Football Wrap: The Tide Rolls in the Bayou

Three Words. Beat. EM. DOWN!!! Alabama didn’t just win the title, they took it. They may not have belonged on first glance but they took the title by force in the greatest defensive performance in the BCS era.

The stats don’t tell the whole story but they say a lot about Bama’s D. 4 sacks, 1 INT, held LSU behind midfield for all but one drive and eventually pushed them back to punt. They allowed 92 yards of total offense. 92 yards from the No. 1 team in the nation.

Jordan Jefferson looked dazed and confused and unable to be a quarterback. LSU’s rushing game that floored a few times got dominated off the block. And the funny thing is the same thing happened in the 1^st game. Alabama’s offense played better.

Trent Richardson by himself had 96 rushing yards and the only touchdown of the night.  DragonflyJonez said it best on Twitter, 0 losses, 0 points in the final. Alabama destroyed LSU on a historic level in a similar way to how I saw the Baltimore Ravens destroy the NY Giants in Super Bowl 35.

Nick Saban won his 3^rd title in 8 years as is without a doubt the best coach in college FB. T-Rich wins his 2^nd title. And big ups to AJ McCarron being the first sophomore to win a BCS title game and earning every bit of it with 234 yards and a surprisingly great game behind center.

Final irony. In a year where kickers appeared to cost their teams everything in the end, how fitting is it that Alabama’s kicker Jeremy SHelley did most of the key work tonight.  Congrats to the Tide in a year where Tuscaloosa was ravaged by tornados and tragedy.

NFL Tibits.

Let’s recap a wildcard weekend where two WR’s had 200 yards in their debuts, a highpowered offense showed no mercy and a team suffered the worst embarrassment you can without being “shutout”

Drew Brees is on some Kurt Warner steez. He’s transformed the Saints into the 99-02 Rams and every time something happens, you sit back and wonder how ridiculous they are to stop. Their latest destruction: An NFL record of 616 yards of total offense.

Between him and Darren Sproles’ 2 TD’s, this was a bad week for Chargers fans. Need I remind you that D. Sproles is postseason money. Go look what he did to the Colts in 2009.

Pierre Thomas is a difference maker. I counted at least 4 hard runs that bullied their way through the teeth of the Lions D for 8-10 yards that were difference makers.

Big ups to Houston winning their 1^st playoff game. Remember the expectations I had in 02 of them possibly going to the playoffs. Well they finally met them. Next is now.

Atlanta are some playoff frauds. Frauds, I tell you. It’s still early before assuming Matt Ryan has peaked. I think Atlanta has zero defense to account for their offense and that’ll be their downfall. But that O has major questions about being inconsistent.

Only scoring 2 points is like being shut out in my mind.

Remember Me? I'm Still a Big Deal.

Hakeem Nicks just reminded everyone he was Victor Cruz last year. A sleeper who emerged out of nowhere. 2 TD’s in the postseason shows why the Giants are deadly. Secondaries can’t stop Nicks and Cruz at the same time. And oh by the way, Mario Manningham is lurking.

The Giants are 2007 scary.

Finally, you know why I’m finally giving Tim Tebow his props? Because he had his best game as a pro and did it in the playoffs. He took advantage of what the D gave him and his receivers did the rest. He took John Elway’s advice and let it rip.

Denver’s defense harassed a less than 100% Steelers team and a hurt Big Ben, yet Roethlisberger still led a late comeback like he always does. Only problem was before we could figure out these new overtime rules, Tebow and Demaryius Thomas capped off their great day with a 1-play bomb to end the game.

Coldest stiff arm since Marshawn Lynch stuffed Tracy Porter towards that TD.

The irony is that Tebow played terrible in the 2^nd half. Big ups to Thomas having an insane day on that Pittsburgh secondary and he deserves just as much credit as Tebow.

I honestly thought Big Ben was going to find a way to win like he always does. But everybody’s luck runs out and when you’re hobbling on 1 leg without Rashard Mendenhall, there’s only so much you can do.

This is the first NFL game I can truly say Tebow stepped up and won a game with his arm. The defense made great plays too but I give #15 his due. Dang shame that Tom Brady will have to humble his fans next week.

