The Civil War: Oregon vs. Oregon State
This game lived up to its expectations as the 113th Civil War became an offensive shootout for the right to go to the Rose Bowl. It was a back-and-forth game all night long as each offense moved the ball with ease and put points on the scoreboard. I didn't want this game to end because it seemed like both offenses wouldn't stop scoring. Neither defense could make a stop and it appeared as if the winner of this game would be the one who scored last. Alas, the Oregon defense was able to save the game for the Ducks as they kept the Beavers off the scoreboard in the 4th quarter and won the game 37-33. Led by the power running game of LaMichael James and LeGarrette Blount, the Ducks ran for 288 yards on the ground and steamrolled their way to Pasadena with 4 rushing touchdowns. Jeremiah Masoli passed for over 200 yards and scrambled for 40 more as the Beavers had problems containing him as well. Oregon State was in this game though as QB Sean Canfield passed for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns. And the Rodgers Brothers very nearly won the game on their own as Jacquizz had 137 total yards from scrimmage and James caught 10 balls for 139 yards and a touchdown. So you cannot say that Oregon dominated this game from start to finish. It was a very entertaining game to watch and certainly one of the best of the year. Oregon will now face Ohio State in the Rose Bowl in an intriguing showdown of great offense and great defense.
ACC Championship: Georgia Tech vs. Clemson
C.J. Spiller was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday night against Georgia Tech. Spiller ran the ball 20 times for 233 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. Unfortunately for Clemson, it was not enough against a Georgia Tech team motivated to clinch a trip to the Orange Bowl. Paul Johnson and his band of Yellow Jackets would not be denied as both teams went back-and-forth all night long. Georgia Tech amassed over 300 yards rushing against the Tigers and managed to pull ahead 33-20 after Josh Nesbitt's 70-yard strike to Demaryius Thomas. But that wasn't enough to hold down those fiesty Tigers. Clemson came roaring back on touchdown runs by Spiller and Andre Ellington to take the lead 34-33. And in a game that was devoid of defense all night long, Head Coach Dabo Swinny called upon his defense to rise up and quell Georgia Tech's offensive juggernaut in the final minutes. It was not meant to be for the Clemson defense as RB Jonathan Dwyer ran 15 yards down the sideline and put Georgia Tech ahead 39-34 with 1:20 remaining. It was more than enough time for Clemson to move down the field and score one last touchdown that would send them to the Orange Bowl. But a holding penalty sent the Tigers back ten yards and put them in an compromising position. In the end, Georgia Tech was able to sack Kyle Parker in the backfield on 4th and 2 and punch their tickets to Miami. This was a very compelling game anchored by a brilliant performance from C.J. Spiller. But the Georgia Tech running attack was better than Spiller on this night, proving to be the main difference in this year's ACC Championship.
Big East Championship: Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
This was a wild football game. If you were a betting man, and you picked Cincinnati to win this game, odds are you went to the hospital because this game was suspenseful and heart-pumping to the end. Pittsburgh jumped out to a commanding lead over the Bearcats. Freshman RB Dion Lewis ran the ball 29 times in the first half...29 TIMES!!! Most running backs don't run 29 times in a GAME let alone the first half. But Pittsburgh just kept feeding it to Lewis and were absolutely relentless with the running attack. Bill Stull was also making great throws to his receivers, including 2 touchdown strikes to WR Jonathan Baldwin that put Pittsburgh up 31-10 late in the 2nd quarter. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike was terrible in the first half, throwing 2 crucial interceptions that were big momentum shifters at the time. Cincinnati could not find a way to put the ball in the end zone and it seemed like Pittsburgh would run away with the Big East crown. However, head coach Brian Kelly was not about to let his team crumble so easily. On the strength of a Mardy Gilyard 99-yard kickoff return, Cincinnati was able to cut the lead to 31-17 at halftime. Tony Pike's 68-yard strike to Gilyard made the game 31-24 leading into the 4th quarter. Momentum was shifting back to Cincinnati as the Panthers could not finish the kill. But a 15-yard touchdown by Dion Lewis made the game 38-24, which reestablished their comfort zone a little bit. That was quickly washed away by Pike's 8-yard touchdown pass to D.J. Woods, Isaiah Pead's 1-yard score, and a two-point conversion that tied the game at 38. As I said, it was wild until the very end. So what led to Pittsburgh's downfall? Special Teams. Pittsburgh took the lead late in the 4th quarter with a Lewis touchdown run. However, a botched extra-point try made it a 6-point deficit rather than a 7-point deficit. So what does Cincinnati do when they get the ball? Pike marches his troops swiftly down the field against an exhausted Pittsburgh defense and punches in the game-winning score with a 29-yard strike to WR Armon Binns. Ballgame over, Big East Championship over, Bearcats Win, DAAAA BEARCATS WIN!!!!! Okay, they're not the Yankees. But this game unfolded with the same kind of grandeur and mystique that only the great teams are remembered for. I'm not sure if Cincinnati is a great team. But the way they took this one from Pittsburgh is the stuff of legends.
