Reblogged from tebowing
Y’know what? That’s pretty awesome. People give Tim Tebow a ton of shit, but being able to laugh at people mocking you diffuses it pretty well. Now, if he could just work on the people mocking his throwing motion…
“Tebowing with Tebow!!!!! <3 <3 <3”
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Reblogged from sbnation
I’m sorry, but fuck James Harrison. If you hit a guy helmet to helmet once, it’s an accident. Twice, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But if you keep doing it over and over again and apparently think that it’s funny? You’re a fucking asshole who shouldn’t have the privilege to make a living playing a sport.
James Harrison is a dirty player and giving him just a one-game suspension sends the wrong message in regards to the NFL’s stance on helmet to helmet hits. It’s a slap on the wrist. If the NFL were serious, they’d suspending him through the remainder of the season. He’s a repeat offender, for crying out loud.
James Harrison tweets his response to news of his suspension for a helmet-to-helmet Colt McCoy hit.
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Well, That Happened 2011 - BCS Edition
So it’s a rematch.
Never mind that Alabama already lost to LSU.
Never mind that Alabama didn’t win their division.
Never mind that Alabama didn’t play in their conference title game.
Never mind that only three of Alabama’s wins came against teams that ended the season with a winning record.
Never mind that Oklahoma State beat seven teams who ended the season with a winning record.
Never mind that there are 119 other teams in the FBS. Some of them even deserving of a shot at the national title, despite not being named Alabama.
Never mind that, in five of the seven computer rankings, Oklahoma State was #2. It was the human voters who found it necessary to keep the ‘Pokes at #3, despite the ass-whipping they handed to #10 Oklahoma. What highly ranked team did Alabama beat this week? Oh yeah, that’s right, they didn’t play anyone. They were eliminated from their own conference title game. Curious…
Despite all of those factors, it’s going to be LSU v. Alabama in New Orleans on January 9th. Oklahoma State is going to have to settle for Stanford in the Fiesta Bowl. Andrew Luck doesn’t have the horses to outscore the Cowboys and Stanford’s defense isn’t fast enough to stay with Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon and Joseph Randle.
So, where are we if Alabama beats LSU close in January? They would end the season 1-1 head to head. Do they share the national title? If Okie State blows the doors off Stanford, do they have a claim at the title? Is there any way I can talk myself into not hating this matchup? Probably not. Let’s stop talking about it.
Giving a cursory look at the remainder of the bowl schedule, here are some big questions I have:
1. Arkansas State v. Northern Illinois in the GoDaddy dot com Bowl is going to be a fun matchup. Lots of points and excitement.
2. UCLA v. Illinois in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl is the exact opposite of fun and exciting. In fact, it’s the poster child for those who complain that there are too many bowl games. Neither of these teams deserves to play another game and we certainly don’t deserve to suffer through it.
3. Wisconsin v. Oregon in the Rose Bowl should be a very good game. Two well-rounded teams that are well-coached. Great matchup.
4. Ohio State v. Florida in the Gator Bowl is an abomination. Heaven help the poor souls who attend/watch this one.
5. Texas A&M has no business playing in a bowl. For that matter the following teams should not have received bowl bids at all, in my opinion - Texas A&M, UCLA, Florida, Illinois, Mississippi State.
6. TCU and Boise State are going to make mincemeat of their opponents, Louisiana Tech and Arizona State, respectively.
7. Washington v. Baylor in the Alamo Bowl could be a very interesting undercard bowl game. If Keith Price and Chris Polk can keep up with RGIII and the Baylor offense, that is.
8. Not bowl-related, but Robert Griffin III deserves the Heisman. If I had a ballot, it would read - RGIII, Tyrann Matheiu, Montee Ball, Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson. Mathieu was a game-changer like none other, despite not playing offense. Montee Ball had a slightly better season in total yards than Trent Richardson and happened to score 12 more TDs than him. Will he be a better NFL back? Who knows, but he was better this year.
Griffin had multiple Heisman moments this season, from the opening game all the way through the thrashing of Texas. The fact that he plays for Baylor doesn’t matter. If he doesn’t win, the Heisman means even less than I previously thought and we should probably start ignoring it.
