College Football Finale 10/02/11

This was a defining weekend for the best teams in the country as Clemson, Alabama, and Wisconsin showed that they are championship material. All three of these teams faced a legit opponent and crushed them into oblivion. Wisconsin got it started as they took it to the outmatched Cornhuskers and beat them by 31 points. It really wasn’t even that close as Nebraska cleaned up with some garbage points at the end. “We’re sexy,” coach Bret Bielema said. Next it was Clemson fending off it old demons against Virginia Tech as they pounded the Hokies 23-3. Coach (Dabo) Swinney calls it the “Shock the World Tour,” start QB Tajh Boyd said. This is the best Clemson team I think I have ever seen. I asked myself during the game was Clemson this year’s Auburn? And last but certainly not least was the beatdown Alabama put on Florida. Bama stumbled out the gates, spotting the Gators an early lead but once Trent Richardson got cranked up, Florida didn’t have a chance. It was an even tougher loss for the Gators with Jeff Brantley going down in the defeat. Florida season may have died in the swamp last night with Brantley’s injury.


Just another fun weekend of football in the NCAA as their were plenty of great games to go around. Texas A&M are doing their best Minnesota Vikings impressions as they squandered yet another second half lead to Arkansas. South Carolina just mystifies me with all the talent they have but yet they can’t put up over 13 points an Auburn team that was allowing points in bunches to every other team it faced. Andrew Luck in Stanford keep winning under the radar as the Cardinal are the best team out west in my opinion. Ohio State is just plain pathetic on offense these days. They couldn’t even muster over 180 yards of total offense. Now with all that has been said lets jump into some game breakdowns.

Wisconsin 48 Nebraska 17 – All the talk going into this was that Russell Wilson and the Badgers haven’t faced competition on the level of what the Huskers were going to bring into Madison, but after this blowout win I think that won’t be a question they have to answer anymore. Wilson was his consistent self as he was 14/20 for 255 yards and 2 TDs. He even added a rushing TD for good measure. Nebraska just couldn’t stop the run against the Badgers as they rushed for 231 yards which setup Wilson for easy play-action strikes. Taylor Martinez was horrible with 3 interceptions on just 22 passing attempts. Martinez did have 61 yards on the ground but that wasn’t nearly enough to threat the Badgers. Wisconsin marches on as they look to be the best team in the Big 10.

Clemson 23 Virginia Tech 3 – The speed and efficiency is of Clemson’s offense is the first thing that usually catches ones eyes in watching the Tigers play but it was their defense in this one that should get a lot of praise. The Tigers handled the Hokies offense to the tune of posting four sacks, forced two turnovers and held Tech’s vaunted rushing attack to just 133 yards. Andre Branch was a man among boys as he had three of the four sacks for Clemson. And to top things off of course was Boyd who didn’t have the prettiest numbers only going 13/32 for 204 yards with a TD and a Int to his credit but he didn’t have to do much in this one. Mike Beallamy’s 31 yard scamper with 6:55 in the fourth sealed the game for the Tigers. This team resembles Auburn of last year to me in many of ways. They have an emerging QB in Tajh Boyd who doesn’t seem to be fazed by the pressure as a sophomore. Andre Branch is dominating defensively the way that Nick Fairley did for the other Tigers and they have an explosive player who take it to the house anytime he touches it in Sammy Watkins, akin to Michael Dyer for Auburn although they play different positions. Just a thought but if they do happen to make it to the BCS National Championship Game, know that you heard it hear first.

Alabama 38 Florida 10 – Florida came out guns a blazing as Jeff Brantley found an open Ashley Debose on the first play of the game for the Gators. It seemed Ol Charlie Weis was opening up his playbook going against the tough Bama defense but that would be really the only thing that worked for the Gators the rest of the way. Florida just couldn’t find any running lanes for their speedsters Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey. They also couldn’t stop the run as Trent Richardson and the Bama offensive line just bullied the Gators into submission. Richardson would go on to finish with 181 yards on 29 attempts. Bama pretty much just wore down the Gators as they controlled both lines of scrimmages. The shift of momentum happened on a Brantley interception that was taken to the house by Bama big man Courtney Upshaw. This game was never in doubt after Brantley was violently taken to the ground by Upshaw and catching his right foot under him as he went down. Brantley was 11/16 for 190 yards and a TD before going down. This was Florida’s worst home loss since losing to another Nick Saban team, the LSU Tigers 36-7 in 2002.

