For the Year: 37-40-1 (.481) ($700) ATS 56-22 (.718) SU
What we learned last week:
We learned that I’m very lucky that the Notre Dame athletic department isn’t judging whether or not I get to write this column every week after looking at my ATS record…
We learned that Bobby Bowden should have retired years ago, but he’s still one of the all-time greats, and after a couple of years, maybe we’ll remember his greatness again…
We learned that Alabama won’t have a Heisman Trophy winner this year, either, unless Gene Chizik’s clock management abilities are somehow recognized…
We learned that Nebraska can give up 400 yards on defense and gain 210 yards on offense, all the while beating a 3-9 Colorado team by one possession and everyone in the country thinks they have a chance to beat Texas the following week…
We learned that Oklahoma State shall never be taken seriously as a contender for as little as a division champion ever, ever again. Have fun winning nine games at the most and considering a trip to the Cotton Bowl a successful season, because you’re never getting any closer than that…
And finally we learned that if the Aggies could play every opponent like they do Texas, they might not be a football program that changes coaches every few years, have a bankrupt athletic program and could actually leave the state of Texas for a bowl game every now and then.
Anyhow…
Anything that doesn't take years of your life and drive you to suicide hardly seems worth doing. – Cormac McCarthy
Sixty minutes.
Although it has been a season with little suspense, it has been full of trepidation, from a tie ballgame late in the second quarter in Laramie to walking out of the Cotton Bowl happy but nervous to being down to Central Florida in the second quarter, to wondering if Colt McCoy still had it or if a running back would ever step up and take a hold of the position to Texas A&M narrowing the game to a field goal in the 4th quarter in a frenzied stadium, this season has had many, many ups, but a few heart stopping points as well.
But here they are, sixty minutes away from accomplishing a major goal, from winning the third Big 12 conference championship in Texas history, from setting up a trip to one of college football’s hallowed grounds, the Rose Bowl, to attempt to win the fifth national championship in school history, from the senior class becoming the winningest class in school history…
And doing it without Vince Young.
One of the most annoying phrases that entered the Texas fans’ vernacular after setback seasons in 2006 and 2007 was, “yeah, but that was with Vince Young.” The thought among that segment of the fan base was that the offense couldn’t possibly be any good without Vince’s virtuoso moves, without Vince’s leadership in the locker room, without Vince Young taking the reins of a game and refusing to lose it.
Don’t get me wrong, to me Vince Young is football Jesus and deserves every bit of accolade that Texas fans heap upon him, but this program is bigger than one player, and if the Longhorns win the next two games, Colt McCoy will be the most successful quarterback in this school’s history.
But that isn’t to say that this national championship would be sweeter than that one, or compared to the 1969 one, or the 1963 championship. A national championship is a national championship and should never be taken for granted, nor should it be compared to others.
As proud as we are of this program, and we have every right to be very proud of it, we have one national championship in the last 39 years. This opportunity doesn’t come along very often, and as several proud programs have proved in the past few years, you never know when you’ll have a chance for one again.
So cherish it. Soak up every single moment of Saturday, realizing that we’re on the very cusp of greatness, sixty minutes away from Pasadena. If we’re good enough to win, watch the players celebrate, watch the team run around with roses in their mouth, watch Mack hoist the Big 12 championship trophy in the air. They’ve earned it, you’ve earned it.
If you’re reading this column, you’ve given your heart, your tears and your body for this team and this moment. You know exactly why I included that quote from the great Cormac McCarthy at the top of this column.
In the first edition of this column this year, I wrote this:
In 2005, the Longhorns were told by a certain actor alumnus to “Get your goal, go on to Pasadena and live the dream.” The Longhorns adopted “Live The Dream” as a late season motto.
This year, it isn’t a dream. It is an expectation.
And I want Florida. And Tebow. Hell give him the Heisman again.
The season of redemption starts on Saturday at 6:00 PM.
The last step of redemption starts on Saturday at 7:00 PM.
FACEBOOK NEWS FEED
Jevan Snead it might be in my best interest to stay another year.
Matt Leinart has joined the group I HATE VINCE YOUNG.
Tiger Woods I’m not sure Oprah can even save me from this.
Tracy Wolfson and Verne Lundquist have joined the group We Have No Journalistic Intergrity
The State of Texas is wondering how Jacquizz Rodgers and LaMichael James got all the way to Oregon.
Tim Tebow needs a box of Kleenex.
Rick Neusheisel just crossed Pete Carroll’s name off the Christmas card list.
On to the games...
Oregon State @ Oregon -9.5:
This one is for the Pac-10 championship and if it is half as exciting as last year’s 65-38 Oregon win, we’re in for a treat.
