It was a tragic picture as the clock was winding down at the end of the 2009 SEC Championship game. Tim Tebow watched the clock hit zero, tears running down his cheeks, as Alabama players and coaches began to celebrate. The Crimson Tide outplayed the Gators today to a final score of 32 – 13.

Image: Newscom

Not only does this mean that Alabama is officially the SEC Championship team, but they’ll also be heading to the BCS National Championship Game. Florida, who was #1 going into today’s game, will likely still play in a BCS Bowl (probably the Sugar Bowl), but this was a disappointing loss for Tebow and the entire team.

It also sets the stage for Mark Ingram, Alabama’s star running back, to receive the Heisman over Tebow, who was also a top contender. Of course, there’s nothing guaranteed for the award, but in today’s showdown, Ingram and the Alabama defense outplayed Tebow and the Florida offense in ever way. It’ll be a hard case for the Florida superstar to receive the Heisman over Ingram.

Mark Ingram, Image: Newscom

In today’s game, Alabama didn’t just get lucky. They dominated the game from the start, although in the first half, the game was fairly close. Florida went to the locker room trailing 19 – 13. Early in the third quarter, the Gators missed a chance to turn the game around, and Ingram and Greg McElroy decided that it was time to stop playing around. Florida gave up over 250 rushing yards, which is the most ever under coach Urban Meyer. McElroy had a near perfect game, and although Tebow didn’t play poorly, his one interception was yet another nail in the Florida coffin.

I think Alabama receiver summed up Tebow perfect when asked about the quarterback after the game:

“He’s a great player, but man, we’re tired of him.”

Post from: EveryJoe

Florida Denied SEC Championship

Julio Jones, one of Alabama's leaders. Image: Newscom

The question remains, though – does Alabama deserve a rematch with Florida? There’s no question that team deserves the SEC West title. LSU is the only other team that even comes close to Alabama’s talent and skill. Some are questioning, however, whether a game against Florida is really worth the time.The Gators are dominating the SEC East and with Tebow on the field, a title game may seem like a bit of a formality.

Here’s what I have to say to those commenters: it is Florida you should be questioning, not Alabama.

The Crimson Tide started the season against Virginia Tech, a team that was ranked #7 at the time and is still ranked as #21 in the BCS standings. Admittedly, they had some easy games with teams like Florida International, North Texas, and Arkansas. However, along with LSU, they also beat Mississippi (ranked #20 at the time) and South Carolina (ranked #22 at the time).

Let’s look at Florida’s schedule now. Charleston Southern. Troy. Vanderbilt. The only ranked team they played all season was LSU, and that was a fairly abysmal game. The Gators only won 13 – 3. Of course, the team did play a handful of games without Tebow, so it’s maybe hard to really evaluate the team.

To me, this isn’t Florida’s fault as much as it is a symptoms of the current BCS set-up. Teams have learned that they can come out on top if they pad their schedule with teams like Charleston Southern, as long as they still play most of the teams in their conference. Is this good football? No. Most of the teams in the top 10 could have performed as well as Florida with their schedule.

I think the SEC title game will be really interesting. It’ll be the first true test for Florida, and the first time Alabama will be fighting an uphill battle.

Post from: EveryJoe

Alabama: Deserving of the SEC Title Game?

Undefeated:

• Alabama
• Boise State
• Cincinnati
• Florida
• Iowa
• Kansas
• South Florida
• TCU
• Texas

Winless

• Ball State
• Eastern Michigan
• Florida Atlantic
• Miami (OH)
• New Mexico
• Rice
• Western Kentucky

Really, I think the big surprises here are that there are no major surprises. Few people would have put Iowa on the undefeated list when predicting records at this point in the season, considering that they played Penn State, but once again, the boys at Happy Valley choked.

I guess South Florida on the list is a little surprising too. They haven’t had a totally easy season. Cincinnati has (sorry, I know ya’ll love ‘em, but I’m not sure they aren’t totally overrated). Next week, they play one another, so that will end for one team.

WR Mardy Gilyard has been important for the Bearcats so far this season. Can they continue to charge ahead as they meet harder opponents on the field? Image: Newscom

I’m hoping that Cincinnati proves they deserve to be ranked so high, but I don’t think South Florida will just roll over.

As for the winless list…well…let’s just say that Michigan is happy to not be on it.

