2010 - week 14

Well, except for the Army-Navy game this weekend, the regular season is over(insert tear). By the way, you all need to watch that Army-Navy game, it means so much more than just a rivalry game. But up next are the bowls, and I love it. This week will be short and sweet, because, well, there weren't many games.

Here is who took care of business.

Punching their ticket.

In a most convincing way. Auburn took it to the Old Ball Coach(Steve Spurrier, South Carolina) in dominating fashion in the SEC Championship Game. I loved how the media built this game up to be some sort of upset alert, when we knew that wasn't the case. "You can't give Spurrier that much time to game plan," said some "analyst" from ESPN. Game plan for what, a royal beat down? Auburn rolled up 589 yards of offense like it was nothing, and the game was over by halftime. Cam Newton accounted for six touchdowns, and locked up the Heisman for himself. Auburn goes to the national championship game. Final score 56-17, Auburn.

Against these guys.

Oregon also had a ho hum sort of a game against their "arch" rival Oregon State. The 2010 Civil War was a little interesting at first when it was 16-7 Oregon at half. But just like the Ducks seem to do every game, they pulled away in the third quarter. LaMichael James ran for 100 yards in every game except for one this year, including this one. He should finish second in the Heisman behind Newton, who he'll play against in the national title game. Final score 37-20, Oregon.

Hilarious.

This time of year usually calls for these types of games, like a 5-6 Arizona State team taking on their in-state rival Arizona in the Thursday night game. Arizona was having a decent season sitting at 7-4, and still ranked 23rd somehow, but a win would put them in a nice bowl. A 20-14 Arizona State lead in the fourth quarter was tied up with a touchdown pass with just 27 seconds left! Awesome! All Arizona had to do was kick the extra point, and game over they win. But nope, the PAT is blocked! Yes, overtime! A couple of field goals in the first OT lead to a second OT, where Arizona State scored a TD to go up seven. Arizona is able to score a touchdown of their own, to be down by one. Again, all Arizona has to do is kick the PAT this time to tie it and force a third overtime. But the kick is blocked AGAIN!!!! HAHAHAHA Arizona State wins! Final score 30-29.

ACC Champs.

The hottest, and most under the radar team in the country is Virginia Tech. I have talked about them in previous weeks, and so has the media. But only to the extent of, "a nice way to bounce back after a horrendous start to the season." And that was when they were on their seven or eight game winning streak. They fought their way back to an undefeated conference season, and extended that winning streak to 11. They had to go up against a good Florida State team, who have done well in their first season under new head coach Jimbo Fisher(no he is not from the backwoods with that name). Va Tech built a 35-17 lead in the third quarter and didn't look back, on their way to the Orange Bowl. Final score 44-33, Virginia Tech.

Yes I was there.

As most of you should know, because all of you follow me on twitter and Facebook religiously, I got to see Oklahoma send Nebraska out of the Big 12 with a nice parting gift. Several weeks ago I wrote how I LOVED seeing Nebraska lose to Texas, after Husker fans waited a year to avenge their loss in last year's Big 12 title game, and to leave the conference with a win over the Longhorns. All the buildup was about how fitting it was that long time, old rivals OU and Nebraska got to play one last time. It didn't look good when Nebraska took a 17-0 lead in the blink of an eye, mainly due to OU mistakes. But OU fought back to make it 20-17 at half. OU's offense looked good, piling up 454 yards, while Nebraska's did not, only coming out with 293. QB Taylor Martinez was obviously hobbled by his ankle, and the lack of a passing game really hurt them. As I sat in Cowboys Stadium watching OU linebacker Travis Lewis come up with his third turnover of the game on a recovered fumble, I thought, "Oklahoma is going to win, and I love it. Bye bye Nebraska." OU wins it's seventh conference title under Bob Stoops, on to the Fiesta Bowl. Final score 23-20, Oklahoma.

Yes it is significant.

One of my very few mentions of a Big East game, is only because UConn beat South Florida to win the conference, and will play OU in the Fiesta Bowl. UConn? Aren't they a women's basketball school? Yes, but they do play football, and apparently only have to go 8-4 to win your conference. That is why I don't talk about the Big East very often. It's weak, plain and simple. I know nothing about UConn, except that they have a running back named Jordan Toddman who is good. Another reason this is worth noting, is we all know what has happened a couple of times now in Fiesta Bowls involving the Sooners and "lesser" opponents. So watch out. Final score 19-16, UConn.

Back to back.

Winning seasons that is for the SMU Mustangs. Although they lost the Conference USA championship game(who cares), June Jones is putting together a winning program. That says A LOT considering the performances of the past 20 or so SMU teams, they even won their bowl game last year. If nothing else, its nice to see the Dallas University winning.

As good as it will get.

The USC Trojans just finished up an 8-5 2010 with a 28-14 win over UCLA this past weekend. And I'm afraid that is about as many wins as we'll see for a while. The Men of Troy needed to win big this year, because starting next year, the punishments will start to kick in from the Reggie Bush scandal. It will be the first of three years of 10 less scholarships per year. And what big time high school athlete would want to go to a school where you will not be allowed to play in a bowl game next year, no matter how well your season goes? I wouldn't. So I feel it will only get worse from here for the next few seasons in Los Angeles, and I think it's well deserved.

Blowout of the week - earlier mentioned Auburn over South Carolina, 56-17.

6th grade basketball score of the week - Idaho over San Jose State, 26-23.

Until the bowls.