I know today was supposed to be about strength of schedules. But something came up, so I will be back on Monday.
Dave
Friday, January 10, 2014
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Oh, how hath the mighty fallen!!!
ALABAMA, A DYNASTY? DON'T THINK SO
During the broadcasts of the bowl games on ESPN, I kept hearing an ad about how some people thought that Alabama was still the best team in the country. I thought "hasn't that already been decided when Auburn beat Alabama. They are not the best team in the country." It seems that since the SEC is considered the best college football conference in the country that Auburn, who played in the BCS National title game, was NOT the better of the two teams. Or maybe it's just early taunting of Auburn for the next contest in November.
Or maybe it's because Nick Saban is the coach and he is known for developing top talent into what has been referred to as a "dynasty" at Alabama. Winning three titles in four years could be evidence that a dynasty may be looming there in Tuscaloosca. But in order to build a dynasty, a team must possess ALL the necessary skills and characteristics. Obvious among these are the physical and mental preparation needed to win on a consistent, convincing basis. One of the intangibles in this mental preparation is being able to let go of a disappointing loss at the end of the regular season to win their bowl game.
The 2008 Crimson Tide pretty much rolled over their competition in the regular season. They came close to losing to LSU, but won in overtime 27-21. They went to the SEC championship game undefeated to play the Florida Gators team with just one loss. Alabama was up 20-17 going into the fourth quarter. The Florida defense literally snuffed out Alabama in that quarter, holding them to only 6 yards total offense, while scoring two TD's on drives of 65 and 67 yards to win 31-20. A big disappointment for them to be sure.
While Florida went on to play Oklahoma for the national title, Alabama went to what they considered to be a "lesser bowl", the Sugar Bowl, even though this bowl was a part of the BCS Bowl Championship Series. They had played in it 13 times previously, winning 8.
They were put up against a Utah team that had gone undefeated in the Mountain West conference, but was not considered one of the two best teams to play for the national title based on strength of schedule. It was a perfect setup for Alabama to end on a winning note. It was in the South practically in their backyard. They were being favored by 10 points; they had played in this bowl many times before. With Utah coming east to play them, they were a shoo-in to win. Right?
Well, something happened to Alabama between December 6, 2008 and January 2, 2009. Utah scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter of the game, holding Alabama to just 33 yards. Aside from a 73-yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter, they only had 126 yards of total offense by halftime, trailing 21-10.
Great teams always come back from deficits. Alabama was no different. While the Crimson Tide kicked off opening the 2nd half, fortune seemed to be with them. On Utah's first play from scrimmage, their quarterback Brian Johnson fumbled and Alabama recovered on the Utah 35 yard line. Seven plays later they hit paydirt with a Wilson-to-Coffee TD pass making it 21-17. Alabama seemingly had seized the momentum here and the Alabama faithful became almost certain that with that momentum, the Tide would certainly start to roll.
How would Utah react?
The kickoff took the Utes to their own 29. Brian Johnson completed four passes in that drive culminating with a 28-yard TD pass. Utah told Alabama that even though they were playing as a road team and came from the Mountain West Conference, they were not afraid of the "big and bad" Tide from the power SEC. In fact, Alabama had only 6 toal yards in the fourth quarter, going 3-and-out twice with a lost fumble, losing 31-17.
I could go on with more stats, but the results are sufficient. Needless to say, Utah did not just beat Alabama, they embarrassed them in front of what, for all intents and purposes, was their home crowd. For a team averging 184 yards on the ground, and producing only 31 rushing yards on 33 attempts, they were not prepared mentally for a Utah team that had something to prove.
I will not recount the events of 2014 Sugar Bowl. They are available online. The only stat that stands out is Alabama's 5 turnovers. Alabama had 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter to get a tying score. First play from scrimmage, they fumble. Oklahoma picked it up and ran into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. As it turned out, all of Alabama's turnovers led to touchdowns for the Sooners.
Many times during the Alabama-Oklahoma Sugar Bowl, the radio announcers stated that Alabama was not playing their best because of their loss to Auburn and a national title berth. Great teams given the label "dynasty" do not let one loss, as disappointing as it is, affect them to the point of letting another team come into their neighborhood and push them around the way Utah and Oklahoma did. The greatness of any team is reflected in the pride they take out of playing great football, and respecting their fans' support throughout the years. In these two games, the Crimson Tide did neither and, therefore, do not deserve the label of "dynasty".
Friday: The myth of "strength of schedule".
During the broadcasts of the bowl games on ESPN, I kept hearing an ad about how some people thought that Alabama was still the best team in the country. I thought "hasn't that already been decided when Auburn beat Alabama. They are not the best team in the country." It seems that since the SEC is considered the best college football conference in the country that Auburn, who played in the BCS National title game, was NOT the better of the two teams. Or maybe it's just early taunting of Auburn for the next contest in November.
