Saturday in Review: Conference Championship Edition!

The last "normal" Saturday of the year featured arguably the best games all season, and my favorite team wasn't even playing! Let's review these games:

#1 Florida-13, #2 Alabama-32

Well, I'll admit that this one surprised me more than a little. I did expect Alabama to win, but I did not expect to see a 19 point defeat of the Swamp Lizards. 'Bama's quarterback, McElroy, looked very good against a normally excellent Florida defense that was depleted by the loss of Carlos Dunlap, their best pass-defender. Throw Mark Ingram into the mix, and you had a combination that kept the Gators defense out of sync for most of the game.

It wasn't for lack of trying on the commentators' part, as CBS's resident Florida fans Gary Danielson and Verne Lundquist did their darndest to root for the Gators directly from the press box. Every time Alabama did something, Verne practically spat out the play call. Maybe he had money on the game. Or he'd been drinking again, I dunno. Either way, it was interesting to hear the announcers talk about how great of a warrior and a champion Tim Tebow is, even though Tebow had a distinctly average (not bad, just average) game.

Look, this was probably the most watched college football game thus far this season, so the odds favor that you actually saw this game and are reading this bit solely to humor me. We'll move on to bigger, better, more interesting things after this brief blurb: Alabama's defense looked excellent, and the Tide look to be heavy favorites in the National Title game against Texas. Speaking of Texas...

#3 Texas-13, #22 Nebraska-12

Well, the Longhorns are in the BCS Title game, a fact that is almost entirely due to their preseason ranking coupled with their anemic conference and their pathetic non-conference schedule. Don't get me wrong, there were six teams that were undefeated coming into championship weekend: Alabama, Florida, Texas, Cincinnati, Boise State, and TCU. Of those, only Florida and Alabama don't play in an awful conference. Only Alabama, Cincinnati, and Boise played ranked non-conference teams. My point? Well, in a season like this one, preseason rankings basically determined the National Championship matchup way back in August. There was no way any of us could have known that, but it's true. Had Cincinnati or TCU started the year a wee bit higher, then they would be in the title game and Texas would be on the outside looking in. It's just the way things go in the not-at-all-adequate method that college football uses to determine its champion.

Still, one wonders how the Longhorns will fare against an SEC defense. Colt McCoy is an excellent quarterback, but the Nebraska defense and the monster known as Ndamukong Suh, wreaked havoc on the Longhorns offensive line all night. Alabama certainly doesn't have anyone as good as Suh on its defensive line, but their all-around D might be better than Nebraska's, a thought which should terrify the Longhorn faithful.

I suppose some analysis is in order. I mean, it's what I don't get paid to do here, right? If Nebraska had something, anything, resembling a competent offense, then we'd be looking at a different score here. That's not an insult to Nebraska, they just have no offense. Look no further than the Virginia Tech game, where the Nebraska defense was superior to the Hokie offense on all but one drive, yet the Huskers lost the game because all 15 of their points came on field goals. The same can be said here, with all 12 points coming on the leg of Alex Henery. Some of these Nebraska scoring drives started ridiculously close to Texas's end zone. When a team starts a drive on the opposing team's 10 yard line, more than 3 points should result!

And, finally, there was the penultimate play. You all know what I'm talking about: Colt McCoy's inexplicable roll out on a play that started with 7 ticks left on the clock, his waiting to throw the ball until the last possible second, and the fact that the clock did at one point read 0:00. All of that happened while Texas was within field goal range and (here's the weird part) still had a timeout left! The refs did make the right call, as much as it pains me to say it. There was still 1 second left on the clock when the ball hit the ground, and Texas was completely entitled to the field goal attempt that they received. This is, however, an example of those seconds that mysteriously disappear during football games. Who knows how many times a ball gets thrown away and a second sneaks off the game clock. Moments like this are enough to make one wonder.

Any hoo, Texas's kick was good (barely) and the BCS was saved the embarrassment of having either a minor conference team (unthinkable!) or a Big East team (never!) or a Florida/Alabama rematch (honestly, probably what would have happened if Verne Lundquist ran the BCS) in the National Title game.

The best part of the postgame? The Texas players, especially those on offense, leaping about as though they'd accomplished something at the end of the game. 15 of the yards on the game winning drive were from a horse-collar tackle. The offense did almost nothing the entire night. And, here's the best bit, you beat a team that you were favored to beat by 14 by a grand total of a point. Yes, you've done so much. (NOTE: I'm being a bit extreme here. Texas is undefeated, and their offense did look good in many of their games this season. But if they think they can play the way they did on Saturday and defeat Alabama, then they are in for a bitter disappointment)

My question (which all UNC fans who still feel betrayed by Mack Brown will appreciate) is this: WHAT THE FRICK WAS THE TEXAS COACHING STAFF THINKING!?!?! Seriously, you have a shot at a title game sitting in front of you, and you choose to run a play that can very easily backfire. Nebraska's defense had hounded McCoy all night; what if they'd gotten to him? Texas's kicker hit the field goal with about half a foot of clearance to spare, meaning a sack probably results in a loss. What if the pass had been thrown and then picked off? What if the pass was completed, but thanks to slow play development the clock ran out? What if McCoy's toss had hung in the air for a second longer? That's too many factors to risk! Mack must have been wondering what to wear in Pasadena, because he sure as heck wasn't thinking of football when this play ran through his headset and was somehow approved. If Texas does somehow win the National Title, remember this play, because it will remind you just how thin the margin between championships and Cotton Bowls can be.

Yet we base our bowl system mostly (key word there, mostly) on reality rather than "what ifs" and thus does Texas skip merrily into the title game. Hats off to Nebraska for playing Texas tightly, and look for the Huskers to keep making waves in the Big 12, especially since they bother to play defense in a conference that long forgot what the 7-letter "d-word" means.