Football Wrap Week 13: BCS Chatter, Heisman Pickin and that Torero Pride!

I shall begin this week’s blog by admitting I have no clue where I stand on the BCS Title Game issue. I’m okay with Alabama being in there yet I can argue Oklahoma State has a case. I present the Virgo Breakdown of both schools

Pros for OK State

- They won the Big 12 title.

- They only lost on the road was in double OT to Iowa State, who also threatened Kansas State in an upset.

- The Big 12 was perhaps the strongest conference all year and deserves an entry.

- They beat OK, Kansas State, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor

Cons for OK State

-They did lose to unranked Iowa State

-Less we think that game was a fluke, A&M was up huge and Kansas State put the fear of God in them

Pros for Alabama

-They played LSU tight for 60 Minutes

-It’ll be must see TV esp. in the South

- Rematch games are not out of the ordinary (1993 and 1996 title games)

- I believe they are probably the 2^nd best team by default and from my eyelids.

Cons

-Did not win the SEC Title

- Already faced LSU and had their chance

- Played a weaker schedule than OK State

- No team has played for the BCS title without winning a conference title in 8 years (2003 – Oklahoma lost the Big 12 title game and still played and lost to LSU. 2001 – Nebraska didn’t make the conf title game and got stomped out by Miami.

See how tricky it is? I can make legit arguments for both and I have no clue which makes sense. I have sympathy for OSU because I believe the Big 12 >>>>> SEC this year. Yet Alabama was clearly right there with LSU.

My only counter is wondering about something like 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan were ranked 1-2 entering their game. Yes it was the last game of the season so all was at stake but both played so evenly that a rematch would’ve been appropriate. I wonder if they played earlier in the year would folks have been crazy for it. It could be SEC bias at play here but also since all the top teams lost, Bama also did move up by default. Also, Bama was #2 in the AP poll as opposed to Nebraska and Oklahoma making crazy jumps.

Either way, the field will determine where everybody should be. Ball never lies and ultimately, the best teams do it on the field, not in the polls. And now a Virgo Rant.

Yeah I see the BCS and I see BS!! Let’s celebrate the biggest racket in college football – All that money and the schools get nothing but prestige. The bowl committees get most of the bank and of course the players get nothing but trinkets and a final audition for the NFL scouts, fans and their legacies. The bowl games are a crockpot of money and greed and backslapping goodness that masquerades as tradition. 

So yes, we’ll watch and celebrate despite the fact half these games are only around because some company puts up the cash and we want to reward every team that finishes .500 or better (except my beloved UCLA Bruins who make a Bowl Game at a sterling 6-7). Expansion rears its ugly head and I’d be happier if we killed off some of these games. Or at least give the players some money. And let's not even discuss how we select certain teams while some teams get screwed *steps off soapbox*

- Boise State vs. Arizona State will be a good early game

- Baylor vs. Washington will be nice. RG3 vs. the future in Keith Price

- Florida and Ohio State seem to always meet up in either college football/bball. This one could be heated

- Georgia vs. Michigan State will be great

- South Carolina’s Jadeveon THE FREAK Clowdey and Melvin Ingram vs.Nebraska's Taylor Martinez? Yes!

- Somebody please tell me why the Compass/GoDaddy Bowl Games are late in January??? Put them ugly games in the back! See this is what I'm talking about right here. This RIGHT HERE is some.....(grabs the mic from this crazy fool and shoves him offstage before he pisses off the wrong fan)

Virgo’s Heisman Ballot

1. Robert Griffin The Great

2. Case Keenum

3. Honey Badger (need I remind you what this dude did in the last two games – best defensive playmaker since N. Suh)

4. Montee Ball (38 TD’s is 38 TD’s. In a power running conference, that’s even greater. The most underrated star of this college season.)