Other Notables and Games:

Texas A&M lets another opponent off the hook: The people in college station must be in a giving mood because this is the second straight week they have let an opponent come back to win in the second half. This time it was future league foe Arkansas in a game that looked all but dead going into the second half. The Aggies had put 35 points on the Razorbacks and looked to keep their foot on the pedal in the second half. But things would get interesting as Tyler Wilson of Arkansas got hot. He began to find open targets and get the ball in the hands of his playmakers. Jarius Wright just had his way as he finished with 13 catches for 281 yards for the Razorbacks and he was the biggest difference in the second half of play. He mad a few spectacular catches and shook off smaller defenders in the process. Mike Sherman and the Aggies biggest mistake was getting away from the run as RB Christine Michael had 230 yards and RB Cyrus Gray had 95 yards on the ground. Just another head scratching performance from the future SEC members and they can all but kiss their BCS aspirations good bye.

What is going on with South Carolina? I just can’t figure this team out. They have some of the best players in the nation and they can only put up 13 points on defensively challenged Auburn? And defensive linemen Melvin Ingram scored the Gamecocks only TD on a Int return. Ingram was downright the man in this game as he finished with 11 tackles 3.5 sacks and an interception. The rest of the team couldn’t get it into gear as the usual reliable Marcus Lattimore had only 66 yards and Stephen Garcia had just a terrible game going 9/23 for 160 yards and two picks. Not what you expect from the favorites to win the SEC East. The offensive has got to get it together if they are to win the East.

College Football Weekend Finale Spectacular: National Championship Edition

What an anti-climatic finish to a wild college football season. For all of those prognosticators who predicted a high-flying and high scoring game, sorry but you were wrong. The Auburn Tigers fulfilled there destiny last night by taking down the Oregon Ducks for their second national championship in school history. Cam Newton received all the accolades and hype coming into the game, but it was the running of Michael Dyer and the play of defensive standout Nick Fairley that pushed the Tigers to the win. It’s fitting that the game ended in such a bizarre way for Auburn, as their entire season has been filled with controversy. The Ducks could never get their high-powered up-tempo offense in gear, as Fairley and the defensive line of Auburn dominated up front and controlled the line of scrimmage. The game turned into a defensive battle, one that clearly favored the rugged Tigers coming out of the SEC.

The first quarter was a blur to say the least as both teams saw their share of turnovers. QB Darron Thomas threw two interceptions and Cam Newton threw one himself as both teams looked to find their offense. The most intersting thing to me in the first quarter were the socks of Oregon. I couldn't figure out if they were highlighters or socks. Both teams wouldn't get rolling offensively until the second quarter.

Oregon came into the game leading the nation in scoring at 49.3 points per game but could only manage 19 against a big physical Auburn defense. The Ducks also boasted a bullying running attack that averaged over 300 yards but only managed 81 yards on the ground. In my opinion that one lone stat sealed the Ducks fate as their offense has to gain yards on the ground to be productive. Auburn stuffed the Ducks repeatedly and when Tigers tackle Mike Blanc dropped RB Lamichael James in the end-zone for a safety, it would give Auburn a lead they would never get back. James, the nation’s leading rusher was held to just 49 yards on 13 carries.

After the safety, Cam Newton was able to the Tigers down the field for a touchdown that put them up 16-11. Auburn would tack on a field goal before the Ducks threatened again. Oregon drove the ball down to the three and would have that many shots at the end-zone. The Auburn defense again would show what they were made of as they yet again suffocated Oregon. On 4th and 1 Tigers linebacker Josh Byrnes stifled Ducks RB Kenjon Burner for no gain and no score leaving the game 19-11.

From that point the game developed into a lull stage as both offenses moved the ball but did not score until the last minutes of the fourth. Oregon’s sputtering offense finally got some life as they got a converted a 4th and 5 from QB Darron Thomas to WR D.J. Davis on a crossing pattern. The referee was CLEARLY in the way of the Auburn defender and Davis managed to gain 29 yards and took it to the Auburn 11. Oregon would go on to punch in the touchdown three plays later and after the beautiful set-up on the 2pt conversion as Thomas found WR Jeff Maehl, and they tied the game 19-19.

The stage was set for the Heisman trophy winner to put on his cape as he walked onto the field. He was clearly in pain as the grimace on face told us that but he wouldn’t have to do much to seal the victory for the Tigers. He found Emory Blake for 15 yards on the first play and on the second play is where the controversy begins. Michael Dyer (22 carries 143 yards) took the hand-off from Newton, and he ran for a decent gain before being taken down by Oregon’s Eddie Pleasant. Notice as I said he was “taken down” and not tackled by the Oregon defender. Multiple coaches and teammates yelled at Dyer to continue running and he did just that going for 37 yards down to the Oregon 23, and putting Auburn into to field goal range. Sorry Oregon fans but the officiating crew got that one right. From every angle that you could see, Dyer’s knee didn’t touch the ground and although his hand was on the ground it was palm.

