After Wake Forest beat North Carolina on Sunday, it appears more than ever that they are a team that will make a serious run at the school's second Final Four in school history (1962). Wake Forest boasts a talented and tall front court (5 players in the rotation that are 6'9" or taller) to go along with a killer PG in All-American candidate Jeff Teague (2nd in ACC in scoring, 7th in assists, 1st in 3PT%). They are extremely athletic at every position. All-everything freshman Al-Farouq Aminu is proving to be the real deal chipping in 12.7 ppg while cleaning the glass at 8.7 rbg (7th in ACC). They only potential roadblock to the Final Four is that they don't have a senior in their starting lineup (2 JR's, 2 SO's, and 1 FR). Look for Wake Forest to get a #1 or #2 seed and make a serious run in March. It should be exciting to watch this squad grow and get better and see if they can do something Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress couldn't do. I think they can and will do it.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Wake Forest...Final Four Bound?
After Wake Forest beat North Carolina on Sunday, it appears more than ever that they are a team that will make a serious run at the school's second Final Four in school history (1962). Wake Forest boasts a talented and tall front court (5 players in the rotation that are 6'9" or taller) to go along with a killer PG in All-American candidate Jeff Teague (2nd in ACC in scoring, 7th in assists, 1st in 3PT%). They are extremely athletic at every position. All-everything freshman Al-Farouq Aminu is proving to be the real deal chipping in 12.7 ppg while cleaning the glass at 8.7 rbg (7th in ACC). They only potential roadblock to the Final Four is that they don't have a senior in their starting lineup (2 JR's, 2 SO's, and 1 FR). Look for Wake Forest to get a #1 or #2 seed and make a serious run in March. It should be exciting to watch this squad grow and get better and see if they can do something Tim Duncan and Randolph Childress couldn't do. I think they can and will do it.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
BCS Champs
New man law...
This game should put the nail in the coffin for Oklahoma being "chosen" to play in the big game. Oklahoma has now lost 5 straight BCS games. Ohio State has lost 3 straight BCS games. That is 8 consecutive losses in BCS games for these two storied programs. What bothers me more than anything is that combined they have lost 5 of the last 6 BCS Championship Games, but for whatever reason the voters keep giving them both the benefit of the doubt. Also, they have been ranked #1 in the computers heading in to the last 4 BCS Championship games. As for the computers, if they were so smart, then why has the #2 team won 4 years in a row and 6 out of the last 7 years?
I would also like to thank ESPN and ABC for shoving The Big 12 Flag Football Conference down every one's throats all season. Here is all you need to know about the vaunted Big 12 South. The Big 4 (Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State) scored 26.8 in their bowl games after averaging 46.0 during the season. They gave up 245.0 yards rushing in their bowl games after giving up only 109.2 during the season. Only 2 out of 119 teams gave up more rushing yards per game during the college football season. Can you say OVERRATED! Too bad no one in this country can think on their own and resort to just listening to whatever ESPN tells them.
Hopefully next year the SEC will have to beat USC to get a title. Until they do, I will continue to believe the best team in the land doesn't reside in the deep South.
"No more Oklahoma or Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game for at least 5 years".Now that we have that settled, congrats to the Florida Gators for winning their 2nd BCS title in 3 years and for the SEC for winning their 3rd straight and 4th in 6 years. I still don't think Florida would beat USC, but we will never know. For some reason, the voters keep falling into the same trap. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. What is the saying for fool me 5 times?
This game should put the nail in the coffin for Oklahoma being "chosen" to play in the big game. Oklahoma has now lost 5 straight BCS games. Ohio State has lost 3 straight BCS games. That is 8 consecutive losses in BCS games for these two storied programs. What bothers me more than anything is that combined they have lost 5 of the last 6 BCS Championship Games, but for whatever reason the voters keep giving them both the benefit of the doubt. Also, they have been ranked #1 in the computers heading in to the last 4 BCS Championship games. As for the computers, if they were so smart, then why has the #2 team won 4 years in a row and 6 out of the last 7 years?
I would also like to thank ESPN and ABC for shoving The Big 12 Flag Football Conference down every one's throats all season. Here is all you need to know about the vaunted Big 12 South. The Big 4 (Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma State) scored 26.8 in their bowl games after averaging 46.0 during the season. They gave up 245.0 yards rushing in their bowl games after giving up only 109.2 during the season. Only 2 out of 119 teams gave up more rushing yards per game during the college football season. Can you say OVERRATED! Too bad no one in this country can think on their own and resort to just listening to whatever ESPN tells them.