5. T-Rich from Bama

6. LaMichael James – I feel T-Rich and James are better runners who did better work than Ball. Better NFL prospects too I’ll add. LMJ suffered when he missed a game due to injury but he remains the best Pac-12 RB I’ve seen since Reggie Bush/Lendale White

7. Andrew Luck – before you ask where Matt Barkley is, I’ll remind you that Luck had a clutch drive to tie USC and he beat Barkley’s USC team in triple OT. Pac-12 Player of the Year trumps Barkley’s numbers. But being the No. 1 overall pick doesn’t mean you were the best QB this year.

NFL Tidbits

The Return of Josh Johnson!! The legend of the University of San Diego got his 1st start in 2 years and played pretty well (16-27, 229 yards, TD, INT, 45 rush yards). And yes, I was happy as ever blowing this up before and after church. Torero Pride baby!

Aaron Rodgers’ 1 minute drill was pure money. Great way to respond to Eli Manning’s drive and further proof that he and the Packers are on another level (Get well soon, Charles Woodson)

Give Tim Tebow his credit playing well and looking like a quarterback Sunday. The church can get a head nod from me as I keep driving past it. 

Somebody please me why 1) Jason Garrett iced his own kicker, 2) nobody on Dallas called timeout on the previous play instead of burning clock only to spike the ball. My Boys better not be starting our annual December choke job.

The Chargers took it back to 2009 dropping hell fire on the Jaguars. Philip Rivers looked sharp. Vince Jax and Malcom Floyd made big plays. Ryan Matthews ran the ball well. Slumps die in Florida I guess.

Quiet as kept, Chris Johnson is playing back to normal. It’s a surprise if only you have no idea how a body works. Took him a while to get going, longer due to his holdout and now that he has 130+ yards in 3 of his last 4 games, he’ll finish with 1,000 yards. A success when you consider things.

New England is lucky they didn’t give back a 28-point lead to the Dan Orlovsky-led Colts. Read that again, Dan “Run Out Of the End Zone” Orlovsky nearly engineered a 4^th Q comeback.  Baltimore runs the AFC, far as I’m concerned.

On that point, Rob Gronkowski is that dude. 13 TD’s for a season record by TE’s and he’s gonna shatter that. Unbelievable matchup problems. Speaking of beast mode, shout out to Marshawn Lynch (148 yards, 2 TDs) and Ray Rice (204 yards, 2 TDs) going off.

Anybody see the Buffalo Bills? They were high on the mountaintop a month ago but seem to have fallen back to irrelevancy. Maybe we can ask the Lions since they’re headed down that way it seems. 

Football Wrap Week 7 - Part 1 (MSU/Wisconsin: Virgo's Top 10)

Michigan State!!!!! 2^nd year in a row they’ve given us a Play of the Year candidate and what a play it was. Hail Mary to beat No. 6 Wisconsin after trailing 14-0 in the first game. I gave up on them and then all a sudden, they just dominated the Badgers over the next two quarters.

I swore Michigan State had that game won after a late interception. But Russell Wilson wouldn’t let his team lose. Big ups to him and his late game heroics to lead Wisconsin to two late TD’s but bigger ups to Kirk Cousins for that last drive and Drew Nichol for that Hail Mary grab.

Best Game of the Year Hands. Down!!!!

1. Notre Dame on the USC 1-yard line. Seems like they were gonna tie the game. But Irish eyes weren’t smiling on Dayne Crist, who fumbled the snap and then had to watch USC return it 80 yards.

After that happened, why on Earth did Notre Dame try to get cute on a backward lateral? That failed and led to another USC score. And you wonder why the Irish have been irrelevant since Brady Quinn was behind center in my college days.

2. Nightmare in Norman! Oklahoma’s mood went from  blowout to comeback to heartbreak hotel . I can’t believe they played such a terrible first half. I can’t believe their kicker missed 2 easy gimmies that would’ve won the game. And all in front of their home fans to a team named a 20-point underdog.

Shout out to Oklahoma’s secondary letting their team down. Now Sooner fans know what USC fans felt like. And did I really say the Big 12 was the best conference in America this year? Yeah, about that.

3. Hate to say it but if Boise State gets screwed out of a major bowl game, it’ll be because they aren’t as great as they were the last two years. Struggling at home against a decent Air Force squad is something they wouldn’t have done before.