This series is dead even over the past ten match-ups, with the home team dominating the match-up, except for the past two years where the road team has won.
The defenses are going in opposite directions in this one, as Oregon gave up 51 to Stanford and 41 to Arizona, while Oregon State has held their last four opponents to 21 points or less.
I’ll give Oregon the edge here, but only because of the home-field. These two teams look to be pretty even on the field.
Oregon 38 Oregon State 35
ATS – Oregon State
SU – Oregon
Houston -2.5 @ East Carolina:
Ladies and Gentlemen, this one is for the Liberty Bowl. That’s right, the Liberty Bowl in…
Anyhow, Houston is always likely to pull a stinker on you where they lose to a team that has no business being in the stadium with them, but they are also likely to score 100 points on you.
Houston wins big.
Houston 45 East Carolina 24
ATS – Houston
SU – Houston
Cincinnati -1 @ Pittsburgh:
The Big East championship and a BCS bowl berth are on the line here, as Cincinnati takes their undefeated record into Pittsburgh, where they were upset two years ago by the score of 24-17.
You have to wonder how well Cincinnati will handle being on the road with a lot of pressure. They won at Oregon State already this year, but that was early in the year, before the pressure of an undefeated season and national championship implications entered the picture.
Add to that that the weather forecast calls for a high of 35 degrees on Saturday, Pittsburgh is undefeated at home and the fact that Pitt has a solid defense that gets after the quarterback, and the Bearcats are ripe for an upset.
Pittsburgh 24 Cincinnati 20
ATS – Pittsburgh
SU – Pittsburgh
Georgia Tech -1 v. Clemson:
Yawn. Yet another boring ACC title game match-up got even worse last week when Georgia Tech lost to Georgia and Clemson was throttled by South Carolina. These teams met earlier in the year at Clemson, where Georgia Tech ran for 300 yards, got out to a 21-0 lead and then ended up hanging on for a 30-27 win.
This one figures to be about the same. The Georgia Tech rushing attack is the more consistent threat, so we’ll go with that.
Georgia Tech 28 Clemson 24
ATS – Georgia Tech
SU – Georgia Tech
Florida -5.5 v. Alabama:
This one comes down to Florida’s offense for me. Florida has struggled against good defenses this year, scoring 23 on Tennessee, 13 on LSU and 24 against South Carolina, all ranked in the top 30 in the country in total defense. If Florida struggles on offense, it keeps Alabama in the game, and one play to Julio Jones changes the ballgame.
Get ready for all-Tebow, all the time.
Florida 20 Alabama 14
ATS – Florida
SU – Florida
Texas -14 v. Nebraska:
Okay, let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. Ndamukong Suh is the real deal, putting up nice stats even though he’s been double-teamed on every play since the Missouri game (don’t check the tapes on that, I have no idea).
And Nebraska’s defense is for real. The most points they gave up all year was the 31 points in the loss to Texas Tech, but Tech had a defensive touchdown in that game and only had 259 total yards. Other than that game, the high mark is the 20 points they gave up to Colorado last week.
They’ll pose a threat to the Texas duo of Chris Hall and Charlie Tanner, who have struggled mightily at times this year, but expect the Longhorns to get Colt McCoy out of the pocket much like they did against Kansas, where we all know how dangerous he is in that situation.
On offense, the Cornhuskers would be better off picking an All-Star team from the 18th and San Jacinto tailgating lot. Both quarterbacks get playing time, but you know the old adage that if you have two quarterbacks you have none. Zac Lee has thrown for roughly half the yards that Colt McCoy has and half the touchdowns as well. Cody Green is barely completing half of his passes and has as many interceptions as he does touchdown passes.
Nebraska has a tough running duo of Burkhead and Helu, but they’re only running for 147 yards as a team, which ranks behind the often criticized Texas running game.
So where are we? We know that the Longhorns have the work cut out for them on offense, but who do you trust more, an offense that has done it against all sorts of defenses the past two years, or a defense that has yet to play an offense like this all year?
And do you trust Zac Lee to play the best game of his life, which he’ll have to do in order to beat Texas? The Longhorns had their problems on defense against Texas A&M, but those were mostly scheme issues, and Nebraska has nowhere near the firepower on offense that A&M has.
The Horns might struggle for a half on offense, but this team is keyed in, and most importantly, McCoy is keyed in.
Pack your bags for California.
Texas 34 Nebraska 13
ATS – Texas
SU – Texas
Random Hot Dallas Chick
For entertainment purposes only. Save your money for national championship tickets.
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Excellent as always. Cannot wait to read The Week That Will Be, BCS Edition!
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