Florida covers +7.5 against Ohio State in the BCS Championship Game

OVERALL RECORD:

College Basketball 14-5-1

College Football: 9-8

NFL 9-4-1

NBA 1-1

The Nokia sponsorship is gone, but everything else seems to be pretty much the same down in the bayou for this year’s Sugar Bowl. The beer is flowing, tons of partying, a big game in store and football players are in trouble. LSU has suspended four players for missing curfew this week in New Orleans and I’m sure hanging on Bourbon Street drinking had nothing to do with missing curfew. The suspensions could be just for the first quarter of the game tonight though and Les Miles will handle each one individually.

Here are some stats to keep in mind heading into the game this evening. Outside of Baton Rouge LSU allowed 11.25 PPG more and scored 20.6 fewer PPG. In the Tigers first 10 games their defense allowed only 72.1 RYPG, but in the last two games they yielded almost 200 RYPG. LSU has covered only once in their last four games. Notre Dame averaged only 92.4 RYPG in their first seven games. Since then, their much improved ground attack has averaged 161.8 RYPG. Not surprisingly ND covered only once in their first seven games compared to three times over their last three games. These are all important factors to keep in mind along with Charlie Weis and Brady Quinn. Will Charlie Weis create a masterful offensive gameplan that Brady Quinn and the Fighting Irish can execute against the tough LSU defense. You are the supposed Golden Boy Brady lets see if you can live up to at least a percentage of the hype that has surrounded you this year.

As an underdog, Wake Forest is an stunning 7-1 against the spread this season. This is truly a sign that the Demon Deacons might not be getting the respect they deserve. Wake Forest against teams with a winning record are just as solid at 6-1. The Wake Forest defense has been stellar giving up 12.3 PPG on the road but could have its hands full against a high powered Louisville offense. Louisville’s Brian Brohm leads the #3 scoring offense in the country at 39 PPG so this is definitely a battle of two sides. The extremely strong defense versus the just as strong if not stronger Cardinals offense. I would really like to see Wake’s defense win out, but it might be a bigger stretch then Boise St. beating Oklahoma. I’m sorry, but right now that is how I feel.

There is no way anyone could predict the matchup between Boise State and Oklahoma would produce the fireworks that took place last night in the Fiesta Bowl. Cinderella Boise jumped out to a 28-10 lead midway through the third quarter only to watch the lead melt away to nothing with under two minutes to go in the game. Jared Zabransky then took the field to try and lead the Broncos down the field for a possible win, but instead threw an interception that Oklahoma returned for a touchdown to go up 35-28 with a 1:02 left in the game. I thought this surely would have broke the hearts of Boise State, but these guys are true fighters. It all came down to a 4th and 16 when Zabransky hooked up on a 50-yard hook-and-ladder play to Drisan James pitching it off to Jerard Rabb for a touchdown with seven seconds left to miraculously tie the game. Then click the link below to see the footage of the final play in overtime. What a game and what a season for the Boise State Broncos who finish 13-0. Star tailback Ian Johnson for the Broncos even got engaged on national TV to one of the cheerleaders after the game. WOW!

Video Clip: Fiesta Bowl Shocker

Game Summary: Boise State vs Oklahoma

The first BCS game of the season starts in a couple of hours and it’s a battle of titans. 11-1 Michigan who almost made the BCS Championship game against 10-2 USC who lost their final game of the season to also miss the national title game. This could be a classic Rose Bowl matchup and truly the best of all the BCS games. Michigan’s defense could the be the one true advantage of the game and could be the key to a win. I really look forward to this one and I sure hope Keith Jackson is the lead analyst. It is the Grand Daddy of them all you know!

I’m sure all my Underground peeps didn’t expect me to have summaries of the early bowl games on New Year’s day, but oddly enough it wasn’t from a drunken fest the evening before. I have been under the weather and trying to get lots of sleep to shake the flu. Anyway, enough about me and on to the games at hand. Things really started getting cranked up today and don’t forget we have the Rose Bowl and Fiesta Bowl to come later.

Cotton Bowl – Auburn vs Nebraska

Outback Bowl – Tennessee vs Penn State

Gator Bowl – Georgia Tech vs West Virginia

Capital One Bowl – Arkansas vs Wisconsin

Capital One Bowl – Wisconsin Badgers cover +2 against Arkansas in one of the best bowl matchups of the season.

OVERALL RECORD:

College Basketball 13-4-1

College Football: 8-8

NFL 8-4-1

NBA 1-1

This game pits 6-6 Miami versus 8-4 Nevada. It will be the last time Larry Coker coaches the Miami Hurricanes. This season was a major let down for Miami to put it nicely. Will Miami come out and play up to their potential or will they let the stingy Nevada defense hold them down. I would really like to see Coker go out on a win because he is one of the real nice people in major college sports. I never and I mean never cheer for the Miami Hurricanes, but tonight I will be.  I will be watching this game if for no other reason they are playing on Boise State’s blue field. 😉