Or maybe it's because Nick Saban is the coach and he is known for developing top talent into what has been referred to as a "dynasty" at Alabama. Winning three titles in four years could be evidence that a dynasty may be looming there in Tuscaloosca. But in order to build a dynasty, a team must possess ALL the necessary skills and characteristics. Obvious among these are the physical and mental preparation needed to win on a consistent, convincing basis. One of the intangibles in this mental preparation is being able to let go of a disappointing loss at the end of the regular season to win their bowl game.
The 2008 Crimson Tide pretty much rolled over their competition in the regular season. They came close to losing to LSU, but won in overtime 27-21. They went to the SEC championship game undefeated to play the Florida Gators team with just one loss. Alabama was up 20-17 going into the fourth quarter. The Florida defense literally snuffed out Alabama in that quarter, holding them to only 6 yards total offense, while scoring two TD's on drives of 65 and 67 yards to win 31-20. A big disappointment for them to be sure.
While Florida went on to play Oklahoma for the national title, Alabama went to what they considered to be a "lesser bowl", the Sugar Bowl, even though this bowl was a part of the BCS Bowl Championship Series. They had played in it 13 times previously, winning 8.
They were put up against a Utah team that had gone undefeated in the Mountain West conference, but was not considered one of the two best teams to play for the national title based on strength of schedule. It was a perfect setup for Alabama to end on a winning note. It was in the South practically in their backyard. They were being favored by 10 points; they had played in this bowl many times before. With Utah coming east to play them, they were a shoo-in to win. Right?
Well, something happened to Alabama between December 6, 2008 and January 2, 2009. Utah scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter of the game, holding Alabama to just 33 yards. Aside from a 73-yard punt return for a TD in the second quarter, they only had 126 yards of total offense by halftime, trailing 21-10.
Great teams always come back from deficits. Alabama was no different. While the Crimson Tide kicked off opening the 2nd half, fortune seemed to be with them. On Utah's first play from scrimmage, their quarterback Brian Johnson fumbled and Alabama recovered on the Utah 35 yard line. Seven plays later they hit paydirt with a Wilson-to-Coffee TD pass making it 21-17. Alabama seemingly had seized the momentum here and the Alabama faithful became almost certain that with that momentum, the Tide would certainly start to roll.
How would Utah react?
The kickoff took the Utes to their own 29. Brian Johnson completed four passes in that drive culminating with a 28-yard TD pass. Utah told Alabama that even though they were playing as a road team and came from the Mountain West Conference, they were not afraid of the "big and bad" Tide from the power SEC. In fact, Alabama had only 6 toal yards in the fourth quarter, going 3-and-out twice with a lost fumble, losing 31-17.
I could go on with more stats, but the results are sufficient. Needless to say, Utah did not just beat Alabama, they embarrassed them in front of what, for all intents and purposes, was their home crowd. For a team averging 184 yards on the ground, and producing only 31 rushing yards on 33 attempts, they were not prepared mentally for a Utah team that had something to prove.
I will not recount the events of 2014 Sugar Bowl. They are available online. The only stat that stands out is Alabama's 5 turnovers. Alabama had 56 seconds left in the fourth quarter to get a tying score. First play from scrimmage, they fumble. Oklahoma picked it up and ran into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown. As it turned out, all of Alabama's turnovers led to touchdowns for the Sooners.
Many times during the Alabama-Oklahoma Sugar Bowl, the radio announcers stated that Alabama was not playing their best because of their loss to Auburn and a national title berth. Great teams given the label "dynasty" do not let one loss, as disappointing as it is, affect them to the point of letting another team come into their neighborhood and push them around the way Utah and Oklahoma did. The greatness of any team is reflected in the pride they take out of playing great football, and respecting their fans' support throughout the years. In these two games, the Crimson Tide did neither and, therefore, do not deserve the label of "dynasty".
Friday: The myth of "strength of schedule".
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yea, I know it's January 7th. I am turning over a "new leaf", as they say. I stopped writing for awhile because I had more important things to work on. Now, many of those things are out of the way and I am back.
BOWL SEASON CONCLUDED
Yes, dear wives of bowl game junkies. All 35 games are done.
Florida State won on the last drive of the game, 7 plays, 80 yards beating the mighty SEC champion, Auburn 34-31. With 5:01 left on the clock in the 2nd quarter, Auburn led FSU 21-3. FSU went on a 66-yard, 11 play drive converting a 4th down on their own 40 yard line and a big 21 yard 3rd down run by Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston giving them first-and-goal on the Auburn 3. Devonta Freeman, on the next play ran in for the TD.
Everyone giving Auburn a chance to win said, "Florida State hasn't really played anybody" implying the ACC was not equal to the SEC. The 2013-14 bowl season featured 10 teams from the SEC, 11 from the ACC. Of the three teams they played that won bowl games from the ACC (Clemson, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse), FSU outscored them 151-30, two of those games being on the road. Of all their 7 victories over all ACC teams that went to bowl games, including Duke in the Championship game, they outscored them 348-112. On average, that is 38.6-12.4, a difference of 26.2 Against all opponents, an average of over 50 points a game, 2nd in the country.
