Hopefully everybody had a wonderful Christmas and is ready to move past '09 to "oh-10" or just "10"? whatever we'll just stick with 2010. Anyway, every new year's day, since i was about 9 years old, I've slept in, 'cause of staying up on new year's eve, and then later in the day I watch the Rose Bowl either with friends or by myself but no matter what I make sure I watch the Rose Bowl. The last few years the Rose Bowl games have been great and this year's game seems to be no different.
The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Oregon Ducks both ended the regular season playing their best football. Big Ten champions for the fifth straight season, the No. 8 Buckeyes will carry a five-game winning streak into Pasadena to face the No. 7 Ducks that overcame early season adversity to claim its first Pac-10 title since 2001. Both teams are conference champions and both of their names start with "O" but that's basically all the similarities between these 2 teams.
Ohio State has a history of championships, five straight in the Big Ten and a crystal football as recently as 2002. Buckeyes fans bemoan the 13 years since their most recent appearance in the Rose Bowl. Ducks fans are thrilled that only 15 years have passed since their most recent Pac-10 title and trip to Pasadena. When Ohio State fans look back a generation, they see Woody Hayes, two-time Heisman winner Archie Griffin and the 10-Year War with Michigan. Oregon fans don't even have a generation to look back to. Ohio State has had seven Heisman winners and four Outland trophies. Oregon's most famous players, QB Dan Fouts and RB Ahmad Rashad, are better known as TV analysts. When the Buckeyes wear throwback uniforms, you need an anthropologist to detect the difference between old and new. Oregon's uniforms mix green, yellow, black and white in so many different combinations that a throwback uniform means 2008.
They're different in the way that they play too. Ducks coach Chip Kelly wants his offense to play fast. The Ducks' 40-second clock rarely dips into the single digits. Kelly's goal is to stretch the defense 100 yards long and 53 yards wide. Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel's style is as old as the game itself. He depends on field position, defense and the kicking game.
When looking at the Duck's top playmakers one has to do a double take, QB Jeremiah Masoli is built like a linebacker (5-foot-11, 220 pounds) and is considered too short to play QB. Masoli's favorite receiver, Jeff Maehl, is too skinny (6-1, 175), and his best running back, LaMichael James, is too small (5-9, 180) by most standards. However, in the Ducks' spread offense, no one can lay a hand on them.
Ohio State QB Terrelle Pryor (6-6, 235) has all the measurables, he has great size, he can run and he can throw. He was the #1 rated high school football player overall and also the #1 rated SF in high school basketball and recruiters were chasing after him like a pack of wild dogs. Kelly tried hard two years ago to lure Pryor to Oregon with the promise of a starting position and a style of play practically catered to Pryor's strengths but in the end he chose Ohio State 'cause of their winning tradition. But two seasons into his Buckeyes' career, Pryor has yet to meet the expectations created by his fevered recruitment.
As delighted as Ohio State fans are to return to the Rose Bowl, they demand a victory. The Buckeyes have lost three consecutive bowl games, and their struggles in the BCS are well-known. However, Oregon has won two consecutive bowls and has been the better program in the last few years. It's just one more difference between two very different programs that will share the field on January 1st.
Happy New Year everyone!! and Go Ducks!!
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Alabama Has A Heisman Winner, Finally!!
Alabama Crimson Tide fans like to say their team is about winning championships, not Heisman trophies. Thanks to Mark Ingram they can accomplish both this season.
The tough running back turned tearful after winning the 75th Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in the closest vote in the award's 75-year history. Ingram won by 28 points, ahead of Stanford's star running back Toby Gerhart. Next, he'll try to lead the most storied program in the South to a national championship against the Texas Longhorns, led by 2 time Heisman finalist Colt McCoy.
Ingram received 227 first-place votes and 1,304 points. Gerhart got 222 first-place votes and 1,276 points, while Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, last season's runner-up, received 203 first-place votes and 1,145 points. Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who took home a number of awards, was fourth and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman two years ago, was fifth.
In what was billed as the year of the quarterback, with Tebow, McCoy and last year's Heisman winner Sam Bradford, all returning to college, Ingram and Gerhart emerged as the Heisman front-runners at midseason.