Hopefully next year the SEC will have to beat USC to get a title. Until they do, I will continue to believe the best team in the land doesn't reside in the deep South.
BCS Championship Game
Today is sadly the last day of college football for 9 months. Florida will take on Oklahoma for the BCS Championship. Florida is 3-1 in BCS games while Oklahoma is 2-4 including 4 straight losses.
Offense
Oklahoma scored 54.0 ppg this season while Florida averaged 45.2. Both teams have shown they can score. Both teams have Heisman Trophy QB's. Both teams have been able to run the ball effectively this year. Oklahoma will be without star tailback DeMarco Murray. Advantage: Push
Defense
The difference will be defense. Florida gives up 12.8 ppg while Oklahoma 24.5. A lot of that can be attributed to the style of offenses they faced, but Florida does have the better defense. Florida averaged 229.8 ypg rushing and that will be the difference. The Big 12 South hasn't been able to stop the rush at all in the bowl season and look for that trend to continue. Oklahoma will get frustrated by Florida's ability to keep the ball away from their offense and might start to force things and cause some turnovers. Advantage: Florida
The SEC will win their 4th BCS title in 6 years with a win over Oklahoma as they continue their futility in BCS games. Prediction: Florida 45, Oklahoma 31
Offense
Oklahoma scored 54.0 ppg this season while Florida averaged 45.2. Both teams have shown they can score. Both teams have Heisman Trophy QB's. Both teams have been able to run the ball effectively this year. Oklahoma will be without star tailback DeMarco Murray. Advantage: Push
Defense
The difference will be defense. Florida gives up 12.8 ppg while Oklahoma 24.5. A lot of that can be attributed to the style of offenses they faced, but Florida does have the better defense. Florida averaged 229.8 ypg rushing and that will be the difference. The Big 12 South hasn't been able to stop the rush at all in the bowl season and look for that trend to continue. Oklahoma will get frustrated by Florida's ability to keep the ball away from their offense and might start to force things and cause some turnovers. Advantage: Florida
The SEC will win their 4th BCS title in 6 years with a win over Oklahoma as they continue their futility in BCS games. Prediction: Florida 45, Oklahoma 31
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Jeff Jagodzinski is heartless!
Boston College has fired head football coach Jeff Jagodzinski after he interviewed for the Head Coach vacany of the NY Jets. Before he interviewed for the position, he was given an ultimatum by the University that if he did, he would be terminated. He signed a 5 year contract just 2 years ago after being fired by the Green Bay Packers as offense coordinator and apparently is itching to get back into the NFL. Jagodzinski showed no loyalty to a program that gave him a chance to become a head coach when he never had been one in the past. I dont have a problem with someone trying to better their situation. I do have a problem with how he let the other coaches on the staff and players on the team down. Boston College will hire a new coach and most likely replace a lot of the coaches currently under contract. This sort of stuff happens all the time in college athletics, but the way it went down shows what kind of person Jagodzinski is. He knew that he would be fired immediately upon interviewing for a job he had no chance to get. His coaches will now be looking for work because of that decision. How selfish does one person have to be to go through with the interview? I can understand if the Jets had called him, but apparently he contacted them and asked for the interview. They weren't interested in him the entire time. Also, how do the Jets even bother interviewing him in the first place and allow him to get fired? Why didnt they just tell Jagodzinski that they weren't interested. Something fishy going on here.
I applaud Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo for actually going through with the threat to fire Jagodzinski. DeFilippo didnt even hear the news about the interview from Jagodzinski himself. He found out from a sports reporter. Jagodzinski should have told his AD from the start about the interview. It is about time a coach was asked to honor a contract. Good for Boston College, bad for the coaches and athletes left behind. Hopefully someone on the Boston College staff will be promoted and most of the coaches will keep their jobs.
I applaud Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo for actually going through with the threat to fire Jagodzinski. DeFilippo didnt even hear the news about the interview from Jagodzinski himself. He found out from a sports reporter. Jagodzinski should have told his AD from the start about the interview. It is about time a coach was asked to honor a contract. Good for Boston College, bad for the coaches and athletes left behind. Hopefully someone on the Boston College staff will be promoted and most of the coaches will keep their jobs.