Only once did FSU allow a team to score more than 17 points in a game. That was the 34 they gave up to Boston College. After the 17-point game with North Carolina State, the most points they allowed in a regular season game was 14 points twice. This was not just their offense that Auburn needed to be concerned about. Their defense was top notch as well, ending up first in scoring defense.
Auburn, on the other hand, painted a different picture coming into the championship game. Their defense was nowhere near FSU's. If one looks at just the teams in their division of the SEC, they allowed 35 points against LSU (their only defeat), 41 against Texas A&M, and 38 against Alabama. They just outscored A&M and Alabama. Georgia scored 38 against them; Missouri 42. Their average points against all SEC teams was 29.6. Offensively, they beat up SEC opponents, averaging 38.4 pp/game, a difference of +8.8. While both offenses may have been equal statistic-wise, there was a big difference in the defenses.
Maybe it took a 21-10 first half to wake up FSU, at least defensively. They allowed Auburn only 35 yards in the 3rd quarter. FSU could only get 91 yards and a field goal.
It was the 4th quarter that was the most exciting. It was when both teams amassed almost 400 yards of offense and 31 points. That includes the 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by . It came down to a 1:19 on the clock with Auburn up 31-27. Jameis Winston and FSU had to get 80 yards. And they did with Winston completing 7 passes for 77 yards and FSU overcoming 2 penalties in the drive.
Normally, with all the hype the SEC gets, one might say that Auburn was in a comfortable position. Afterall, the SEC had won the last 7 National Championship games. They have been touted as the most powerful conference in college football. And though Auburn led in total yards, rushing yard, first downs, 3rd down efficiency, and time of possession, (four key stats that would normally indicate dominance), they were not ahead when the final ticks of the clock ran out at the Rose Bowl.
TOMORROW: Oh, how the mighty has fallen!!!
Yea, I know it's January 7th. I am turning over a "new leaf", as they say. I stopped writing for awhile because I had more important things to work on. Now, many of those things are out of the way and I am back.
BOWL SEASON CONCLUDED
Yes, dear wives of bowl game junkies. All 35 games are done.
Florida State won on the last drive of the game, 7 plays, 80 yards beating the mighty SEC champion, Auburn 34-31. With 5:01 left on the clock in the 2nd quarter, Auburn led FSU 21-3. FSU went on a 66-yard, 11 play drive converting a 4th down on their own 40 yard line and a big 21 yard 3rd down run by Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston giving them first-and-goal on the Auburn 3. Devonta Freeman, on the next play ran in for the TD.
Everyone giving Auburn a chance to win said, "Florida State hasn't really played anybody" implying the ACC was not equal to the SEC. The 2013-14 bowl season featured 10 teams from the SEC, 11 from the ACC. Of the three teams they played that won bowl games from the ACC (Clemson, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse), FSU outscored them 151-30, two of those games being on the road. Of all their 7 victories over all ACC teams that went to bowl games, including Duke in the Championship game, they outscored them 348-112. On average, that is 38.6-12.4, a difference of 26.2 Against all opponents, an average of over 50 points a game, 2nd in the country.
Only once did FSU allow a team to score more than 17 points in a game. That was the 34 they gave up to Boston College. After the 17-point game with North Carolina State, the most points they allowed in a regular season game was 14 points twice. This was not just their offense that Auburn needed to be concerned about. Their defense was top notch as well, ending up first in scoring defense.
Auburn, on the other hand, painted a different picture coming into the championship game. Their defense was nowhere near FSU's. If one looks at just the teams in their division of the SEC, they allowed 35 points against LSU (their only defeat), 41 against Texas A&M, and 38 against Alabama. They just outscored A&M and Alabama. Georgia scored 38 against them; Missouri 42. Their average points against all SEC teams was 29.6. Offensively, they beat up SEC opponents, averaging 38.4 pp/game, a difference of +8.8. While both offenses may have been equal statistic-wise, there was a big difference in the defenses.
Maybe it took a 21-10 first half to wake up FSU, at least defensively. They allowed Auburn only 35 yards in the 3rd quarter. FSU could only get 91 yards and a field goal.
It was the 4th quarter that was the most exciting. It was when both teams amassed almost 400 yards of offense and 31 points. That includes the 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by . It came down to a 1:19 on the clock with Auburn up 31-27. Jameis Winston and FSU had to get 80 yards. And they did with Winston completing 7 passes for 77 yards and FSU overcoming 2 penalties in the drive.
Normally, with all the hype the SEC gets, one might say that Auburn was in a comfortable position. Afterall, the SEC had won the last 7 National Championship games. They have been touted as the most powerful conference in college football. And though Auburn led in total yards, rushing yard, first downs, 3rd down efficiency, and time of possession, (four key stats that would normally indicate dominance), they were not ahead when the final ticks of the clock ran out at the Rose Bowl.
TOMORROW: Oh, how the mighty has fallen!!!
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