Ingram has been the backbone of Alabama's offense, rushing for a school-record 1,542 yards, gaining 6.2 yards per carry and scoring 18 touchdowns. His only poor game, a 30-yard rushing performance against Auburn on Nov. 27, came at the worst time and in front of a national television audience. But with the Tide playing in the biggest game of the season, a No. 1 vs. No. 2 SEC championship against Florida, Ingram had one more chance to impress voters, and he delivered.
In his final chance to make a case for the Heisman, facing Florida's then-top-ranked defense, Ingram ran through the Gators for 113 yards and scored three touchdowns to punctuate his season. The win sent the top-ranked Crimson Tide to the BCS national title game against McCoy and No. 2 Texas on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl.
Few college football teams can match Alabama's history of success. The Crimson Tide dominated the SEC for decades. With six AP national championships (only Notre Dame and Oklahoma have won more). But at Alabama, it's a coach who has towered over the program more than any player. Bear Bryant led some of college football's greatest players, from Joe Namath to John Hannah, Ken Stabler to Ozzie Newsome, but never had a player even finish in the top three of the Heisman voting over his more than three decades at Alabama. Also, no major college program had won more games without a Heisman winner than Alabama.
Mark Ingram can take his place among Alabama's greats and the Paul W. Bryant Museum is finally complete with the only football trophy it did not have in it's 117 year history.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
The tough running back turned tearful after winning the 75th Heisman Trophy on Saturday night in the closest vote in the award's 75-year history. Ingram won by 28 points, ahead of Stanford's star running back Toby Gerhart. Next, he'll try to lead the most storied program in the South to a national championship against the Texas Longhorns, led by 2 time Heisman finalist Colt McCoy.
Ingram received 227 first-place votes and 1,304 points. Gerhart got 222 first-place votes and 1,276 points, while Texas quarterback Colt McCoy, last season's runner-up, received 203 first-place votes and 1,145 points. Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who took home a number of awards, was fourth and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman two years ago, was fifth.
In what was billed as the year of the quarterback, with Tebow, McCoy and last year's Heisman winner Sam Bradford, all returning to college, Ingram and Gerhart emerged as the Heisman front-runners at midseason.
Ingram has been the backbone of Alabama's offense, rushing for a school-record 1,542 yards, gaining 6.2 yards per carry and scoring 18 touchdowns. His only poor game, a 30-yard rushing performance against Auburn on Nov. 27, came at the worst time and in front of a national television audience. But with the Tide playing in the biggest game of the season, a No. 1 vs. No. 2 SEC championship against Florida, Ingram had one more chance to impress voters, and he delivered.
In his final chance to make a case for the Heisman, facing Florida's then-top-ranked defense, Ingram ran through the Gators for 113 yards and scored three touchdowns to punctuate his season. The win sent the top-ranked Crimson Tide to the BCS national title game against McCoy and No. 2 Texas on Jan. 7 at the Rose Bowl.
Few college football teams can match Alabama's history of success. The Crimson Tide dominated the SEC for decades. With six AP national championships (only Notre Dame and Oklahoma have won more). But at Alabama, it's a coach who has towered over the program more than any player. Bear Bryant led some of college football's greatest players, from Joe Namath to John Hannah, Ken Stabler to Ozzie Newsome, but never had a player even finish in the top three of the Heisman voting over his more than three decades at Alabama. Also, no major college program had won more games without a Heisman winner than Alabama.
Mark Ingram can take his place among Alabama's greats and the Paul W. Bryant Museum is finally complete with the only football trophy it did not have in it's 117 year history.
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
1 Year Anniversary For AO!!
I was gonna post this yesterday, since that was the official day this wonderful labyrinth of our thoughts was created, but I had other things to do, mainly studying for my upcoming finals (yea so not fun). I can't believe that it's been a whole year since Franny and I created this blog to post our informative, and sometimes, insignificant thoughts. I gotta give a lot of love to my fellow bloggers on this blog for keeping this thing going for as long as it has. Also, thank you to all the readers and visitors to the blog; we love you and even if you only visited the blog once we still appreciate it.
We'll try to keep this thing going as long as possible and after my finals I promise I will post a lot more on the blog about anything you guys want. Again, thank you for reading and we hope it was worth your time, if not you can tell us to shut the fuck up, but we won't listen :)
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
We'll try to keep this thing going as long as possible and after my finals I promise I will post a lot more on the blog about anything you guys want. Again, thank you for reading and we hope it was worth your time, if not you can tell us to shut the fuck up, but we won't listen :)
Peace and Much Love To Ya :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)