1. Colt McCoy, QB - Texas
The kid took a beating in several games this year and was able to lead his team to victory in all but one game. Out of the three players on this list he has the worst supporting cast by far. He beat Sam Bradford head to head. Statistically he's somewhere in the middle of Bradford and Tebow, but without him I don't think Texas gets more than 8 or 9 wins this year.
2. Tim Tebow, QB - Florida
I think he is the best player in college football, but he got too much help from his teammates this year. He put the team on his back and carried the Gators to victory in the SEC Championship Game, and that might be enough to win him the actual award, but in most of the other games this season he was happy to sit back and distribute the ball to the guys around him.
3. Sam Bradford, QB - Oklahoma
I'm not very impressed with this guy, but he put up great numbers and has his team in the national championship game so he has to be on the list. He has great players all around him and an offensive line that offers him plenty of protection. There are at least 20 college QBs you could replace him with and the Sooners wouldn't miss a beat.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
SEC Defense vs. Big 12 Offense
There's going to be a lot of talk over the next month about the caliber of defenses and offenses in the SEC and Big 12. Was Oklahoma's offense so good because it was playing such bad Big 12 defenses? Are the SEC defenses so good because they were playing such bad SEC offenses? There's a simple answer: no one knows.
That is why this BCS title game is going to be so fun: we'll finally get to find out.
That is why this BCS title game is going to be so fun: we'll finally get to find out.
Early Thoughts on THE 'SHIP
This one's not going to be very complicated. If UF can get pressure on Bradford, the Gators will win. The amount of pressure the Gators get on him will be relative to the amount of points they win by.
If you remember the last time the Gators faced an unstoppable offense in a BCS title game (shouldn't be too hard, it was against Ohio State in 2006), they got a ton of pressure on Troy Smith and held Ohio State to under 100 yards of offense. This Gator defensive line is not as good as the 2006 line and this Oklahoma offense has more weapons than that Ohio State offense had, so it's not going to be as easy this time around.
That being said, the linebackers and secondary on this Gator defense ARE better than the 2006 edition, so the defensive line will not have to shoulder the load. Janoris Jenkins is a true shutdown cornerback (yes, even as a true freshman... the kid is that good), and he should be able to keep Juaquin Iglesias in check.
Jermaine Gresham will be a key component of Oklahoma's offense. The Gators have not faced a tight end as good as him since spring practice (Gresham is a lot like Cornelius Ingram, Florida's standout TE that was lost for the season during Fall camp). I don't even really know who Florida has that can matchup with this guy. If I had to guess, I'd say Will Hill. I think Hill will be very important for the Gators in this game. The Sooners run an up tempo offense, so the chances for substitutions will be rare. Having a defensive back that is strong against both the pass and the run will be crucial. The best way to render Gresham ineffective will be, of course, to pressure Bradford.
On offense, the Gators won't have much of a problem putting points on the board. Oklahoma trots out the 65th ranked defense in the country (which, funny enough, was good enough to be the 2nd ranked defense in the Big 12). I think the Sooner defense is a little underrated considering the Sooners run the no-huddle a lot, so teams have more opportunities to score points. The Gators will try to establish the running game to keep the Sooner's offense off the field.
It will be interesting to see if Oklahoma can stop Tebow, Rainey, Demps, Harvin, and Moody on the ground. You must remember that Oklahoma's star MLB, Ryan Reynolds, was lost for the season earlier in the year. If the Sooners do manage to stop the run and the game turns into a track meet, Florida should still be fine. Texas was able to put 45 up on Oklahoma. No offense to Colt McCoy and the Texas offense, but McCoy is basically a mini-me version of Tebow and the skill position players Tebow has to work with are far superior to that of Texas'.
The x-factors to watch for in this game:
1. Bob Stoops has lost his last four BCS games, including games the past two years against West Virginia and Boise State in which Oklahoma was a heavy favorite.
2. The Heisman winner will go a long way in deciding who wins this game. And I'm not just talking about Tim Tebow.
Tebow and Bradford are the two likely favorites to take home the Heisman this year. I'm not saying there is such thing as a Heisman curse, but the Heisman winner has not fared very well in the title game in recent years. Troy Smith, Jason White, and Chris Weinke have all won the Heisman this decade and then have gone on to lose the BCS title game. Matt Leinart was the only player able to bag a Heisman and a national championship in the same season.
