BCS Countdown

A very happy New Year to you all, and welcome back.  The blog has been on extended leave, with finals, JMU athletic department work, and other fun stuff I've been up to.  For details, try texting me, you nosey lot.  I didnt start a sports blog to brag about how awesome I am.

But speaking of the inception of this sports blog, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the last year.  Believe it or not, at this time last year I was a declared Biology major, intent on studying to be a genetic counselor.  Over the past 365 days I have become a WRTC major, started a surprisingly well-read sports blog (48 hits from Germany alone in December?), hung out in press boxes, sat courtside for basketball games, talked shit with Mickie Matthews, and called the sports information director by his first name- I don't know why that last one impresses me so much, but it does.  Anyway, it's been a wild year for me, but I have all of you readers to thank for that.  Thanks for putting up with my twitter rants and improving my self-esteem by checking the "cool" box.  Thanks for frequently calling me 4 minutes after I've posted a blog to tell me about editing errors (okay, that one is only my mom).  Thanks for bragging to friends about me. 

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to listen to my opinions.  Because, ultimately, all I have to offer is a writing style and a big basket of opinions.  The fact that mine are sought above many others is an invaluable asset.


Okay, enough of that.  Let's get on to the business of the day- counting down BCS games by level of interest!

Now, please note that I am rating BCS games solely on level of interest and watchability.  I am in no way making comment on the quality of teams or where I believe the teams shoud be ranked in the BCS poll.


5. BCS National Championship Game: Alabama vs LSU

Let's cut the crap here people.  I don't care if it's the national championship.  The last time this game was played, it was maybe the most hyped up game of all time.  "Game of the century," it was billed.  Final score? 9-6, in overtime.  What is this, the world series?  I don't care how many All-Americans are in this game, it was physically painful to watch the first time.  Gene W. from ESPN wrote an excellent response where he announced, and i quote: "Only a classic is worthy of a Jan. 9 rematch in New Orleans. And this wasn't one of them."  I couldn't agree more, yet that's what we're going to be dragged into watching.  The unpronouncable Geney wrote that "classics don't have four interceptions, four missed field goals, 13 penalties, one fumble, one botched punt return and zero touchdowns."  If someone described a game you might potentially watch in advance and told you it would have four picks, four missed field goals, and no touchdowns... does that sound like an exciting game to you?

I know defense wins championships.  All I'm saying is that it doesn't win TV ratings too.


4. Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech vs Michigan

Alright, so I pretty much despise both of these programs. But so what? This game is still kind of lame.  Let's put aside the fact that neither of these teams really belong in this game because, though I am obsessed with complaining about how unfair it is that these two teams received at large bids, it doesn't have anything to do with the actual watchability of the game.  Instead, let's focus on the notable run game plotline.  We've got Denard "I'm-not-quite-as-good-as-Pat-White-despite-1000-comparisons-a-game" Robinson and his impressive dual threat capabilities against the light speed of David Wilson.  This game will revolve around which one of those two players will make more plays.  Both defenses really suck- especially Michigan's, regardless of what their inflated stats say- so expect lots of big plays from both sides.  That may be the only redeeming quality to this game.  Virginia Tech's special teams kind of suck too; even Tech fans won't argue with you on how bad their kicking game is, and when Tech fans admit something is bad, then you know it must be REALLY bad.


3. Rose Bowl: Oregon vs Wisconsin

I love this matchup because its sort of a sign of the times bowl game.  We've got the classic, gigantic offensive line, power running game with Wisconsin vs the spread option speed of Oregon. I also love that both of these teams were unstoppable last year, yet both got beat in their respective BCS games.  Don't forget about the qb dual between Darron Thomas and Russell Wilson- both are mobile and can beat you both ways.  In a game contestng two teams with dominating runningbacks, I'm looking for whoever has the edge in the passing game.  Watch the exposed matchup between Oregon's DB's, who are down their top cornerback, going against Wisconsin's wide receivers.


2. Orange Bowl- WVU vs Clemson

This is the most evenly matched bowl game of the entire postseason.  And talk about shootout potential, oh man.  The WVU defense has really stepped it up their last three games, but I'm not sure I'm buying the hype against the likes of South Florida.  They'll get their first real test since Cincinatti in Clemson, an offense that looked highly entertaining in th ACC chamionship against Virginia Tech.  Sammy Watkins is a star in the making, there's no denying that, but WVU has offensive playmakers literally all over the place.  Whoever comes up with the last defensive stop probably wins in a wildly high scoring game. 

1. Fiesta Bowl- Stanford vs Oklahoma State

Admit it. You thought I was going to rank the Orange Bow highest because of West Virginia.

In all seriousness, this quarterback dual is one for the ages.  You've got the second coming of John Elway going up against Brandon Weeden, the quintessential Air Raid quarterback.  Weeden and OSU's offense is the WVU offense, just 1000 times better.  Their quarterback is older, smarter, and knows how to play within himself.  Justin Blackmon is Stedman Bailey, just much more freakishly athletic.  Oh yeah.  And they have a running game.  After that, it's literally the exact same offense, instituted by Dana Holgorsen at both schools.  But just becase I think State wins doesn't mean Stanford doesn't have weapons either.  Or maybe I should say weapon, singular.  Because all they need is Luck (pun intended).  Andrew Luck runs an old school tight end-centric offense and is supplemented by an incredibly average defense, and they look like the Green Bay Packers out there week in and week out.  So if you never watch another college football game again in your life, watch this one.  Because odds are, you will never see quarterback play like this in one college football game for the rest of your life.




Find out how you stack up against me.  My picks:  LSU, Michigan, Wisconsin, WVU, Oklahoma State

happy new year everyone!