First Post of 2007
Well, I rang in the new year last night in a rather quiet and humble way. I merely sat in my room watching an episode of Robin Hood. Nothing spectacular I admit, but it wasn't bad nonetheless.
So, now its time for my Bowl review of the games I have seen and a preview of the ones yet to come.
Lets start with Alabama. It hasn't gone under the radar that Shula was fired several weeks ago. Since he was calling the offensive plays, that job fell to Dave Radar the offensive coordinator. Joe Kines served as head coach and defensive coordinator. The team came out and played pretty well, although they fell behind by halftime they didn't roll over and give up (a la the Shula era). They did come back to tie the game at 31. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get a turnover when they needed it most. I was a little confused at the poor time management Kines exerted near the end of the game. With three time outs left and OSU clearly in field goal range, he opted not to conserve time for the offense to try and run a play or two. Rather, he opted to call all three time outs consecutively to try and ice the kicker. This didn't work and only left a few seconds to try and run back the kickoff with some laterals which didn't work. Thus 'bama fell 34-31 to Oklahoma State.
Kentucky vs. Clemson in the Music City bowl was a big surprise to me. Kentucky is not a power house by any means and Clemson is good team. Which is why I was so surprised to tune in and see Kentucky leading Clemson 28-6. While Clemson came back to make it a closer game, it would still should be an embarrassment to Tommy Bowden that he lost to Kentucky 28-20.
I didn't watch Oregon State but I saw the recap and I am impressed by the gutsy call by their coach going for the 2-point conversion at the end of the game to win instead of playing it safe and kicking the extra point to tie and force overtime. Maybe if Shula didn't coach so utterly conservative he just might have kept his job.....maybe not.
Again, I didn't watch Insight bowl with Texas Tech vs. Minnesota, I again watched the recap. I saw the score at 38-7 and wrote the game off and went to bed. Boy, was I surprised the next day when I learned that TT actually won the game 44-41. This is the largest Bowl comeback in history to win and I applaud TT. They took on one of the more traditional teams 'good teams', fell way behind but showed the heart of a champion in coming back to win.
I did watch Texas vs Iowa and was surprised when Iowa jumped on them early with a 14-0 start on their first two drives. Unfortunatly, they couldn't keep the momentum going and fell to Texas.
Miami vs Nevada last night up in Boise Idaho on the blue turf wasn't much of a surprise. Miami won a close one, I was rooting for Nevada.
I didn't watch or even see the recap for the South Carolina vs Houston game but I felt that USC was going to pull out the win.
Then came a series of good games that I watched on Saturday. Navy vs Boston College was a good game. Paul Johnson's team was ready to play. They took the lead and held it most of the game with a great running and option attack that utilized enough pass to keep the BC defense honest at times. They ripped of some big 20+ yard runs. But when the game was in hand, a fumbled option pitch became a turnover giving life back to BC. BC then moved the ball down into field goal range for their kicker who, before this season, had never played football (only soccer). BC made the FG and on the ensuing kickoff, Navy tried the lateral game but didn't make it and falls 25-24.
The Chick-fil-a (Peach) bowl pitted Georgia vs Virginia Tech. While Tech was the ranked team, Georgia is a good team with a freshman quarterback. The inexperience at QB lead to a few deceptive losses during the season. Georgia scored first with a field goal but Tech lit it up in the second quarter scoring 21 points in about a 10 minute span. At the half, it looked like Tech with its offense moving the ball pretty well and defense which was shutting down the Georgia offense looked like they had the game in hand. The second half was totally different from the first. Georgia came out with a fire under their rears and played some smash mouth SEC football. Exploding for 28 second half points and their defense only allowing 3 second half points and forcing turnover after turnover. Georgia really showed how good they can be.
Now, my predictions for some of the games today.
Georgia Tech vs West Virginia in the Gator Bowl. My edge goes to WV, they have bowl experience with a win in the Sugar Bowl last year and GT just not playing very consistent. Plus, their experienced QB is suspended so I think it will be close to begin with and WV pulls away for the win.
