*I don’t like to say this: hats off to the Missouri Tigers. The Tigers beat a pretty decent Arkansas team to win the SEC East for the 2nd consecutive year. The Tigers scored 15 points in the 4th quarter to get it done. Missouri finishes the season 10-2 and I have just one question: How in gods name did the Tigers lose to Indiana? The 4-8 Hoosiers went into Columbia and walked out with a W. Had MU not lost that game, they would be in the playoff discussion. College Football is a wonkie game.
*The Pac 12 South was up for grabs on Friday. It seemed that UCLA would secure it with a win over the struggling Stanford Cardinal. The Cardinal had other plans as they rolled into the Rose Bowl and kicked the crap out of the Bruins 31-10. That meant that the winner of Arizona/Arizona State would claim the Title. The Wildcats edged the Sun Devils in their hideous home uniforms 42-35. Raise your hand if you had Arizona in the Pac 12 Title game before the season began. I know I didn’t. Rich Rodriguez has done a fantastic job in Tuscon. In my opinion he is the coach of the year. The turnaround that has taken place is remarkable. I’m very interested in what he can do with this program going forward. Im equally interested to see a rematch of Oregon’s only defeat. Something tells me the Ducks will come out with both barrels blazing.
*Ohio State and Michigan was a terrific game that was much closer than the score would indicate. Michigan played their ass off to keep this game close for 3 and a half quarters. The call of the game was made by Urban Meyer. On 4th and 1 near midfield with 5 minutes to play, up just a TD, the Buckeyes went for it and Ezekial Elliot rips off a 44 yard TD. That call took substantial stones by Urban Meyer. That play won the game for OSU. This was not a game for the meek. It was tough all the way through. It was an absolute joy to watch. Unfortunately JT Barrett left the game with a season ending ankle injury. He has been excellent this season. Mark my words, there is no way Ohio State makes the playoff now. The committee will say all the right things, but Barrett’s injury will absolutely influence them. Its not right, but its the reality.
*The Alabama Crimson Tide put on a show in the 2nd half against the Auburn Tigers. Auburn led 36-27 at one point before Alabama released a barrage of deep balls to Amare Cooper, and a physical running game. Cooper was his typical fantastic self, catching 13 balls for 224 yards and 3 TDs. It was a ridiculous Offensive display by the Crimson Tide. Auburn was on their heels the entire 2nd half while the Tide turned this thing around. Bama now moved on to Atlanta for a date with the Missouri Tigers and, with a win, will certainly be a part of the playoff. They earned it Saturday night with an absolute dismantling of the Auburn Defense in the 2nd half.
*The coaching carousel is about to start spinning at an unbelievable rate. We have all known that Will Muschamp will be out at Florida, that was stated a couple of weeks ago. Michigan will most certainly fire Brady Hoke after 4 lackluster seasons. Other coaches that are questionable at this point: Miami’s Al Golden, Illinois head coach Tim Beckman, Indiana’s Kevin Wilson, Iowa State’s Paul Rhodes perhaps Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech and I’m sure there will be some surprises along the way. Stay tuned to this storyline.
*Playoff Projections: Alabama, Florida State, Oregon, TCU. Nothing earth shattering here folks. The Tide took care of business while Oregon and TCU rolled their opponents and Florida State did their usual high wire act. Each of these teams will win next weekend and this will be our playoff. The only hope of a shakeup is the Noles, who continue to live dangerously. They wont lose the ACC Title game to Georgia Tech, but it seems they are incapable of running away from anybody. Will that catch up to them?
STOCK UP
Ole Miss- Big victory in the Egg Bowl for Hugh Freeze’s team.
Alabama- That was a championship level performance in the 2nd half.
USC- A drubbing of the Fighting Irish is reason enough to be on the Stock up list.
Arizona- Fantastic season by Rich Rod’s squad.
Georgia Tech- Awesome game=awesome win over a highly over rated rival.
STOCK DOWN
UCLA- Thats a bad loss to the Cardinal that cost them a division title.
Kentucky- 6 straight losses for a “team on the rise.”
Maryland- The Terrapins blew a 25 point lead at home against Rutgers. WOW.
Miami- A home loss to Pitt drops “The U” to 6-6 on the season.
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