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Why doesn’t this make me feel any better?
Take a break from hand-wringing over the impending BCS implications of what transpired tonight with Dikembe…
(Source: youtube.com)
My Best Guesses 2011: Championship Week
I know I’m late on this again. I also know that I didn’t get a chance to pick the Pac-12 championship game. Oh well. UCLA made it a little more interesting than people thought it would be, but I chalk that up to Oregon completely overlooking them.
Let’s go to the conference title games as well as two Big 12 games that really matter; Bedlam- which has BCS title game implications and the Texas/Baylor game- which has Heisman implications.
Last week: 3-2 / All-time: 123-68
No. 24 Southern Miss at No. 6 Houston - I don’t think the Cougs trip up here. It would be fitting if they did, but Case Keenum is a veteran leader and he knows what’s at stake here.
Houston wins, 45-31
No. 22 Texas at No. 17 Baylor - RGIII has been cleared to play in what could be an ugly game. Texas plays good defense and should be able to get pressure on Griffin and slow the game down to help their inept offense stay in it when they face Baylor’s awful defense. Still, I think Griffin has another “Heisman moment.”
Baylor wins, 27-21
No. 14 Georgia vs. No. 1 LSU - Can Georgia play David to LSU’s Goliath? It doesn’t seem likely, but I’d be damned if I don’t want to see it happen. So let’s go ahead and pick Georgia. They have a solid defense and an emerging offense.
Georgia wins (somehow), 24-22
No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 3 Oklahoma State - Bedlam. This one is simple. If Okie State wins convincingly, they will have a good shot at the BCS title game. If Oklahoma wins or keeps it close, well…
Okie State wins, 45-24
No. 5 Virginia Tech vs. No. 20 Clemson - Clemson won earlier in the year, 23-3. I don’t think that happens again. Frank Beamer’s teams always play better as the year goes on and Clemson has been sliding for the past few weeks. It’s awful tough to bounce back against that Hokie defense.
Virginia Tech wins, 31-13
No. 15 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Michigan State - The first matchup between these two teams was a classic. I expect this one to be a classic, too. This time, Wisconsin finishes the job.
Wisconsin wins, 27-20
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So that’s why I find myself so interested in soccer matches, even though I barely understand how strategy works on the pitch, because it’s FUCKING FASCINATING TO BE ABLE TO FIGURE SHIT OUT FOR YOURSELF AND WATCH A TEAM PLAY AS A SINGLE, COHESIVE UNIT.
So, That Happened 2011 - Week Thirteen
I give up.
The #2 team in the BCS has been eliminated from it’s conference championship game. As has the #4 team in the BCS. The #3 team doesn’t even have to play in a conference title game. Meanwhile, the #1 team in the land has to play in their conference title game and win just to hold on to their ranking.
How is this not a broken system? The conferences have title games, but getting to those games has no bearing whatsoever upon rankings, apparently. Alabama, who lost at home to LSU, could leapfrog the Tigers if LSU somehow loses to Georgia in the SEC title game. Even without that gift, the Tide has a good shot at playing in the national title game, despite being beaten at home and eliminated from their own conference title game.
The fuck?
LSU is handicapped due to their excellence. They’re putting in jeopardy their #1 ranking for something that has no bearing whatsoever upon the BCS race. Stanford is ranked ahead of the team that eliminated them from contention for their conference title, Oregon.
None of this makes any sense. Nor is it fair.
On the flipside, the Big East’s automatic qualifier for a BCS bowl may well be 7-5 Louisville. Meanwhile, 10-1 Boise State has to hope for an at-large bid.
This system is broken. It needs to be fixed. People across the college football landscape have been screaming this for years, but it’s even more true this year and it’s only going to get worse.
With the 2011 season all over but the shouting (and there will be plenty of shouting), we have just a scant few games left for things to shake themselves out. But from my point of view, it’s been a disappointing, rough season marred by scandal, investigations, sub-par play, lack of parity, and likely a unsatisfying outcome. LSU/Bama rematch? Yeah, I’ll watch it, but I’m not going to enjoy it.