The cotton bowl pits Nebraska vs Auburn. While I don't have much love for the cow college, this game is a pretty good match. Nebraska has overhauled its offense under their new coach to the spread offense from the option wishbone of old (which I still like btw). The Nebraska defense is pretty good year in and year out. If they can stop the Auburn run game and force them to pass, its going to be a long day. Georgia did this and came up with four interception. Additionally, Auburn has a couple linebackers out for different reasons, so the defensive rush will depend on Groves up front to get pressure on the QB. The secondary will have to come up and help the inexperienced linebacker cover the short to intermediate routes, which the Nebraska QB is very accurate with. I think this will be a close game but I give the edge to the Cornhuskers in a close game.
The outback bowl has Penn State vs Tennessee. Again, I have no love for the Vols but this could prove to be a one sided game in the Vols favor. Paterno is going to try to be on the sidelines for the game but his knee may prevent him from being there the whole game. The nittany lions will have to come out ready to play with lots of pressure on the Vol offense and ball control. Unfortunately, I think the Vols win by 10 or more.
The capital one bowl has Wisconsin (11-1) and Arkansas (10-3). While Wisconsin hasn't really played anyone of note other than Michigan, their record speaks for itself. Arkansas lost to early to USC, which I think made them a better team this season. Then late losses to LSU in the final season game and a loss to Florida in the SEC championship. I think Arkansas will come out with something to prove and win a close game.
Boise State vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta bowl. Boise State plays in a weak conference but could be the little engine that could for all those non-BCS schools. Oklahoma has had problem after problem this year, but still proved that Stoops is a great coach and the team has heart (and talent). Before the season they dismissed their star QB then later lost their Heisman caliber running back to a broken collar bone. Watch out for a possible upset here, but I give Oklahoma the edge in a close game.
So, now the 'granddaddy of them all' with USC vs Michigan. Many believe that Michigan and Ohio State should have played in the National Championship game in a rematch. My feelings is, too bad. You had your chance and couldn't win. You didn't win your conference championship. Back to this game, USC needs to protect their QB and defend against the Michigan keep pass. Pete Carroll is great at getting his team up for big games. I give USC the edge.
Tune in tomorrow for my Orange Bowl pick.
So, now its time for my Bowl review of the games I have seen and a preview of the ones yet to come.
Lets start with Alabama. It hasn't gone under the radar that Shula was fired several weeks ago. Since he was calling the offensive plays, that job fell to Dave Radar the offensive coordinator. Joe Kines served as head coach and defensive coordinator. The team came out and played pretty well, although they fell behind by halftime they didn't roll over and give up (a la the Shula era). They did come back to tie the game at 31. Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get a turnover when they needed it most. I was a little confused at the poor time management Kines exerted near the end of the game. With three time outs left and OSU clearly in field goal range, he opted not to conserve time for the offense to try and run a play or two. Rather, he opted to call all three time outs consecutively to try and ice the kicker. This didn't work and only left a few seconds to try and run back the kickoff with some laterals which didn't work. Thus 'bama fell 34-31 to Oklahoma State.
Kentucky vs. Clemson in the Music City bowl was a big surprise to me. Kentucky is not a power house by any means and Clemson is good team. Which is why I was so surprised to tune in and see Kentucky leading Clemson 28-6. While Clemson came back to make it a closer game, it would still should be an embarrassment to Tommy Bowden that he lost to Kentucky 28-20.
I didn't watch Oregon State but I saw the recap and I am impressed by the gutsy call by their coach going for the 2-point conversion at the end of the game to win instead of playing it safe and kicking the extra point to tie and force overtime. Maybe if Shula didn't coach so utterly conservative he just might have kept his job.....maybe not.
Again, I didn't watch Insight bowl with Texas Tech vs. Minnesota, I again watched the recap. I saw the score at 38-7 and wrote the game off and went to bed. Boy, was I surprised the next day when I learned that TT actually won the game 44-41. This is the largest Bowl comeback in history to win and I applaud TT. They took on one of the more traditional teams 'good teams', fell way behind but showed the heart of a champion in coming back to win.
I did watch Texas vs Iowa and was surprised when Iowa jumped on them early with a 14-0 start on their first two drives. Unfortunatly, they couldn't keep the momentum going and fell to Texas.