Post from: EveryJoe

2009 Midseason Undefeated and Winless

Week One is usually not very exciting, unfortunately. My favorite team, Penn State, plays Akron, so although this game means they’ll likely be able to keep a high rank, it won’t actually be that fun to watch. Actually, I don’t even think the game is being televised… Maybe I’m selling Akron short. *shrug*

Can Kellen Moore take Boise State to a BCS Bowl this year? Image: Newscom

In any case, despite all of the easy non-conference games we’re seeing during Week One, there are some games to watch as well. The season officially starts on Thursday at 7:00 PM EST, when a number of teams kick off, but the real start to the season, in my opinion, is at 10:15 PM EST when #16 Oregon takes on #14 Boise State. The games on ESPN, and you bet I’ll be watching. Boise State has a lot more on the line than Oregon, since it will be harder for them to be bowl eligible as a WAC team than it will for Oregon as a Pac-10 team. It’s also at Boise State, and Kellen Moore is a solid quarterback, so I give them the edge in this game.

Another game to watch? San Jose State at #4 USC, with a kickoff at 3:30 PM EST on Saturday. Now, no one here expects this to be a close game. In fact, if USC doesn’t run all over San Jose State, I think you’ll have to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I want to see the freshman golden boy quarterback play, though. People put so much emphasis on Pete Carroll’s choice to play true freshman Matt Barkley instead of returner Aaron Corp. This game will really test him to see if he can handle the pressure of being the leader of such a popular team. Will Corp get any playing time at all? We’ll see.

The USC game isn’t nationally televised, so I’ll have to keep up with it online…but that’s ok, since my eyes will be glued to the 3:30 PM EST game on ABC: #13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State. My heart is with Oklahoma State on this one, but it isn’t going to be an easy game by any means. They’ve lost Matt Stafford, but if Joe Cox, their new quarterback, really steps up, they could be the surprise of the SEC this year. Florida who? This game is going to set the stage for Georgia for the entire season, so I feel like they’ll fight tooth and nail for it, but Oklahoma State isn’t going to just bend over and take it. They have a huge number of returning starters and are also looking to set the stage for a surprising season. Otherwise, they’ll never be competitive in the Big 12.

On a side note, I’ll also be checking in with the 3:40 game, Missouri versus Illinois. The teams aren’t ranked, but I think it will be an even match up and a good game. Big Ten love!

Sam Bradford is back, hoping to lead the Sooners to a National Championship game again. Image: Newscom

At 7:00 PM, another possibly great game hits ESPN – #20 BYU versus #2 Oklahoma. Ok, I may be going against the grain a little here when I say that I think BYU is overrated. I do love that they’re helping to make a name for a non-BCS conference, which pushes the issue of a playoff system. Do they have a good enough offensive line to beat Oklahoma? What about receivers? They may have the defense they need to keep Oklahoma’s numbers down, even though OU has some amazing returners like Sam Bradford, but you can’t win if you don’t put any points on the board. My vote for winner definitely does to Oklahoma. Sorry, BYU, better luck next year.

Just an hour after the BYU-OU game starts, #5 Alabama meets #7 Virginia Tech on the field, the game televised on ABC. This is a tricky game to predict, in my opinion. The Hokies may take the ACC, and Tyrod Taylor is back at quarterback. Is that enough to top Alabama? The Crimson Tide are replacing great offensive players like Andre Smith, and they have a new quarterback, but players like Mark Ingram could make the difference in this game. Like with Georgia, Alabama needs to win this game to set the stage for the season if they’re going to be competitive in the SEC.

It’s going to be a great Week One – better than we’ve seen in quite a few seasons. I’ll also be interested to see how Notre Dame does against Nevada – an easy win for the Fighting Irish, maybe, but I want to see is quarterback Jimmy Clausen can really put up numbers. Also on my radar is Maryland at #12 California, which starts late Saturday night and Miami at #18 Florida State which is on ESPN at 8:00 PM EST on Monday.

Post from: EveryJoe

College Football Week One 2009 Preview

Since I’m a fan of Bacardi and I’m a fan of Mojitos, I assumed that the Bacardi Silver Mojito Original would be a safe and satisfying selection.

Oh, dear God was I wrong.

My first thought was Zima. Remember that stuff? Every yuppie party in the ’90s was stocked with it and I’ve only met one person who was brave/stupid enough to admit that they liked Zima.

After a drink or two, I noticed an odd “mint” taste. The first two drinks I had mistaken the “mint” for some kind of chemical substance on the rim of the bottle. Maybe I had spilled something on the bottles before I opened them?

