregon State, Arizona all beat higher ranked teams, and I don't think Cal was favored against Miami. And their team that was truly favored (USC) actually dominated it's opponent.

 

I always pray that a shark eats Dirk Nowitzki every time I watch a Rockets/Mavs game.

And I mean in the arena.

 

Worst national championship game ever -- the NC should have been Utah vs. Texas -- clear and away the top two teams in the nation.

 

A couple of things....I do feel like the Big 12 has underperformed in the bowl games, although I think bowl games are kinda a lame way to try to determine conference overall strength. Part of that is due to matchups, and of course, one call also look at how different teams look after a month off and varying amounts of motivation. Furthermore, it'd be safe to say that both TT and Okie St. suffered immensely by the loss of their star wr's in Crabtree and Dez Bryant.

The most impressive big 12 team so far in the bowls? Kansas. I think that sums up how the Big 12 has played so far. Don't get me wrong- I still think they are about on par with the SEC this season, if not every season.

About the Title game- I've been thinking Florida 45, OU 28. Florida's defense will probably have more speed than any other OU has seen this year. And yes, Florida will have as much balance as about anyone. The best balance OU saw this year? Okie State, who put up a total of 41 on OU. Maybe one of those scores came on special teams, just like the Horns got a score. But you know what? I got tired of hearing people act like that score shouldn't count, and was lucky or some crap. Guess what- you have to cover kicks in the game, too. It's called special teams, and if you aren't careful, it'll bite you in the ass and cost you a game! Here's to Florida getting a return TD, and not blowing out OU, but keeping them down 10 to 17 pts. a duration of the game after a surprisingly slow first quarter.

 

F the Gators and their ass of a coach. I hope OU rolls.

 

Didn't Utah back out of a game against UT this year? No way should they even be considered for a piece of the national championship.

DD

 

Utah is national champs baby, woohoo!

 

I believe so - but not because they didn't want to play us. The MWC added a team and an additional conference game, so they had to reorganize their schedule. They did already have both Michigan and Oregon State on their schedule as well. I think they dropped us a few years back when the change was made to the MWC - so it wasn't to avoid us this year.

 

Florida will finish showing the country that the Big 12 was all hype this season.

42-21


So far, the teams that look like they most deserve the National title are 1. Utah and 2. USC.

 

I don't see how you could compare the resume of USC to that of Texas and the winner of Thursday's game and come up with an argument of why USC would deserve it. They have a worse loss than both Texas and OU (better than Florida), and not nearly the resume of wins.

 

I'm just saying so far in the bowl season - Still haven't seen Florida or Oklahoma play yet.

USC looked unstoppable in the Rose Bowl. Texas's opponents have looked weak in this bowl season. If the Big 10 is as bad as everyone says it is, a last minute TD to beat them does nothing to help their reputation. Even if Texas won because they played flat and did what they had to do to pull out a win - it means they underperformed on the big stage. USC and Utah certainly did not underperform. That's what I'm basing it on.

 

It's silly to look at the bowl games in a vacuum or as any more important than they actually are, which is 1 out of 13 games.

 

Right, but within those other 12, there are these things called non-conference games too that can be used to give context to the performances of teams in conference. For example, you can tell from Oregon State's embarrassing loss to Penn State that they're not anywhere close to a power team. So, losing to them is a different animal than losing to Oklahoma or Texas Tech.

Likewise, Oklahoma's performance out of conference includes wins over top 10 TCU and Big East champion Cincinnati. Combine that with the eye test, and a marquee win over Oklahoma is clearly superior to a marquee win over Penn State. Bigger wins + a better loss makes it pretty easy to judge the merits between USC and Texas, as long as you look at the full body of work (including non-conference context) instead of one game out of 13.

 

You know the old saying that "if you have to make an argument for a player to be a hall-of-famer in any sport, they don't deserve to be a hall of famer."

Same saying applies to 2008's college football champion. There isn't a champion this year.

Florida vs OU is not a real championship game.