Never the less, here are some things I learned this weekend.
- Friday’s games are all a haze of leftover stuffing and pie. I’m not too convinced that I actually missed anything.
- Saturday’s rivalry games were almost all blowouts. What a way to end the season…
- Michigan/Ohio State was actually worth watching. Who knew?
- Notre Dame finally looks like they’ve made the switch to Andrew Hendrix at QB over Tommy Rees. Too bad they didn’t make that decision before they found themselves down 21-0…
- The most intriguing game of the weekend happened while most of you were in a turkey-induced coma, with Texas A&M sticking to the script and collapsing in the second half. Well done, guys.
- We still have no idea who the Heisman frontrunner should be, but it looks like Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson and Robert Griffin III are locks to be invited to NYC in a few weeks. Montee Ball disapproves, but then again, he’s probably still scoring a TD somewhere…
- I will be spending the next few weeks watching FCS playoffs, because I enjoy seeing moderately competent football, especially when the teams are actually playing for a real title instead of an imaginary one. Watch with me, won’t you?
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My Best Guesses 2011: Week Thirteen
Gobble-gobble. It’s Thanksgiving and this year, we have so much to be thankful for-
- a BCS system that is in utter chaos
- Case Keenum putting up silly-ass numbers
- Lee Corso
…and that’s about it. College football is a mess, the SEC west is atop the BCS, whether we like it or not (NOTNOTNOT!!!) and every other conference in the country is a tire fire of varying dimensions. In fact, outside of LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, and possibly Georgia, you could make the case that the SEC is a tire fire in it’s own right. So if LSU wins on Friday, join me on the LSU vs. Houston in the BCS title game bandwagon. If the 2011 college football season is going to go up in flames, it might as well be spectacular, right?
The chaotic side of me wants Arkansas to win this game, Auburn to beat Alabama, Virginia to beat VaTech, and Notre Dame to beat Stanford, just to throw the whole BCS system one step further into the abyss. Sure, you might be thinking that there’s no way all those upsets could happen in a single week, but you were probably thinking that before last week’s Top 10 slaughter, too. I think if the same happened this week, Rece Davis’ head might pop off.
Since there’s food to be eaten, friends and family to be thankful for, and food to be eaten, let’s get to the picks, shall we?
Last week: 2-3 / All-time: 120-66
No. 3 Arkansas at No. 1 LSU - Like I stated earlier, I really want to pick Arkansas in this game. Chaos at all costs! But in reality, I simply don’t see Tyler Wilson having enough time to find all of his talented receivers, as good as they are. And unless Knile Davis miraculously comes back, their run game isn’t going to factor for much.
LSU wins, 19-14
No. 2 Alabama at No. 24 Auburn - Auburn can’t stop the run and their offense is a sloppy mess at times. Trent Richardson coud very well eat them alive.
Alabama wins, 31-10
No. 19 Penn State at No. 16 Wisconsin - Nopenopenopenopenope. Penn State has a damn good defense, but not this good. And their offense is bad enough to be stopped consistently by Wisky’s average D. Plus, Camp Randall in November. Those cheese-fed kids never get cold and they can yell like the dickens.
Wisconsin wins, 23-10
No. 5 Virginia Tech at Virginia - I’m on the Mike London bandwagon. I just am. I can’t help it.
Virginia wins, 24-21
No. 22 Notre Dame at No. 6 Stanford - Okay, so bear with me as I try to rationalize my dereliction of sanity. I think Notre Dame has a shot at winning this game in Palo Alto. I really do. They might have to play out of their minds to do so, but I think they could win Saturday night. They have a very solid offensive line and Stanford doesn’t have a great defense agains the pass - allowing 240 yards a game and only picking off 4 passes on the season - even if their rush defense is solid. If Notre Dame is going to win this game, they are going to need a few long runs from Cierre Wood to keep them honest. Otherwise, Stanford may just pin their ears back all game long. Wood is capable of giving them those runs and I wouldn’t be shocked if George Atkinson wouldn’t break one or two himself.