If you remember the last time the Gators faced an unstoppable offense in a BCS title game (shouldn't be too hard, it was against Ohio State in 2006), they got a ton of pressure on Troy Smith and held Ohio State to under 100 yards of offense. This Gator defensive line is not as good as the 2006 line and this Oklahoma offense has more weapons than that Ohio State offense had, so it's not going to be as easy this time around.
That being said, the linebackers and secondary on this Gator defense ARE better than the 2006 edition, so the defensive line will not have to shoulder the load. Janoris Jenkins is a true shutdown cornerback (yes, even as a true freshman... the kid is that good), and he should be able to keep Juaquin Iglesias in check.
Jermaine Gresham will be a key component of Oklahoma's offense. The Gators have not faced a tight end as good as him since spring practice (Gresham is a lot like Cornelius Ingram, Florida's standout TE that was lost for the season during Fall camp). I don't even really know who Florida has that can matchup with this guy. If I had to guess, I'd say Will Hill. I think Hill will be very important for the Gators in this game. The Sooners run an up tempo offense, so the chances for substitutions will be rare. Having a defensive back that is strong against both the pass and the run will be crucial. The best way to render Gresham ineffective will be, of course, to pressure Bradford.
On offense, the Gators won't have much of a problem putting points on the board. Oklahoma trots out the 65th ranked defense in the country (which, funny enough, was good enough to be the 2nd ranked defense in the Big 12). I think the Sooner defense is a little underrated considering the Sooners run the no-huddle a lot, so teams have more opportunities to score points. The Gators will try to establish the running game to keep the Sooner's offense off the field.
It will be interesting to see if Oklahoma can stop Tebow, Rainey, Demps, Harvin, and Moody on the ground. You must remember that Oklahoma's star MLB, Ryan Reynolds, was lost for the season earlier in the year. If the Sooners do manage to stop the run and the game turns into a track meet, Florida should still be fine. Texas was able to put 45 up on Oklahoma. No offense to Colt McCoy and the Texas offense, but McCoy is basically a mini-me version of Tebow and the skill position players Tebow has to work with are far superior to that of Texas'.
The x-factors to watch for in this game:
1. Bob Stoops has lost his last four BCS games, including games the past two years against West Virginia and Boise State in which Oklahoma was a heavy favorite.
2. The Heisman winner will go a long way in deciding who wins this game. And I'm not just talking about Tim Tebow.
Tebow and Bradford are the two likely favorites to take home the Heisman this year. I'm not saying there is such thing as a Heisman curse, but the Heisman winner has not fared very well in the title game in recent years. Troy Smith, Jason White, and Chris Weinke have all won the Heisman this decade and then have gone on to lose the BCS title game. Matt Leinart was the only player able to bag a Heisman and a national championship in the same season.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Kansas State Names Al Davis errr Bill Snyder Their New (Old) Head Coach
You can probably tell from the title of this post that I do not approve of KSU's decision to bring back 69 year old Bill Snyder. I don't really know what they're thinking on this one. He'll be 73 when his first recruiting class graduates.
Snyder was already losing his touch when he left KSU the first time (9-14 in his last 23). I wonder if this hire was a result of no one else wanting the job.
Snyder was already losing his touch when he left KSU the first time (9-14 in his last 23). I wonder if this hire was a result of no one else wanting the job.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Texas Is the Best Team In the Big 12
After Texas Tech humiliated itself last night, I think it's pretty clear that Texas is the best team in the Big 12. They fell behind early to Texas Tech because after three straight Top 10 battles they couldn't match Tech's intensity, but in the second half they regained their form. You can't tell me that OU is now better than the Longhorns because, of course, Texas beat them on a neutral field. Texas should be going to the Big 12 title game. It won't happen, though, because if Oklahoma takes care of business next week, they will be the Big 12 South representative.
Two other things we learned last night... Tim Tebow deserves to win his second Heisman and the SEC champ will likely win the national title again. Sorry, but the Big 12 teams play no defense. All of these Big 12 games have been decided by which defense plays the worst. Each Big 12 South QB has taken turns lighting up the opposing defenses. Tebow has been throttling teams that actually play a little D.
Two other things we learned last night... Tim Tebow deserves to win his second Heisman and the SEC champ will likely win the national title again. Sorry, but the Big 12 teams play no defense. All of these Big 12 games have been decided by which defense plays the worst. Each Big 12 South QB has taken turns lighting up the opposing defenses. Tebow has been throttling teams that actually play a little D.
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