College Football 2002-2008
USC has won 11 games for an NCAA record 7 straight seasons yet only played in 2 BCS Championship Games. I was curious how they stacked up with the other top programs over the same time period. Interestingly I found that only 7 teams have played for the BCS title in the span with Miami being irrelevant after 2002. So how do USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, and LSU compare?
USC............82-9 .901%
Texas..........77-13 .856%
Ohio St.......76-14 .844%
Oklahoma...78-16 .830%
LSU............72-20 .783%
Florida........66-24 .733%
11 win seasons: USC (7), Texas (4), Ohio St (4), Oklahoma (6), LSU (4), and Florida (2).
3 loss seasons: USC (0), Texas (3), Ohio St (2), Oklahoma (3), LSU (3), and Florida (5).
BCS Records: USC 6-1, Texas 3-0, Ohio St 3-3, Oklahoma 1-4, LSU 4-0, and Florida 2-0
Here is where USC really separates itself: Total number of cumulative points each team lost by over the 7 years time frame and average number of points lost by.
USC 9 losses by 36 points for 4.0 avg
Texas 13 losses by 163 points for 12.5 avg
Ohio State 14 losses by 171 for 12.2 avg
Oklahoma 16 losses by 204 points for 12.8 avg
LSU 20 losses by 253 points for 12.7 avg
Florida 24 losses by 236 points for 9.8 avg
Let that sink in for a second. USC has lost 9 games in 7 years by a COMBINED 36 points! I also found it quite intriguing that only these 6 teams have been chosen by the BCS to play in the Championship Game during the last 6 years. If Utah thinks it has it bad, try being another elite program other than these 6 because odds are you won't get the benefit of the doubt in the polls.
USC............82-9 .901%
Texas..........77-13 .856%
Ohio St.......76-14 .844%
Oklahoma...78-16 .830%
LSU............72-20 .783%
Florida........66-24 .733%
11 win seasons: USC (7), Texas (4), Ohio St (4), Oklahoma (6), LSU (4), and Florida (2).
3 loss seasons: USC (0), Texas (3), Ohio St (2), Oklahoma (3), LSU (3), and Florida (5).
BCS Records: USC 6-1, Texas 3-0, Ohio St 3-3, Oklahoma 1-4, LSU 4-0, and Florida 2-0
Here is where USC really separates itself: Total number of cumulative points each team lost by over the 7 years time frame and average number of points lost by.
USC 9 losses by 36 points for 4.0 avg
Texas 13 losses by 163 points for 12.5 avg
Ohio State 14 losses by 171 for 12.2 avg
Oklahoma 16 losses by 204 points for 12.8 avg
LSU 20 losses by 253 points for 12.7 avg
Florida 24 losses by 236 points for 9.8 avg
Let that sink in for a second. USC has lost 9 games in 7 years by a COMBINED 36 points! I also found it quite intriguing that only these 6 teams have been chosen by the BCS to play in the Championship Game during the last 6 years. If Utah thinks it has it bad, try being another elite program other than these 6 because odds are you won't get the benefit of the doubt in the polls.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Big 12 South is a Fraud
What does the Big 12 South have in common with any basketball team coached by Mike D'Antoni? Well for one, they score a lot of points. Is a basketball team that shoots early in the shot clock and scores more points better than a team that plays a half-court style? The answer is no. It appears after ESPN shoving the Big 12 South down our throats during November and ABC airing their match ups on Saturday nights nationally, that the Big 12 South is highly overrated. Texas did beat Ohio State (24-21) but Ohio State has proven to be over matched lately by elite teams. Texas was not elite last night. Texas Tech lost to Ole Miss. Oklahoma State lost to Oregon. The Big 12 South, the best division in football if you listened to ESPN, is now 1-2 in bowls. It is not looking good for Oklahoma Thursday night. What happened to the offenses ESPN couldn't talk enough about?
Texas avg 43.9 ppg and only scored 24 in their bowl game.
Texas Tech avg 44.6 ppg and only scored 34 in their bowl game.
Oklahoma State avg 41.6 ppg and only scored 31 in their bowl game.
The obvious reasons for the lack of offense is the lack of defense. It is easy to score a lot of points if neither team bothers to run the ball. Here is why the Big 12 South has struggled so far...RUN DEFENSE!