If the Irish can get enough pressure on Luck and continue to be solid against the run, they could slow Stanford down just enough to get an advantage for the offense.
Irish win, 35-31
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Heisman Talk: Darkhorses Abound
Much has been made over the past few weeks, once the BCS started to go into the crapper, that we don’t have a clear Heisman trophy front-runner this year. For awhile, it was Stanford’s golden boy, Andrew Luck. Then it was Alabama’s bruising Trent Richardson. After that, the talk was all about 28 year old gunslinger Brandon Weedon from Okie State. Peppered around these mentions were LaMichael James, Montee Ball, Justin Blackmon, and so on. No one college football pundit seems to have their finger on just who should be leading the Heisman talk. And this helps perpetuate more Heisman talk about the fact that there is no leader for the Heisman.
Sigh…
So, into this abyss I might as well cast my line, too. Not that I have any particular insight that people who follow college football for a living might not have. I’m just a fan who watched countless hours of football every week in the fall and occasionally likes to blather on about what I’ve observed. From time to time, I’ve been known to get lucky and be correct.
The Heisman Trophy is awarded to “the outstanding college football player whose performance most exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.” In short, it’s awarded to the player who is the most outstanding college football player for that particular year. Not the most hyped. Not the player with the most wins. Not the best player on the best team. THE MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
That’s a broad definition, to say the least. What I might consider outstanding might be average or expected by someone else. For me, a player can be outstanding and not be on a top team. The Heisman is not a team award, although good leadership is certainly a quality of an outstanding player.
Right now, if I had to pick five players that have impressed me the most this season, my list would probably go something like this:
Robert Griffin III, QB Baylor
Chander Harnish, QB Northern Illinois
Colin Klein, QB Kansas State
Montee Ball, RB Wisconsin
Kellen Moore, QB Boise State
These are the players I’ve been most impressed with this season and here’s why-
Robert Griffin III - Every time Baylor steps onto the field, no matter who they are facing, RGIII is likely the best football player out there. Playing on a team with next to no defense, he has been counted on to put up ridiculous numbers week in and week out just to win games, and he’s delivered. Even in Baylor’s three losses, he’s been stunning. If you had to pick a QB that could be inserted into just about any offensive scheme in the country and thrive, it’d be RGIII.
Chander Harnish - Unless you’ve been taking in the hot MACtion on Tuesday and Wednesday nights recently, you might not know who Chandler Harnish is. But his numbers speak for themselves - 2600 yards passing, 1200 rushing, 32 total touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. He’s the only QB in the country to record a 200+ yard passing AND rushing game this season. In my book, he’s right up there with Robert Griffin in terms of versatility and competitive fire. Too bad he has no shot of being invited to the Heisman ceremony…
Colin Klein - 25 rushing touchdowns, 11 passing. Klein has accounted for 2600 of K-State’s 3762 yards from scrimmage this year. That’s 70% of their total offense. Not to mention all but 5 of their offensive touchdowns. If you watch a Wildcats game, all you see if Klein running and passing them to victory, time and time again. If that’s not outstanding, I don’t know what is.
Montee Ball - 30 total touchdowns. 30. 3-0. Add to that 1700+ yards from scrimmage and two 200+ yard games this year and you have another guy who at least deserves a mention in the Heisman race.
Kellen Moore - Kellen Moore is this year’s Colt McCoy - a player who has had a spectacular career, is a consummate leader and competitor and puts up damn fine statistics. Too bad the Heisman isn’t a career award, because he’d have it just about locked up. Moore owns the NCAA record for most career wins. Has a total of 25 interceptions thrown for his career. In fact, of his three total losses for his career, the largest margin was three points. The other two games were lost by a single point. That’s how close he’s been to guiding the Broncos to four straight undefeated seasons. That is insane.
This year, with a hodge-podge of receivers, he’s still thrown for 2915 with 35TDs and only 6 INTs, while completing 73.8% of his passes. He may not be the most athletic guy on the field, but because of his cunning, preparedness and smarts, he’s often the most imposing.
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