The non-tackle as it will be forever known in college football history set up Auburn on the 10 yard line and after a few antics and botched Cam Newton QB sneak, the Tigers kicked the game-winning field goal and gave War Eagle what it had been craving for the last 54 years, a national championship.

Other News and Notes:

SEC Domination: No denying that this win will start another round SEC chants for its fans and another round of discouraging comments from everyone else around the country. This makes for the 5th consecutive year that the conference has produced the national champion and it shows no signs of letting up. The SEC’s fierce in-conference battles are what make them so tough to beat in the post season. Just look at Auburn’s schedule and compare it to anyone else in the nation. Another impressive fact is that the last two national champs reside in Alabama. Bama may hate the Tigers in every semblance of the word but they have to take a bit of pride in that stat. The SEC will inevitably load again next year and send another representative to the championship game and continue to dominate the college scene.

Luck’s Decision: What is the deal with these Pac-10 quarterbacks? A year after we seen Jake Locker of Washington stock plummet and USC’s Matt Leinart do the same a few years earlier, Luck has made his choice to stay as well. Andrew Luck’s decision to stay at Stanford is admirable to say the least. The number 1 rated prospect was slated to make least between 30-50 million dollars. In most people opinion, if you tell them they are due for a payday of that nature, they wouldn’t think twice about returning to school. Luck’s admirable act sets the Cardinal up nicely next year, even with the departure of Jim Harbaugh. Luck has to be a bit wary of after stock like tumble of Locker. He does go into the season as the Heisman front-runner and his team should be ranked in the top 5 so that isn’t the worse thing to come back to while finishing your degree.

Miles to Michigan? : If this indeed does come true, I for one will be a sad man. Miles is one of the most animated and enjoyable coaches on the sidelines during the game. He will chomp on grass and chest bump with his players just to name couple of his antics. His game rants are the stuff of legends. It doesn’t get much better than "We would have plenty of yards we would have needed and that game would not have been a game that was so closely decided or it certainly would have put more pressure on our opponents." I mean, how could you not love a guy who can state the obvious in a not so obvious way.



Every game that his team’s play in, you can expect some type of mad hatter moment. Rather if it’s a fourth and goal flip to the holder play against South Carolina or the infamous play-clock meltdown against Tennessee, this guy always has a flair for the dramatics. Michigan is a place of the highest expectations. Miles already has high expectations at LSU but not the caliber of Michigan.



He is a Michigan man as he played and coached there so that’s a fit. Miles would be much more exciting as well than the exiting Rich Rodriguez who always seemed to be walking a thin line in the first place. Miles makes perfect sense the more I think about it but I just hate to see him leave us here SEC country if he does. As much as it pains me to say this, Michigan you need get your man. He in all signs is the anti-Rodriguez and is a great recruiter and just a winner. No you guys won’t get Jim Harbaugh but Les Miles would do just fine.


I enjoyed a great year covering the college football scene and look forward to next year. Until then my good folks enjoy the off-season. Congrats Auburn on you title, you deserved it.

Cam Newton ruled eligible

The collective sigh of relief you just heard came from Auburn fans. Cam Newton has been cleared by the NCAA following their investigation. However, Cecil Newton his father was found in violation for making a money pitch for his son. This means that Cam can go ahead and get ready for his close up for the Heisman and continue to lead the Tigers to the national championship. The NCAA stated that the Elder Newton did this on his own behalf and the younger Newton did not know of the scheme. The NCAA finally got one right on this one. Cecil Newton tried to pimp his son to the highest bidder and that’s just wrong, especially for a so called man of the lord and Reverend of a church. Now I’m not out to judge the man, but some things are just inescapeable truths. We know the kid had to have known some of the things his father was doing, but at his age how could he defy his father? My dad is 60 years old and I’m still scared of him (Ok maybe not scared but I respect him to the utmost) so it had to be hard to stand up to him. Auburn was also cleared in any wrongdoing as well after the investigation. Auburn will limit Cecil Newton’s from the athletic program and Kenny Rogers, the reported agent involved, was disassociated from his alma mater Mississippi State.