The longer I drank on the bottle, the less repulsive the drink became. While I don’t think that I was getting a buzz off of 1/2 a bottle of the “premium malt beverage”, maybe my taste buds were taking their toys and going home?

Whatever the case, I finally poured the stuff over some ice in a red party cup [I had to do it up right] and it became a bit more palatable. The stuff also sat heavy on my stomach and I felt like I had eaten a five course meal by the time I was done with one bottle.

There are two other flavors and I’ll have to give them a go since I figure they have to be better than the “original”.

Image courtesy of Anheuser-Busch

Post from: EveryJoe

Bacardi Silver Mojito Original Review

Laugh if you will, but your team won’t be coachable to any kind of championship if you don’t draw talented players. And these days, the best players have their pick of schools pretty much. With the talent comes a winning season, and with the wins comes money. As sad as it may be, college football really is a business, and without cash flow, you get canned as a recruiter or coach so that the school can bring in someone who CAN make the money reign down.

Image: sxc.hu

Auburn gets that, so they’re upping the ante. Last week, seven of the school’s assistant coaches rode around the state in an Auburn limo to visit a number of recruits, especially in Mobile.

If nothing else, this stunt created some buzz in the city, and that’s exactly what the school needs right now. With other southern schools “stealing” potential Auburn players, the school needed to make an impact – and the did.

Other schools may soon be considering similar stunts to help compete with the recruiting power of, say, USC. After all, if you’re Nebraska or Michigan, you may have a great program, but your location doesn’t really back you up. “Free ride and you get to live in a cornfield” doesn’t really have the same ring as “free ride and you get to live on the SoCal coast” does it?

Post from: EveryJoe

Auburn Recruits in Style

Earlier this year, we saw how Facebook could get you into major trouble. Buck Burnette, a player from Texas, was kicked off the team after posting a racial slur on Facebook following the election of Barack Obama.

Today there’s more Facebook craze. Alabama’s Terrence Cody is at the center of this one – apparently, his gf was on his Facebook account and changed his updates to say “Terrence Cody is going pro.” The kid hasn’t submitted paperwork, but sources started speculating that he’d be a first-rounder, and messages/calls started coming to the Tide’s All-American defensive tackle. He’s made a statement saying that it isn’t true, but people will probably continue to speculate.

This happens all the time. Something that seems innocent on a personal webpage creates a frenzy. I mean, this is BCS Frenzy, but you have to draw the line somewhere, don’t you? Many coaches reportedly ask their players to refrain from using Facebook and MySpace altogether to prevent this king of thing.

And that sucks.

Listen, I understand that most college kids use Facebook to post pictures of themselves Binge drinking, but the site (and MySpace) have worth. For example, in college, I used to to contact people in my classes when I was sick. Otherwise, in a class where I didn’t know anyone and the professor was notoriously bad at answering emails, I wouldn’t have known what he had covered. I’ve also used Facebook to find old high school friends, share information about community events, and more.

It just sucks that college players have to treat social networking to delicately. It is a great resource that they’re missing out on. I think we all forget sometimes that these are kids in college, not celebrities…at least not yet.

Post from: EveryJoe

Facebook Craze

Tonight, let’s be clear: the SEC title game was a matter of Tim Tebow versus. Nick Saban. Tebow showed to be too much for Alabama to handle, and with their first loss of the season, they lost their bid for the National Championship Game with a 31-20 loss.

That means Florida will play against…someone. Probably Oklahoma, but should they lose tonight, it could be Texas, USC, or even an Alabama rematch. Tons of teams want that #2 spot.

And for the record, John Parker Wilson and the rest of the Alabama team have no reason to be ashamed. They played their hearts out.

Do you want to read a full wrap-up of the Florida – Alabama game or thoughts about Tebow? Here are the bloggers and news sources talking about the game:

• Tebow show rolls Tide, as Gators take SEC at Sports Talk Buzz
• Thank You Tim Tebow at A GlorYak from the Pluff Mud
• Chomp! Chomp! Florida wins the SEC at View from North America
• Tebow locks on to 2nd straight Heisman (sorry, Big 12) at Midwest Voices
• No. 2 Fla. stuns No. 1 ‘Bama 31-20 for SEC title at Kansas City Star
• Florida Gators to get BCS Championship Bid at InGameNow
• Florida defeats Alabama to advance to BCS National Title game at Florida Gators Sports Blog
• Florida Gators win SEC Championship at Mr. SEC
• The Fog, Cleared at An American Front Porch

If I missed your link and you’d like to be included, just leave a comment below with a permalink to your story!