Big 12 Championship: Texas vs. Nebraska
This game may have featured the best performance out of all the Heisman Trophy candidates last weekend. And it wasn't from Colt McCoy. As a matter of fact, it came from Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh. Suh single-handedly ripped apart the Texas offensive line on Saturday night and was able to sack McCoy 4.5 times (he got 1/2 a sack with teammate Cameron Meredith). His performance was almost good enough to win the game for the Cornhuskers. They certainly treated this game as though it were for the national championship and gave us a defensive performance for the ages. Colt McCoy did not have a Heisman moment on Saturday. If you look at his stat-line from the game, it is definitely not a pretty sight. McCoy went 20/36 for 184 yards and 3 interceptions. To say that he did not have his best game of the season is an understatement. To say that he played himself out of winning the Heisman Trophy is something to consider. The Nebraska defense manhandled Texas at the line of scrimmage all night long and dominated the game from start to finish. Fortunately for the Longhorns, their defense was just as good. If the Nebraska offense had played the same kind of caliber game as their defense, then we would probably be looking at an Alabama-Cincinnati national title match right now. Instead, the Texas defense held Nebraska to just over 100 yards of total offense. That's right...TOTAL OFFENSE!!! And in a game where your defense comes to bat and hits a home run, that is unacceptable. Nebraska QB Zach Lee was 6/19 for 39 yards and 3 interceptions. If you think Colt McCoy was bad in this game, just repeat Lee's stat-line three times over. It'll make you want to throw up. Nebraska was also held to just 67 yards rushing and was the victim of poor field position all night long. This game was won because Texas had better field position and was able to take advantage of it when they needed to. That and the luck of Colt McCoy. That play in the very last seconds of the game had the potential to be catastrophic for the Longhorns. McCoy and the Texas coaching staff were letting the clock run down as far as it could go, albeit with one timeout remaining. McCoy takes the snap with :06 seconds remaining, scrambles out of the pocket, and throws the ball out of bounds. If the ball had not touched anything with :01 second to go, Texas loses that football game and loses a shot at the national championship. That was probably the dumbest play I have seen all year out of any sport. First of all, where is Mack Brown? Isn't he supposed to be on top of this and know how much time is left in the game? Did anyone on the Texas sideline know how much time was left in the game? I am convinced that none of them had a clue and it very nearly cost them everything. The ramifications of that could have been disastrous. Fortunately for Texas, the ball landed with :01 second on the clock. And Hunter Lawrence hit the game-winning field goal that catapulted Texas to Pasadena. You can say that Texas earned their way to a showdown with Alabama. Or you can say that they were just plain lucky. And right now, I'm leaning towards the latter in that regard.
SEC Championship: Florida vs. Alabama
If you told me the SEC Championship would turn out to be the least interesting game to watch on Saturday, I would have told you to go jump in a lake somewhere. Yet that is exactly what happened as Alabama completely wiped the floor with Florida and established themselves as the clear favorite to win the national championship. The god-man himself, Tim Tebow, had no answer for Alabama's stingy defensive front on Saturday. Granted he had what many people would call a very decent day on offense. But there would be no miracle win for the Gators on Saturday. There would be no tears of joy or spoils of victory for Tebow this time around. The Gators ran into a buzzsaw this past weekend that was operated and controlled by Nick Saban. You can basically hail Saban as the new god-man, working his coaching magic throughout the college world. Within three years time, he takes lackluster programs in need of rebuilding and turns them into perennial national contenders. Whatever Saban is feeding his players has worked for him for quite some time. And it is fair to say that he is the best head coach in all of college football. Alabama won this game because they pounded the ball with Mark Ingram and took time off the clock. And when they scored, they put the ball in the end zone and did not settle for field goals. The biggest key to their victory on Saturday was that QB Greg McElroy did not make any mistakes with the football. He managed the game sufficiently and made big plays when he needed to, which included a 17-yard floater to TE Colin Peek that put the Tide up 26-13. One must give credit to the offensive line as they played their hearts out and allowed for Ingram to rush for 113 yards and score 3 touchdowns. Ingram also had a 69-yard reception that changed the momentum of the game entirely in Alabama's favor. He might have clinched the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night, but there are four other candidates who have something to say about that. Alabama was clearly the better team on the field this weekend. They were physically dominant on both sides of the ball and did not let Tebow get to their heads. The fact that they have been waiting a year to play this game was punctuated by Ingram's everlasting Gator Chomp on the sidelines. That, along with Tebow's tears of sorrow, signified the end of an era for the Florida Gators and a new beginning for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
That's it for now...stay tuned for a Heisman preview coming up later this week along with my NFL reaction later on today.
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