The question now is where does the NCAA go from here? They stated that this is still an ongoing investigation but he is still eligible at this point. What about the escape clause they just created by letting Newton continue to play? I firmly believe that the NCAA probably knew the stakes were too high to sit the electrifying and Heisman front-runner Newton. Auburn has a history of being jobbed the NCAA so they couldn’t do it this time. But when I go back and think about the likes of A.J Green, Marcel Dareus, and Dwight Dasher, all who were suspended at the beginning of the season for way less serious infractions, I see a problem. All of these players were forced to sit out at least four games and the money they received was nothing compared to what Rev. Newton had in mine. As for Cam, he can now relax and sit back and enjoy football again. Maybe we can even get a comment out of him now after the game and not an offensive lineman. So in the short term all is well with this decision, but in the long run you can bet your bottom dollar it will have a huge effect on future rulings handed down.



Cam Newton has now effectively changed the NCAA forever. Now every time a player is involved in this type of situation he can just follow Newton’s lead on this one. I bet you if Reggie Bush knew it was that easy, he would have said the same thing. Just wait until the next time a star recruit has some type infraction. What do you suppose they will do? Just blame who ever is closest but not themselves and that should be forever known now the Cam Newton effect. Good luck trying to sort the rest of this mess out NCAA.

College Football Weekend Finale

This weekend we saw the SEC championship game tickets get punched as South Carolina dominated Florida as they never have before and Auburn with the sensational Cam Newton overwhelm Georgia. It should be an competitive and exciting game in Atlanta with those two teams. Virginia Tech's blowout of North Carolina further cemented them as the best team in the ACC. As the season winds down, the good team have separated themselves from the bad. Now for the breakdown of those highlighted games and other observations from this weekend.

South Carolina 36 vs. Florida 14 - The Marcus Lattimore show was on full display in this game. The fab Freshman toted the ball 40 times and produced 212 yards and 3 touchdowns. He just pummeled the Gators for and set the tone early and often for the Gamecocks. Lattimore had 21 carries for 83 yards in the first half but its was 21-yard scamper for a TD that really broke the Gators spirits. Stephen Garcia did his part as well going 15/22 for 156 with no turnovers and he also added 28 yards on the ground. This is only the second time in 19 tries that the Gamecocks have beat Florida.  South Carolina also beat Florida for the first time at home since joining the SEC in 1992, and now advance to their first ever SEC championship game. As for Florida, their offensive attack reverted back to what we saw mostly this year. "Threebow" in reference to the three QBs they use to match Tim Tebow production could not get the offense going. John Brantley finished with a pedestrian stat line of 16/31 for 130 yards. Jordan Reed and Trey Burton didn't even play much.The same Gator team that looked so crisp and speedy on offense the last two games, looked pathetic this game.  Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps were bottled up and that was all she wrote for Florida. South Carolina moves on to  face Auburn in the SEC championship game.

Auburn 41 vs. Georgia 31 - If Cam Newton isn't the best player in college football, you tell me who is? The Auburn QB was just a one man wrecking crew once again in the Tigers win over the Bulldogs.  Newton busted the Bulldogs defense up for 150 yards on the ground and went 12/15 for 148 yards and a touchdown in the air. The Tigers marched down the field on their opening drive and took a 7-0 lead but Georgia would go on to score the next 21 points as receiver as A.J Green and QB Aaron Murray began to get hot. Green had a spectacular day as well with 9 catches for 164 yards and two touchdowns. But Newton and the Auburn's offense could not be stopped. RB Onterrio McCalebb 4-yard run capped off a 9 play, 73 yard drive that made the game 21-14 Georgia. Georgia would be forced to punt on their next series and The Tigers again scored on the next possession with Newton using a beautiful play-action fake to find a wide open Philip Lutzenkirchen down the middle of the field for another TD that made it 21-21 going into halftime. Georgia and QB Aaron Murray would add 10 more points in the 3rd quarter but it wouldn't be enough as the Tigers offense kept rolling and eventually would tally 49 points. I also have to commend Nick Fairley who seemed to be in the Bulldogs backfield all game long. Cam Newton may have a lot of problems off the field but on it, he is simply the most electrifying player in college. He is Tebow 2.0 with ability to run in space and he throws better than Tebow ever did. He became the first player in SEC history to throw for 2,000 yards run for 1,000 in this game. If he doesn't get the Heisman due to those allegations he is facing than something is really wrong and flawed with the system of voting. I just haven't saw a better player this year and maybe the last two years than the Tigers QB. Auburn will face South Carolina for the SEC crown now but not before the annual Iron bowl with Alabama. That one should be a doozy and be careful Auburn fans, they still have to win out to play in the National championship game.