Pictures via Newscom.

Post from: EveryJoe

Who’s Talking about Tebow and Bama

USC vs. UCLA

Today at 4:30, UCS and UCLA meet at Rose Bowl. The Bruins are 4-7 this season, so to them, this game is all about pride. Even if they win it, they won’t be bowl eligible.

For USC, today is a nail-biter. If they lose to UCLA – which isn’t likely, but is possible – they’ll be completely out of the running for the Rose Bowl. They’ll be in a three-way tie for the Pac-10 title, and due to past games, Oregon State would win that tie and go to the Rose Bowl against Penn State.

If USC wins, though, they aren’t even automatically going to the Rose Bowl. Why not? Well, depending on how other games do this weekend, they could actually go to the National Championship Game. That isn’t likely…but is possible, and you better believe that Petey and his boys would be pushing hard for that vote.

I’m routing for UCS in the Rose Bowl. Penn State already beat Oregon State, and while that isn’t a guarantee again, they have something to prove. I think UCS-PSU will be a much better game.

Alabama vs. Florida

Another important game this afternoon is Alabama vs. Florida at 4 pm. This is the first time that the 1 and 2 teams have played for a conference title. The result here is simple – the winner will go to the National Championship Game and the loser will, in all likelihood, play in one of the other BCS bowls.

Do I care who wins? Actually, yes. I 100% believe that Alabama deserves it more. Whatever happens today, Alabama has been a much more solid team all season, and if this was a conference that didn’t have a title game, they’d already be going to the BCS title game.

Oklahoma vs. Missouri

The Big 12 title game starts tonight at 8 pm. We’ll see the one-loss Sooners play Missouri, which is a good team, but just ranked #19. In other words, they aren’t playing for the title, or, in all likelihood, a BCS Bowl. If Oklahoma wins, they’ll play either Alabama or Florida.

If they don’t win…eek. That opens a can of worms, because tons of teams will try to claim the top spot. Hell, the SEC champ loser will likely even make a bid for a rematch! Should they lose, my hope is that Texas will play for the title, but at this point in the season, I think that Oklahoma deserves it more.

One more?

Yes, there is one more game that matters. Right now, #17 Boston College is playing #25 Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship game, and the winning team gets an automatic berth in the Fiesta Bowl. That’s bullshit. With so many other good teams, having a team that isn’t even ranked in the top 15 play is a fucking insult to my intelligence. That’s how it is, though…so I guess this game does matter.

Post from: EveryJoe

Today’s Important Games

#13 Georgia 42, Kentucky 38

• GEORGIA SURVIVES KENTUCKY 42-38 at Football on the Brain
• Georgia-Kentucky Recap at …but they missed the extra point
• Kentucky Football: Two games remaining to change our stars at A Sea of Blue

South Carolina 34, Arkansas 21

• FIVE POINTS: South Carolina 34, Arkansas 21 at Garnet and Black Attack
• Arkansas\’ bowl hopes dim at The Natural State Hawg

Wyoming 13, Tennessee 7

• Rocky Top Low: Vols Fall to Wyoming For Homecoming at AJ-T Sports
• Wyoming Topples Tennessee, 13-7 at MWC Football News

Auburn 37, Tennessee-Martin 20

• TENNESSEE-MARTIN AT AUBURN at MrSEC.com
• Auburn 37, Tennessee-Martin 20 at Arkansas Razorback Sports Network

#1 Alabama 27, #16 LSU 21 (OT)

(Note: In addition to game recaps, this game was at the center of a double-murder between fans. So, the many links below cover that story as well!)

• Alabama-LSU game good? Yes, it was, but worthy of murder? at This Chick\’s View on Sports
• Weekend Recap: LSU vs Alabama at Where Y\’at, Mr. Credo
• Two Dead Following Alabama v. LSU Football Argument at Roll \’Bama Roll
• 2 Die in Argument over Alabama-LSU Football Game at Kreuzer\’s Korner
• Alabama vs. LSU, the full recap at Tide Corner

#5 Florida 42, Vanderbilt 14

• Instant Analysis: Florida-Vanderbilt at Gator Football
• Florida Beats Vanderbilt at The Bull Gator
• Florida postgame quotes at Vanderbilt Football News

Other conferences: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Conference USA, Independents, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-10, SEC, Sun Belt, WAC

(check back soon if the link isn’t live yet)

Post from: EveryJoe

2008 Week 11: Blogging about the SEC