Over on a Gator message board a prominent booster reports that he has received the call from the UF Athletic Administration asking about how many tickets he wanted to order for the BCS title game in Miami. Apparently it is indeed a done deal.... GO GATORS!!!!
If it was anybody but OU and UF, then I wouldn't watch even if it was the dreaded rematch with Texas. Even though OU scored the most points in NCAA history this season, I will wager that the Gators will be 10 point favorites. A lot will be made of the OU defense, which is not as good as it could be. They are missing a couple of LB's that would have really made a difference. One was injured in the Texas game and when he went out that's when the Texas offense took over and the other I believe was injured against Tech. On offense Bradford is a better passer than Tebow (not that Tebow isn't outstanding), but of course not the runner Tebow . OU however doesn't use the qB draw or the option like UF. OU has more traditional RB's and if Murray is 100% for the game they should have a slight edge there. OU WR's are every bit as fast as UF WR's. But with all the offensive firepower that both teams possess, the game will really be about the defenses. Which is why the Gators will be favored most likely.
Yes, we will get to see if the Big12 defenses are as bad as people say, or if the Big 12 offenses are just that good.
Yes Corey...it will be interesting to see that particular question answered. I truly don't know which way that one goes but I will say that I watched in agony last night as Mizzou played p@ss poor defense vs. the Sooners. Absolutely no Qb pressure and loose coverage on receivers. Bradford will have to show us how he can throw with pressure added and tight coverage at the same time because Strong will have the gators bringing it.
Texas defense brought a lot of pressure on Bradford and if you remember our DCoord was brought up in the SEC style of defense by a guy who might not be a great headcoach/leader but who is uquestionably a damn good defensive coach. Of course I'm talking about Tubberville. Bradford threw 4 or 5 TD's into that pressure.
They also scored only 35 points and got beat. OK....way too early prediction based on that thought Terry.... Florida 44 OU 31
Is that saying Tebow can't pass? You must have been washing the car during games on the past few Saturdays.
Found this on the NCAA web site: Code: # Player Att Comp Int Yards TD Conv Passing Efficiency 14 Sam Bradford 49 34 0 384 2 148.7 Totals 49 34 0 384 2 http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/worksheet.jsp?year=2008&game=200800000052220081206.xml Bradford was the only OU QB to throw a pass in OU's 62-21 win over Missouri? :wink:
OU's defense is good... against true spread offenses. Mix in a QB that can run, and things get dicey for them. Add in a spread offense that uses the zone-read, and OU has real problems (witness what the OSU offense did to them). For once I think I'm going to agree with MCG. OU will score on Florida, but it won't be enough. AND... If Murray isn't 100%, OU's offense isn't nearly as good.
I think UF has earned their favorites role. But OU will come to play and I do think they can beat the Gators. I think Texas can beat the Gators as well.
Heck....Utah could beat the Gators if they don't come to play. I suspect UF will come to play however and the three point spread will be 2 1/2 by gametime which will not swell the Gators heads very much thankfully nor will it further inspire OU. I think UF just plays a little more defense than OU in the end and that's the difference in the game. Remember this team gave up only 12.8 ppg and half of those points were against the scrubs in blowouts so in reality the first team defense gave up about 7 ppg or less. That's as good as any Florida defense in history.
The Oklahoma offense is scary good. I don't have a feel for their defense but I understand they gave up over 300 points. Yesterday I heard Oklahoma was a 1.5 point favorite. Today a friend emailed me that the Gators were a 1.5 point favorite. It should be an interesting game and could be a blowout one way or the other. Well I'm off for the afternoon, I'll check in this evening.
Sometimes those high rankings mean you haven't played anybody with a good offense!! Other than UF does anybody in the SEC have what you would describe as a high powered offense?
Murray to Have Surgery Sooner running back will miss championship game Dec. 16, 2008 NORMAN, Okla. - Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray will undergo surgery on Dec. 22, and will not play in the 2008 BCS National Championship Game. The sophomore has a partial rupture of a hamstring tendon in his left leg. "Obviously we're very disappointed for DeMarco," said OU Head Coach. "He has been an important part of our success this year and we will miss his contributions. DeMarco has had an incredible year. http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121608aab.html I'm guessing this is pretty big for OU. In relationship to the performances in their conference 'ship games, OU loses Murray and UF gains Harvin. While I hate that Murray's hurt .... I like the relative "asset flows".
No doubt a big blow to the Sooners. Murray is one of the best backs in the country, they have other guys who aren't chopped liver...but still losing aguy like him puts more of a burden on Bradford. Sooners defense also has taken a couple of hits at LB this year. They lost thier best LB in the TExas game and then they guy who filled in for him also got injured later in the year. But injuries are part of the game. Still as you said you'd like to see both teams at full strength going after each other. But I wonder how many times that happens in these championship games. Last weekend in the Texans/Titans game the Titans lost Albert Haynesworth for the rest of the season and they had already lost another key defensive player. It will likely hurt them in trying to secure homefield advantange through the AFC championships.
Going into this game, UF is down it's top TE - has been all year, two of its top-5 interior d-linemen, #1 strong safety - has been all year, and the strtaing right OG is gimpy with a chronic shoulder problem. And, who knows what Harvin's health will be. All indications are he'll be back but, we won't know for a while.
you can't possibly whine about someone who has been out all year. those backups have now become starters and are playing in that role. sack up and play like a champion