Va Tech 26 vs. North Carolina 10 - The Hokies dominated the Tar Heels on both sides of the ball and are now just one game away from winning the ACC coastal division. Tyrod Taylor finished with 249 yards passing and the Hokies defense had their way with the Tar Heels. Virginia Tech actually trailed 10-9 going into halftime but they were a different team in the second half. Taylor would find an open Marcus Davis for a 43-yard strike to open the half and from their the Hokies would only add to their separation. Taylor found Davis again for an 11-yard TD pass and the game was never in much doubt from their. “I think we’re playing at a high level right now, and as long as we continue to play it, I think people will eventually respect us,” Taylor said. The Hokies now travel to Miami to visit the Hurricanes next weekend and need to win either of its final two games to reach the league title game in Charlotte on Dec. 4. Its been a long winding road for Frank Beamer's team but they have just about wrapped up their side of division.

Other News and Notables:

BCS frontrunner's survive: Cal almost pulled off the epic upset of Oregon, using different defensive fronts and switching their number of down linemen on every defensive play. As the score indicated, the Bears were able to slow down Oregon's seemingly unstoppable offense. It did however look as if Cal was able to stop the clock with a few "questionable" injuries. All great teams have a game where they don't look great and this happens to be Oregon's. They still have a few tough games ahead of them in Arizona and the Civil War game versus Oregon State. Cal may have shown those teams how to beat the Ducks so stay tuned for their final two games. TCU almost had a major letdown after defeating Utah last week. The Horned Frogs were able to narrowly defeat San Diego St. 40-35. As stated above, every team has inevitable trap game but luckily for the Horned Frogs they were able to keep their national title hopes alive. Utah didn't help out their cause though, after they were demolished by Notre Dame ( In a word, Wow) 28-3.

Wisconsin - Did anyone see the Badgers literally just run over Indiana? The Badgers rolled up 598 total yards with 338 yards of it on the ground. Their starter and 2009 Big Ten offensive player of the year John Clay didn't even play this game and they still had to rushers over 100 yards with Montee Ball going for 167 and James White adding 144 yards. That's the definition of smash mouth football.

The Big East - Now this is just getting ridiculous. How does a BCS conference not have a team ranked in the top 25? Pittsburg's loss to Uconn now means that going into their BCS game, the team that wins the conference probably won't be ranked. This has just been an awful year for the conference as a whole this year. I know they can't wait for the basketball season to get under way.

Possible Cam Newton bombshell

Uh Oh.Cam Newton is tearing up the college scene this year but he may have a scandal they will rock his Heisman worthy season. ESPN is reporting that Newton was on the market for a robust $200,000. Mississippi State was the first school to get a crack at him, and was even given a discount on that original number that dropped it down to $180,000, because of his connections and fondness for former Florida offensive coordinator and now Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen. The Bulldogs however didn't take the bait and "some way or another", Newton has ended up at Auburn and has them in national title contention.

The claim was made by John Bond a former MSU player. “During the 2009 football season, I was contacted by a former football teammate, who represented to me that he was speaking for the Newton camp," Bond said " "He told me that Cam Newton wanted to play at Mississippi State, but that a specified payment would have to be made. The person in question soliciting the payment is also a former MSU player named Kenny Rogers. Rogers, runs a company called Elite Football Preparation, which holds camps in Alabama, Chicago and Mississippi, and matches football prospects with colleges. Bond played quarterback for Mississippi State from 1980 to 1983. Rogers was there from 1982-85.

Auburn has not commented on the situation but clearly Newton is playing for the Tigers at a price and I hate to say it but this is the nature of big time college football. In the cutthroat world that it is, school and players all know their value. Great players name their price and schools or agents desperate for their services will pull out the checkbook. It's the dirty underbelly of college athletics and everyone knows it. The NCAA can drop all these sanctions and suspensions as much as they please but the story will remain the same. Josh Luchs’s Sports Illustrated story detailed everything you need to know about agent’s side of it. I'm not going to indict Newton at this point, he is innocent until proven guilty but if Auburn did pay, then they actually got a steal. The money generated by Newton is well in the millions at this point. Newton's father denies any wrongdoing. “If Rogers tried to solicit money from Mississippi State, he did it on his own, without our knowledge”. Said Newton's father.

Auburn has known about the allegations for months but continued to play Newton. The SEC became aware almost a year ago, according to ESPN.com. So this was all but inevitable. It seems the kid can't stay of trouble, let’s not forget the reason he left Florida. Newton is the front-runner for the Heisman and has his team on the cusp of the national championship but unlike his opponents that he ran over or past this year, he can't stiff arm these allegations.



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