4. Ho-hum. Stanford and Oregon dominate again.  It’s their world, the rest of the Pac-12 is just living in it. All that matters is their showdown on Nov. 12.

5. Alabama had me scared for a half, tied with Tennessee at halftime. But they remembered they were Alabama and Tennessee was singing the Rocky Top Blues. Nov. 5 is set. Bama vs. LSU (who made me a prophet smoking Auburn like that stuff Spencer Wade and Honey Badger were on).

Virgo’s Top 10: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Stanford, Clemson, Arkansas, Oregon, Kansas State, Michigan State. 

I drop Oklahoma because they were upset by a unranked team at home. Boise State struggled at home but they still won. Stanford is still the best team nobody is talking about and made mincemeat of a good Washington squad.  Clemson is still overrated!! 

There I said it. It's getting harder and harder to discredit them, esp. with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. But they'll get theirs.


Top 5 for This Weekend (AKA Killing Time til Next Weekend's SEC Showdown)

1. USC-Stanford: Two years since the infamous beatdown at the Coliseum, both teams meet again. Now we can see why it's foolish to put Matt Barkley in the same league as Andrew Luck.

2. Baylor-Oklahoma State: We kinda forgot about Robert Griffin a lil bit after Baylor lost a few games. Time for him to remind folks against the No. 3 Cowboys as they remind us they could be in the BCS Title Game

3. Oklahoma-Kansas State: OK wants revenge after last week, Kansas State needs respect for the 1st time since the Michael Bishop days. This should be great.

4. Michigan State-Nebraska: Sparty's feeling themselves a bit so let's see how they respond chasing around Taylor Martinez. It's no longer a stretch to say Martinez is not only the most surprising All-State player from Cali doing well in college, he's on his way to being Eric Crouch Part. 2

5. Arizona-Washington: Might be a great underrated Pac-10 game. Nic Foles vs. the Pac-10's best new QB Keith Price. Over/under 60 points combined

Football Wrap Week 5: Pack Attack, Black Mamba Strikes and Big Ups to....Kevin Prince???

When’s the last time you’ve seen a defending Super Bowl champion get this little attention? It seems like with all the trendy storylines this year, the Packers have been lost in the shuffle. And that’s just fine. Let them be the first defending champ since 2007 undefeated this late in the season.

We got excited when Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees had that epic showdown to open the NFL season then I think it got forgotten among Sunday’s first day goodness.  The Packers survived Killa Cam Newton’s 2^nd game but knocked out the Bears with little problem.

Then reconsider what they did in their last two games. Aaron Rodgers had 400 yards, 4 TDs and rushed for 2 TDs vs. Denver. Again, one of those unreal performances that didn’t get a lot of run for whatever reason.  Now on Sunday, they scored 25 straight on the road to beat the Falcons while making Matt Ryan look average with 2 INT’s. Oh yeah, Rodgers threw to at least 12 different guys as if he was a socialist bent on sharing the wealth.

Quiet as kept, the Packers are the best team in football right now.  Defensively, they’ve picked it up by stomping a weak Denver squad and shutting down one of the most potent offenses in football at home. Oh yeah, Rodgers is arguably the No. 2 QB in football and if Tom Brady wasn’t putting up loco numbers, he’d be No. 1.

Maybe we’re sleeping on them cause they aren’t steamrolling teams. They aren’t a dominant team by the eyeball test at first but watch a quarter or two and you see that it’s looney how good they are. Every other team that’s one loss or fewer.

Buffalo? New England? = Great offense, shaky defense

Detroit? = Young, hungry and don’t know how to quit. They are scary as well.

San Francisco? =  They’re a Tony Romo comeback from being undefeated.  An easy schedule has favored them.

San Diego? = My No. 2 team has made plays they had to but they’re one brain fart away from being 2-3.

New Orleans? = Quietly they haven’t lost since Green Bay. Another sleeper despite inconsistent D

Baltimore? Washington? = Did we forget who their QBs are? Hahahahahaha.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Green Bay was still undefeated come Halloween with Tampa Bay and Minnesota up next. Maybe then, we’ll start hearing about them getting more respect.