Texas gave up 73.6 ypg and allowed 203 vs Ohio State
Texas Tech gave up 133.5 ypg and allowed 223 vs Ole Miss
Oklahoma State gave up 123.8 and allowed 307 vs Oregon
Can we look at the 12 nonconference games that these 3 teams played to see if that weakness shows up again? Florida Atlantic, UTEP, Rice, Arkansas, Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU, UMass, Washington State, Houston, Missouri State, and Troy. Easy 12-0 there. The answer is a resounding no because neither of these 3 teams played anyone of note. The truth finally emerges and it is ugly for Oklahoma's prospects.
Texas avg 43.9 ppg and only scored 24 in their bowl game.
Texas Tech avg 44.6 ppg and only scored 34 in their bowl game.
Oklahoma State avg 41.6 ppg and only scored 31 in their bowl game.
The obvious reasons for the lack of offense is the lack of defense. It is easy to score a lot of points if neither team bothers to run the ball. Here is why the Big 12 South has struggled so far...RUN DEFENSE!
Texas gave up 73.6 ypg and allowed 203 vs Ohio State
Texas Tech gave up 133.5 ypg and allowed 223 vs Ole Miss
Oklahoma State gave up 123.8 and allowed 307 vs Oregon
Can we look at the 12 nonconference games that these 3 teams played to see if that weakness shows up again? Florida Atlantic, UTEP, Rice, Arkansas, Eastern Washington, Nevada, SMU, UMass, Washington State, Houston, Missouri State, and Troy. Easy 12-0 there. The answer is a resounding no because neither of these 3 teams played anyone of note. The truth finally emerges and it is ugly for Oklahoma's prospects.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Split National Championship
I am convinced more than ever, that there should be a split national championship this year. The only thing I am not convinced of is, who the AP champion should be. For a fan of anyone of a team outside the SEC or Big 12 all we had to hear leading up to the BCS Championship game announcement was how good the conferences were so their champions should play for the title. Well anyone who read my blog would have known that one of the reasons those leagues were ranked so high was because of their out of conference competition being pathetic. As of today the Big 12 South is 0-2 in bowls (Texas and Oklahoma have yet to play) and the SEC powerhouse Alabama got throttled in SEC country by Utah. Whoever loses the BCS title game will add more fuel to the fire for those of us who didnt just follow what ESPN wanted us to believe. If Florida loses, then both of the SEC powers this year would have lost their bowl games making it clearly obvious that the SEC wasnt one of the top 2 leagues this year. If Oklahoma loses, then the Big 12 South would be 1-3 at best in the bowls. That would be pathetic seeming every week we had to watch them play at 8 pm on ABC and listen to how that particular division was the best in all of college football. Well a 1-3 record in the bowls would wipe that theory out. So, either way one of the media contenders will be found out a fraud. The only way to reward a team that should have been there instead is to give them the AP title. If Oklahoma wins, then I believe that Texas should split the title with Oklahoma. After all, they beat Oklahoma head to head. If Florida beats Oklahoma, then it would come down to Utah or USC. I would be happy with either one, but obviously I am biased towards the Trojans. It would be great to Utah win it as well because it would show that a team outside the Big 6 conferences can do it.
On a side note, if Oklahoma loses can we please stop putting them in the BCS title game! The SEC for all their talk would have won 4 of the last 6 championships. Their 4 wins were against Ohio State (twice) and Oklahoma (twice). As a fan of USC (who have been robbed of being in multiple championship games by both Ohio State and Oklahoma) I would love to never see either of those teams get the benefit of the doubt for another decade. Ohio State (assuming they lose tonight) would have lost 3 straight BCS games. The Big 10 would be 0-6 in BCS games the last 3 years and could be 1-6 this year in bowls with a Buckeye lost tonight. Oklahoma would have lost 5 straight BCS games! How you can continually get in games you dont belong in with a background of 5 straight loses is ridiculous. Fight on!
On a side note, if Oklahoma loses can we please stop putting them in the BCS title game! The SEC for all their talk would have won 4 of the last 6 championships. Their 4 wins were against Ohio State (twice) and Oklahoma (twice). As a fan of USC (who have been robbed of being in multiple championship games by both Ohio State and Oklahoma) I would love to never see either of those teams get the benefit of the doubt for another decade. Ohio State (assuming they lose tonight) would have lost 3 straight BCS games. The Big 10 would be 0-6 in BCS games the last 3 years and could be 1-6 this year in bowls with a Buckeye lost tonight. Oklahoma would have lost 5 straight BCS games! How you can continually get in games you dont belong in with a background of 5 straight loses is ridiculous. Fight on!
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