#5 Cincinnati-45, #15 Pittsburgh-44

Another near-upset turns out to be a...set. Is that the proper term for a non-upset? Or would that be a downset? Oh, well. Pitt loses at home due to a missed extra point of all things. Mind you, before we're too hasty on the kicker, let's not forget that Pitt blew a 21 point lead. And that one isn't the kicker's fault, now is it?

Congrats to Cincinnati on the undefeated season, though the afore mentioned clock management issue in the Big 12 Championship game means that the Bearcats (still an awful mascot) will not be competing for a national title. Less of a pity than a sad dose of reality. Though that sad dose of reality might turn into an overdose if Brian Kelly splits Cincinnati for Notre Dame. On one hand, I can see why Coach Kelly might stay: Secure job, the satisfaction of winning with a program he built, and a cupcake conference help. But Notre Dame has money, tradition, and (most importantly) is not in Ohio, making it a very appealing place. Either way, congrats to Cincy! Enjoy your beating by Florida in the Sugar Bowl. If Coach Kelly leaves, it might be your last BCS showing for a looooooong time.

New Mexico State-7, #6 Boise State-42

The number six team in the country beats the second worst team in its godawful conference by 35 at home. You really want a review of that? Didn't think so.

#16 Oregon State-33, #7 Oregon-37

You know, Oregon is actually a pretty good football team. I did not think, after that disaster in Boise back in September, that I'd be typing that. The Ducks deserved to win the weakened Pac-10, and they did so with a close win over their rivals.

Oregon State, meanwhile, nearly won the conference while garnering practically no attention whatsoever from the national media. Perhaps that's the key to success, as attention seems to lead to defeat at least once a season. (See also: Southern Cal every single year of the Pete Carroll era)

It will be interesting to see how the Pac-10 performs this bowl season, as they've beaten up heavily on one another during the regular season, with no one team looking that impressive. I suppose we'll see. One thing I do know: Not a single team in the conference plays defense at all. That could very well hurt come bowl time...

#10 Georgia Tech-39, Clemson-34

A real shootout between teams that lost last week. Pity that Georgia Tech won, I'd love to see the BCS explain Clemson getting into the Orange Bowl while Virginia Tech, the highest ranked team in the conference, went to play in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl.

Despite my above comment, I am actually glad that the Yellow Jackets and their illegal cut blocks/really awesome run attack won. It would have looked really bad for the conference to have had its highest ranked team lose to its rival then lose to an unranked school in the championship.

This game was actually pretty good. Just so long as you ignore the fact that these two were the best teams in the ACC, yet they'd be the 5th and 7th best teams in the SEC. Neither team brought a defense to the game, and the result was a high-flying scoring bonanza. Georgia Tech is headed to the Orange Bowl as the ACC's lone BCS team, while Clemson gets the honor of playing Kentucky in the Music City Bowl...

Arizona-21, #18 USC-17

Ahem...BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

OK, let's try and analyze this one. Southern Cal runs up the score on a helpless UCLA squad, and then gets beaten at home by Arizona. The Men of Troy have gone from perennial power to 5th place in a 10 team conference. When you factor in that this conference includes the cupcake known as Washington State, this year was a massive disappointment for the Trojans.

Southern Cal deserved this, and frankly I hope Boston College smacks them around in their bowl.

Arizona, meanwhile, was a surprise this season. Way to go, Wildcats! After, like, 5 years of being predicted to do something, you finally finished higher than 4th in the conference!

#19 California-10, Washington-42

California's record as a ranked team: 5-4
Cal's record as an unranked team: 3-0

Washington's record against teams from California: 2-2
Washington's record against other states: 3-5

There's some weird facts for you. I figure I'd be equal and give y'all facts for both the teams. I look forward to watching Cal win their bowl, since they're playing Utah and they're unranked. Washington, meanwhile, beat 2 ranked teams this season, and they've been fairly mediocre in all their other games. Movin' right along...

#21 Houston-32, ECU-38

Houston's quarterback Case Keenum is really really good at throwing the football. Unfortunately for Mr. Keenum, the Houston defense sucks. The result? Games like this one, which featured Houston doing next to nothing defensively, and allowing ECU to pull the upset against Conference-USA's reigning hype machine.

ECU has won the conference for the second year, and will be headed to the run down slag heap known as the "Liberty Bowl" as a reward. The bowl has plenty of prestige, but the stadium is in awful shape. Houston will be playing in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (I didn't make that one up!) against Air Force.

I wonder, even though Houston is favored, is it an upset if the Cougars win? Air Force clearly has the favor of the bowl's sponsor and the bowl's name. Idle wondering, I suppose. Let's move along...

#23 West Virginia-24, Rutgers-21

Special thanks to the Big East conference for allowing us to watch their mediocre brand of football when the larger conferences have championship games.

West Virginia's not been so great this year, and Rutgers has been awful. Look, I'm taking it slower this week. The last two took it out of me, and bowl season's taxing on everyone!

Still, here's one last look at the Bottom 95:

On Thursday, Western Kentucky completed the imperfect season. 0-12! Harder, apparently, than going 12-0...Central Michigan beat Ohio for the MAC championship. No one, not even the MAC, cares...Fresno State beat Illinois on a two point conversion that was caught by an offensive lineman. That's my nominee for Play of the Year...Wisconsin crushed Hawaii...UConn beat South Florida in a snowy game in Connecticut, which seems a bit unfair to the Tampa-based Bulls...

During the next week, Army/Navy analysis, Bowl Previews, and some coaching commentary. Stay tuned for partial excitement!