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STAGE IS SET FOR A FLORIDA WIN IN MIAMI
December 9, 2008

SCS.comOklahoma and Florida locked up spots in the BCS national championship game with big wins in their conference championship game. Oklahoma rolled an inferior Missouri team 62-21. Florida beat the number one team in the country, Alabama, 31-20 without their star receiver Percy Harvin. The teams will meet on January 8th in Miami, Florida to battle it out and see who is crowned national champion. Although Oklahoma is a good team, I do not think they will keep this game close.

Since Florida lost to Mississippi, they have looked unstoppable. Their special teams are great. Their offense has some of the best athletes in the country lining up at WR, RB, and QB. Their defense has become dominant. That is the key. OU, like Texas or Texas Tech, have amazing offenses. However, OU has not played a top 50 defense since Texas (50th ranked defense) or TCU (2nd ranked defense). Since losing to Texas, OU has averaged 59.8 points per game. Often scoring a late touchdown, those numbers are still impressive. However, Florida’s defense is the fastest in the country. They get after the quarterback, hit hard, and tackle well. OU has yet to see a defense like UF’s this season. I think that will stifle them. Florida’s offense, on the other hand, will be better than anything OU has seen this year. OU’s defense has given up 45 points to Texas, 31 to Kansas, 35 to Kansas State, and 41 to Oklahoma State. Florida is licking their chops.

Now that the BCS title game is set in stone, let’s talk about another honor soon to be handed out. The Heisman trophy has three realistic candidates. Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, and Tim Tebow (who won the award last season). If I had a ballot, this is how it would look.

1. Colt McCoy, QB Texas - McCoy threw for 32 touchdowns this year and ran for ten scores this season. Some of his best performances came in Texas’s biggest games (Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State, even Texas Tech). The award is not for the best player on the best team.

2. Sam Bradford, QB Oklahoma - Bradford is a close second. A really close second. If he has to win, I would have no argument. He has thrown 48 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions this season. He has been calm and composed all year long. His team would not be where they are without him.

3. Tim Tebow, QB Florida - Tebow’s numbers are not as gaudy as last seasons, which is why he will not win the award. However, his 40 total touchdowns are still impressive. He is truly a freak of nature.

4. Eric Berry, DB Tennessee - Berry led the nation with seven interceptions, two of which he returned for touchdowns. He also has 72 tackles and three sacks. He has 265 interception return yards this season, a SEC record. He is only 14 return yards short from breaking the all-time record (501 by Terrell Buckley of Florida State)

5. Michael Crabtree, WR Texas Tech and Dez Bryant, WR Oklahoma State - Both Big 12 wide receivers outshine their quarterbacks. They both scored 18 touchdowns and were the big play target when their teams needed it. Bryant stepped up big time against Oklahoma, while nobody will forget what Crabtree did against Texas.

Hits:

  • It was great to see Turner Gill’s interview after his team, Buffalo, won the MAC. Gill was crying and very emotional. He obviously loves his players and feels great pride for what he has done with Buffalo in such short time. A big time program needs to hire this man.

  • Good Saturday for Skip Holtz. His team beat Tulsa to win the C-USA title. Later in the day, it was rumored that he will be taking the job at Syracuse.

  • Virginia Tech has won the ACC again. It was refreshing to see Frank Beamer come to his senses and allow Tyrod Taylor to play the whole game without being pulled or sharing time. It is his team now.

  • Navy beat Army 34-0 in one of the largest wins in the history of the rivalry. Army debuted some tremendous uniforms that involved camouflage and the words “Duty. Honor. Courage.” [Photo]

    Misses:

  • Ball State’s Nate Davis was on national television with a chance to prove to the country that he and his team was worthy of high admiration. Davis accounted for four fumbles (two of which were returned for touchdowns) as they lost to Buffalo 42-24 in the MAC title game.

  • Washington finished the season 0-12. They went out in style. California’s Jahvid Best ran for 311 on 19 carries. He scored four touchdowns and averaged 16.4 yards per carry.

  • I do not think Cincinnati will be making late season trips to Hawaii ever again. The Bearcats, who clinched a BCS bowl last week, had to score 19 points in the 4th quarter to avoid an upset. Cincy pulled its starting quarterback in the 2nd half. Who is going to start in their BCS bowl? Pike or Grutza?

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