Wow. It seems like Florida was the one who got Tebow’d this time. The Gators and their Heisman winning QB were ambushed by Michigan in the Capital One Bowl, much to the surprise of, well, pretty much everyone. I didn’t have a chance to watch the game, but from the box score, it looks like the game was pretty intense. Despite a final score of 41-35, no one ever led by more than a touchdown. Florida actually had the lead with five minutes to go, but Michigan was able to come back and finish off the game. As a SEC fan, I hate to see another SEC team lose, especially to a Big Ten team (and especially one that lost to Appalachian State) but as a Tennessee fan, I guess I don’t mind too much to see the Gators go down.Remember when Auburn beat Florida earlier this year? You must…They continually show the field goal that won it in “Pontiac’s Game-Changing Performances”. In any case, you had to love watching the Auburn kicker doing the Gator chomp as he ran celebrating off the field. I did anyway.
What the hell is wrong with Chris Spielman? I had to endure his terrible commentary while watching the Tennessee-Wisconsin Outback Bowl. I have never heard such biased announcing in a network broadcast. Okay, Chris, we get it, you went to Ohio State and you support Big Ten teams. If I was broadcasting the game, I probably would have been ripping on Wisconsin the whole time. But I don’t get paid the hundreds of thousands you do to be a “football analyst” or a “color commentator” so I expect some rational commentary when I watch a game on ESPN.
Every other play, it seemed, Chris Spielman would wax poetically about the great tradition of Wisconsin football. You wouldn’t have even realized another team was on the field. Tyler Donovan, man, he is such a competitor! Look at him bounce back from all these hits that he’s taking! Of course, no need to acknowledge the team that is actually delivering the hits. Let’s continue to praise the guy writhing on the ground every five plays! He even went on a rant about how the SEC’s speed is overrated, calling out a Tennessee linebacker (Dorian Davis) for not being able to catch Tyler Donovan on a QB scramble when Davis clearly did not have the angle. But no, that wasn’t enough. Spielman continued to discuss the issues, and even went back to last year’s BCS Championship and claimed that Ohio State was actually a faster team than Florida. If you lined those two teams and had them run 40’s, I guarantee you Ohio State would have come out on top. Ted Ginn aside, I mean seriously. What game was he watching? And who really cares anyway? I am trying to watch Tennessee and Wisconsin play here.
All that aside, I was glad to see Tennessee finish up its season on a strong note, something they haven’t done much lately. The defense looks much improved and I expect it be strong next year as well. Most of the starters will return, and the true freshman players (Eric Berry, Brent Vinson) in the secondary will be a little more battle tested next year. Tennessee will have to replace two departing senior defensive ends and star safety Jonathan Hefney, but should be pretty set at the other positions. Jerod Mayo could leave early, but I have a feeling he will stick around for another year. The offense will also return all starters with the notable exception of quarterback Erik Ainge and TE Chris Brown. The young receiving corps featuring all freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be much better next year. It was obvious in the first few games that Ainge was a little tentative with his receivers, having lost his top three receivers (Robert Meachem, Jayson Swain and Bret Smith) from the prior season. Jonathan Crompton (who came in touted in the same Elite 11 2004 class as Chase Daniel and Ryan Perriloux) will have to step up at quarterback next year, as he has played very little behind Erik Ainge.
Georgia and USC both made strong statements in their BCS blowout victories. These two teams were mentioned as the hottest teams in the country at the end of the season and clearly wanted to emphasize that point as they handily defeated their weaker opponents. Illinois was lucky to even be on the same field as USC, but I expected them to put up a little bit more of a fight. The Hawaii result was more predictable, as the Bulldawgs defensive front simply manhandled Hawaii’s offensive line, getting to Colt Brennan without having to blitz. Unfortunately this is the end of the road for these teams, and we’ll never know how good they could have been. I do feel justified in having ranked UGA number one at the end of my regular season poll, but we all know how much that means.
Congratulations to the Mountain West on clinching the Bowl Challenge Cup. With Florida’s loss, the SEC has officially been eliminated from contention, leaving the 4-1 MWC as winners. With a win over Ohio State, the SEC can finish 7-2, a half game behind the MWC. The Big 12 could go 6-2 if both Oklahoma and Kansas win, but no other conference will be much over .500. The Big Ten could actually finish at .500 if Ohio State knocks off LSU, which would be much better than most people expected.
For those of you who plan to watch the Orange and Fiesta Bowls tonight and tomorrow, enjoy. I doubt I will even watch more than a quarter combined of those two games. Maybe the Fiesta (Oklahoma-West Virgina) but the Kansas-Virginia Tech Orange Bowl does absolutely nothing for me. I will be waiting for the Ohio State-LSU showdown, to see who will win the right to play the winner of USC-Georgia. Oh wait…
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