Miami vs Nevada last night up in Boise Idaho on the blue turf wasn't much of a surprise. Miami won a close one, I was rooting for Nevada.
I didn't watch or even see the recap for the South Carolina vs Houston game but I felt that USC was going to pull out the win.
Then came a series of good games that I watched on Saturday. Navy vs Boston College was a good game. Paul Johnson's team was ready to play. They took the lead and held it most of the game with a great running and option attack that utilized enough pass to keep the BC defense honest at times. They ripped of some big 20+ yard runs. But when the game was in hand, a fumbled option pitch became a turnover giving life back to BC. BC then moved the ball down into field goal range for their kicker who, before this season, had never played football (only soccer). BC made the FG and on the ensuing kickoff, Navy tried the lateral game but didn't make it and falls 25-24.
The Chick-fil-a (Peach) bowl pitted Georgia vs Virginia Tech. While Tech was the ranked team, Georgia is a good team with a freshman quarterback. The inexperience at QB lead to a few deceptive losses during the season. Georgia scored first with a field goal but Tech lit it up in the second quarter scoring 21 points in about a 10 minute span. At the half, it looked like Tech with its offense moving the ball pretty well and defense which was shutting down the Georgia offense looked like they had the game in hand. The second half was totally different from the first. Georgia came out with a fire under their rears and played some smash mouth SEC football. Exploding for 28 second half points and their defense only allowing 3 second half points and forcing turnover after turnover. Georgia really showed how good they can be.
Now, my predictions for some of the games today.
Georgia Tech vs West Virginia in the Gator Bowl. My edge goes to WV, they have bowl experience with a win in the Sugar Bowl last year and GT just not playing very consistent. Plus, their experienced QB is suspended so I think it will be close to begin with and WV pulls away for the win.
The cotton bowl pits Nebraska vs Auburn. While I don't have much love for the cow college, this game is a pretty good match. Nebraska has overhauled its offense under their new coach to the spread offense from the option wishbone of old (which I still like btw). The Nebraska defense is pretty good year in and year out. If they can stop the Auburn run game and force them to pass, its going to be a long day. Georgia did this and came up with four interception. Additionally, Auburn has a couple linebackers out for different reasons, so the defensive rush will depend on Groves up front to get pressure on the QB. The secondary will have to come up and help the inexperienced linebacker cover the short to intermediate routes, which the Nebraska QB is very accurate with. I think this will be a close game but I give the edge to the Cornhuskers in a close game.
The outback bowl has Penn State vs Tennessee. Again, I have no love for the Vols but this could prove to be a one sided game in the Vols favor. Paterno is going to try to be on the sidelines for the game but his knee may prevent him from being there the whole game. The nittany lions will have to come out ready to play with lots of pressure on the Vol offense and ball control. Unfortunately, I think the Vols win by 10 or more.
The capital one bowl has Wisconsin (11-1) and Arkansas (10-3). While Wisconsin hasn't really played anyone of note other than Michigan, their record speaks for itself. Arkansas lost to early to USC, which I think made them a better team this season. Then late losses to LSU in the final season game and a loss to Florida in the SEC championship. I think Arkansas will come out with something to prove and win a close game.
Boise State vs Oklahoma in the Fiesta bowl. Boise State plays in a weak conference but could be the little engine that could for all those non-BCS schools. Oklahoma has had problem after problem this year, but still proved that Stoops is a great coach and the team has heart (and talent). Before the season they dismissed their star QB then later lost their Heisman caliber running back to a broken collar bone. Watch out for a possible upset here, but I give Oklahoma the edge in a close game.
So, now the 'granddaddy of them all' with USC vs Michigan. Many believe that Michigan and Ohio State should have played in the National Championship game in a rematch. My feelings is, too bad. You had your chance and couldn't win. You didn't win your conference championship. Back to this game, USC needs to protect their QB and defend against the Michigan keep pass. Pete Carroll is great at getting his team up for big games. I give USC the edge.
Tune in tomorrow for my Orange Bowl pick.
Labels: Sports, Television
posted by Brian Wright at 8:43 AM
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