49ers put up 48 on Tampa. Whoa! I haven’t seen an offensive outing like that from them since Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens were lighting it up during high school.  All that slowdown Stanford offense made me forget how Jim Harbaugh used to light it up at my alma mater.

Rest in Peace Al Davis. Like most people, I think he overstayed his hold the past 6-7 years. But his legacy is set in stone for his vision and foresight. I think it’s a shame the last few years ruined that. He was a leader in making the NFL more diverse on and off the field and a rebel.  No disrespect to Houston, but they weren’t going to win against a ghost and an inspired team.

Seattle’s Doug Baldwin: Peeped him out well for my fantasy team. Good game young man. Rep that Pac-12 proud.

Lord Tebow tried his best but a lightning bolt reminded Denver fans that idol worshippers will ultimately be disappointed. Heathenry won't be tolerated on the Lord's Day. Quiet as kept, my Chargers are 4-1 instead of under .500 this early for the 1^st time in ages. We win ugly but we’re winning.

And for the record, Timmy did a good job in relief. But don’t get crazy, he nearly carved the Chargers secondary last year for a comeback. Show me he can do this for 60 minutes and make the basic throws. He has the gifts but I don’t think he’s a NFL starter yet.

(Edit - Announced Tuesday that Tebow will start. Lord Tebow will have his fans in a frenzy as heathens try in vain to make him more than he is. In reality, what better choice do they....oh, hi there Brady Quinn. Remember when you were a big deal 5 years ago?)

Who’s got a bigger case of Bird Flu? Atlanta or Philadelphia. The media might be making glue of a dead horse with the Dream Team BS but it’s obvious Philly is trying too hard. How else do you explain Mike Vick’s 4 INTs and guys fumbling passes.  Same time, Atlanta looks like a frontrunning team with no D to sustain for the long run. Matty Ice is clutch but his defense isn’t.

NCAA Tidbits

LaMichael James had his usual beastly day for Oregon of 200+ yards and thankfully he didn’t break something worse in his arm on his fall. But the big story for me was the emergence of De’Anthony Thomas in his 2^nd Pac-10 game.

3 TD’s for the Black Mamba (for those who don’t know – he had that name right before Kobe got it) and he’s officially made his claim as the 4^th weapon in the Oregon backfield. Just like Robert Woods, I’ve covered Thomas closely in his high school years and I’m proud of him proving that switching from USC to Oregon was the best decision he made.

He’s playing right away, he’s learning from his mistakes and he’s making a statement for conference Freshman of the Year. It’s reminding me of when I watched his first year of HS football and he found ways to dominate right away.

LSU/Bama are neck and neck to me. Now that both teams destroyed Florida, it’s clear that they are the two best teams in the country.  November 5, that showdown will determine who’s No. 1 I give LSU the edge now for beating a very good Oregon team.

Remember his name. Tyrann Mathieu. The Honey Badger. Maybe the best DB in the country. That SEC swagger is all over this shot staring Chris Rainey down.

Speaking of LSU, that punter deserved a TD. That no taunting rule where touchdowns are taken away? It’s a silly, overreactive rule. If taunting is that much of a problem, you penalize on the kickoff and that’s it. Taking away touchdowns is extreme and it makes a mockery of the game by being policemen of showmanship. I understand when it’s excessive but since refs are poor judges of weighing intent, let’s take it out of their hands.

Shoelace! 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing. Best performance of the weekend. Maybe he is finally turning into the next Pat White.  It’s a shame Michigan and Wisconsin don’t play this year unless they meet in the conference title game because he and Russell Wilson are heads and shoulders above everyone in the conference.

Big ups to Taylor Martinez and Nebraska for that 21-point comeback. Ohio State’s doomed for a rough year. Karma for that backside.

I think Oklahoma is still out somewhere scoring on Texas. I got out of work looking bug-eyed that they stomped a mudhole in Texas. It doesn’t say Texas sucks, it just says how good Oklahoma is this year.

The words Kevin Prince and 2^nd half comeback shouldn’t belong in the second sentence. But they do. So I’ll give the Hurt Prince his props and with Richard Brehaut out with a broken leg, we’re gonna have to get used to him at UCLA.